Slice Of Life: A Daily Story

Day 17

Sunday, July 8t^h

Based on the tram at the St. Louis Arch

Claustrophobic

The car was small, very small. 5 adults were supposed to be able to fit inside but if the real tram cars were anything like this 1960’s replica then this was going to be a really tight fit for the four of them. Violet began to feel small sweat beads forming along her spine. She wasn’t too sure she was going to be able to do this. And the other three that were with her were notorious for horseplay. Violet was genuinely worried.

Clark walked up with the four tickets. “We have the 11:05 cue on the southbound,” he said. Norrie looked at her watch, “Let’s walk the museum for an hour then.” The four headed over to the frontier museum. It was really quite impressive as it showcased the Lewis and Clarke expedition and the westward expansion. There were even taxidermed beavers, a lank bull, a bison, and a horse that smelled like a living, sweaty horse eating the grasses of the plains.

At 10:45 they headed for the restrooms, since there were none at the top of the 162 meter structure. Finally the announcement came for the 11:05 tram and they went through the turnstile and down to a cue line that awaited the next set of eight tram cars to arrive. There they watched a brief film and heard about the historical building of the St. Louis Arch and the ingenuity of the tram cars that would keep the passengers upright while the base of the car turned and shifted along a track that rose up to the top of the arch. Violet felt the beads of sweat on her spine again as she heard the interpreter explain that these are the original cars, only the mechanisms have been updated throughout the years.

The door opened and Violet entered, having to duck to fit through the door. She took the fifth seat which was squarely in the center of the back of the car. No windows. Swell. Norrie came in next and sat next to Violet. Then Clarke who sat on the other side of Violet and finally Rick, who pulled out his camera to take a picture of the four of them in the car. He sat on the floor right in front of Violet momentarily to get the picture but just as he was about to snap the picture the door of the car closed and his camera was yanked from his hand and landed on the floor. Clarke and Norrie broke out in laughter as Rick exclaimed, “My camera!” Violet sat quiet, on her hands, tense. He head was at the top of the car and she was merely five foot four inches tall. Clarke and Rick were sitting bent in the chairs as the roofline sloped down towards the chairs they occupied. ‘It’s only four minutes, it’s only four minutes …,’ Violet kept repeating.

The boys were enrapt with what they could see out of the small window on the door. Mostly steel beams and stairs but every once in a while they could catch a glimpse of the mechanisms and the track that the tram cars rode upon. Suddenly the speed reduced. ‘Thank goodness,’ Violet thought. But the cars did not stop. They continued up at the slower pace for fully two more minutes of the four minute ride before sliding into the passenger loading and unloading zone. With a sigh of relief the door opened and the four climbed out and up a few steps to the top of the arch. Violet pulled out her camera and leaned in on the window platforms. She had to admit the view was breathtaking, St. Louis on one side and the river on the other.

For five minutes they remained, going from window to window and side to side taking pictures from different angles. Right at the moment there was no thought about the briefer three minute ride down in the small tram. Violet felt accomplished, however. She had ridden in a small tram car and not panicked. She patted herself on the back as she stood in the cue line for the ride back down to the bottom of the arch. She was really glad that she hadn’t given in to her fear or she would have missed a once in a lifetime experience. She smiled slightly as she boarded the tram a second time, taking the same seat, and once again sitting upon her hands. ‘I did it!’