As a Cynic Sees It: It’s a small, huge world

Thursday, July 16, 2015

It’s a small, huge world

I spent an hour this afternoon in Canmore, Alberta, a lovely little town about 25 km from Banff. It’s the furthest one can get on the local transit bus; I really just went for the ride. Turns out there was a farmer’s market today so I bought a few presents for the folks back home. It was a pleasant diversion.

I support mass transit whenever I can. I almost never take a New York taxi, preferring the subway instead. Here in Canada I bought a three-day bus pass for $17.50 ($13.50 US) and it proved its worth the first day.

The best part of the story though was the encounter I had at the transit office. A lovely Japanese woman sold me my pass and we had this exchange:

Me: Where are you from?
She: Japan.
Me: Yes, but what city?
She: Do you know Yokohama?
Me: Yes, I lived not far from there, in Sagamihara.
She, tapping her chest while her eyes went wide: I am from Sagamihara!

It was a remarkable moment. She told me she could hardly wait to tell her mother, who still lived there. So it truly is a small world, but as you look at some more pictures from this area, you can see that it’s truly a huge world too.