one of the complaints i have about melbourne (yeah, i’m stuck on this subject) is the lack of excitement. there’s no buzz in the air. no energy. and particularly, no freaks. at least very few & far between (i can think of 2 stories and next month ill have been here 2 years!).
this afternoon’s tram ride will probably prevent me from ever seeing a freak in melb again. after work i wanted to go to borders (one of the very few shops open after 5pm on a sunday afternoon). i’ve never taken the href=”http://www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au/timetables/timetable_options.php?type=tram&id=MTM079″>
79 tram before. and was surprised when one of the really old ones showed up. they’re called the ‘class w’ trams and most people find them quite nostalgic. they’re also slow, small & noisy.
i got on, faced towards the front of the tram & wondered what in the world was going on.
there was a normal looking girl sitting there reading. on the same bench seat was a herion addict if i’ve ever seen one. insanely skinny, scuffed up legs. she was drinking a can of JD & Coke with a straw. when she went to get off the tram she picked a fight with sunglasses dude (see below).
on the opposite side of the aisle was a fairly rough looking guy with tats, in a yellow & green (AU colors) footy jersey & silver parachute type pants. next to him was someone who at first glance i thought was probably homeless. older guy, 60s, with a mass of grey hair & beard. long hair & a very long beard (though not as long as zztop). it wasnt til i saw him pull out small oval purple shaded expensive looking sunglasses that i figured he probably wasn’t homeless.
in the back of the tram i could hear some mom yelling at her kid telling the kid to behave or they ‘wouldn’t get’ whatever it was ‘for the rest of the tram ride’.
and finally the sunglasses dude. while we were stopped at a lite i saw him strolling towards us. 50s, bright red face like he’d had too much to drink, sunglasses that had flames painted on the sides, smoking, wearing a funky looking black & grey shirt, black TIGHT jeans, funky hat & a black vest (think 3 piece suit) over top. shortly after climbing on the tram he started talking to a 20something couple about the class W tram. apparently it’s the newer of the Ws, not the classics. his voice was that deep grasby sort you’d expect. later after borders i saw him at a bar. he had taken the shirt off & was wearing the vest. his entire torso was bright red.
oh… and one more… 30something guy dressed very normal in a polo shirt & jeans wearing thongs/flip flips. til i realised his toe nails were painted the same blue of the shirt and there were red hearts painted in the middle.