Trash and treasure in Melbourne

from w
I had an errand at the Immigration in Melbourne which only took five minutes once I waited 20 minutes for my number to be called, then I walked downtown to buy some music at Allen's - dowhloaded from the internet - Katcheturian Spartacus music, have a Thai lunch and then wander through lanes and arcades before catching the Geelong train to home, noticing the Buddha statue in one of the western suburbs.

Of course, different people would have their own views on what is trash, what is treasure. Those lanes with the graffiti have enthusiasts and enemies. Colouring the grey walls to me is excellent. The city is so full of contradictions. Trash to me is the excesses - the wigs, the cakes, the shop windows full of things we don't need. And expensive shoes - I hate shoes. The beauty is there too in some of the stories people tell. I am a loner usually on these day trips to Melbourne and don't engage easily in conversation but I did talk with the girl in the almost deserted music shop. She was a singer and violin player. I neglected to talk with the Aboriginal girl drawing with chalk. A woman on the train from Geelong only talked with me when we caught the same tram. Her story - going to a hospital for an after-cancer checkup. A Tongan couple were at Immigration and we talked about the recent death of the King of Tonga. But mostly I just kept silent in my day in Melbourne, taking photos and doing a little drawing at Southern Cross station.