Each Thursday, join me for my once a week practice, Through the Glass Backwards. As I commute into work, I take the light rail downtown. Even though I tend to get motion sick easily, I usually end up facing backwards, watching as the city slips by. These vignettes will be a 200 word glimpse of things I see as the world outside me lives its life, and I am fortunate enough to see.
Long day. As in, to do lists galore. Waiting at the platform, I saw the light rail pulling up. I hope there’s a seat. Completely wrapped in my own brain.
It didn’t happen until we were heading toward the third stop on my route. The driver’s voice came over the loud speaker. “Next stop, MOUNT ROYAL!” Excited. Jubilant even. What? Most days, I’m lucky if I can hear the announcements. They are never proclaimed with enthusiasm. I do a mental shrug. It happened again when we were pulling away.
“Next up, NOOOOORTH AVENUE!” Again, with pizazz, the “o” in North drawn out. I laughed. Now, there is someone having fun. I looked around the car I was in, seeing if anyone else was enjoying these shenanigans. Nope, no people looking around at each other.
As we’re pulling out of North Avenue, he comes back on the intercom. “WOOOOOD… BERRY! Next stop!”
That’s my stop, so I get out, and start walking along the platform. As the train pulls away, I hear “Next up, COLD SPRING-ING-ING-ING!”
It always amazes me, how when I’m entrenched in my thoughts, in my cocoon, life wakes me up.
It is always the best alarm clock.
Awesome! I love it when the driver/conductor announces stops with flare like that. As I recall, the station announcements on BART trains in the Bay Area were pre-recorded when I lived there, and they were pretty cool.
I agree. It’s so much nicer than the blah feeling I get from some of them.
And that’s fantastic :) What were they like?
Or not being able to hear them at all. :o
It’s been so long, it’s hard to remember. But I think they were similar to your driver. Fun and a little flamboyant.