Thursday, October 06, 2005

Should I laugh or should I cry?

Last week in Melbourne I caught the tram up St Kilda road. I'd just been to the Unisys building where I used to work and had walked through Fawkner park. It was about 11:30 AM and I needed to be back in town in time for lunch with some former Unisys colleagues. A good lunch; we talked about old times and I proved to be the alcoholic of the group; I was the only one who ordered a beer. On the other hand, I was the only one who didn't have to go back to work that afternoon. Let me indulge in such sophistry!

So I got on the tram[^]. It was pretty full so I stood for a while as we swung up the road. Two old geezers sitting together near the door. At the next stop one of the old geezers got up and departed. The tram took off again. And the other old geezer gestured to me, offering me a seat! How mortifying. Even to old geezers I look like an old geezer :-) But I took the seat and then ensued a typically Australian conversation.

'How you doing mate?' he asked.

'Any better and I'd be dangerous.' I replied.

He smiled.

'Terrific weather ain't it?' I said.

He nodded in assent.

'You wouldn't be dead for quids mate would you?' I said.

'No mate', he said, 'you wouldn't'. We nodded in agreement as the tram rattled to a stop. Some young things got on and we took off again.

I got off two stops before Flinders Street; I wanted to walk through the Kings Domain and take some shots of the Myer Music bowl[^]. As I stood I said,

'Have a great day mate!'.

He smiled.

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