TTC Madness: Does Lightening Strike Twice? On the TTC, Apparently So...

On my way into work this morning, I had the misfortune of sitting in the one subway car that would be occupied by a smelly old lady who left a trail of what smelled like rotting carcass behind, around, and all over where she sat.  People, the smell was so intense and so rancid, that half the subway car was affected.  That's quite a radius to impact with just your body odour!!!

At first I had no clue what happened, I was looking out the window watching the tunnel quickly pass by my vision when my nasal cavity was assaulted by Pepe LePew.  This was a great pain for me because of my heightened sense of smell.  I have been gifted - or cursed - with an extra-sensitive sense of smell and this morning, I was regretful of this for 45 minutes.  I couldn't get off the subway as I didn't want to be late for work.  And I didn't want to change cars because standing in rush hour wasn't something my bad back would enjoy.  So I bit down, looked peeved, and bore it for the length of my trip.  From the looks of everyone else around, I wasn't alone.

After work, I hopped on the subway again.  This time, at Bloor station, guess who jumps on my subway car?  Of all the many cars attached to each other that form a subway train, I get to enjoy the presence of yet another nasal assault...but here's the thing:  it's not the same perpetrator.  This time it's a different old lady.  This one looked homeless and smells even worse.  Until I smelled this one, I didn't think it was possible to even smell worse than what I had smelled this morning.  But, let me assure you, it was worse.  In addition to the smell of a rotting dead animal, there was the addition of dried urine and feces mixed in.  Yup, no joke.

But this time around, I didn't stick around.  I jumped out of there for my life and ran for the next car.  Staying in that subway car would have been nasal suicide.  After two stations, guess who I see all scrambling in to my new car?  Yup, everyone else on the affected car who just couldn't bear the smell any longer.  They were running in.  Funny. 

What are the chances, that at the same time I am on one of the many cars of the subway system, a smelly person jumps on at that exact moment?  Then what are the chances the same thing happening again except by a different person who smells even worse?  So then the question must be asked:  if such highly unlikely events occur to me twice; why can't I win the $50 million lottery!? 

Life!  Life, I say!!!