Growing Up In Australia
A trip down memory lane (for the 20-30somethings)
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 Whippy cone 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 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!!!
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