How things have changed,
Started my working life at the age of 13, weren't allowed to be a Paperboy until you were in High School, had to wait until one of the older boys left. My name had been on the list from half way through year 6.
All the way through High School, 79-82, I was up at 3.30am,ride to the back of the News Agent, roll over a 120 papers, deliver them, and God help us if you didn't put the paper where the customer wanted. Get home, shower, have breakfast, walk to the bus stop, &.30am bus from Ballina to Lismore. Get home at 4.30pm, change and ride out to the racetrack, clean stables, home at 6.30pm.
On the weekends, my mates and myself would ride our pushies anywhere from Lennox Head to South Ballina Beach and even up to Dowlard Falls, up on the Alstonville Plateau, Wardel to Alstonville rd.
We'd take cardboard with us if we went to Lennox Head and ride the cardboard down the hill at the point.
Be fore I left High School, instead of riding all the way around to south wall to go for a surf, we use paddle across the bar. We would watch the tide, take note of the time and either walk up river or out along the north wall so the tide would have you end up at the right place on the other side so you didn't have a long walk before a surf, and the same on the return trip. Now it is breaking the law to do it, because a few idiots have picked the tide wrong and have ended up being rescued. Even if the waves were the best you'd seen for weeks, we always sit there and studied the rips and the flow of water before jumping in.
Another thing we use to do after we got our car licenses, we would travel to Casino for a night at Cougars, on the way home at 3 am, on a bright full moon, you could drive nearly all the way back to Lismore if the moon was full without a cloud in the sky with your headlights off, listening to Pink Floyd on the stereo, casette of cause, it was very rare you would see another car coming the other way, I doubt that you would go a couple of k's these day without meeting car or truck.
I don't know, It's a different world kids live in these days.
Thanks for the memories guys.
