3A and 3B

This is Barry. He and I met on the train the other day.

I was travelling back home to Montreal from a few meetings in Toronto. The night before, I went a little too hard, so I was nursing a mean hangover and was not looking forward to the train ride. My plan for the five-hour trip was to catch up on some much-needed sleep and get some editing work done that I was behind on. Then Barry showed up and all that flew out the window.

Right off the bat, I could tell this guy was interesting. At first, I was concerned, because I was expecting a quiet train ride home, keeping to myself as silently resting after a busy trip. I was over-tired and stressed and not in the mood for anything. Then Barry sat down and asked me if I wanted a beer. This guy was going to ruin my plans, I figured.

Before we could speak, the train usher (or whatever they’re called) came by the check our tickets. Barry informed her that he’s a stow-away and doesn’t have a ticket; a joke that most certainly did not land. Confused, she asked again, and he insisted again that he’s a stow-away. One thing I’d come to learn about this man is that he sticks to a prank. Eventually, he pulled his ticket out and the woman walked away, thrown off and a little defeated.

He and I started chatting; he told me about what he does (IT specialist), he told me about why he was in Toronto, and he told me about how he took a free bus to Union Station and got there early to have a beer and relax. After all, as he’d remind me a few more times, his work trip was now over and this was now his vacation.

At first, I was a little bothered. I figured “great, just my luck; stuck with a talker”. However, his positive attitude and fun-loving nature quickly won me over and I was sold. Forget sleep. Forget work. This train ride was all about Barry. I mean, how often do you get to have a five-hour in-depth conversation with a complete stranger?

Over the next five hours, I heard all about this man. I got to learn about his children, his fiancée Linda (who he loves to prank; poor Linda), his home in Blainville, his seven grandchildren, his 11 brothers and sisters (including the Tae Kwon Do master and the know-it-all), his parents, and his upbringing in Jamaica and Niagara. I found out that he’s a foodie, a baseball player, and a musician. We even got into some deep topics such as mathematics, technology, and space.

He explained exactly what “E=MC2” means, and how computer interfaces work. We calculated the speed of the train by counting the electrical pillars outside the window (until I blew his mind by showing him that our smartphones can tell us how fast we’re going). I learnt more interesting information during this train ride than I could have obtained during months in a classroom.

Despite all the knowledge he was giving me, what really stood out was how much he was taking away from me as well. For every tidbit of info he’d tell me, he’d thank me for opening his eyes to a new way of seeing things. As he continued to enjoy his beers (and he’d always offer to buy me one each time the cart came around, but I’d respectfully decline due to the nagging hangover), he’d consistently utter things like “I’m the luckiest man in the world” and “How am I so lucky?” At first I thought he was just being nice and maybe a little over-dramatic, but eventually it donned on me that he was being completely genuine.

It’s so rare to see in this day and age, but the man truly was flabbergasted with how great his life was. Sitting on a train, talking to a stranger, enjoying some beers; this was Nirvana to him.

It was one of the coolest and most refreshing experiences of my life, and came as a much-needed break from the stress of reality that I didn’t know I needed. Here I was, in a bitter mood, worried about getting my work done, not in the mood to talk to anyone, and ended up having one of the best interactions I’ve ever experienced. Wherever you are, Barry, I hope you got that poutine you were talking about!