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Tag Archives: dreams

‘Rocking Horse’

09 Saturday May 2020

Posted by stevenjohnno in stories

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australia, dreams, dreamtime, dubbo, dunnedoo, hopes, pub, rocking horse

Six year old Cindy Watson is curled up in her bed afraid to make a peep.

Her parents are out in the living room having another argument about money ‘ Bob why can’t you get off your big fat arse and get yourself a job? you have a family to support in case you haven’t noticed’

‘Give it a rest Gail, you know that i have a bad back and the doctors all told me to take it easy for a while’

‘Christ Bob it has been over nine months since your accident and i notice that you don’t have any trouble bending down to get a beer from the fridge every hour’

‘Please Bob first thing tomorrow morning go into town and see what jobs are going because the money i make at the supermarket is barely enough to put food on the table let alone pay the bills’

The summer of 1976 in North West NSW Australia is stifling and Gail Watson is frazzled trying to cope with the heat out in the middle of nowhere plus trying to make ends meet because of a good for nothing husband who just wants to sit around drinking all day.

When they were married seven years ago in Sydney Gail was a striking 20 year old who worshipped the ground that her husband walked on.

He was a stockbroker with a bright future and she planned on becoming a nurse but a few months after the wedding Gail fell pregnant and Bob had the great idea to move out to Dunnedoo to escape the rat race.

But now Gail is struggling to cope with no relatives to lean on for support and Bob promising future turning into dust.

Cindy finally drifts off to sleep around midnight but it is a restless night for the little girl because her parents constant arguing has been giving her nightmares.

At 8 am her mummy shakes her awake’ Wake up Cindy, time to get out of bed and have some bacon and eggs before school and we both know that you wouldn’t want to miss the bus don’t we?’

Mother and daughter share a quiet smile because they know that Cindy would rather ride for rocking horse all day. ‘Five more minutes please mummy’

‘Now pumpkin you can have a quick ride because the bus comes’

Even though a strong breeze would probably blow her over Cindy scoffs down a huge breakfast before she scampers out the front door to be greeted by her rocking horse that takes pride of place in the corner of the verandah.

The horse is old with chipped paint and a broken stirrup but to Cindy he is her whole world.

She loves nothing more than to rock back and forth with the wind blowing her long ginger hair into a tangled mess.

Patting the horses neck Cindy whispers’ One day we will ride all the way to Dubbo and rob a bank just like the bushrangers did back in the old days’

‘I will give every cent to mummy and daddy so they would stop fighting and perhaps find time to give me a baby brother’

A flash of yellow catches and reluctantly Cindy climbs from the rocking horse and races down the driveway to catch the school bus. ‘ Goodbye mummy see you this afternoon’

She is a pupil at Dunnedoo Public School and Cindy is a good student popular with the teachers and the other students ( all nine of them ) but sometimes her mind will wander and Miss Walpole an old battle axe with the temper of a mule would scold her ‘Miss Watson please try to concentrate on the lesson because if you don’t you will fail and never amount to anything of substance’

A few of the other kids laugh at Cindy’s discomfort and she is tempted to give them the finger but decides to ignore the brats and knuckle down until she can go home and ride her rocking horse.

Cindy Watson has just turned twelve and she is no longer the tangled haired first grader with a fondness for ice cream and chocolate.

Now she is almost a teenager who started to attend Dubbo High School two weeks ago, she is sill shy and to her annoyance she has a nasty pimple in the middle of her forehead and a pair of braces on her teeth.

But on the positive side her father has given up the drink and returned to work and her mother is now the manager of the supermarket.

So the Watson household is a happy place to be and Cindy likes her new school despite being teased by the school bully Elizabeth Hardcastle.

She still rides the rocking horse most days which gives her a chance to unwind and think of ways to bring her tormentor down.

The latest is to replace her lip balm with a tube of super glue which should keep the arsehole quite for a while.

But deep down Cindy knows that she couldn’t hurt anyone else no matter how nasty they are so she closes her eyes and rocks back and forth until the tension drains from her body.

Just then her mothers voice breaks the spell’ OK Cindy it is time to come inside for your bath young lady and if you behave i will let you watch The Brady Bunch while you do you homework’

Cindy sighs in frustration, dismounts and gives her rocking horse a friendly pat ‘Goodnight Lightning i will see you in the morning’

At the sound of the screen door slamming a quiver runs down the flank of the horse and his tail flicks in anticipation.

