It was a sleepy Saturday afternoon, the kind of day in which drinks needed ice, no one moved much and afternoon naps in the hammock felt right. This small Australian country town was like most others; not much was happening.
I was a brownish little dude of eight years old with a strong sense of adventure and growing up in that small town allowed me a little freedom to seek it. We made our own fun back then and parents seemed to be less invasive. We'd often disappear all day only coming home for lunch and dinner and, in between, think up games to play and, invariably, mischief to get into; I found my fair share of it and quite often it ended painfully with injury gained through attempting a crazy stunt or from the punishments I received from attempting a crazy stunt. Strangely, mum and dad weren't as impressed as I was with my adventures.
Anyway, let's delve into a story of my childhood: The great leap of 1978.
"No way you'll make it," the kid said, but I knew he wanted me to attempt it anyway.
"Just because you couldn't, doesn't mean I can't. You just watch." I retorted with a bravado gained through having just beat the kid from home to the creek on our bikes. I felt triumphant after my victory and the little part of my brain that sought adventure and challenge was pushing me to new feats of greatness.
"Go on then dick head, I'll watch as you crack your head open and laugh when you do. You're not going to make it, I bet you."
I'll be the one laughing, I thought to myself, and threw him a withering look of derision.
I looked at the other side of the creek where the steep bank awaited me.
Tufts of grass crowned it and the bank descended steeply to the waterline, low at this time of year. It was hard-packed dirt but I'd be leaping it in a single bound so I didn't put any thought into what damage it could do to my little body.
"Ok, what are you going to give me if I make it? There had to be a bet, there was always a bet.
"I'll let you use my slug gun for a week and if you lose you have to wash my bike for a month." It was a good bet and it was on! There was no way I was passing up that slug gun, besides, I knew I'd make it so there was nothing to lose.
"Deal!"
We shook on it like the adults did and I began to focus. It wouldn't be long until I leapt my way into greatness, glory and that slug gun and as I began to prepare my run-up visions of flying through the air in slow motion swirled through my mind. I was, quite simply, magnificent...or would be when it happened.
My run up went perfectly, I'd cleared away any sticks that may impede my traction or snag my feet, and I accelerated to warp speed.
I was jubilant as the wind caught my hair causing it to trail along behind me like triumphant banners and pennons, my vision closed in so all I could see was the bank I'd soon leap off and the one on which I'd triumphantly land...It was like looking down a tunnel, the vista all around indistinct, just a blur of speed, as I rocketed through knowing greatness awaited me at the other end.
"You're going land in the water!" The kid's words came only as a faint sound lost in the rush of air that surrounded me as I moved faster than any living being had ever moved before. I ignored the kid for the fool he was, my focus was on the leap and the glorious flight that would come after and then the nimble landing as my foot made contact with the other bank and I completed my leap. There was no doubt, it would truly be something to behold.
I jumped.
This was it, my mind spoke silently, glory awaits the bold and courageous, my mind urged. You are a Titan, you have wings, you are glorious, you are...
It wasn't long before I realised I had miscalculated. I was in mid air and falling fast, well-short of the opposite bank.
The creek loomed below me and the bank on the other side seemed a very long way off. I could hear the creek mocking me then realised it was that infernal kid; he knew I wasn't going to make it and had already begun his triumphant hollering and hooting.
My mind raced as I flew, what could I do, how can I reach that bank and how much it this going to hurt, spun in a vortex of confusion, the hope of making it mingled with the horror of knowing I wouldn't.
I extended my leg out in a last-ditch attempt to land my foot on the bank and to my great relief I saw it was going to. There was an element I'd not considered however, my other leg was stretched all the way behind me...and my little coconuts dangled precariously in the middle of both. I know how to tuck and roll now, but at the time it was a concept beyond my eight years of experience. I was in trouble.
My left foot landed, skidded over the top of the bank and kept going. My body's momentum carried me forward but my right leg was well below the top of the bank. I was virtually in a mid-air splits and as my momentum landed me on the edge of that bank my little coconuts took the full brunt of the collision.
I ooofed as the air was forced from my lungs, then made some other noises the English language has no words for. With my momentum at a complete stop and the pain in my long-suffering coconuts radiating into my abdomen I slid slowly into the water, one leg still hooked up on the bank and the other bent backwards submerged. The pain was excruciating and I feared my coconuts might have been pushed all the way into my body; I wouldn't have been surprised if one popped out of each nostril but fortunately that didn't happen.
The great leap of 1978 was an abject failure and no greatness was achieved, just pain. I managed to save my coconuts although, to this day, I'm certain permanent damage was visited upon them in that little town on a lazy summers day. They still work, I've used them a lot, but they never forgave me for failing to achieve creek-leap greatness that day.
I lost the bet, had to wash that kid's bike for a month and never got to take that slug gun home for a week.
Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default; tomorrow isn't promised so be humble and kind - galenkp
[All original and proudly AI free.]
Any images in this post are my own.
Ouch!!! Well described man, My coconuts hurt, and I don't have any.
Lol, I know I've written well when people with no coconuts have sore coconuts! 🤪
I remember those days. A far cry from today when many parents don't even seem to want to let the kids out of their sight.
