GrodsCorp

A message from people unknown

Monday 7 April 2008, 5:42 pm

Bron

Categories: Alcohol, Life, Public transport, Society

Tags: inspiration, messages, misery, TheFuckingSouthSide

Sitting on the train on my way home last Friday night, I was almost lulled into slumber by the screeching metal tracks, when I realised I had been staring at a message on the cold, plastic blue seat opposite, beautifully written in italics - or ‘running writing’ as they used to call it (do they still call it that in primary schools today?).

It was a message that gave me hope that despite the bleakness, the greyness, the murders, the drugs, the rising interest rates, the racism, the bigotry, the falling apart of society, the Blairites, that there is still a beacon of hope and lightness on this forsaken planet. The message said:

Peace, love, acceptance

That’s all that matters.

How true, I thought, suddenly startled out of my alcohol-soaked misery. How damn true - and we all should be aiming for those goals: love, peace, acceptance. I sat up straight and promised no one in particular that these are the goals I am going to apply to my life immediately.

Then my eyes glanced to another familiar bit of running writing, and I was eager to read what other inspiration I could learn from a train seat with the slash in it. What I read changed my life forever:

Fuck the South Side.

19 Comments

The Editor (Monday 7 April 2008, 6:17 pm) #

That’s graffiti for you. Either profound in the extreme or profane in the extreme.
Brokenleftleg (Monday 7 April 2008, 6:17 pm) #

Does this mean you and timmeh and bolta are going to get a room?
Ant Rogenous (Monday 7 April 2008, 6:30 pm) #

I think someone might have rubbed off half of that first message, Bron:

Peace, love, acceptance, permanent markers and pissweak security on trains

That’s all that matters.
Meself (Monday 7 April 2008, 6:55 pm) #

Peace, love, acceptance …

and the screeching metal Lyn Kosky

That’s all that matters.
Bron (Monday 7 April 2008, 8:14 pm) #

Lyn Kosky? Ah, the Victorian equivalent of the equally crap and useless NSW Transport Minister, John Watkins.

You have a point, Ant. Again.

A room would certainly be a step up from the gutter, BLL.

That’s the most profound thing you’ve ever said, Mr The. But where was the profanity?
Dave from Albury (Monday 7 April 2008, 8:26 pm) #

Sydney public transport has always been a bit of a mystery to a boy from the bush like myself.

My first experience was around 1988 standing in an doorway hanging outside the train wondering how close the tunnels came to the side of the carriage, thankfully the person responsible for my safety at the time dragged me back through the door before I found out.

Of late I use the trains when visiting Sydney for work, going against the peak hour flow and condescendingly telling regular commuters that Cityrail seems fine to me and they should quit their bitching.
Bron (Monday 7 April 2008, 8:52 pm) #

What, there were no doors or windows or something, Dave?
Bron (Monday 7 April 2008, 8:56 pm) #

And re ‘bitching’, funnily enough, I agree. I lived in a country town for over five years where the only transport available was a bus five days a week that ended its run at 6.30pm, or 1.30pm on Saturdays, didn’t run on Sundays, rest of the time you had to go by taxi or walk or use the uni shuttle bus if it was running. Or buy a car if you weren’t too impoverished.

Then I came home to Sydney and it was wonderful having the means to MOVE around all over the place. I’m still in the honeymoon period, three years on. Quit yer whining, city folk (that means you folk too in Melbun).
Dave from Albury (Monday 7 April 2008, 8:59 pm) #

Bron, this was back when the silver bullets were brand spanking new and the tangarras were still on the drawing board. The doors on the older trains opened manually so when the weather was warm people were in the habit of leaving the doors open.
Bron (Monday 7 April 2008, 9:03 pm) #

Ahhh. I grew up in an area where there were no train lines, so I never had reason to catch them.

Still, that was pretty dopey of you, Dave!! Just so lucky.
Dave from Albury (Monday 7 April 2008, 9:59 pm) #

In my defence…. Yeah I was a pretty fucking stupid kid, but all the cool tough looking dudes were doing it.
Mikey (Monday 7 April 2008, 10:38 pm) #

I fucked the south side and copped a dirty big rash.

Filthy bitch…
Dave from Albury (Monday 7 April 2008, 10:45 pm) #

Mikey, I LOL’d. Seriously though, I live hundreds of kilometres away and even I know that it’s not safe to get a root in Tuggeranong.
Bron (Monday 7 April 2008, 10:48 pm) #

I have to echo Dave again and say I LOL’d too.
Dave from Albury (Monday 7 April 2008, 10:54 pm) #

It’s OK Bron, we’re from NSW, the premier state, it’s not unusual that we should both be thinking on a higher plane. It’s also OK for us to wish that our state Liberal party weren’t a useless pile of noxious slime because we certainly don’t have a Labor government anyway.
Mikey (Tuesday 8 April 2008, 5:40 pm) #

Hey I now live in the south side…
Bron (Tuesday 8 April 2008, 7:27 pm) #

Yeah? Well, say no more. This blog is full of smut as it is.
@ndy (Wednesday 9 April 2008, 10:50 pm) #

bah humbug. my home at anarchobase has been withdrawn as a result of legal threats being made against me by the litigious folks at mathaba.net. you can read the offending post at my new/old blog. i’ll be back with a new blog addy by the end of the week, but in the meantime, some publicity would be nice…

cheers,

@ndy.
Bron (Wednesday 9 April 2008, 11:06 pm) #

Gee, randy @ndy, precious lot, aren’t they? Bah humbug, indeed.