’11 OZ PHOTO SERIES PT11
ST KILDA TRAM
LIFE IS LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATES
It was just another day in Melbourne where myself, Ben, Kai, Lorz, Louise, and Ken (Jenny) headed to St Kilda for a day on the beach. Although Melbourne doesn’t always guarantee beach weather, when it does, everyone either heads to a beer garden or St Kilda. Consequently, it can get pretty busy.
I’LL F**KING JUMP ON YOUR HEAD
We jumped on the 118 tram and were sat facing a few of Melbourne’s finest dregs of society. Unfortunately, one of the junkies passed comments on Lorz a few times, so I asked him to leave her alone in a completely relaxed and unoffensive tone. However, it was then I realized I should’ve laughed at his jokes instead of sticking up for my mate. Sadly, he completely went off on one.
Death threats in Melbourne
THE DIALOGUE
“WHAT DID YOU SAY MATEY?!!”
FUCK!! I knew I was fast approaching a bad situation here
“I just wanted you to leave her alone.”
“I’LL CUT YOU!”
At this stage I thought I would be better saying nothing
“I’LL GET OFF ON THE NEXT STOP AND GO FOR YOU!!
I WOULDN’T THINK TWICE ABOUT JUMPING ON YOUR HEAD, WHAT DO I HAVE TO LOSE!”
I believed it, in fact the way he spoke we all believed it
Death threats in Melbourne
JUST ME AND THEM
We were penned in, so Lorz got up and walked off to another seat. Similarly, this is what I would have done if it had not been directed at me. Consequently, she was followed by anyone else within earshot. As a result, it was now just me and my junkie friends facing each other in our own little booth, feeling cosy.
Death threats in Melbourne
I’d like to think I’m a man of principle. Not keen on rolling over and just taking abuse like that, I maintained eye contact with the guy and said nothing. Simultaneously, not wanting to get sliced, I kept my composure. After a few seconds (which felt like hours) of staring into his lost soul, I regretted it. Nevertheless, I had already committed and I’m stubborn as shit.
Meanwhile, I could hear Lorz calling for me to get away from the situation. Yet, me being me, I wasn’t giving in. Besides, I sure didn’t want to get up and walk past them. Admittedly, I was quietly shitting it. By this point, most of the passengers had gathered at the front of the tram, talking to the driver and asking for the police.
RELATED READ: MY FIRST AND FAVOURITE BUNGEE
TIME TO GET OFF
Stops are fairly frequent on the trams; however, there’s a bit of a gap between the Southbank and St Kilda stops. Although it’s nothing more than 3 or 4 minutes, it felt closer to 3 or 4 hours before we got to the next stop, which wasn’t even ours. Nevertheless, the guys and the rest of the tram weren’t having any of it and jumped out at the first opportunity. Subsequently, I quickly followed them, thus leaving the junkies to an empty tram on their own.
If I’m honest, I was glad to get off. We all knew these guys were good on their word and had nothing to lose to teach a young fella a lesson. Additionally, I also have a certain amount of sympathy for them and where they find themselves. Unfortunately, there’s a good chance they won’t last another five years with the stuff they are putting inside them. Clearly, they have a huge chip on their shoulder and probably feel society has failed them. Although they may have a point, I don’t know their history. Nevertheless, telling a young lad that they’ll jump on his head after he asked them to stop teasing his friend—I’m not sure I could excuse that!
HIGHLIGHTS OF MELBOURNE
Death threats in Melbourne
Death threats in Melbourne
Death threats in Melbourne
Death threats in Melbourne
Death threats in Melbourne
Death threats in Melbourne
FINAL THOUGHTS
I could have dealt with the situation better and not said anything, but that wouldn’t be me.🤷🏻♂️ However, as I say for every crazy experience I’ve survived, it’s another anecdote for the blog.🤷🏻♂️
NEXT UP
Myself, Ben and the Brummies jump in the smallest camper van we found and do an epic 2 week trip to the centre of Australia and back! Click to read!
SAFE TRAVELS, DS x
15/229
This episode is part of The Oz Photo Series, click to see episode 1.
