The Blue Line

I have a love hate relationship with my journey home each day. It’s love because I get to go home to my little family of dog and boyfriend. It’s hate because I have to get on the train to get there. Ok, hate is such a strong word. Like any good relationship I go through passionate highs and lows with the train. There are moments when I feel inspired, when the sun glints through the dirty windows onto the grafitti and makes it seem like anything is possible. Then there are days where it is so depressing you want to get off at the nearest stop. You know them…the days when it’s raining, you don’t get a seat and the man who gets off at Sydenham is letting his umbrella drip into your shoe.

One of the factors that contributes to my mixed feeling about this mode of transport is the way people look and act when they're on the train. To be frank, they look dead sad. They don't make eye contact. They pretend that other people aren't there. They leave their bag on the spare seat knowing that someone else could sit there. Since when did it become hard to be polite to other people?

The other half of me hangs onto to the train ride for those tiny sparks of life. There are days when you see people give up their seat for others, when the baby in the stoller giggles his way through 5 stops and when you get a seat and can read your book the whole way into the city.

I also hold onto some optimisn about my train rides. It reminds me of being in a long distance relationship with my boyfriend. For a while there we did 8 hour train rides to see each other. It was dreadful and it was romantic...the anticipation, the dreamy stares out the window, the excitement at the end of the train ride. There was also this one time when a dreadlocked hippy from Byron fell asleep on my shoulder. AWKWARD. Another night I sat next to a nice boy and chatted for an hour or so. When I woke up in the morning he was gone. There was a note left under my food tray with his name, number & a nice to meet you message. Of course, I never called him, but it just shows what can happen when you reach out and acknowledge people. I am sure I wouldn't have got a note if I had put my ipod on and pretended he didn't exist.

So next time you're on the train try one of these: Give up your seat for someone, Smile at someone random for no reason, Sing out loud to the music in your ear phones, Get up to let the person next to you out, Help a lady with a stroller. Just DO SOMETHING. Because who knows? Maybe we all feel the same way about the train and we're all too scared to make the first move.

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