Musings of a sometime Musketeer

 

Just when I thought that I had seen it all ...

 

This issue's topic is "High Blood Pressure on the Job: a TTC operator's story"

 

I was on the subway the other day, heading Eastbound, happily settled in a forward-facing window seat - ah, the joy!  As I got comfortable in my seat, my eyes roaming to find something of interest other than staring at people's funny clothes and getting weird looks in return, I heard the operator calmly say "Please do not hold the doors; the doors are closing."  It was the usual rush hour announcement.

 

One stop later the doors opened and closed, and opened and closed, and I heard the operator say, slightly upset, "The people in the last car, please do not hold the doors."  A couple more stops went by and the droning ride lulled me into a stupor, when all of a sudden I hear the operator's enraged voice scream into the PA system:

 

"LEAVE THE DOORS ALONE!!!  DON'T TOUCH THE DOORS!!!" 

 

(At this point all passengers, including seated ones, made sure they were not touching any of the doors)

A few seconds later the doors closed and a now subdued, depressed-sounding operator announced the name of the next station.

 

Apparently the ttc passengers are not the only ones getting enraged on the daily ride.

It makes me so sad when a promising book or book series turns rotten half-way through ... Why oh, why, can't authors just be consistent?!  It just goes to show, I guess, that a good beginning does not guarantee a good book.  The worst part, for me, is that having already invested so much time in the first volumes, I must read every painful remaining bit, although my enthusiasm has evaporated.  GAR!  What books am I talking about, you ask?  I can't talk about it ... it's still too sore a subject!

 

Athos    

You can have one too!  Just follow the three easy steps below to get your very own burnt epidermis!

 

1. Refuse all sunscreen!  You can justify this by convincing yourself that you've read somewhere that sunscreen gives you skin cancer.  It may, alas, be true in overdose, but so does unprotected and lengthy exposure to the mid-day sun. 

 

2. Avoid shade at noon!  Just think of how long the Canadian winter is, and bask all you can in the scorching sun.  You can also call this "pigging out on Vitamin D"! 

 

3. Fall asleep on the beach!  This one is absolute gold and it will guarantee you a painful, burning, itching, swelling, peeling week to come. 

 

I hope you've enjoyed this quick recipe for sunburn.  You can have full confidence that it works.  I have tested it myself.  I like to test all my recipes before giving them out.

 

Athos, still peeling.

My Muse insisted that we redecorate. 

 

If you don't like it, please forward all complaints to her, as she is the one in charge here.  I am merely her scribe.  She has complained about my moodiness, insinuating that the dark tones on this page gave her headaches.  Who am I to argue?  Besides, I believe my Muse is quite enamoured of polar bears, snow, the idea of North at the moment.  That is what I get for reading and giving her ideas.  I blame Philip Pullman.

 

But, in short, we have redecorated and we're sticking to it. 

 

Athos, and Muse.   

As we get older, we either become better or worse people.  There are only two options. You may then ask: what about staying constant and unchanged?  In my opinion, staying the same is another way of becoming worse.  Let me explain. 

 

I believe that throughout our lives we are in a constant struggle with forces in the world.  This is like walking against a strong wind.  There are various pressures pushing against us, pressures that have to do with our circumstances, expectations, temptations, etc ... If these forces were removed from our existence, I think a human being should continue to evolve mentally and spiritually without leveling off or moving backwards.  Think of it as a diagram of Growth vs. Time.  Without these pressures from the world, the curve in the diagram should be rising as time goes by.  However, the wind that pushes us back as we try to walk forward is characteristic to this world.  As we go from youth to old age, this wind will either slow us down, stop us, or push us backward.  And if the ideal and natural curve or growth of a human being is supposed to be going upwards, then a horizontal or a downward curve is evidence of us becoming worse than we were meant to be. 

 

Sometimes the angle of our curve of growth is beyond our control, but most often it is not.  As we get older we get snagged on prejudices, cemented misconceptions, personal pride, and all sorts of defense mechanisms.  As if a strong wind blowing against us is not enough, we get rain and hale and sometimes lightning.  Personally, I don't believe in the concept of growing into an "adult" by, let's say, age 30 and settling there comfortably to enjoy the rest of your life, content to never expand your horizons again.  The day you feel most grown up, is the day when you most need a high dose of introspection.

 

Think of a child's view of the world.  There's innocence, acceptance and eagerness there, while by the time that child has grown to 30, there are prejudices, cynicism, and a sense of entitlement.  Let's not deceive ourselves that by growing into adults we've outgrown our childish "foolishness" - we've just been pushed so much by the winds of this world that we've backed up beyond the place where we started; our growth vs. time curve has dipped below the zero point.  We've exchanged our ideals for worldly compromises thinking that we have learned a valuable lesson.  We've exchanged wisdom for mere knowledge. 

 

So, the time is now to give ourselves a healthy dose of introspection.  In fact, why don't we put ourselves on introspection supplements for the duration of our life here on earth?  I realize that it's hard seeing through that rain and wind to where our destination is, but the point is to keep walking forward, keep growing, seeking, improving, learning.  If you're standing still, or turning the other way because it's easier to walk with the wind pushing at your back, then take your supplements and get going in the right direction.  I don't think ideals are unreachable and laughable because they may not be achieved in this world.  Just think about it:  I said earlier that the wind was characteristic to this world.  The moment we're done here on earth that wind will stop harassing us, and we'll be free to skyrocket to our full potential.  And that for me is one way I see heaven; the place where I will achieve my full potential - become fully what I was created to be.

 

'Till then, don't forget to take your supplements!         

We owe the reopening of the Diaries to a friend of mine who reminded me that there is still unresolved TTC anger in my subconscious which needs to be worked out else it should fester.  And so, here we are, once again, complaining about the daily ride.  My subject for today is:

 

The Diabolical Bus Driver!

 

I can only speculate as to the particulars of this individual's private life.  All we really know is that by the time he or she has reached work, he/she is either in a rage or feeling the need to compensate for a boring life with driving recklessness.  You can see evidence of a diabolical bus driver by how far the standing passengers are flying back and forth inside the cabin.  For example, if a passenger is able to hold on to a pole when stopping at a light, the driver is only mildly diabolical.  If the passengers are tossed about, like cherry tomatoes and cucumbers mixing in a salad, then you can be sure your bus driver is of the very diabolical kind.  In fact, if you listen really carefully while the breaks are screeching and the passengers are murmuring their apologies to the others they've just stepped on, you will hear a sound from behind the wheel that sounds surprisingly like this:

 

"mmmwahahahahaa"

 

Surprisingly enough, my memory of the Diabolical BD was jolted this morning by a particularly good BD.  I sat there in my seat and marveled at how considerate this particular driver was - and wondered whether the TTC has changed their interview questions.

 

Happy TTCing folks!