The snoozing TTC fare collector who has become the poster boy for a struggling transit system and the Internet's latest viral sensation says people need to "wake up" to the fact that there are more important things going on in the world right now than his sleeping habits.
"When you knock Haiti off the front page you know something's wrong," said George Robitaille, a veteran TTC employee, referring to the Toronto Sun's Friday cover photo showing him dozing on the public dime with his mouth open, head back and arms folded over his belly. "You know, I think our priorities are a little mixed up here."
The photo, taken by Jason Wieler as he passed through the McCowan LRT station on Jan. 9, went viral on the Internet Thursday after Wieler posted it to Twitpic.
In a matter of hours, Robitaille became a target for both the wrath of discontented TTC riders and the delight of photo-shopping bloggers.
At his home near Cobourg, Robitaille, who has worked at the TTC for almost 30 years, said he is a hardworking employee with a stellar track record.
He said he has health issues that can explain why he would be asleep on the job.
"I can hold my head up high," he said, but did not elaborate.
At times defiant, Robitaille also laughed at his new online popularity.
"You see me on Leno last night?" he joked.
The "TTC Sleeper," can be found napping alongside Homer Simpson, Humphrey Bogart and former wrestling superstar Macho Man Randy Savage in various doctored pictures posted online.
But this isn't the first time Robitaille has been recognized while wearing TTC colours.
In 1995, he was honoured for saving a disabled man's life, according to a Toronto Sun article.
A former Wheel-Trans driver, Robitaille was sent to pick up a passenger who had a rare lung disease and muscle disorder. Robitaille found the man collapsed on the floor in his home, barely conscious after falling and hitting his head.
"The door was unlocked, but I would have broken it down if I had to," Robitaille said at the time.
He lifted the man into an upright position and called for an ambulance.
The passenger, Brian Mitchell, later said he would have died if Robitaille hadn't helped him.
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