Smoakville and soggy butts

Special to This Crazy Train
by MM

So Tuesday I missed my early evening connection from GO to local transit. No big problem, the weather was fine, and my next connection was only a twenty minute wait away.

In that twenty minutes I hit the mother lode. Before I stopped counting I saw at least 22 smokers. There might have been even more since I was distracted (more later) and busy getting shots. At 45 bucks a pop GO might have made serious dough. Pro rated for the hour they could clear $2,000 easy.

There were also two bicyclists riding their bikes on the platforms (another infraction).

It was like shooting fish in a barrel, if the fish were gasping and the barrel was filled with soggy butts.

The last pic is of the capping event. I was standing at the bus stop right under the no-smoking sign when this guy pulled up - sucking his butt and blowing away. I could have gotten a better pic, but I was busy reviewing the ones I had so the first few shots I had of him were rushed and out of focus. He was a flamboyant and affected little coffin nail aficionado though, and putting on quite a defiant show of stench spreading - until he saw my camera up.

He passed, turned and asked me if I took his picture.

I said, yes, I had.

He gave me the standard "You need my permission to take my picture..." bit. I mean - do they print this on cards and insert them into cigarette packs? I get this from every smoker I frame under a sign. They seem oblivious to others' needs, but fixated on their own.

I gave him the standard - that picture taking in public is considered public not private, and that HE had not asked ME permission before smoking, and that the signage indicated no smoking - not no picture taking, and when could I expect him to ask ME for permission?

I think the nicotine had constricted the capillaries in his noggin so much that I lost him somewhere around the first sentence there.

So he threatened me.

So I pointed out that I now had video enabled and could he please repeat that?

So he walked away. Which recommends him in a little self-centred, entitled, but not without some sense.

Then my bus arrived and he came back. Walked up to the window beside my seat and pounded on it till I opened it.

He asked me my name. His rationale was that I had taken his picture, so he deserved my name.

The logic of the situation and his lack of understanding of social obligations seemed beyond him. Privacy seemed to be only something that HE was entitled to - over entitled to actually. There was no quid pro quo. I would have posed for a pic if he wanted, but I didn't owe him my name. I waved.

Once again - if guys like this with such a warped sense of behaviour are so prevalent at Smoakville, how can the admin at GO get away with their laughable commitment to rider comfort and safety?

Smoakville - where everybody is woefully stupid

from:		Michael
to:		"Cindy (Cj) Smith"
date:		Wed, Sep 23, 2015 at 6:33 PM
subject:		Smoakville Chronicles

Making the transfer today in Oakville - city of German Imported Cars and Super Inflated Entitlement.
Let the pics tell some of the story:

Smoakville 1 - A nicely composed shot - note the young smoking couple under the two conveniently placed no smoking signs. Nothing new here, really. Approached to a safe distance (not easy since they were upwind) and asked if the signs meant something different to them.
They had the good grace to leave right away - though snickering.
Smoakville 2 As they passed I noticed the other two - Mr. Big Boy Pants, and a guy who looks like he still thinks he could land a spot with the 1990's Bare Naked Ladies.
I ask them to please comply with the GO no smoking policy. Mr. Bare Naked Manque responds that the law says that he has to be more than 15 feet away from the doors. This is wrong. 
He's on GO property, and if it were adequately explained by the signage (it isn't - and why is that?) he'd know (or have no way of denying) that he has no right to smoke on GO property.
He's also closer than 15 feet to the entrance, but hey, he can only be so wrong before he's over 100% wrong - am I right?
Smoakville 3: So I'm snapping pics and his little friend (they're in Blue Jays matching outfits! SQUEE!), Mr. Big Boy Pants, offers to break my "fucking camera". So I turn on the video feature and ask him to approach and repeat. Strangely enough, he demurs.
As my local bus is leaving I note that several more smokers have taken up the perch between the no-smoking signs and the PRESTO machine.
For the 1,250th time - howzabout a sign that clearly explains that there is no smoking on GO property and what that means in terms of geography and possible penalties?
When they're smoking right under your signs as they are now, and right by the PRESTO machine, I 'd say its safe to conclude that the GO safety and comfort of passengers commitment beyond being a travesty and is in the neighbourhood of being a willful lie.

