from
left : Miriam, 3yrs, Lib, 5yrs,
Mark, 1 yr, Ben, 7yrs and me, 9yrs
GROWING
UP IN AUSTRALIA
I'm talking about hide and seek in the park. The corner milk bar, hopscotch,
billy carts, cricket in front of the garbage bin, skipping, handstands,
footy on the best lawn in the street. British bulldog 1-2-3, go home stay
home, slip'n'slide,
the trampoline with water on it, hula hoops, pogo
sticks, stepping in enormous puddles, mud pies and building dams
in the gutter. The smell of the sun and fresh cut grass. 'Big bubbles
no troubles' with Hubba Bubba bubble gum. A choc-top Mr Whippycone on
a warm summer night after you've chased him round the block. When 20 cents
worth of mixed lollies was a meal and smoking fags was really cool.
Wait..... Watching Saturday morning cartoons...short commercials, The
Thunderbirds (if you got up reeeeeally early), the Smurfs, AstroBoy,
He-Man,
Captain Caveman, Archie, Jem (truly outrageous!!) and heeeey
heeeeey heeeeeeey it's faaaaaaat albert. Or staying up late and
sneaking a look at the "AO" on the second telly. When around
the corner seemed far away, and going into town seemed like going somewhere.
A million mozzie bites, wasp and bee stings.
Sticky fingers. Cops and robbers, cowboys and indians, riding bikes and
catching tadpoles. Marco polo in the neighbours' pool ("fish outta
water?!""NOOOO"), drawing all over the road with chalk.
Climbing trees and building cubbies out of every sheet your mum had in
the cupboard.
Walking to school, no matter what the weather. Running till you were out
of breath.
Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt. Jumping on the bed. Pillow fights.
Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause for the giggles.
Being tired from playing... Remember that??????
The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team. Water balloons
were the ultimate weapon. Cricket cards in the spokes transformed any
bike into a motorcycle... eating raw jelly, making homemade lemonade and
sucking on a Funny Face or red Freeza. Remember when... There were only
two types of sneakers -girls and boys. Dunlop
volleys with the green 'n' gold or blue and Apple Pies and the
only time you wore them at school was for "sports day."
You knew everyone in your street and so did your parents! It wasn't odd to have two or three "best" friends. You didn't sleep a wink on Christmas eve. When nobody owned a pure-bred dog. When 50c was decent pocket money.
When you'd reach into a muddy gutter for 10c. When nearly everyone's mum was at home when the kids got there from school. It was magic when dad would "remove" his thumb.
When it was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner at the local Chinese restaurant with your parents.
When any parent could discipline any kid, or feed her or use him to carry groceries and nobody, not even the kid, thought a thing of it. When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited a misbehaving student at home. Basically, we were in fear for our lives, but it wasn't because of drive-by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc.
Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! Some of us are still afraid of them!!!
Didn't that feel good? Just to go back and say, yeah, I remember that!
Remember when... Decisions were made by going "eeny-meeny-miney-mo" or scissors, paper, rock. "Race issue" meant arguing about who ran the fastest. Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in "Monopoly".
The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was boy/girl germs, and the worst thing in your day was having to sit next to one. Having a weapon in school, meant being caught with a slingshot.
Nobody was prettier than your Mum. Scrapes and bruises were kissed and made better. Taking drugs meant orange-flavoured chewable vitamin C's. Ice cream was considered a basic food group. Going to the beach and catching a wave was a dream come true. Abilities were discovered because of a "double-dare". Older siblings were the worst tormentors, but also the fiercest protectors.
If you can remember most of these, then you have LIVED!!!
Pass this on to anyone who may need a break from their "grown up" life...I DOUBLE-DARE Ya