When Nonsense Makes The Most Sense?

‘Can you tell us how I get to the PATH?’, I asked the nice lady with lovely curls at the travel aid assistance in Union Station in Toronto. We have been to Toronto a gazillion times and never visited the PATH, so this time I was determined, be it Sunday when the shops are closed, I cannot deprive the PATH of my presence. ‘Where do you want to go on PATH?’, she asked back. I shrugged and said, ‘Just the PATH.’ She smiled back and said, ‘You want to visit the PATH just to visit it - how nice!’ And she told me to go two levels down and take a left. I called my husband, who would never be caught in public asking for directions - relayed the directions to him, and followed him.

We had a similar situation in Paddington, London, where we went to the stodgy British chap at the helpdesk and asked him what train we should take if we want to travel the longest? He left his stiff British lip for a minute to scratch his head and said, ‘No one’s ever asked me that question.’ And then told us to go to Bridgend in Wales.

So, as you can see from the above two incidents, we love travelling, or more accurately, wandering. You know, some wise person said - You cannot travel the path until you become the path.’ (PATH - did you see what I did there?) But, it is true - the joy of travelling is travelling. We have been through the streets of Toronto so many times - such fun memories, and every time there is a new one. This time around, it was reading all the shop names. Like, there was one which said ‘YudonYa’. And this became our joke when we asked each other, ‘Yu Don Ya.’ I know this is silly, but I absolutely love the silliness, or intellectual banter, as I call it. And from then on, it was a string of names like Butter Baker, All Things Japanese, and In Fashion. The point is not what the joke is but the shared laughter - it’s moments like this when I truly come alive. And people in general have no choice but to be themselves when they laugh, you know, truly laugh. Now, that I think about it, sometimes as people we don’t let ourselves laugh out loud because society does not approve of it, or you are a grown-up, or what would other people think? If you ask me, they are just jealous that you can laugh like they would want to.

Maybe I was born in an alternate universe where 2026-2009 is 15, and my husband has fewer steps even though we walked the same distance because he walks ahead of me, not with me. And due to unfortunate circumstances, I was somehow transported to this world where 2026-2009 is 17, and since my husband and I walked the same distance, it does not matter whether he walked with me or ahead of me.

And I know of at least a few handful of folks who have also been transported into this logical universe, because when I am with them, nothing logical makes sense. We find the normal things in the room to be funniest, and it is almost like a language we share. To be able to laugh because it does not make sense - how freeing! Sometimes I wonder how I make sense at work - but secretly I do think it is funny that we all dress up and behave properly at work. What a Sham!

This blog took its own path - sometimes it has to express its nonsensical side, which, in some places, would actually be considered wise!

What world are you from?