Parents never seemed to understand.
Anyway, that was a great story and masterfully told!
Ow.... I can imagine the pain...
Thanks mate, I had some fun remembering and writing this, more fun than I had when actually doing it and having my little eight year old coconuts smooshed against that creek bank.
I was very lucky to have a lot of freedom as a kid, I think it was partly responsible for teaching me lessons that helped me achieve things later in life; unfortunately my coconuts bore the brunt of the impacts along the way but lessons learned translated to opening opportunities later.
I don't have coconuts but I think I suddenly grew some so they could hurt. Now I understand why women live longer than men 😆. If you had a propped up wooden board as a proper ramp you might have made it and got to play with you gun thing!
Crushing one's coconuts in this manner (or any manner) is not a good thing to do, I've done it enough to be an authority on the subject.
If I was riding my bike I'd have used a ramp, with this magnificent feat of physical speed and endurance no ramp was necessary, I was certain I would succeed...until, of course, I didn't succeed.
Ahhh, can't throw shade on the optimism and positive affirmations of a young man in the making. It did start your learning journey on coconut crushing. Learning what not to do is still learning.
Indeed, although the coconuts were crushed a time or two after this incident, albeit doing different feats of amazingness.
feats of amazingness Successful ones or did they fall a little short too? 😁😆
I think it would be a lesson I would only need to learn once. haha. Like rollerblading down a steep mountain road. Cool AF and picked up good speed but... the road rash said once was enough fun. A lot of my friends lived on that road too and they saw. I still heard about it well into my adulthood...LEGEND!
Some were successful and some not, where greatness comes into it, at least as far as I was concerned, was when I got up, dusted off and redeployed.
I recall that rollerblade story, you wrote about it once. Road rash is not fun, that's definitely something one only needs to experience once.
some not Clearly if you're crushing coconuts! should have padded you bike with pillows and duct tape
in case he didn't get known your way. It's the red green show and fixes everything with it. Comedy show of course.
That was probably one of my greatest kid accomplishment. I wouldn't do it again but I can't say I ever regretted it either.
It's never easy to accept defeat at that age, especially if persistent mocking is coming after. But those were the good days we remembered for the rest of our lives. We have these adventures as adults, just in a different way as we don't jump over creeks in our everyday life, but life is like a competition, even if you only want to compete with yourself.
Good thing you didn't get hurt but I imagine the shame and anger you had to face.
I was brutally mocked for being the "wrong colour" so being mocked for not being successful wasn't something that bothered me. I didn't accept defeat either, it's never been in my nature; of course, defeat happened often, that's just part of life. I simply regrouped and had another try. In the case of this scenario, I had to wait until my coconuts recovered enough to try again. I jumped the creek months later when I was none and had grown again.
I think, these events from my youth, the way I'd think them up and work towards achieving them, certainly stuck with me and that's how I've approached most challenges in life; head on, and with a focus on a positive outcome.
I'm sorry to hear about being brutally mocked for your skin color. Must have been difficult.
That's the only way. Defeat can motivate you to go on, try again and do better.
It's all good, it taught me about what assholes human's can be and how emotionally strong I can be, and I carried the lessons forward in life.
Wow ! What a great nutcracker story !
LOL......
Ah... childhood, those days when anything seemed possible.... until it wasn't.
That was an amazing leap, all the way up until my coconuts were crushed almost to smithereens by the bank of the creek. Sometimes I wish I was so fearless still, and then I think of my coconuts and what they have been through already. Discretion is the better part of valour, they say.
On the other hand, I'd you bet me to do something, fuck it, I'd probably have a go. Lol.
I had a good childhood, and am very glad I had a sense of adventure and the ability to challenge myself. It paid dividends throughout my adulthood.
Glad the lesson has still stuck with you. That would probably be harder to get over as an adult....
Even the thought of such a crushing experience these days makes me...I was going to say wince, but that doesn't cover it.
Very good story, very well told, while reading each paragraph I was waiting for something to happen 😱.
I think the most important thing is the way you faced the failure and the resilience you show to continue, and the moral: protecting the coconuts can change your life. 🤣
Thanks for your comment.
Events like this happened often when I was a kid, I was adventurous and was always seeking to test myself, to find challenges to attempt and overcome. It didn't always go to plan, but I always learned something about myself and those things carried forward. Sometimes I got hurt, but that's part of life...as is the need to stand up, brush off and try again.
Oh, those lazy, hazy days of summer. We never went home either. My mother had a bell (like they used as a school bell) and she walked out on the porch and rang it until she was sure we all heard. Commonly referred to as the dinner bell, but she rang it when she needed us.
I can only imagine (heck, no, I cannot!) how that felt. I get that he was a jerk and you were just being a younger version of your (now) self. I am sorry that you were bullied because you were the wrong color. I didn't realize that being a little tanner was that offensive. :/ I know I led a sheltered life (or more that we live in an area that was not rural but, still had acres surrounding each house) We grew up without prejudice, and bullying and playing baseball in the summer was a great pastime. While I am sure lessons were learned and experiences are great teachers, I have to wonder what drives kids to be such bullies.