Unbeknowns to Cindy a local aboriginal boy has been watching her as she rides her rocking horse like a jockey steering home a Melbourne cup winner.

14 year old Warren Mundine knows that the girl has a desire to move from Dunnedoo and try her luck in the big smoke.

Every night for the past month he has waited until the lights were extinguished for the night then he would sneak up onto the verandah and sprinkle sprigs of Banksia and Bunya Pine all around the feet of the rocking horse.

And under the light of the moon he would perform a ceremonial dance that his ancestors have done for thousands of years.

Adorned in ochre and lithe of limb Warren would dance for hours until the sun started to peek above the horizon.

Black clouds gathered in the dawn and soon thunder boomed and lightning lit up the rocking rock that began to sway back and forth of it’s own accord.

‘Lightning by name Lightning by name’ the lad whispered before disappearing into the landscape like a ghost from the past.

Cindy wakes early and after a quick breakfast she races outside for a quick ride outside but something is different this time.

The rocking horse is surrounded by leaves and twigs that must have blown onto the verandah in last nights storm but they seem to have placed in some sort of pattern.

Climbing onto Lightning Cindy forgets about the plant arrangement when she recollects a dream she had just a few hours ago.

She dreamt that her rocking horse grew a pair of wings and like Pegasus he took flight taking her away from Dunnedoo as he flew to every corner of the world giving her a glimpse of what she is missing out there in the big wide open.

Also in the corner of her dream a small aboriginal boy appears out of nowhere and he climbs aboard Lightning and together they ride off into the sunset.

Cindy shivers in the morning air as her eyes gaze out past the front fence where orange dust twirls in the wind.

The aboriginal boy looked so real could he really be out there somewhere?

After another day boring day at school Cindy is anxious to get home and ride her rocking horse.

She squeals in delight when the bell rings and quickly boards the bus as it prepares to make the daily grind from Dubbo back to Dunnedoo.

In her hand she clutches a report card and it doesn’t make for good reading, C in English, D in History and a big fat F in Maths.

She is tempted to throw the card out the window but the headmaster informed all of the students at assembly this morning that their parents were expecting to receive a report card today so Cindy hangs on to it and thirty minutes later the bus pulls up outside her front gate.

As she meanders down the aisle she spots an aboriginal boy sitting near the front who looks vaguely familiar.

When she reaches his seat Cindy glances over and gasps out loud ‘Holy shit it is the boy that appeared in my dream last night’

Warren smiles in recognition and he knows that tonight is the night to kickstart a thousand tomorrows.

Cindy walks inside and hands the report card to her mother and after grabbing a huge slice of carrot cake she goes out to the verandah where her rocking horse waits’ Hello Lightning why don’t we ride all the way to Sydney because i have a feeling i am about to get yelled at’

As she rides Cindy thinks about the boy on the bus today.

She is positive that he doesn’t attend her school so why was he sitting on the bus and also he seemed to recognize her like they have met before.

Her mind is thinking overtime so she doesn’t notice the horses hooves jitter as he readies himself for a gallop but she soon gets the drift as Lightning rears up onto his back legs and after leaving a steaming pile of rocking horse shit behind the wooden horse takes off down the driveway.

Cindy loosens her grip on the reins when Lightning slows down to a canter to get his bearings.

After flaring his nostrils to taste the air the manic steed takes off in the direction of Merriwa.

The lonely schoolgirl laughs out loud knowing that soon she will be living in Sydney surrounded with friends living the dream.

In her excitement Cindy fails to notice a small aboriginal boy running behind Lightning but he cant keep up and soon he vanishes from view.

BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ

26 year old Cindy Watson hits the snooze button to silence the annoying sound that wakes her up every morning.

As she gets dressed she vaguely remembers dreaming about the rocking horse that she used to ride when she was a kid.

Cindy still lives in the same house that she grew up in but sadly her parents are no longer alive to offer guidance to their only child but their presence lingers in every room even though it has been eight years since they perished in an awful car accident.

As she goes about her morning routine Cindy talks to her parents without even knowing she is doing so.

