OMG We're Old and A Failed Good Deed.

I came across this picture today while sorting through manuals and warranties. Why it was there, I just don't know. Why I was there is easy. I'm giving our old answering machine and its manual to Kevin and Su.

I think the photo would have been taken summer 2000. These people don't look terribly young, just much younger than we do. Conclusion: We're old. I should speak for myself here but, frankly, there's no point. We've all aged. Sorry kids.


Last week, I tried to do a good deed, but the result was a failure. Adam and I were on our way to meet Dion for lunch near King station. An older Chinese couple with very little English were clearly lost on the subway. Some fellow riders were trying to sort things out but no one could quite figure it out. We were between Wellesley and College stations. They just kept repeating Yonge, College, and Dundas. We didn't know if they were asking where we were or telling us where they were going. Now at College station, at the last moment the man decides that they needed to get off. He got off but the doors closed before the woman could get out. Uh oh. So we figure that she should get out at Dundas and wait for him. Her English was even worse than his.

At Dundas, I convinced her to get out despite her protests of "me Yonge Street." That's fine except it's all Yonge Street. In fact, I got off with her to wait on the platform for the man. This seemed the only sensible strategy to me. It took a long time for the next train to come. So we made small talk - in Mandarin! Here is what we learned from each other:

• The man is her younger brother.
• She's from China. (surprise!)
• The baby is my son.
• His father is a Chinese person. (she comes in for a closer look)
• No, not from Beijing, he's Cantonese-speaking. (okay, it was a lie motivated by my ineptitude with Mandarin)
• He's also a Canadian person.
• The baby is three months old.
• I don't understand anything else she asks me.

Oh no! The man was not on the next train! What was he thinking? That was the only sensible solution, right? The woman waves and indicates that she is going. I don't know if she was going to street level or back to College Station. I'll never know. Sigh.

• Thank You!
• You're Welcome.