Parents? Siblings?
A whole month. At least you know how to honor a bet.
They were good times and whilst I probably thought life was complicated it really wasn't. I remember most of my youth fondly and those parts that weren't so nice taught me many valuable lessons so I can't really complain about those. I made some bad decisions as a kid and suffered the consequences with scrapes and bruises, cuts and general pain; my coconuts will attest to this. But I was just being me, exploring my limits and character I guess, things that helped me later in life.
Ah, yes. Youth is wasted on the young. I never knew what they meant, until I got old enough to appreciate it.
Yep, I think that one takes a little time to make sense, but when it does it makes perfect sense.
I hope you're well Swigs and getting things done.
I liked the story very much and your insistence on the challenge despite the suffering and getting the award
Sometimes rising to a challenge doesn't work out, but sometimes it does. I've never been one to shy away from challenges and have acheived much because if it. Of course, sometimes challenges crush one's nuts, like in this story.
Coconuts..?
More like peanuts 🥜 or Raisins... C'mon man.!
You may have giant cajones now. But you were eight. Had they even dropped yet... Lmao
Great Memories Bro. Took
BALLSCoconuts to tell it. 👍I think the fact they were tucked safely up inside my abdomen saved them from a crushing experience. Later, they came out to play...and are still doing so.
Thaaaaazzz what I am talking' about...
I been slingin' mine round also bro.
Like L👀k at these bad boys!!
They are so friggin huge I carry them in a sack on my back...
"A Backpack Ballsack... 🤣"
🤣
Defeat is never easy to accept and you took it on wholly like a sane and brave adult would. The pain would have been a good excuse to chicken out.
I remit my kind regards to your hurt and partly unforgiving coconuts🙏 Thank goodness you survived that. Kids almost always get away with dangerous dealings like this.
Thanks for a dreamy and lovely post as usual💕
I'm not the chicken out sort of man, never was and never will be.
my coconuts suffered a battering in my youth, mainly because of my sense of adventure and never quit attitude. They managed to keep working though, so that's a good thing.
Indeed it is.
Very good story my friend @galenkp
I grew up in the 70s so I know what you mean about being outside till dark. If. We were living in a town with street lights, we had to come in when they did. If we lived too far out for lights, you had just better know to be in before dark. Mom and Dad were really good at yelling out our names when they saw us, and it was always to do a chore that would seen at best, to be the worst and take the longest, and truly interrupt our baseball game or whatever game we had made up.
At any rate, this is a good story and it took me back to remembering the good parts of my childhood.
Take care, be safe and always look upwards.
It was a good time to grow up, much better than now, in my opinion, and I was very lucky to be born into a small Australian rural town in which a little extra freedom was possible.
No doubt. We were so much safer as kids in rural areas. Dangers can and do exist, but seems like the bad folks stick out a little more than the others in the city.
I do feel for our kids now days. I have a 13 year old Grandson who can count on 1 hand the number of times he has been left at home for a quick trip to the market. Never having spent a single day alone. And we live in a fairly good place. But in these days and times, no one should trust that our kids are safe.
But anyway it's good to remember how things once we're for our growth.
So it took me so long to respond, I was having technical difficulties...lolHi there @galenkp
This is a memorable story. As I read it, I could see the little boy buried in the mud. Boy spirit. When I was little, we bathed in a ditch where the water was dirty, also in a pool of brackish water. Thanks for sharing, @galenkp.
Thanks for your comment.
Can I suggest you don't upvote your own comments? It's frowned upon around here and may have some implications for you if it continues.
Oh, OK. I will no longer upvote my own comments. I don't do that anymore. Thank you, @galenkp.
Good plan.
You love to take challenges from that time. Taking challenges is good but sometimes It's better to avoid challenges when the risk is huge. I think you didn't aware of what would happen next if something happen wrong.
Kids naturally love to take challenges without thinking about the consequences and sometimes it brings bad results also. I feel it was a bad experience in your childhood. But the dedication to winning is a positive thing I found here.
It was the opposite of bad. It was an awesome experience because I learned that sometimes when I attempt things I'll fail, and it may hurt, but getting up and trying again is what really counts.
Oh what a peaceful place wouhoo
Yep.
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Of course you, either by bicycle or by big jumps, always found a boyish way to inflict punishment on your Coconuts!
But when you're that age you certainly can't back down from a bet... I understand you perfectly!
There can be no backing down, that is for sure. I did some stupid things as a kid, this wasn't one of them though, I learned a good lesson: Don't land on your coconuts.
Well yes I think it's a great life lesson; probably one of the most important also because, as an adult, landing on your own coconuts could be even more painful than as a child 😅
However, life is like this, we go on by attempts and experiences, but if we make them fruitful in the end we get to squaring the circle 😉
Landing on my coconuts these days wouldn't go so well I think. I still look for challenges, but not nut-crushing ones; those days are over, I hope. 😵💫
There are so many different kinds of challenges, nowadays it is no longer necessary to crush coconuts to experience the taste of the challenge heh heh!😉
It's all good, it's been a hundred and fifty seven years since that fateful day, I'm over it.