I've got friends in GO places

I must put to rest any impressions given by me to those who are just joining the rest of us on this crazy train ride of commuter hell that I don't socialize on the train.

I have train friends. I have train friends who check this site every goddamn day hoping I've written about them so they can brag about their Z-list celebrity status in the online commuting world. The only problem is if I blog about them too much, I give too much away about us and that just won't do.

I know many of the hardcore followers of this site (again, thank you) have mentioned many times you like the isolation of commuting in a bubble where no one knows your name. I'm not here to say it's right or wrong. I rode for nearly two and half years not knowing the name of any of the people I saw daily.

The very first train friend I made was a woman who unfortunately, and sadly, passed away from breast cancer. I saw her almost every day and then suddenly, I just didn't. It drove me crazy for months wondering what happened to her until one evening I happened to sit beside a woman I knew from having previous conversations with both her and my train friend. I knew she rode the GO bus with her and that they often went to the movies together. It never crossed my mind that my train friend had died and I was stunned when her GO bus friend told me. I only knew her as a breast cancer survivor... Argh, I can't talk about it without choking up and tears blurring my eyes, but she was a wonderful woman who really made my mornings. I think of her often.

Well over a year ago, I made a new train friend. I call her Charlotte or Char L'Hottie as she's sometimes referenced < I've linked her name if you want to read all my posts about her. Be sure to check out the campaign poster I made for her. Then slowly, I began to get to know most of the people on my regular train. We do our best to sit together but it doesn't always work out. I spend a lot of time with Jill (one of the first TCT readers to figure me out) and Bouncer. Then there's Uncle, Blondie C. and Momma D. See, I have a heart ... and people to hold my bag while I get up and straighten my underwear. Train friends make for a great set of extra hands.

So this is a shout-out to the women on the 4:30 pm Union-Oshawa train, who texted me to to tell me they share alcohol on Fridays (Gin o'clock!) and bring each other baked goods. Train friends aren't for everyone but for those of us who have them at least we're not drinking alone!