Thought-Theatre: Christmas Day

I don't remember what year it was exactly, but it could have been around 1998. It was Christmas day and I remember wearing my pale blue/violet Mango t-shirt, and opening up a present which turned out to be a Batman Forever (or Batman & Robin) Robin on a motorbike of some kind - in fact there is a picture with all of that in it.

The next thing I remember, me, Matt, mum, dad, Mark (my uncle), and gran and grandad were all at my house and it was a bright, sunny day. We were all in the dining room and then ended up on the veranda, then we decided to get to Kingston Beach for the day (which was down Beach Rd). However, on the way we went past beach road and down Darcy's restaurant and up a little rural road (to this day I still have no idea what we were doing there). Then we went to the beach and from memory it seemed like we were only there for about 10 minutes, but in reality it was probably about an hour or two.

I then recall us going to a fish and chip shop and I would always get nothing but a potato scallop. And that's really all I remember of that day.

Those Days

I miss the days where nothing mattered. I miss the days where you could eat anything you want and not have anyone tell you that it will kill you. I miss the days where you could say "hello" to anyone, you you would get a friendly hello back. I miss the days where it seemed that no matter what, the sun would always shine in a clear blue sky, and if rain were to fall it would only be to make us happy.

I miss the days where selling out wasn't nearly as important as following your dreams. I miss the days when dad didn't have to slave his ass for hours on end just to put petrol in the car. I miss the days when youth didn't run riot and destroy the world. I miss the days when the simple life was the best life.

I miss the days when what we saw didn't mean as much as what we experienced. I miss the days when no one gave anyone hell for the way they looked or how they acted. I miss the days when it didn't cost us two limbs for sustenance. I miss the days when you were surrounded with a thick, yellow line. I miss the days when we weren't trying to make everything better. I miss the days when the world was something to explore and not something to fear.

I miss the days when my senses were nurtured with pleasantries and not profanity. I miss the days when teenagers weren't obsessed with the online world. I miss the days when we got along like peas and carrots. I miss the days where my mind magnified imagination, and didn't give a hoot about anything real.

But most of all, I miss the days when I was happy. When we were happy. We were all happy... And now I will never experience those days again, because what I have now has taken away and crushed what I used to take for granted. It will never be the same, but no one understands that...

Thought-Theatre: Jason

Ages ago (we're talking back when I only went to Lipscum day-care) I had this friend called Jason (at least I think that was his name; for the purposes of this blog, it is). Jason was a little boy like me, and I think he was a little younger than me. He had straight blonde hair and always seemed to smile and he used to wear knitted jumpers.

My only real memory of Jason is what he looked like and this one time at day-care it was a grey, dull day, and we were all outside playing and for some reason we were playing "family" (where each person pretends to be a member of the family); and no matter what, I always wanted to be the baby for some reason. And yeah, that's pretty much all I remember of him.

However, I have memories of the same (or a similar) day, where it was the first ever day I got to ride in one of those yellow karts they have at day-care centres (the ones shaped like eggs). Then mum picked me up and we drove through the outskirts of the city passed that pizza place I vaguely remember, and for the first time I saw the flashing yellow arrow on the traffic lights. I asked mum what it meant, and she told me that it means you can turn the way the arrow is pointing, slowly and with caution. And ever since, I remember that moment so clearly.

Thought-Theatre: Key Discoveries

It was a sunny Saturday or Sunday, and me and my brother went to the turn-off of Huntingfield to I believe sell either apples or oranges to by passers. From what I remember, it was mum's idea for us to go to the turn-off. We only sold to one person that I remember, and I'm almost certain she was female, in her 30s/40s, and was driving a silver car.

While my brother stood there with the fruit in the bag and a terribly made sign, I was fumbling around in long grass, because I'm adventurous like that. I remember, in the long grass, finding about seven or eight different coloured keys. There was metallic blue, yellow, green, red, purple, and some others I think. I think they were all the same cut, but I had no idea what they unlocked.

I decided to take them home and keep them in an old ground coffee jar. I'm not sure if I still have them, but I can't remember ever getting rid of them.

Best attempt to sell fruit and failed but ended up finding someone else's keys ever!

Thought-Theatre: Ethnic Endangerment

Back in year one me and my brother had to catch the bus to and from school. There was this kid on the bus who was some sort of ethnicity (I think - well, he had olive coloured skin and black hair, so he could be anything), and he was my brother's age, but he went to a different school.

One day on the bus ride home, that kid and my brother were arguing for some reason, or he was just teasing my brother and whatnot. The details are unimportant. When we got off the bus, they continued to yell at each other, and then that kid through something at my brother - it was either a rock or something wrapped in foil, because I remember it being slightly shiny. It hit him in the head (the eye, as I recall), and he fell to the ground. Everyone then swarmed him, and then I remember yelling "You fucking idiot!".

I then went home; and either I ran home to tell mum or I just walked home in the hope that he would be okay and disregarded it. In the end, I remember it being about 15 minutes later when I saw Matt walking home safe.

Ready, Aim, Fire

I hate not knowing what to do when all you have is hope. The hardest obstacle to overcome is friendship. I understand that song now - that "Love is a Battlefield" one - because one wrong step and you have limbs flying everywhere.

Thought-Theatre: Professor Pepper

Haven't done one of these in a while, but just listening to Lugia's Song made me think of one, so I thought I'd do it while it was fresh in my memory.

I remember mum and I were walking in Hobart one time (for my personal documentation, it was near the entrance to the carpark for the Cat and Fiddle Arcade), and there was a shop entirely dedicated (I think) to Dr Pepper. I remember asking mum what it was and she told me it was a disgusting drink and that I should never buy it - well, she didn't actually tell me to never buy it but I could tell that's what she was implying.

Also, I'm not sure it was the same day, but we went inside the Cat and Fiddle Arcade and she bought me a pack of Pokemon Team Rocket cards (my first one ever, actually), and I remember walking past a little shop called "The Nut King" or something like that, and the only card I remember getting from the pack of 11 was Imposter Professor Oak.

I actually ended up trying Dr Pepper while I was in Japan and it wasn't that bad. It wasn't fantastic, but it was drinkable. Just tastes like coke and pepper put together.

P.S. Happy 17th birthday, Jake!!! :D