Stories I’ve written about my growing up experiences
Paul had been giving thought to the question for some time. On each occasion he’d crossed this border he felt irritation while looking at that sign. Usually he had to wait in line at the sign for periods of time while his car sat stationary at the end of a queue, motor idling ready for each slow lurch forward as border quarantine finished checking each … Continue reading Dick the Tick
Little Johnny sat on his tricycle deep in thought. Mother had promised him a big surprise today and no amount of coaxing could convince her to reveal the secret. He’d wandered the corridor between his play veranda and kitchen more times than he could remember trying to coax the secret out of Mom. And it had been one too many interruptions. As Mom put the … Continue reading Patsy
John watched wide eyed as a brand new Ferguson tractor was unloaded from the back of a truck at the entrance gate to his rural home. The truck driver guided it onto extension tracks carefully for the steep descent onto the roadway while father signed papers against the side of the truck. Then with a quick handshake the driver entered the cab and began … Continue reading The Tractor
Everybody loves marching girls! Back in the 1960’s Marching Girls were all the rage and the girls of Gympie presented themselves faithfully each workday week for their whistle blowing circuits of the parade ground in the evening. Our Marching Girls were resplendent in their colourful costumes and the Municipal Band gave the occasion an air of urgent appeal as it guided girls around … Continue reading Marching Girls
I first met Rock at the Green Door. The Green Door was the cool place in town where night owls met after taking their dates home. There were usually a large contingent of jeeps owned by those who’d completed their army national service and hadn’t quite got the army experience out of their system. But there was always an equal number of bikies who seemed … Continue reading Rock
Reg stood looking at himself in the mirror uncertainly while a beaming Mom and Dad were reflected from the back smiling. “Don’t you think you’ve spent enough time looking at yourself son?” Dad guffawed from his reflection in the mirror while Mom gave him a whack. “You look quite OK Reg, she’ll think you’re very handsome and be proud to go out with you.” Mom … Continue reading Cool Date
There was a general bustling and excitement in the household. We were going on our first furlough at last! We’d earned it after years of service in the country we were working in. International travel always requires careful pre-planning, and we’d waited anxiously while local authorities processed our permission to leave the country. At last we had papers in hand. It now required a journey … Continue reading We want to go Home
Tony was feeling very satisfied with himself. Father Christmas had delivered a brand new blue bicycle with white racing stripes and he was determined to put it through its paces now Dad was there to guide him. Well he had his doubts about Father Christmas but it was a transitional age where glamor of a man in a red suit who somehow came down a … Continue reading Santa’s Miracle
“I want you to go over to the back of the property and bring Flicker home.” I looked at my Father uncertainly. The word Flicker bought back memories I’d have preferred to keep as just memories. Flicker knew by instinct that I was a city kid transported by circumstances into farm life and he treated me with appropriate distain. I remembered my frustration when … Continue reading Bringing Flicker Home
It was summer time and the jeep club were gathered at the Green Door to sample a hamburger and recall experiences in army boot camp. That experience was now two years old, but we were still obliged to take drill exercises on weekends as part of reserve training. It was in the years when military service was still an obligation in the aftermath of World … Continue reading The Jeep Club
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