Thought-Theatre: Sky Alight

I thought I already wrote about this one, but apparently not.

There used to be (well, I guess it still exists) a street behind our house, which I believe was the main road of Huntingfield, the suburb-place I used to live. One afternoon, mum and I were walking down that street. Not sure why. We were about 50m past the giant Vodafone call centre, just about to turn into the housing area where Liam lived, when I looked up to the sky and saw that it was an orange tinge and the clouds were pink - if you don't think this is possible, bam. I remember asking mum what that meant, and she said "It means it's going to be a good day tomorrow." And to this day I still think that every time I see the sky like that.

This is probably one of my favourite memories evar.

Thought-Theatre: Liam

So, I used to have this friend called Liam. He was a blonde, chubby kid with glasses that everyone picked on and called "Four-Eyes". I must have been one of his only friends. I'm now going to type words about everything I remember about this kid. These are in no order, by the way.

He used to live a couple of blocks away from me with his mum and little brother (about 3 years younger than him) down near an area where they were building new houses.

I used to go over to his house uninvited sometimes to hang out with him on weekends, and his mum would always make us ham and cheese toasted sandwiches. One time Liam's little brother didn't want to eat his crusts, and it was either me or his mum that told him they will make your hair curly - I then felt the back of my hair and it was starting to curl over the little velcro part of my Pokemon cap.

One time I went over to his house and no one answered the door. I then saw his mum coming back home with the little brother in a pram, and I asked where Liam was. She told me he should be inside, but when no one was there we got worried and went looking for him in the bushland behind a huge Vodafone call centre. He wasn't there, but when we went back to the house we was standing at the front door in his gumboots, soaking wet from the waist down and crying. He told us that the big kids told him to jump into the pond (most likely so he could get on their good side).

He was on my school bus one morning and I was sitting next to him. Near the end of the bus trip (literally about 30 seconds from the school), my brother and his friends started teasing him and calling him names. Being the huge prick that I am, I joined in and I remember saying "Yeah, four-eyes!" - *feels bad*

One afternoon I was at his house under a tarp which also had a kiddie pool under it. We were looking at all of the Pokemon things that his grandparents got for him while they were somewhere. I don't remember what I traded with him, but I got his Pokemon textas and a Staryu figure (one I always wanted), and I remember trying to rip the little blue stand it was on because it looked stupid, but then Liam took it off me and said "No, don't do that, it's a surfboard!" and gave it back to me. When I got home I asked dad to cut it off. Mission: accomplished.

One night I got out of the shower (nothing sexy coming up) and mum called me into the lounge room. I told her I'd be right there. As I walked out of the bathroom across to mum's room with a towel around my dangley bits (no idea why I went to mum's room) the corner of my eye caught Liam and his mum and little brother there waiting for me. Shocked and confused, I walked out (dressed) and they confronted me about making fun of him. I denied everything, despite being guilty of being an utter prick to him and I think he started crying.

There used to be a fruit and vege shop connected to a small deli (which has now probably been demolished for that new shopping mall they built a couple of years ago) and I saw him in there once. I don't remember who was hanging off one of those rides you put $1 in and they start rocking back and forth (I think it was him), and he said hey to me while I was chewing strawberry Hubba Bubba. It was pretty awkward.

I have no idea what these figures were called, but they might have been by Fisher Price or Playskool. Either way, we were playing with his fireman and policeman (maybe) figures of that line, and I asked to borrow them, which was successful, because they reminded me of Mario and Luigi and I wanted to pretend they were while playing with them at home - shut up. And yes, I gave them back (you presumptuous bastards).

I once brought over my (well, Matt's) VHS of The Little Engine That Could and we watched it. I then think I left it at his house. I never saw it again.

I once watched the start of the real life Mario and Luigi movie at his house. It was so boring I had to pretend I had to be back at a certain time (coincidentally the current time). He also tried to feed me the lie that the Mario Bros.' last name was "Mario", making their names Mario Mario and Luigi Mario. A very small part of me believed it. Sadly.

Recently (and by recently I mean back then) I was playing one of the Donkey Kong games for the SNES we borrowed from my brother's friend Andrew an awful lot, and I remember wanting to go outside in my cheap Batman costume and pretend to swim through green water/acid. He showed up, and I made him play with me.

And that's pretty much everything I can remember about him. If I think of more, I shall add them. kthxbai.

Thought-Theatre: Thug Lovin'

Very short one here. I was 6 or 7 (leaning more towards 7) and a few of my friends at school were collecting AFL trading cards, so naturally I wanted to start collecting some too, and I actually rather enjoyed them. I remember the first pack I ever bought was from Chickenfeed (a Tasmanian Go-Lo type shop) and I think I got average pulls. I was standing out the front of the shop looking at them when one of the big high school boys on my bus came up to me and asked if I pulled a gold one. Proudly, I showed him a silver foil one (you know, the ones you get in every pack) and he just said "Oh" and walked off. I was pretty flattered that he talked to me (in a completely heterosexual way).

Later that year I also remember stealing a gold foil one from one of the twins in my class. It was my first ever gold foil card. And I promise I didn't steal anything else ever. Don't judge me.

Thought-Theatre: Elite Encounter

This is one of my favourites actually, mainly because it's one of the only times I clearly remember me and my brother bonding by will. Gather 'round my friends, and I shall tell you a tale.

