Riding the Rails

Relearning how to speak, I am seeing a doctor in Toronto. It is up to me to make the effort to practice and change my voice. To avoid as little disruption to family and work I have scheduled my appointments as early as possible, 8:30 AM.

Monday morning was my first appointment, I had gone a few weeks earlier for testing and evaluation.

To make it on time means getting up at five am or earlier to beat the traffic and find a place to park. If Toronto is famous for anything it should be traffic congestion. I used to commute everyday by car so I know it has gotten worse and worse over the years.

Contemplating the large fuel bill for my 455 powered Buick and another twenty bucks for parking, "J"said why not take the train. Well yes I guess I could! I had avoided the train in the past because I didn't feel comfortable i.e. able to pass riding cheek by jowl with the rest of the city's bleary eyed work force.

I am full time now so just bite the bullet and do what not so long ago I would have considered unimaginable. Once again I erred on the conservative side dressing in jeans, flats black top and sweater. The trip was uneventful and no one gave me any funny looks despite sitting very close together in the rather cramped seats. I was surprised by the number of women waiting on the platform in skirts and heels, one very memorable Russian woman in leopard skin pumps.

Heels would have been nice but I had planned to walk from Union Station to the appointment and that might have been just a bit too far and too uncomfortable. Good thing too as I got a call to come to the studio as I was waiting for the train home enjoying a coffee and admiring the imposing imperial architecture of Union station.

Ditched the coffee and caught the subway north of the 401 to pick up an episode on hard drive to drop off at the other studio which is on the way to Niagara Falls. Another subway and train ride home. The subway was equally uneventful though I think the woman across from me may have suspected something. The guy besides me reading his e book certainly didn't.

By the time I got back to Union then the train home it was 1:30. Retrieved the Buick from the GO Train parking lot and headed west. Pulling off the highway I was followed closely by a police SUV almost all the way into the city, I turned right, he turned right, I turned left, he turned left…I started to get worried. I really thought he was going to pull me over (of course I had been exceeding the speed limit on the highway) eventually we parted company. I really think he was running my plate, strange woman in vintage car, sounds like trouble with a capital T.

At the studio I dropped off the hard drive and stuck around to say hello to my contact there, him, Hi what's new?. Me oh nothing much…this was the first time he had seen April and was nonchalant to the point of being comatose, rather funny really.

Almost finished two articles for a Canadian automotive magazine, one on the development of the 19681/2-1971 Lincoln Mark III and another on the history of the revived Stutz company in the seventies. My first commercial writing under the name of April!