“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”
Reply With Quote