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Submitted by Stash:
The Lamma Ferry - Runners, Survivalists, Uprights & Pod People
The Runners are my favorite.
Sensing the gate creaking open, they run through the gathering hordes, panicked, lest the ferry was to quickly pull away from its mooring leaving them behind, stranded....forever. Its peculiar that they are able to convince themselves so surely that the ferry will inexplicably, and randomly, depart before all are aboard.
I do hope that logic continues to escape them.
Logan and Jessica were the best of the inept Runners, always getting caught. Running away in search of Sanctuary with Sandmen in relentless pursuit. Sandmen had cool jumpers with a big stripe on the front and stun guns which froze people. Neat. Our Lamma Ferry Runners look like they are being pursued by Sandmen.
John Walker is also quite a famous Runner, which is quite ironic considering his name.
Next we have the Survivalists. You can’t miss them. Always at the tuck shop getting their coffee, Coca Cola, Shu Mai, instant noodles, fish balls, a Mars bar and those outrageously over-packaged Pringles. The Survivalist stocks up heavy for what is essentially a 25 minute journey. I suspect that the hoarding is for in the event we were to suddenly lose our way and find ourselves stranded on a lonely deserted island in a far flung, forgotten corner of the South China Sea. Which is probably an apt description of our own beloved island anyway.
Just in case that does occur, I always ensure I keep a Survivalist in close proximity, lest I need to befriend them quickly.
Then we have the Uprights. You know them. The moment the ship sets sail they are ready, infinitely poised to pounce up to the exit door lest they lose a precious second when disembarking. I suspect that the uprights are those same people that race between closely gathered traffic lights when they live in lands inhabited by cars. 10 points for keen enthusiasm, though, for this motivated lot.
I propose we give Uprights a ticket discount seen as they hardly occupy a seat.
I do imagine however, if we were to hit an iceberg on our journey that the Uprights would be generally reluctant to give up their seat on the lone life-raft for the woman and children. Let's just say that I can't see too many of them pulling out trombones from their backpacks, perching themselves outside on the balconies and playing Auld Lang Syne as the ship tips upwards and slowly plunges into the hidden depths of the murky blue sea.
There is a dark, long lost cave in the deepest jungles of Papua New Guinea. The painted walls, a rich tapestry of bold oranges and striking greens interspersed with hues of blues, depicting a scene akin to Armageddon with the stark warning scrawled in a vicious red, “Watch out for the Quiet Ones”.
Wise words indeed from a long lost pygmy.
Which brings us to the Pod People.
The most ominous and borderline frightening of all ferry travelers are those Pod People. You can recognize them by the telltale tendrils emanating out of their ear sockets, silently nodding to an anonymous beat. They blend seamlessly into their surroundings and tread softly. Their numbers are creeping, slowly and surely on the rise. I dread the day when in a sudden moment they are all listening to the same beat at the same time. When a crazed Steve Jobs flicks a subliminal switch under the table and the Pod People are suddenly awakened. Boy, I wouldn't want to be alone on the ferry when that goes down.
So love it or hate it. Curse and shake your fists to the gods in protest at its socially inhibiting time schedule and strange smell of cheap detergents and half eaten curries. It is our Ferry. It is our super highway, our lifeline and our conduit to the mainland. Or, at the very least, the main land before the Mainland.
Where would we be without it.
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