At 8.30 she locks the front door and walks the short distance to the local pub where she pulls beers for the locals and travelers alike,

As she wipes the bar clean only half listening to a story from one of the regulars Cindy will often gaze out the window thinking about what her life would have become if she ever worked up the courage to leave Dunnedoo.

But at the same time Cindy loves her sleepy little town and really wouldn’t want to live anywhere else but hopefully one day she will meet a man and settle down to life in the country.

She takes one last look outside and remembers a saying from long ago ‘It doesn’t matter how close you get to the horizon because it will always remain in the distance’

In a storage facility on the other side of town a dusty old rocking rocking horse sits forlorn and forgotten.

It has been fourteen years since anyone has sat in his saddle, fourteen years kept in the darkness.

In all of that time his wooden black eyes have stared at the roller door daring it to open.

But the rocking horse knows that sooner or later the door will open and the sun will stream in and he will run like he has never run before.

PS

Three doors down from the storage place a man in his late twenties is bent over the bonnet of an old Holden ute trying to fix a faulty brake cable ‘Hey Warren when you have finished over there can you give me a hand with this Toyota?’ ‘No worries Nigel i will only be a minute’

The man straightens up and looks longingly at the pub up the road.

Sure it would be nice to sink a few schooners but the main reason to visit the local is to walk inside and walk up the courage to ask Cindy Watson out on a date.

THE END

Part Two is coming just hold your horses.

Dream The Dream

21 Friday Oct 2016

Posted by stevenjohnno in poems, stories

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Tags

black, dreams, racism, triumph, victory, white

The year is 1966 in the land of the free.

And everything is nice and peachy.

All of the people are living on easy street.

They all own two story houses with central heating

and an in ground pool.

1966 is the year of the dragon.

And it seems also the year of the fool.

 

Because you would be foolish to think that all is well in

the american nation.

Racism is rife all over the country.

But most of the hate comes from the south.

Just because your skin is a darker colour you get treated

like a second class citizen.

Dr Martin Luther King said that he had a dream.

But already the people seem to have forgotten.

The white folks ride around in fancy cars.

While the negro’s still pick the cotton.

 

14 year old Calvin Jackson is a skinny little black kid.

Who lives in a small bungalow in a bad neighbourhood in

Mobile Alabama.

His clothes are clean but threadbare.

Five brothers have worn these same clothes.

Now it is Calvin’s turn.

 

Calvin is watching TV on a small black and white set with his mama

beside him.

A black man has been shot down for no apparent reason.

Except for the colour of his skin.

Another black man guilty of a trumped up crime.

Why does this shit have to happen all of the time?

 

As Calvin watches the news his shoulders start to slump

And his sense of worth crashes.

He cant watch no more.

So he goes outside to shoot some hoops with his brothers.

Calvin weaves and fakes past his brothers time and time again.

Scoring basket after basket .

After a half hour of humiliation Calvin’s brothers wander off

defeated.

Calvin puffs out his chest with pride.

And he dreams about playing in the NBA one day.

If only the white folks would just let him play.

 

At Calvin knows that he should and could be getting better grades

.He used to be an A grade student.

Now all he does is look out the classroom window.

Dreaming his dream.

Calvin knows that basketball is his only way out of the slums and

ghetto’s.

And into the big time.

Than he could buy his mama a nice house.

And get himself a brand new souped up car.

Dreaming your dream is good.

But it will only get you so far.

 

Calvin is dreaming the dream along with other millions of other

young people.

Everybody dreams foe a better life for themselves and family.

But Mobile Alabama along with towns and cities all over America.

Are full of discrimination and segregation.

Whites and blacks go to different schools and ride on separate bus’es.

All because some peoples skin has a darker hue.

Racism affects everybody ordinary people just like me and you.

 

America is the land of the great divide.

A country with very narrow minded views.

There is a big division between the haves and the have not’s.

Calvin knows that because he is black he will have to work twice as hard

as the white folks do.

If he wants to make it in this world.

But Calvin’s mind is full of hope and optimism

He is just dreaming his dream.

He would do anything that he can.

To try and be a better man.

 

Walking home from school a few weeks later.

Calvin comes across the local basketball courts.

He goes to walk right on by like he always has.

But this time he stops and has a seat on a bench.

He pretends to tie his shoe laces as he takes in the game.

