I Remember when I was a Boy

I remember the solar eclipse , spooky kind of feeling, dogs barking ,birds roosting.
Weird how animals sense this stuff, like the Tsunami, not one animal injured
go Figure

its like they (animals) have that sixth sense that gives them prior warning?

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Originally Posted by The BigFella

“The day mankind walked on the moon!”

We sat on the floor eyes glued to the black and white television in the corner as Neil Armstrong stepped onto the Moon’s surface for the first time.
My first day at school was at Seven Hills in Sydney. Nan had the envious job of taking me for my first day.
As we walked the long trip down Lucas rd to the little school at the bottom of the hill, I can remember being scared as heck. The week before Nan had taken me down the street to have my hair cut for school, “make it nice and short” were Nan’s orders as she walked out side to go next door to the paper shop.
When Nan walked back in I heard for the first time those words that we all remember Nan for, “oh’ shit!” was all she said.
The barber had taken Nan’s orders literally and had shaved my head with a number 1 comb, straight off with the clippers.
Nan was stricken, she was so worried mum and dad was going to be mad. All I can remember mum saying was “it’ll grow back, don’t worry about it!”
Yvonne st Seven Hills was another address I enjoyed alongside my trusty companion Mate, a Jack Russell Terrier, or that’s what he was suppose to be. He stood about the height of a kelpie with long shaggy hair and the markings of a terrier.
Combine that with the attitude of a heeler and you have one heck of a dog. Mate would growl and bark, often bit anyone who he felt was a tad too close to “his mate”, me! Dad’s brother Richard was as scared as heck when ever he came around because Mate had chased him over the fence on more than one occasion, I guess Mate was a good judge of character.

I didn’t want to leave Mate at Stockinbingal when we went back to Sydney, but dad just said we couldn’t take him.
I remember on a visit back to Stock I rode for days searching, from “Corby’s lane” to “Stock hill” from “Morton’s Hill” to “Emu Chase” all the while looking for Mate I called on every farm house, searched every shearing shed and explored every wood heap.

I remember talking with Pop about how we moved back to Sydney and how he looked after Mate.
“Son, Mate didn’t like being tied up anymore than you like living in Sydney.”
“He just ran away, son” was all pop said.
So off I rode in search of my best Mate, only to find out many years later that Pop had to shoot Mate after he became aggressive and started to bite everyone.

“A dog that bites has no place in the country”
Or so they say!

“A man without a dog, is a man without a soul”

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Slight hijack - but mate small world! My first school was the Meadows in Seven Hills!

Jas

Thanks ova50 for starting this thread, and also BigFella for finally convincing me to start writing my life story - something I've said I'd do for many years.
I'd always though I had a pretty normal life. Left a country still recovering from a world war because it was under communist threat. After 5 weeks on a converted merchant ship arrived in this far flung land. Spent time in Bonegilla migrant camp, armed guards on the gate cause people to do a runner as they thought it was a concentration camp.
Had a great life growing up in country Vic, remember finding a skull near the tip which my mate took home. Playing with sweating gelignite - I didn't know it was dangerous. Married - kids, divorced, remarried - grandkids. Being a murder suspect!
Got to be some chapters there.

Mate go for it,,, you will be gob smacked what you remember when you start the process.
It was an awesome journey when I wrote mine. These extracts are only from the book I wrote for the kids.
I have another worts and all that takes me from age 15 through to mid 30's. This makes for interesting reading, so I have been told anyway,,,,,,,

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Originally Posted by lorrieandjas

Slight hijack - but mate small world! My first school was the Meadows in Seven Hills!

Jas

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Are you serious, man what year were you there. I know I know, not nearly as far back as me!

We lived at 25 Best rd Seven hills, thats after living at 25 Zambezi Rd.
Some awesome memories there my friend and some not so good ones as well, but thats what life's all about. The Good, The Bad and the Ugly!

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Originally Posted by The BigFella

Are you serious, man what year were you there. I know I know, not nearly as far back as me!

We lived at 25 Best rd Seven hills, thats after living at 25 Zambezi Rd.
Some awesome memories there my friend and some not so good ones as well, but thats what life's all about. The Good, The Bad and the Ugly!

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Hey mate - was there in 1980. Used to ride from Toongabbie to Seven Hills up Best Rd all the time! Went to Grantham High as well. I was on Ross St.

Jas

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Originally Posted by lorrieandjas

Hey mate - was there in 1980. Used to ride from Toongabbie to Seven Hills up Best Rd all the time! Went to Grantham High as well. I was on Ross St.

Jas

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Let me see, in 1980 I had been left school for 18 months. My dad had his nervous breakdown and I was working odd jobs around the district.
From memory we left Best rd in 1974, phukk that makes me sound old!
Mind you, I dont feel old, nor do I act old! Or so Ive been told,,,,,,,,,
We moved back to the bush after this stint in the big smoke!
You can read about that in the next extract,,,,,lol,,,,,

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Originally Posted by The BigFella

Let me see, in 1980 I had been left school for 18 months. My dad had his nervous breakdown and I was working odd jobs around the district.
From memory we left Best rd in 1974, phukk that makes me sound old!
Mind you, I dont feel old, nor do I act old! Or so Ive been told,,,,,,,,,

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Well in '74 I was just born so we were there at different times for sure! Went back there a couple of years ago and how the place has changed!

Jas

"The Smell of times gone bye!"

As Anne and I walked through a product pavilion at the Murrumbateman Field Days one year I was taken on a journey, back to the summer of 1968.
We were getting ready to leave Aunty Flora’s to travel back to Tumbarumba after Christmas Lunch.
My cousin Michael was chasing me down the road when you guessed it, over I went sprawled out on the bitumen after an ankle tap, he was another individual that gained great pleasure from seeing me bleed! Why, once he placed Drawing Pins or tacks all around his bedroom, called me in from the lounge room and when I was inside his room turned off the light, slammed the door shut and chased me around the room! Needless to say when Dad told me I had to stay with Uncle Chicka and Aunty Flora I wasn’t very happy! Anyway, following my “trip” down the road it was straight inside washed the gravel out and Aunty dabbed the graze with “Rawleys” the same ointment that I could smell on display in front of us.
I asked the lady what it was.
She informed me it was “Anti-septic salve” and told me the recipe had not differed from those early days.
We still use this Rawleys ointment today for our own kids! I have fond memories each time I take the lid off!
In 1969 I was joined by my brother Paul, I can still remember hiding in the grass as Kevin Wake and I watched dad drive back and forth along the road between our properties. Dad was looking for us because Mum was having Paul in hospital as we hid! Pretty normal behaviour for a 5yr old boy in training to be an elite solder!
After school mum would often ask me to entertain or sing nursery rhymes to Paul so she could get some house work done, mum would call me her little saviour! Paul and I were never very close until later years due I guess to our age difference.
Later in life we became close mates and I still cherish his friendship today!
Nana and Pa Sherriff often called Paul “Ned Kelly” as he was always either in trouble or trouble was very close behind him.
If there was a puddle to get wet Paul was in it!
If there were stones to be thrown Paul was throwing them! He always managed to find some trouble no matter where we were.
Paul was lucky enough to be given a slug gun for Christmas one year, not all that unusual in the bush.
Well Mum and Dad were livid when they learned that Paul and one of his mates had shot out the windows of an old truck parked in some bloke’s back yard. Paul didn’t do the shooting but he was there. So he only had the slug gun for a week or two, then it was taken off him.