The Good, The Bad, And The Prettier Than Me!

We have a little tradition our family has developed anytime we head to Toronto – we meet up with Grandma Smiley and head on board a TTC subway for a “train ride”, and I take pictures and scrapbook them afterwards of course! Yesterday was one of these days, our ride was actually a very long one going from Kipling Station right down to the last stop on the new Rapid Transit line…and back again. Along the way we met 3 very nice drivers – and one... :(  The first two drivers were funny, I was taking a picture of my son by a train, and the one drivers laughs at the other driver and says, “here, take his picture, he’s prettier than me.” Later we stopped at the very end of the RT Line, no one was left on the train, and we were stopped for a few minutes before heading back, I quickly popped out to take a few pictures as the snow was really coming down at the point, and it made an interesting shot – this is were the driver gets on the loud speaker and tells me I’m not allowed to take pictures on the public subway…and then repeats himself. Now really, everyone has good days and bad days, so maybe this guy was having a bad day and was simply needing an outlet to vent, I don’t know, and chances are I’ll never know, but what I do know, is that his claim was absolutely wrong. Anyone taking a look at the TTC Bylaws will see that there is actually a by-law prohibiting photography and videography for commercial purposes, so what I was doing was in no way in the wrong. Just a heads up for anyone planning a similar outing with your kids…go ahead, take your camera, Bylaw 1.3.17 says you are free to do so, as a matter of fact, Bylaw 1.3.18 states that “nothing in this by-law prohibits the use of any camera…”

Now, I don’t want to end with me sticking out my tongue, and like I said the guy may have been having a really bad day – we all have bad days sometimes, but…there was one last driver I want to tell you about who we met before the ride was done. I don’t know his name, but I can tell you, he was wonderful to the children who got on the train, and at one point he was reamed out by a woman claiming he closed the door on her – ( in actual fact he had no control of the doors, that was someone else entirely), instead of arguing his point though, he apologized, explained the doors briefly, and then apologized again in a Very Calm and Kind manner. As a result, the woman apologized as well and was on her way. Again, maybe the lady was having an off day, who knows.  My point in this whole post however is this … actually two fold:  1^st - when you are working for someone, or a big company – your face is the face of the company – and on the job, or life in general - your attitude can be your own worst enemy. My second point is…there’s nothing that will turn away strife faster than a kind word.

We enjoyed our outing riding the subway yesterday, and are thankful for the drivers, ticket sellers and all those out there behind the label of the TTC.

*Images Edited with Michael Andrew’s Paintballer Pro Presets