JMA-PSOS

Me and mom were trying to go somewhere in Canada by train (either East Coast or Prairies) for a medical reason for mom. We were at the main train station outside and the tickets were sold at a small desk outside the station itself. There was a 12-15 deep queue. There were two trains going to where we wanted that day: one in quarter hour or so and another in about one hour. Mom was on the phone. I got in line and by some miracle I reached the head of the line with only a few minutes to spare. When clerk asked what tickets do I want I could not remember the town, so I tried asking mom (who had her back against mine and was still on the phone). She cut me off quickly with: "I am still on the phone with someone. Wait."

Fast forward. It's almost 2 minutes to closing, the first train left the station and clerk is hurrying to get inside the station and lock up. I chase the clerk and ask how to get tickets to second train. Clerk is waving me away because it's closing time, and I suddenly remember that I could get e-tickets online for second train. There might be an issue with printing the tickets myself as backup in case they require printed tickets to board the train.

Fast forward. We are at our destination (even though I did not realize during the dream) and I am chatting in English with some people to which I declare without blinking: "Do you speak Canadian?" (meaning the Canadian dialect of English, I think), to which I get stares and the conversation continues. I then add, "Whatever you're speaking is not Torontonian."

Dream ends.

Background:

1. Way back in the 80s, we owned one AT&T style landline (no voicemail, or caller ID). Mom fashioned me into her caller ID 2.0 module for her phone: whenever someone called, I would pick up, ask who it was and their business, I would cover the handle speaker, whisper the caller's name and business to mom and she would instruct me whether to pass her the phone, or most often tell the caller that mom was unavailable for various bogus reasons.

2. Mom loves going to Amara, for medical reasons at a spa that is renown for their mud baths. Her mom had debilitating rheumatism and used to go there frequently. Mom has severe chronic low back pain (compressed and shifted vertebrae) and has been going there yearly for the past 10 years or so, a few times with her sister, but alone lately. She even took us (me and my brothers, before the youngest was born) at least once there in the early 80s (there are pics). I can attest that the placebo effect works well.

3. Fast forward: last time I talked to mom on the phone was in the fall. I tried calling her twice from my personal phone using WhatsApp (as international calls from Canada are still ridiculously expensive without an additional monthly fee). She tried to call me back once (on my work phone which goes straight to voicemail, so she left one which I learned of by accident only days ago and have not called her back yet). Her voicemail stated that she saw me calling but could not pick up because she was cooking (literally she actually said "she had something on the fire", which I can guess that meant she was frying, simmering or boiling something that needed close supervision).