Angels have the phone box

Friday Haiku #1 & 2

girl with red scarf
watches boy with dancing eyes
urging him to speak

each day same seat
crystal clear green-blue eyes stare
waiting & longing

I am listening to the perfect pop song as I write this. Belle and Sebastian’s If she wants me it is beautiful and the lyrics are terrific. I had interesting experience last night.

The train journey

After grabbing a drink with a dear friend I walked across the road to Flinders Street Station to catch a train home. When I got down to the platform my train was waiting (things were going my way), unfortunately the train was delayed because someone had been killed on the track in South Kensington. It is a horrible thing and happens quite regularly. I didn’t know at the time that this was the cause of the delay.

I wondering off to the taxi stand and stood in the queue with the other tired and weary commuters. In front of me was a happy looking chap with a taxi voucher his hand. “Thank God for taxi vouchers”, I said. He then asked me where I was going and we happened to be heading to the same destination. He then asked the rest of the queue and another two women jumped in the cab too.

Turns out he was a train driver for Connex. He absolutely loves his job and raved about it. He explained what had happened, which was very sad. He said that drivers get lots of support and counseling in these situations. 24 hour on-call support. Two weeks off work to recuperate and then they are eased back into the job with the support of the PD or Principle Driver (Supervisor). I am sure the person that was killed has a story that should be told too.

Bill – the drivers name was going down the line to drive shuttles from the station after the accident out to the end of the line. He mentioned that train drivers train for 72 weeks and then have the potential to earn $100,000 straight away. Amazing! What struck me about Bill was his positive attitude and his willingness to go out of his way to help. Not something I had associated with train drivers. They are kind of invisible. His small act of kindness was really appreciated. From this terrible misfortune I meet a genuinely nice person who I will never see again but it is nice to think he is out there.

Thanks Bill my daughter is now considering becoming a train driver for a few years!