Mind The Gap

Have you ever stumbled or tripped in public? Its embarrassing. I did it at Le Select Bistro on my anniversary on my way to my table. My high heel got wedged between the hardwood floor planks and I did a face plant in front of the entire restaurant, thank fully my husband was there to help me up, but I could tell I had humiliated him too. This was mortifying, but I was able to quickly recover with the help of a double G&T.

Friday morning, with no bartender in sight to help her ease her pain, a well-dressed business woman tripped while exiting the southbound subway at Union station. She was wearing a lovely wool coat (likely a cashmere blend). Her hair was perfectly coiffed and Aquanetted in place. She wore sensible high heels for subway travel with a chunky squared heel. She was ready to do some wheeling and dealing that day, you could tell by the look in her eye. Holding on to her well-worn brief case and fluffing up her hair in the reflection of the subway door window as the train approached her stop, she was readying herself for what would be highly productive day in the fast paced setting of her Bay Street job, likely as a banker or lawyer or marketing exec. But for all her style and put-togetherness, she was unable, this Friday morning at 8:25 am, to put one foot successfully in front of the other.

You see the subway floor is usually level with the platform when the doors open at any given station, but at Union, going southbound, it is ever so slightly lower. There is a lip that is slightly elevated that is like a virtual landmine for those who are in a hurry (read: everyone). Ms. MBA's polished toe caught the edge of the yellow line and she did an aerial that was rivaled only by Shaun White. Her briefcase went flying as did her purse and she lay face down, sprawled in the middle of union station.

For the record she wore white lace panties and no one of the roughly 1000 fellow commuters rushing to their jobs stopped to help her.