Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Talking to people on the SkyTrain
I never talk to people on the SkyTrain. Well, rarely. From where I live, to my office, I can take the SkyTrain a few stops and transfer trains, or board in the other direction, and take the entire loop around, for the sole purpose of not having to transfer at the Broadway Station. That’s what I normally do, because at Broadway, it’s a zoo. You may have to wait for three trains to come before you can wedge yourself into a train.
The other day, I decided to try the direct route; now that school is out, it wouldn’t be that bad at the transfer point. Boy, was I wrong. At the last second, I launched myself into the train, and the closing of the door squished me against whichever riders were already up against the door. As we got closer to downtown and the train began disgorging more passengers than it took in, I made my way to the corner of the car, out of the traffic path. As I sat down, a fellow, who I’d earlier noticed folding an orange origami creature, commented, “As least it’s not as bad as Tokyo. There, the transit enforcement agents use batons to squeeze everybody in so the doors can close.”
By the time we got out at the end of the line, we were chatting away quite comfortably, and began walking through Gastown to our respective destinations. Turns out I’ve been talking with Ken Furukawa, the original “origami guy” from CBC TV’s Sesame Street, who tells me an inspirational story about how he recently discovered that a years-ago visit from himself and Fred Penner to a prairie school inspired a youngster to choose an academic path and ultimately end up as a professor at UBC. I was slightly embarrassed as I felt some tears well up (dang, I can get so sappy - my wife calls me “the tap"), and we parted with a hug. Definitely not my usual MO, but I guess it’s never too late to change a habit, drop a barrier, let someone in, and broaden my perspective.