Today's Commuter of Note

One of the things I like about taking public transit is the interesting range of people one sees. For example, I caught the subway at Queen Street station after work today. Although I was lucky enough to get a seat, a young man who got on at Dundas station was not so fortunate. He had to stand until a seat was freed up at York Mills.

If called upon to provide a detailed description the best I would be able to come up with is young guy, probably in his early twenties, dark medium length hair, and a bit shorter than me. No visible scars or tattoos, no distinguishing features, no unique clothing. In many ways he was the sort of anonymous commuter that fills the seats on the subways.

Well, he would have been anonymous except for one small fact -- he was carrying an accordion on his chest. I have no idea why he was carrying the accordion. Perhaps he was a busker. Possibly he was a member of an accordion marching band on his way to practice. Maybe he was on his way to or from accordion lessons. The possibilities seem boundless.

I suppose I could have asked him about the instrument, but in the end it doesn't really matter. It is enough that he was there, sitting on a busy subway car, resting an accordion on his chest. It's a sight you don't see in the suburbs.

New Job, New Perspective

I started a new job three weeks ago. Unlike my previous job, this job is deep in the heart of downtown Toronto. In other words, my ten minute walk to work has been replaced with a commute that is at least 90 minutes. Each way.

Some people might not think I made the right decision taking a job in the city. For a lot of people, the dream is to move out of the suburbs and find a good-paying job close to home. I guess I'm not like most people, though, because I have been dying to move back into the city for years.

I like the hustle and bustle of the city. I like the feel of downtown Toronto. I like the interesting mix of people I see every day. I like taking public transit. I even like being part of the crowd that waits on the subway platform during rush hour.

There is a beauty that is unique to cities. You walk down a street and look up, only to find yourself in a canyon of sky scrapers. You turn a corner and find yourself in a sea of people. You emerge from the subway station and hear the sound of street musicians playing salsa music on the corner.

It is early days still, but I am happy with my decision.

Remembrance Day, 2007

Poem: Veterans

Veterans

One mild November
When I was a child
I watched the old men
Gather in the park.
I talked to the old guy
Who spent Easter morning
At Vimy Ridge.
“What was it like, sir?”
I managed to ask.
“Noisy,” he said
And he went back
To sucking a biscuit.

(c) J S Phillips

The Plagiarist Strike of '07

Hollywood's television writers are on strike at the moment. According to some analysts, this will mean television programs run out of new episodes within weeks. Well, all I can say is that it could not possibly reduce the amount of creativity on the air.

I am watching Numbers right now, and the detectives are involved in tracking a murderous criminal in a simulated reality in cyberspace. Wow, what an original idea! At least, it was when we saw it on CSI: New York and Law and Order. Who knows, if the strike had not happened we might have seen the scenario raise its head on the The Simpsons.