Fairly sure it was early 2001, which would make me 7 (6 if it was before my birthday), and mum and I were grocery shopping at Purity (now Woolworths), like we did every Saturday. We were just about at the end of journey, when as we were walking down the first aisle of the refrigerated goods (I remember the frozen yoghurt was in a freezer to my right as we were heading towards the registers) mum got a phone call from Matt. Like any mum, she sounded worried and had that "what's wrong" tone to her voice. Seconds after answering, she let out a surprised "Oh, okay." and handed me the mobile. He had called to tell me that he had beaten Giovani on Pokemon Stadium and that a new castle appeared (Elite Four). I was extremely excited! Mainly because we had spent eons of time trying to beat Giovani, and we had no idea what that castle could have been (at this stage I didn't have the Gameboy games so I couldn't guess that it was the Elite Four).

I gave the phone back to mum and told her all about it, even though I knew she had no idea what the hell I was on about. I ordered her to speed up this shopping abomination and speed home so I could see what Matt was telling me about. And then the memory goes blank there.

It's weird, I remember where we were in the aisle so clearly.

Re: Wheel of Fortune Board Game

So in my last post about Gran and Grandad I mentioned that mum once picked me up with a Wheel of Fortune board game in the car and I didn't know why. The night I posted that I asked her and I never was bothered to update it. She told me that they were giving away the board game for free to the player who came last (on the TV show) and my brother said he wanted it. Mum wrote a letter to the company saying that she loved the show and that she wanted the board game but couldn't find it anywhere in the shops, and asked where she could get it from. About a week later it turned up in the mail. How about that, eh?

Thought-Theatre: Gran and Grandad

I don't exactly know why, but I used to have to spend the day at my Gran and Grandad's place when I was about 4 or so. What was weird is that instead of screaming and wishing I didn't have to, I always really liked going there. I have a few memories of being there, but they were over a long time so I'll just mention certain times without making it into much of a story.

My main memory was the actual place itself. It was a flat, and just like most flats every other one was identical and it certain sections. From memory, theirs was the 4th one along when you went into their section. They had no car, so the car port was always empty. We always used to have to enter in through the back door which was just a small alley way connected to the back of the flat with a sliding glass door. There was a gate so the 3 dogs wouldn't get out. I think I only ever went in and out of the front door twice. Along the back of the flat was a garden that I used to play in (keeping in mind that it was about half a metre wide). I have a photo of me in it, and if I ever find it I'll upload it and attach it to this post.

For some reason I had an obsession with watching Beethoven 1 & 2 as a kid, and every time I went over there I would watch, even if I had just watched it the day before. I remember seeing the Honey, I Blew Up the Kid trailer and always sort of wanting to watch it.

I would always have breakfast there because mum didn't have time to make me some before she went off to work and dropped me off. So, every time I was there I had peanut butter on toast - the food of gods. I remember one time I asked if I could have toast, and Grandad asked what I wanted on it, and before I could answer he cut me off and said "PEANUT BUTTER!" with a sly smile and it made me giggle. And bloody oath, it was good toast.

They used to have a vacuum cleaner with a button that sucked the cord back up, and it always amused me because ours didn't do that. I remember going into the spare room (where it was) and pulling out the cord and sucking it back up, pretending it was that big plant from Jumanji (don't ask me why, just go with it). Gran asked what I was doing, and I told her nothing, but I don't think she believed me.

Gran and I were alone (I don't know where Grandad was) and she cut me up some oranges. It must have been one of the first times I had real orange, and I remember that all I did with them was suck out the juice and leave the actual fruit alone. I felt a little guilty handing back a bowl with four orange quarters that looked slightly deflated and less orange.

Gran and I used to play board games a lot because there was nothing else to do. I remember playing Trouble with her once and we dropped one of the red pieces, and one of the dogs chewed it up. We still have it. It works fine.

Gran and Grandad had a small little garage sale once and I gave her my Blinky Bill books to sell because I never read them anyway, and someone bought them for 50 cents, and I got to keep the money. I was in awe when I held that much money in my hands. I was so happy that day!

Gran and I were going for a walk one day and she started setting up the stroller. Instead of telling her that I could walk, I decided to be a lazy bastard and got in it anyway. I only remember walking a couple of metres to the start of the section - maybe I fell asleep.

My Greatgran was there one afternoon and I had a Batman figure that shot orange discs off it. I remember showing it to her, and was less than amused, but did that nice thing old people do where they pretend to care when they could give a rat's ass about what you're talking about.

One time mum came to pick me up once and she had bought the Wheel of Fortune board game. I have no idea why.

Once Gran took me into Hobart and we went shopping and she bought me a fishing toy that has the magnet on the end of the rod and on the end of each fish and you can go fishing in the bath (well, kind of). I still have no idea how we got there and back, though.

Once Gran washed my mouth out with soap (yes, they mean it when they say they will) and it was horrible.

They used to have pink toilet paper and I was amazed because it was different to ours.

One night we (my mum's close side of the family) went over to their flat for dinner. I remember it was raining and before we went over there I was sitting on the couch playing some crappy soccer game on Matt's Gameboy Pocket. When we got there we played I Spy, and someone said something beginning with B, and I said "Bob" and everyone started laughing. That made me feel good.

I once watched a Batman video with Two-Face over there. That was pretty badass.

And, well, that's pretty much it really.

Thought-Theatre: Say What?

Just a short one here. I was about 6 or 7 at the time, and the holiday care I went to (that mum still believes never existed because she's forgetful like that) took us to the movies. I don't know what we were going to see, but that's irrelevant. I was waiting in the lobby or whatever you want to call it sitting next to a girl that I loathed because she just looked stupid, and I was eating the lollies that mum bought for me the day before to take, and I said I really liked them. She replied, very defensively may I add, with a "Cake is better." I was shocked to hear that. In no universe is cake better than lollies. I never spoke to that girl again (not that I really did anyway).