Puberty
Without Prejudice
At Southport State I hit Puberty and my best friend Linda Sumner and I stayed for sleep overs, mainly me staying at her house. We were both nearly 11, she was an only child, adored by her parents and they would take us everywhere.
We went out on the Nerang River long before it is like it is now, all built up and lined with fabulous houses.
In the sixties it was a mangrove swamp and we sailed down the river all day, getting sunburned and that night Linda's parents took us to the drive in to see Atari.
Which we had both been looking forward to it and fell asleep exhausted in the bag of the Station Wagon just after the Commercials had finished.
We'd baited hooks with slimy worms and some sardines and hadn't caught a thing, we sailed down past the bauxite quarry and in one part of the river was a tiny island and we splashed off and investigated it.
I loved it and we both felt like we were on Treasue Island, she was Man Friday and I was Robinson Crusoe. It was so tiny and so perfect with trees on it that afforded shade and white sand sweeping round in a tiny perfectly formed bay.
The next day we took the dinghy out ourselves and went back to the island and played all day, living rich in our fertile imaginations and when we arrived back, Mrs sumner had made jam drops and we ate them in the bath.
I waited on the edge while Linda bathed and then I jumped in.
"Have you got any hair on your legs, yet, she said.
"No"
"You will and hair under your arms and on your fanny as well."
I hadn't really looked at her as she was telling me,. being a complete prude and knew nothing about all that "stuff".
She was a natural red head and showed me her bushy tufts of red hair growing already under her arms. I was revolted and went home to my Mother and asked her if I could shave mu legs, not that I had any hair, just for the practice as I had seen Linda do.
My Mother only commented that yes I could shave them and did not sit me down and explain the facts of life to me.
We heard linda and I from some crude boys at school that people had to do this rude thing to get a baby and we both thought that can't be true. We knew what the act was, being that we were horse crazy and rode a bit and watched as a horse tried to mount another and we ran away.
So we knew what "it" was, but we couldn't then tie that into people having babies. Babies just happened, everyone knew that. You were married and babies came along sweet smelling and smiling when it was the right time.
We did not believe that you had to do anything prior, babies just happened. And God knows where they came out of as we had no idea. I thought they cut them out or something and didn't look forward to that bit.
No idea, no clue. We were disgusted at the boys for telling us and completely forgot all about it. We were finishing Grade 5 and looking forward to Grade 6. We were really innocent little kids, that was the only mention we heard about "that".
We went to the movies at the Southport Cinema which was located on the pier and was an eternal delight for all of us. We went at the end of the year to see Laurna Doone.
The seat were canvas and laid back and under your feet you could see the sea roiling underneath , in the gaps in the floor boards. I found it endlessly intruiging and there were two teirs, the Dress Circle, being up stairs and dearer to sit in.
So we sat back in our uncomfortable chairs and were cooled by the breeze coming up through the floor.
At Southport State I hit Puberty and my best friend Linda Sumner and I stayed for sleep overs, mainly me staying at her house. We were both nearly 11, she was an only child, adored by her parents and they would take us everywhere.
We went out on the Nerang River long before it is like it is now, all built up and lined with fabulous houses.
In the sixties it was a mangrove swamp and we sailed down the river all day, getting sunburned and that night Linda's parents took us to the drive in to see Atari.
Which we had both been looking forward to it and fell asleep exhausted in the bag of the Station Wagon just after the Commercials had finished.
We'd baited hooks with slimy worms and some sardines and hadn't caught a thing, we sailed down past the bauxite quarry and in one part of the river was a tiny island and we splashed off and investigated it.
I loved it and we both felt like we were on Treasue Island, she was Man Friday and I was Robinson Crusoe. It was so tiny and so perfect with trees on it that afforded shade and white sand sweeping round in a tiny perfectly formed bay.
The next day we took the dinghy out ourselves and went back to the island and played all day, living rich in our fertile imaginations and when we arrived back, Mrs sumner had made jam drops and we ate them in the bath.
I waited on the edge while Linda bathed and then I jumped in.
"Have you got any hair on your legs, yet, she said.
"No"
"You will and hair under your arms and on your fanny as well."
I hadn't really looked at her as she was telling me,. being a complete prude and knew nothing about all that "stuff".
She was a natural red head and showed me her bushy tufts of red hair growing already under her arms. I was revolted and went home to my Mother and asked her if I could shave mu legs, not that I had any hair, just for the practice as I had seen Linda do.
My Mother only commented that yes I could shave them and did not sit me down and explain the facts of life to me.
We heard linda and I from some crude boys at school that people had to do this rude thing to get a baby and we both thought that can't be true. We knew what the act was, being that we were horse crazy and rode a bit and watched as a horse tried to mount another and we ran away.
So we knew what "it" was, but we couldn't then tie that into people having babies. Babies just happened, everyone knew that. You were married and babies came along sweet smelling and smiling when it was the right time.
We did not believe that you had to do anything prior, babies just happened. And God knows where they came out of as we had no idea. I thought they cut them out or something and didn't look forward to that bit.
No idea, no clue. We were disgusted at the boys for telling us and completely forgot all about it. We were finishing Grade 5 and looking forward to Grade 6. We were really innocent little kids, that was the only mention we heard about "that".
We went to the movies at the Southport Cinema which was located on the pier and was an eternal delight for all of us. We went at the end of the year to see Laurna Doone.
The seat were canvas and laid back and under your feet you could see the sea roiling underneath , in the gaps in the floor boards. I found it endlessly intruiging and there were two teirs, the Dress Circle, being up stairs and dearer to sit in.
So we sat back in our uncomfortable chairs and were cooled by the breeze coming up through the floor.
