Who am I? An ordinary Joe, who kicked out an ordinary life in extraordinary times.. From outside toilets to man on the moon. Through supersonic flight, the advent of the personal computer and the development of personal communications to a level where everything about yourself is shared in a microscopic way.
But is it?
Yes, sure if I want to tell you what I've just eaten then there's an 'App for that' - But there's no 'App' to tell people what we've seen, what we've digested and the memories we've created. When this body shuts down, as it surely will, either through the ravages of time or outside intervention, (for all I know that will happen tonight or tomorrow) then 'all the things that I've done' will be gone. I'll be a name on the BMD register. A face in a photo unrecognised after a couple of generations.So that's why the written word still has a place, and that's why I'm going to write it down.
Good Times Eagerly Got? Yes that's the title, for many reasons - For sure, there were bad times, but with the passage of time, they just become times. Bad no longer applies, they become the very fibre of who we are and how we conduct ourselves. It wont be in Chronological order, just as it comes So here, in all its crappy detail is part one.
THE MOPED
December 1976. James Hunt is F1 world Champion, Barry Sheene is World 500cc champion. Showaddywaddy go to number 1 with 'Under the moon of love'.
When you're 16, there's only one thing with Kudos, and that’s a Sports Moped.
Back in '72 The government got clever and restricted 16's to 50cc with pedals. The manufacturers got even smarter and built motorcycles with pedals and 50mph performance. The kids went wild. They killed themselves by their hundreds and in '77 the government pulled the plug and restricted them to 30mph by law. But I digress... It’s now '76 and there’s only one place to be. Dicing down the bypass with your mates to see if a Fizzy is faster than an AP50.
So I've spent £10 on a Puch maxi which needed some TLC, and when asked by my parents what I wanted for my 16th Birthday I said.... The Puch putting 'on the road' - It wasn't a Sports moped of course, but it had an engine and two wheels.So that was heading in the right direction.
Each week, I looked in the garage to see the Puch languishing under a blanket, and each week got closer to that birthday. And each week there was no progress. There was only one conclusion - They'd bought me a sports moped!
Winter arrived early that year, and on the Saturday, I arose greeted by a light covering of snow and the air was crisp. My parents had gone to work, leaving no sign that it was my 16th -I checked the garage, nothing had changed and went out to my Nans where I spent the day. Returning home that evening, the Snow crunched underfoot and darkness had fallen as I made my way down the Greenhill and along Kiln lane, my mind was in overdrive. They knew what I wanted. A Suzuki AP50 - In Red. Just like Sheene's... Ok, nothing like Sheene's, but the imagination ran riot! The poster was on my wall. the brochure was by my bed, these thoughts running through my head,. I was almost shaking with excitement as I walked. - I passed Susan's house, and was distracted by the inviting glow of the lights through the curtains. They exuded warmth and my mind drifted to picture the scene indoors - I wondered what it would be like to feel her smooth flesh now I could legally do so. To kiss her beautiful lips. But that relied on her consent, and that was probably weeks away. if not Months. If not years. - If Ever.
'Chance' was the name of the house in which she lived. A simple word that taunted me every day. - Go on son. Take a chance. Frozen by fear, I never did. But she will crop up more than once on this blog. - I digress again.
'Chance' was the name of the house in which she lived. A simple word that taunted me every day. - Go on son. Take a chance. Frozen by fear, I never did. But she will crop up more than once on this blog. - I digress again.
The family ware waiting as I walked up the long path to the house. My Brother gave me a Mud Album. My Mother and Father stood smiling in the lounge. My father said 'happy Birthday son... Close your eyes and hold out your hand'
My heart pounded... It’s a key to the moped!!!!
Into my hand they placed a small gift wrapped box. My eyes became the size of saucers, and my hands shook as I tore at the paper, and there it was, layed before me - My 16th birthday present.
A f*cking Travel alarm clock.
"You'll never be late for your paper round again" said my mother, as I mentally surfed a Tsunami of disappointment.. The following morning, I went down to the garage, took a hammer out of my dad’s toolbox, and battered the forlorn Puch to peices.
The c*nts never even noticed.
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