Tuesday 30 November 2010

WHERE WERE YOU IN '63?


Ok, it doesn't rhyme I know. If you want poetry go to Second Fiddle's blog. I was listening to National Radio today and they were talking about how most people in the (Western) world could remember where they were when they first heard that JFK had been assassinated. The 'Camelot' phenomenon was such that, like them or hate them most people liked to 'own' a bit of the Kennedys. In my case, being Catholic, it seemed that the Church had claimed him and we were expected to follow suit. Anyway. Where was I? I was in Standard 4 at Marist Brothers Newtown. I was in the lower playground (out of sight of the teachers' staff room). I was flicking live matches at a kid named Compton. He was short, fat and oily so it is probably just as well that the news came down that JFK had been shot as if Compton had caught fire he would have burned for an eternity the way it seems that that West Coast coal mine is going to.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Amazing recall.
I remember I was in food court Queensgate mall Lower Hutt when the news came through that Princess Dianna died!

Anonymous said...

By the way I hope you have your advent calender up for tomorrow!

Nicola said...

And here was I thinking the bullying of the pregnant waitress was a one-off story, but it seems your bullying ways go way back...

Where abouts in Newtown was the Marist school?

Twisted Scottish Bastard said...

"I was in Standard 4 at Marist Brothers Newtown."
Oh, you poor bugger. Some friends of mine went to a Marist school in Scotland.
It was not a pleasnat experience for them. One of them said, "It was bad enough being amidst this bunch of sadistic god-bothereres, but it turn out that quite a few were boy-botherers as well."
He also vowed that the next time he saw one of the "bastards" he'd deal to him with a 4 by 2 and a large nail.

Can't remember where I was when Kennedy got shot, but I do remember where I was when the twin towers got hit.

THE CURMUDGEON said...

Nicola, that same Compton boy is the one I rescued from the biggest and nastiest bully at that school. If you saw him though I'm sure you'd have wanted to throw things at him.

TSB, I wasn't 'boy-bothered' at Marist but Richard has some stories to tell (on second thought don't start him off again).

Anonymous said...

I went to the same Marist School. Nothing wrong with it.

Richard (of RBB) said...

"I went to the same Marist School. Nothing wrong with it."
Like me you went to Marist Thorndon which was run by paedophiles.

Nicola said...

My apologies THE CURMUDGEON- I have to admit my sympathies go to anyone who had to endure the school system in the 1950s and 1960s- I only ever hear horrible tales.