Addendum: GO YANKEES!

Sorry, did you say something about "no smoking"?

#gotrains #gotransit #regionofHalton #Smoakville triple threat redux. Two (2) signs and ticket machine. Enforcement? pic.twitter.com/emxChjGOJF

— Michael Methot (@d33pfish) August 29, 2015

And the crazy just got speed dialed up at Smoakville

by MM

Special to ThisCrazyTrain.com

So I'm at Oakville GO this aft, when the crazy gets suddenly dialed up past 11.

The worthy young man you see in these photos, skateboarding and smoking in the bus right of way just by the Oakville Transit platform, had just purposely placed himself in front of an incoming bus (in the frame). He played chicken until the bus stopped, then rolled up to the front bumper.

I missed those shots, but the guy obliged me by then continuing to skate around the lane as other incoming buses passed, smoking up a storm.

He then noticed me and yelled that what I was doing was illegal.

Yes, he said that.

I pointed out that the sign didn't say "no cameras".

He then offered to pull down his pants and pose.

And did just that.

Stay classy Oakville.

So I go back to the front of the station to wait. An old pensioner is tehre and he asks what the hell the young guy was doing. We chat and chuckle about it.

The short red head with piercings comes over and asks what I was doing. I start to explain, but she proceeds into a cascade of questions and challenges. Her "man" (Steve I find out later) comes over, smoke in hand, and joins the fun. They accuse me of taking their picture. Actually, neither of them is in the pix. Steve says he was on the bus that the skateboarder played chicken with and he "saw everything" and the kid wasn't doing "nothing wrong.". Logic with extra added double negaitives for affirmative evidence.

So?

We are joined by another volunteer, young lady with bad dye job,  who proceeds to claim that I can't take pictures legally. I ask her what law she is quoting, and she says "Ontario law! You can google it!". So I ask her to. She gets kinda abusive. Its at this time that Steve offers to punch me. So I ask him to back up and  I open the station door and yell for someone to call security.

The nice ticket agent comes out and tries to defuse the situation and actually does a masterful job. Little Miss Redhead goes off on a Gish Gallop of questions and challenges. "Steve" claims I am lying about everything. I ask when security is going to arrive.

Its around this point, after yelling at me for 15 to 20 minutes, Steve and his little friend allow as how they have other more important places to be (Meth sale down at the Lab I guess).

So I wait for the security. And wait. And wait.

Young man playing chicken with buses. Check.

Exposing himself also. Check.

People (including yours truly) yelling at each other in front of the station entrance. Check.

By my count, in twenty to thirty minutes of crisis and waiting... and still no security, but around 10 to 15 smokers.

Doesn't GO EVER provide enforcement? Can they? Why do they promise safety? Why do we let them get away with promising something they do so little to enforce?

I went in and apologized to the ticket taker for the stress.

I'm going to have to make other arrangements for transit.

And the contest ends at Smoakville

from:		MM
to:		cj@thiscrazytrain.com
date:		Fri, Oct 25, 2013 at 7:48 AM
subject:		Friday (last one)

Contest is closed and the results are in.

So I get to the station this morning and - surprise! - there is an enforcement car parked out by the taxis. In Smoakville a sighting like this is as rare and unlikely as rocking horse crap.

No sign of the officer though.

Natch.

I'm on the clock with only twenty minutes to go, according to my own self imposed rules for this contest.

From sight and smell there wqs  no shortage of smokers this morning. There is that ashtray miasma in the air, scatterred butss all around,  and two or three of the regulars are back behind the station puffing away (out of sight of the empty enforcement car, they may be ignorant but they ain't stupid).