One day all of the white homey’s will all know his name.

 

Just than the ball rolls over and stops at Calvin’s feet.

Calvin is stuck in two minds.

Should he just throw the ball back?

Or show all these white boys how to play?

Then the decision is taken out of his hands.

‘Come on nigger show us what you can do’

 

Calvin hates that word but he accepts the challenge with relish.

And for the next hour Calvin completely dominates his opponents.

He scores baskets at will running rings around his helpless foes.

The white boys are exhausted and call an end to the game.

Calvin starts to walk away than turns back ‘I am Calvin Jackson

remember my name’

 

At seventeen Calvin is already six foot tall

And for the last three years he has been his school’s MVP.

His exploits on the court hasn’t gone unnoticed at some of the more

prestigious schools.

After a practice Calvin is called into the coaches office.

He is told to take a seat.

And the coach gets right down to business ‘Calvin you are probably the best

player that this school has ever produced’

But if you want to achieve your dream you will have to move away from home’

And the only way to do this is to gain a full scholarship’

Calvin knows that he cant let this opportunity slip.

 

Calvin’s mind is racing he is thinking about being first draft pick in the NBA.

And playing in the olympic’s with the dream team

The coach is still talking ‘But to get a scholarship you will have to improve your grades’

‘At the moment your grades are very poor,so if you want to reach your goal’

‘You will really have to improve big time,do it now Calvin before it is too late’

‘Because if you don’t you will never ever get out of this state’

 

Calvin walks out of the door.

Will his dream be crushed before it has even started?

Or will Calvin hit the books and really knuckle down?

Well there really isn’t any choose so for twelve hours everyday Calvin

studies hard.

When he is not studying Calvin shoots 20 thousand hoops.

After a few hours of sleep Calvin wakes up and does it all again.

And even though it hurts it is a good pain.

 

Calvin has applied for scholarships at colleges in New York Washington

and Chicago.

But to achieve his goal his grades have to be 90% or better.

For over a week he sits for exam after exam.

Calvin knows that he has tried his best and that is all he can do.

Now all he can do is wait.

And rely on the hand of fate.

 

Back at home he can’t sit still waiting for the results to come back.

He paces back and forth day after day waiting for the postman.

Than one day the postie pushes a bulky package through the front door

slot.

Will the news be good or bad?

Calvin rips open the envelope as fast as he can and he has a quick read.

Than he does a little dance of jot?

92%.

 

A month later Calvin is accepted at Stanford college New York.

He is now one step closer to living his dream.

Playing in the NBA.

Now no one can get in his way.

 

It doesn’t matter if your skin is white black brown red or yellow

Everybody on this earth has a right to dream.

So dream all that you want

Because one day your dream might just come true.

 

THE END.

Golden Dreams

07 Sunday Feb 2016

Posted by stevenjohnno in poems, stories, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

dreams, gold, pirates, silver, treasure

For my Annual Holidays I decided to hire a Metal

Detector.

Go out to the middle of nowhere.

And make my fortune in Gold.

 

Or Silver Opals or Diamonds Or maybe I will find some

Buried Treasure

Or maybe I will find a Shit load of Gold Coins way in the

back of a Cave.

Jesus I am Daydreaming again.

So I tell my imagination to behave.

 

So I hire a Metal Detector.

And on my adventure I go.

As I drive I dream about Pirates Buccaneers.

And old wooden Ships.

Plus a cranky old Captain with a Parrot on His Shoulder.

I Dream about finding my fortune.

And a Gold Nugget as big as a Boulder.

 

So after driving for two days I finally reach my Destination.

I little place in Queensland called Cassowary Hideaway.

I find myself a little Bungalow.

And book in for a week long stay.

 

Early the next morning I drive into Town to pick up some

Supplies.

And while I am there I buy some Maps.

I ask the Newsagent if He has any Treasure Maps.

Preferably one where X marks the spot.

Only joking haha.

 

Well the Newsagent doesn’t get my sense of humour.

He looks at Me like I am some Loco from the South.

I can see that My charm isn’t working.

So for a change I just shut My Mouth.

 

Well the Locals sure are friendly I feel right at Home.

I buy the Maps and then go to the Grocery Store for some

Food and Water.

