Generation (December)

Early December, weather sites generate anxiety. Shut work early afternoon for a No. 96. ‘Stop Closed’ generates fury. Catch a 12. Birds above Albert Park, surrounded by storms, seem not to know which way to fly. Tram window leaks rainwater on my sleeve. Weather site: “a once-in-a-generation event.” oBikes abandoned. Southbank deserted. No craft on the river. Umbrellas everywhere up Collins Street. “Half of Melbourne will never have seen anything like this.” How come half? Who generates these statistics? El Niño and his crazy sister La Niña, those misunderstood members of the younger generation. Proud towers vanish into rain mists.