howie’s halfpipe

Sitting on the train from Armidale to Sydney, bottle of water in the seat pocket, discman, chips and a bag full of cd’s and lollies and books. The train weaves its way through the northern tablelands of NSW. Pulling into werris creek an announcement over the trains PA system tells the passengers that the train will be here for 15 minutes if people want to get out for a stretch they can.
So a few laps of walking up and down the platform gets the blood pumping again, the nice fresh air re-filling the lounges before re-embarking the train.

It seems in the short time that was spent on the platform that a thief had done his nasty work, the discman gone, the bag gone, even the bottle of water gone. Frustration builds up inside, whilst on the outside a cool calm and collected poise is necessary. What to do? And who steals bottled water ?

Do I tell the train staff “excuse me but someone has stolen my bag and discman oh and my bottle of water”
“well sir you could just but another water, or we have taps at the end of each carriage”

No no I couldn’t tell the train staff, I could solve this crime by myself, I could become a detective and pull the train apart, searching and interigating every single passenger until someone spills the beans.

To cut a long story short I found my correct seat, and none of my stuff had moved.