Then I jump into my 4WD to start My Detecting.

I just hope that my directions don’t need correcting.

 

But before I head off inland.

I decide to give My Detector a trial run on the Beach.

So I walk up and down the Sand.

Waving that thing back and forth.

And right away it goes odd with the pinging sound

of success,

But a couple of Hours.

All I got for my trouble was a rusty old Horse Shoe Car

Keys a few Coins and a cast iron Camp Fire Pan.

I hope that I have better luck Tomorrow.

When I travel deep into the Hinterland.

 

I wake early the next Morning.

And after a breakfast of Bacon and Emu Eggs.

I set off for a five hour drive.

But if I stumble across a likely looking spot.

I will stop and check it out.

 

And after two hours that is exactly what happened.

I like the look of a little clearing  beside a trickle of

a Creek.

Hopefully My Metal Detector will go ballistic.

And I will make My Fortune before the end of the Week.

 

After setting up all of my Camping gear.

It is time to take in My surroundings.

So I grab my Detector and go on a walk about.

Well I walk around for Hours.

And the only thing that I Detect.

Is that the Clouds have turned dark and gloomy.

So I hurry back to my Four Person Tent.

And for one Person it is nice and roomy.

 

As I sit there watching the Rain coming down.

Enjoying a cold Beer or Two.

Then My Mind starts to wander.

As I look out at the great wide yonder.

 

Maybe I will find a Treasure Chest  full of Jewellery

and Silver.

Or a giant Nugget weighing a Thousand Ounces.

Or maybe I will find a secret Government Vault

Like the American Fort Knox.

Then I can buy myself a Mansion.

And stop living on the Street of Hard Knocks.

 

I Smile as I think about My Golden Dream.

Then I feel that My Bladder is full.

So I let loose a long golden stream.

 

I have a restless Night.

Thinking about all of the Wild Animals out there.

Cassowarys Dingoes Spiders Snakes and Scorpions.

And of course the Salt Water Crocodile.

An Ancient Reptile like a Freight Train with Teeth.

The most dangerous Animal on Earth.

Is the one that lurks beneath.

 

The next Morning I wake up tired weary and wired.

But after a Breakfast of Bacon and Eggs

I am ready to go exploring.

 

So I decide to follow the Creek inland.

To see where it will take Me.

And as I take in the beautiful scenery

I realise that this place is where every Person on Earth

should see.

 

As I wave My Detector around.

The Air is filled with the sound of silence.

It is not picking up a thing.

Maybe it is broken?

So I do some tinkering

And finally I get a sound

But it is not the sound of striking Gold

It is not that at all.

It is the sound of a Waterfall.

 

I walk towards the sound.

And I come across a large Billabong.

About Fifty Metres wide.

And God knows how deep.

And My Detector is still turned on.

And it is going ballistic.

Like a deranged out of control Pogo Stick.

 

Then it jumps out of My Hands.

And takes off towards the Falls.

It cuts through the Water like a Outboard Motor.

Or like a crazy Whipper Snipper.

Jesus I think I have hit the jackpot.

You little ripper.

 

Well the fastest way to see what is behind the Falls.

Is for Me to go for a swim.

So I strip down to My Underwear.

Have a quick look out for a Croc.

Then I jump right in.

It is only Thirty Metres to the Falls.

But it looks so far away.

Then I feel a tightening in My Balls.

 

A Crocodile is Twenty Metres behind Me.

And it is closing in fast.

I only have a few Metres to go.

So I start to Swim like a Torpedo.

It is like I am wearing Fuel Injected Speedos

I just make it.

Before the Croc can give my Arse another hole.

I shoot beneath the Falls.

Like a Bullet from a Gun.

And it feels like I have swum straight towards the Sun.

 

I cant believe My Eyes.

I have swum into a Golden Cave.

The Cave looks to be about Ten Metres deep.

And it is Choc a Bloc with Gold.

Gold Bars Gold Jewellery Gold Gold Gold.

 

It must be a long lost Pirate Treasure.

Captain Hook Captain Kidd Captain Blue Beard.

One of those.

 

Wait what am I Hearing?

 

Beep Beep  Beep Beep

Jesus it is my Alarm Clock.

The whole Adventure was just a Dream

I cant believe it was just a Dream.

A Golden Dream.

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