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  • Dean Bainbridge

Kinda Amazing Thing Happened At 5:02pm

Today, at approximately 5:02pm in Hindmarsh Square Adelaide, I saw something profound and fleeting.



I was waiting to cross at the lights with other fleeing workers when a cyclist came up the street and stopped at the pedestrian crossing. He was a very athletic dude that didn't feel the need to don lycra. Just a singlet and shorts. Long hair.

As we waited, anonymously sharing the same little space, he seemed preoccupied with another person behind him. I heard it. The scraping of a skateboard on bitumen. A skater was shunting his way up toward the cyclist.

Cyclist waves to the skater. Skater nodded but said nothing. Contrary to what I had assumed, they were not traveling together.


Then it happened. Cyclist reached behind himself and tapped the pack rack on the back of the bike and with a think accent that wasn't apparent, he said... 'Grab it. Yes?'

Skater was a little confused. 'No.' he said, also in a strong accent.

Cyclist smiled a huge friendly smile and patted his chest proudly declaring 'Italiano. Yes?' before patting his extraordinarily large thigh.

'STRONG. Yes?'.

Skater, once demure, smiled and patted his chest. 'Hong Kong', he professed.

'SMALL'.

They both laughed. I smiled.

So the grateful skateboarder from Hong Kong grabs the back of the generous Italian's bike. The lights change and they take off cautiously.

And I cross in the opposite direction. I smile to myself and by the time I've turned around to look, they've disappeared into the peak hour traffic.


Brilliant. On many levels.

Made my day. And because that also happened in the world you live in too, it should make you feel just a bit better about your stuff and things.

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