Jane Routley's Blog, page 11

Little Dogs

My friend in the wheelchair was back again this week, thrilled about the fact that his Chihuahua has had pups. He showed me pictures of these tiny little dogs and said it was a bit of a worry having seven very small dogs, most of them pups, racing round in front of his wheel chair – so he keeps a kitchen spatula handy so that he can nudge them out of the way when he moves.

Air Singing

Heard singing from the waitingroom and tentatively stuck my head in fearing drunkenness or mental health issues. Surprised a young man in black, ipod buds in ears standing legs spread, hand on stomach and imaginary microphone pressed to his lips off in his own world concert.

Rainy Day Customers

Yesterday was rainy but the customers were good. An elderly man who told terrific jokes, a lady who showed me pictures of the banana pancakes she made for her pets and a man in a wheelchair. “I’ve just walked for the first time in 6 years,” he cried bubbling over with joy. We talked of the pleasures of being 6 foot tall and able to look people in the face again

Umbrellas

We always pick up a lot of lost umbrellas at the station and its kind of practice to hand them on to other people during rain. On a day of pouring rain a man in a suit came to the station door and asked the way to a nearby conference centre. Its ten minutes walk away I say. Would you like one of our lost umbrellas. We happen to be a bit light on that day but he's happy to take what he's offered and goes off into the rain a man in a suit carrying a little clear plastic bell umbrella covered in clear flowers.

Punk Rockers 30 years on

Well Johnny Rotten does butter commercials now. But yesterday I was harangued on the station’s failure to provide toilets (apparently it’s a plot to encourage people to pee in the park so the cops can fine them) by a fifty + year old man with jelled up hair in a sex pistols t-shirt complete with tears and safety pins. Maintain your rage people. But don’t then smoke a pipe and chat to your family while waiting for the train. Somehow it doesn’t fit the image.

Expolding preconceptions

One of the things I like about train travel is the way that exposure to the public explodes your preconceptions.

Like the other day when the Chinese-looking family I was sitting next to, started speaking to each other in fluent german, completely disproving my assumptions about their country of origin. They were three adults and two little children and the youngest in her pram was wailing with that tired whine of the exhausted toddler. A Skippy guy standing over by the door, who with his long beard, tatts and Harley Davidson hoodie was clearly identifiable as a bikie, surprised me, when as the mother turned pram around to face him, started making those wide eyed goo-goo faces that helpful adults make to distract crying children. Somehow he hadn’t struck me as the type to care for either Asians or babies.

Beer for dummies

Beer for Dummies

I made a new “friend” today. A young guy in his 30’s who was clearly under the influence of alcohol and carrying a large water bottle containing a liquid that looked and smelt like white wine, saw my uniform and came over and shook my hand. “I’ve just moved into the area,” he said. He was on his way to Narcotics Anonymous and showed me the track marks on his arm. We got on the train together. He was a pleasant guy but of course no inhibitions, so he admired the redhaired girl on the next seat very loudly. Then he noticed the cute baby opposite. “That’s a cute baby,” he said. “And well-behaved too. When I was his age my father put beer on my dummy (pacifier) to keep me quiet. Probably not the best idea”

An Ordinary Day

Well the lady who told me all about how the CIA were tracking her via her MYKI travelcard and bombarding her with infrared rays was unusual (though not as unusual as you might think.) I wish there was someone you could inform about such people so that they could be brought in to have their medication reassessed before they got into trouble.

Anyway after she left I had a chat with some Canadian tourists about Vancouverand some people from Cairnswho thought Melbournians were wimps about humidity. The nice Mediterranean lady with the husky voice came by and gave me a chocolate Easter bunny for my niece and nephew. This lady travels 3 hours on the train five days a week to look after her very sick sister. And they say no one cares about family anymore (mind you they’ve been saying it in every generation since the ancient Greeks.)

Later a train was cancelled (more unusual than you might expect) But the atmosphere in the waiting room remained good because of the small toddler wearing pink fairy wings who tottered around cutely offering everyone her water bottle and eliciting gooshy smiles from onlookers including yours truly. (I should keep a good humoured toddler in stock for just such moments or maybe I could organize get some sent over from the Zoo. They always seem to have an enormous number there.)

Giant Tortoises ate my bush

Now here’s an appropriate Story for a Zoo Station. Yesterday two Zoo Keepers showed up on Platform 2 and started chopping branches off the mirror bush. When I asked them what they were up to they told me that they regularly harvest this bush because apparently the Giant Tortoises just Luuuuv mirror bush leaves - their favourite treat. The Keepers are happy when people ring them up to ask them to take the bushes out of their garden too. I should perhaps mention that mirror bush is something of a weed in Melbourne.

Ebon Shores

This week I'm featured in the Wednesday Writers section of David Mcdonald's website Ebon Shores view from the outside.

Go to http://www.davidmcdonaldspage.com/cat...

to read about How I scared off the “You’re Crap Writer” fairy and learned to write again, or Re-taking Control of your career through the joy of ebook publishing.

Many thanks to the lovely David McDonald, talented short story writer and cricket maven, for the chance to vent.