Oakville GO - We now knight thee "Smokeville" ... or Deep Stench Nine

from:		MM
to:		cj@thiscrazytrain.com
date:		Mon, Jan 14, 2013 at 7:31 AM
subject:		Smokeville: The Next Generation - or - Deep Stench Nine

Got another few pics this morning - they're not that good - tried stepping the fstop and going without flash, but the darn smokers move around just a tad too much.

There are three that stand out these days on the 6:00-6:30 shift: a really big and tall guy who seems developmentally handicapped who smokes fragrant cigars and stands either right up under a no smoking sign by the main doors, or ambles back and forth in front of them. I call him The Smelly Giant. This morning he was puffing away and chatting with a uniformed Oakville Transit employee (one of my rules is that I don't take pics that would get transit workers in trouble - hence no try for a pic) I'll get him some other time, he's always there between 6:15 and 6:30.

There used to be a hardcore smoker at the east doors right by where the GO buses stop to let passengers off. He was an Eastern-European guy, Polish maybe, judging by his accent. He would stand about half a metre in front of the doors and actually and obviously blow smoke INTO the doors each time they opened. He would scream at anyone who asked him to stop or move away. He has disappeared and has been replaced by two new guys.

There's a guy who resembles Patrick Stewart, if Patrick had his cheekbones removed and was drug through an ashtray and hit with a weasel stick. He stands where the old hard-case used to stand. I've taken his pic a few times. One good point for Captain Nictard is that he doesn't try to engage. Just stands there puffing away as I take his pic. Maybe he's just oblivious. Maybe he is waiting for the doors to give whistle so he can bark out "COME!"

Then there's a South Asian gentleman who I encountered last week. I didn't have my camera with me, and he kind of surprised me. He came up behind my shoulder as I was walking to the bus and he wafted a smoky exhalation my way. I had to walk through the unexpected cloud and I turned to him and just said, "Get out. This is a no smoking area - GET OUT!" He didn't even argue, just turned around and walked away. This morning he was by the doors though, joining ersatz Jean-Luc  in a five-cig mission to annoy strange new people. Haven't made up my mind, but I think I'll call him Doctor Ash-eer.

I'm calling the enforcement people back again today. They left a message last week, but what with sickness, absence, and labour problems, I haven't had a chance to reply.