Tram driver at the Sands

“I’ve got you under my skin”

There is no spinning glass ball, there is no big band, Nelson Riddle isn’t conducting.

“I’ve got you deep in the heart of me”

I am on a tram on my way home after a long day at work.

“Hold on, people, we’re rolling…”

“And soon we’ll be rocking.”

I am holding on, but I don’t know if I want to be rocking. This is the Tram Driver. The microphone that he usually uses for such things as: “The next stop is St Kilda Junction; we’ll be turning into Dandenong Road here”.

Is now being used for such things as:

“I just get high when I’m driving a tram”.

If you have ever heard the opening of Frank Sinatra at the Sands, this guy sounds like the Announcer. That’s where he is. I actually catch a glimpse of him and he looks a bit like an Asian Frank Sinatra.

Does anyone aspire to be a Tram Driver? Maybe he is at the Sands. He is dressed in a black tuxedo, thin lapels, there is a lit cigarette snaking smoke in his hand, he is with his buddies Frank and Dean, only he refers to them as Frankie and Deano.

The lights soften and dim, the audience hushes, a spotlight picks him out over in the corner, by the bar, a tumbler full of alcohol and ice sits on the counter. It’s not the first and it won’t be the last tonight.

He looks up and motions to Nelson to kick the band in: “Fly me to the moon; let me play amongst the stars …”

Frankie and Deano clap furiously. They love him the audience love him. I miss my stop and have to walk back in the rain.

“Be careful out there, buddy”.

Thanks, I say.

I almost trip over the horn section as I alight from the tram.