Mushrooms and Dirty Panties
This was crazy…
I forgot when was the last time I opted to take the subway instead of driving to university. Today’s snowy weather gently pushed me to make that decision. I was happy to be free of the driver’s responsibility — especially when there’s a few fat inches of snow on the roads that haven’t been cleared in what seems like ages.
But I don’t blame the City of Toronto for not calling in the military to clear the snow just yet. At 11 a.m. the snow blizzard was in its full fury, covering the city since about 4 a.m. — and it wasn’t gonna stop any time soon.
The snow covered my driveway to the point where I couldn’t see where the road began, but I must say that it felt nice to step on it — it was like walking on big soft piles of sugar.
And it was awfully quiet.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard silence this intense in Toronto at 11 a.m., ever; it exists only in the early morning hours, when the sun is only getting ready to peek from underneath Lake Ontario, and no bird has woken up yet (except for perhaps my jolly parrots, who start to rip their throats with chirps the second I open my eyes in the morning). The snowy cover on the roads made every car silently glide along — and by glide I mean literally glide — and there weren’t that many cars anyway.
What amazed me the most was the kinds and the diversity of smells that I encountered.
I mean, driving limits the list to the smell of whatever air freshener I have, plus occasional fumes and marijuana whiffs that come from other cars, perhaps more if I open my window. But they all are temporary, and vanish as soon as I move along.
But on the subway — damn.
The smell of burning tracks and tires was so intense I started to worry that there was another accident (cause let’s face it — on this 97 years old TTC system they happen every day). Inside the cart — an intense smell of fried mushrooms and curry. From the person sitting beside me — a mix of cheap, disgusting perfumes and probably unwashed panties.
Gross.
But I wouldn’t ever find all that in my car.
Perhaps driving is indeed a better option thank sniffing someone’s dirty underwear. Besides, people on the subway apparently have no knowledge of subway ethics, that’s why GO Transit produced a book on it: Unwritten Rules of Public Transit Etiquette Written Down. Check it out 😜 In the meantime, I will go shovel my driveway…