Just I can't take their pictures.

Again, for my purposes this week I can't count them in the contest since I already have taken their pictures in the past months (and months) that this has been going on.

(Remember when we had hope, CJ?)

After about ten minutes the Enforcement Officer comes out of the driver's clubhouse/rest area on the side of the building. He looks like the cliche of an American Highway Patrol Man with every crease ironed to a razors edge, buttons all gleaming. I am proud to have such an Enforcement Officer working for me. I'd gladly pay extra on Presto! He looks like a rock hard recruiting poster for manly men.

I figure I'm in for the equivalent of a flying rainbow coloured zebra unicorn spotting... I may actually see anti smoking enforcement (or even parking enforcement!) in action!!!!!

But, sadly  no.

He just gets in the car, turns on the engine, idles it for five minutes or so with the headlights on, then leaves.

So I spent five minutes waiting to see some action, only to have all the wheels fall off my pathetic clown car of dreams.

I'm down to five minutes left. Looks like the mission will fail on the ultimate day. No GO trains are due in for another couple of minutes, all the Oakville Transit buses are in for a while, and the smokers that are present are all th eold hacks/hacking coughers.

I have less than 2 minutes on the clock when this guy crosses directly in front of the station, puffing away. I raise the camera and pop off two frames.

Its only when I'm on the way to work that I start thinking that maybe - just maybe - this guy didn't qualify. In the dark dimness he _could have_ been wearing a transit uniform (I don't take pics of transit employees).

So I get to work and run the pic through adobe, breathlessly wait while the brightness is adjusted (also breathless from allergic reaction to the buttsmoke this morning) and...

Success! Not a driver, just some suited jerk.

Cue triumphal music... Or I would if it wasn't that I'm very sure that when it comes to smoking and smoking enforcement next week will be just as bad at SMoakville... and all the other stations on the line.

Again - for the umpteenth time:

Where is the enforcement?
Where are the clearly written signs that would empower non-smokers and tell smokers that they can not smoke?
Why does GO make commitments to safety and health of their passengers that, from the evidence, they are not even prepared to pretend to meet?

Next week (apropo of this morning's encounter) perhaps a new contest - a list of GO enforcement spottings.
Perhaps your readers would like to join in?

MM

And the contest continues at Smoakville!

from:		MM
to:		cj@thiscrazytrain.com
date:		Thu, Oct 24, 2013 at 5:19 PM
subject:		Sometimes you get greedy...

This morning my whole schedule was thrown off, so I thought the game was going to be over for this week (see previous).

But this afternoon I got a chance to drop by the station while doing other car errands in the neighbourhood.

The parking lot was crowded (naturally) but I lucked into a space. It was far enough away from the station that I though seriously of not even trying... but I was curious to see if the afternoon was any different from what I'm used to (early morning and late evening).

The first thing I noticed was the afternoon is only totally a different kind of environment. In the morning, there are few people outside the building, but most of those outside are smoking. The ratio of smokers in the afternoon is a lot lower, but the size of the crowds is so much larger that the overall number of buttsuckers dwarfs anything I have seen before 7:00. Trains come in, and seconds later the area is filled with people lighting up as they come out the entrance to the passage. I missed three or four great shots because I was just amazed at the richness of photo ops available.

The first two shots included are of a guy who was out in front of the station after the crowd thinned. I think I got a bonus when he bent over and spit on the ground... two antisocial behaviours documented for the price of one. I think those shots would probably have satisfied my criteria for the week, but - like the title says - I got greedy.

I had seen at least one thundering herd of nic-freaks and I wanted a shot of a smoker stampede before I left.

Unfortunately, time was ticking down on my twenty minute self imposed contest rule... and no train was due in.

Then this nattily dressed guy brushes past me and steps up beside the posted schedule board by the doorway and lights up. Unlike the expectorating chap, this guy was dressed to the nines. He had that useless yet overpaid  look you find only in certain corporate lawyers and sports commentators.I snapped off one or two frames from about three meters away, then decided to call it a day.

