Streetcar Strangers

Streetcars come in bunches.

No matter how hard they try to space out the scheduling, short turning cars here and there, or giving them their own right of way so that they don't have to combat the intense downtown traffic, there just seems to be something about streetcars more so than buses that leans itself to bunching. I think there is a scientific queuing theory on this but I forget now.


Thursday morning I hopped onto a streetcar going downtown. It was packed as usual coming out of the station because of the bunching and so I stood near the front when I got on board a few stops later. Had a newspaper in hand so tried to peruse the headlines, until finally a few more stops later the crowd dissolved and I was able to take a seat.

10 minutes later I was at my stop or so I thought, can never really remember if there are two stops after my streetcar reaches a certain intersection or just one so I stood and walked to the middle doors waiting to see the street name for the next stop appear in red lights behind the driver.

As I strode to the middle I made eye contact with a dreadlocked bredren in the back. Oh snap that that kid A! I haven't seen him in forever. A was a bajan friend of a friend but we had hung a lil bit back in the old days. Cant remember his last name but it was one of those typical bajan ones.  Think the last time I saw him about 5 years ago on a subway platform. He had said he living in Scarberia and working downtown. Whoa he has dreads now. At the same time as I noticed him, he noticed me an gave a sign of recognition and a head nod and headed to the door and we exchanged pounds in the aisle.

Whats up?
Hey guy I haven't seen you in forever.
Fa real!
I forgot your name again?
Jdid
oh yea right , yea guy I haven't seen you in forever what are you doing down here
On my way to work, getting off at the next stop.
Oh where are you working?

I told him the building and he said  "I'm down here too. I have a studio around here and just commuting in from Scarborough."
Oh so you're still up my side?
Yea
Didn't move back to Brampton then?
"Naa" he said but he gave me a strange look.

And then I started to wonder. Wait a sec, everything about him looks like A but is this really A? He does look slightly younger than he should look but naa. Or hmmm well maybe there's something weird here.

Reached our stop. We got off and standing waiting for the lights I asked.
"So when last you talked to my boy Abel?"

Then it all unraveled.

He said "Yo I'm sure I know you from somewhere but I think you've got me mistaken with someone else.
"I'm beginning to think the same thing too." I said
Cause I've never lived in Brampton and I don't know an Abel."
Really? So you're not A?
Naa I'm ... and he told me his name.

Really? Dude you've got a doppelganger out there then.And he lives in Scarborough too.

We laughed about it, exchanged pounds again, chatted for a couple of minutes trying to figure out how or if  we knew each other if he wasn't A and said our goodbyes as the traffic lights changed.