I was halfway across the spacious parking lot when I heard someone calling out for someone to stop. I turned, and Mr-Overdressed was striding to close the 40 meter or so distance between us. I can practically write the convo beforehand.... but this guy shad some disturbing novelty to his act.

"Did you take my picture back there...?"

"Yes"

"You can't take my picture without my permission." From his tie and suit I had thought he might be a lawyer... guess not.

"No, sir. Anything that can be seen in a public place is fit to be photographed."

I had to stop only to look both ways  because my car was across an exit lane of traffic. Other wise I would have kept walking.

"Who are you?"

"I don't have to tell you that."

"Why did you take my picture?"

"I don't have to tell you that either."

Now the disturbing part...

Buddy says "Yeah - I think I saw you taking pictures of a little girl with that camera. You must need your meds."

Now I wonder where THAT comes from?

I ask him to step away with his still lit smoke, as I am allergic. He keeps it up. So I call his bluff.

"Listen, sir, if you feel that way, call the police. I'll stay right here, but I'll ask you to step away with your cigarette..."

I step towards him to emphasize the point.

All of a sudden he's all about "Get back!"

So I turn and cross the lane. He starts walking away and we shout the usual trash talk at each other...

CJ - this guy is a leetle cray-cray... maybe your underdressed and overfurred  legal team would advise to  blur his pic?

Tomorrow the week is over - so far I'm batting 5 for 4 - a .1200 average .. I really didn't think it would be this easy. Even with my low opinion of Smoakville, I still held out hope that it couldn't be that bad.

...also noted - no enforcement to be seen.

I think that will be the next contest - a day count for spotting enforcement of ANYTHING at Smoakville station...

Gather round kids! It's time for another tale of the Oakville aka "Smokeville" Smokers Club!

from:		MM
to:		cj@thiscrazytrain.com
date:		Wed, Oct 23, 2013 at 7:11 AM
subject:		Oakville Smoker's club - Click for previous posts

Hey CJ - new developments...

http://www.hark.com/clips/yvmhbxxtjm-my-left-hand

I have decided to change the rules - it is the only way I can be satisfied.

I mean - Enforcement and Signage are not acting any time soon - right?

So I've added three new rules - a week's challenge.

1) I will take pictures only of *NEW* members of the Smoakville Fraternity of Fumeurs - buttsuckers not previously photographed.
2) I will take my shots ONLY near the station building where the signs (such as they are) are most prominent.
3) I will spot and snap for only a twenty minute window - a time limit.
4) I will get one useable shot per weekday for a week

Those go along with my previous rules -

1) No shooting of GO employees (the point is to shame  GO into enforcing of public bylaws, not help IA Narcs)
2) Smoking has to be apparent in the shot
3) No shots of clearly mentally ill people

Monday was a morceau de gateau.
The guy actually stopped and posed for me - big smile on his face. Entitlement overflows.
Tuesday I got sworn at - par for the course.
This morning was different.

There were lots of smokers. But they were covered by the rules.

Like the guy I call "Moose" - big and hulking and quite obviously developmentally challenged. He smokes cigarillos out in front of the station. I've never seen him get on a bus or train - he just hangs around.
Then the guy from Tuesday comes around, sees me and the camera, swears and throws away his cigarette. I didn't have the heart to tell him that he was a protected species today... Waste of a good coffin nail.
Then around 5:57, a GO bus driver walks out of the station with a coffee and cig in hand.

My time was running low when this guy strolled up and lit up.
I got about three or four shots, but the one I sent - though a touch out of focus - is a classic. Smoke wafting out like a carcinogenic and allergenic rainbow effluent into the pristine predawn air...

He told me he didn't like his picture taken, so I stowed the cam and answered that maybe he shouldn't be out in public breaking no smoking bylaws then...

Two more days...