- a memoir by Greg Jones

(Public Edit Version)
CHAPTER ONE: TYING UP SHOELACES

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__________________

1981 - 1983

My schooling began at Curran Public School, which was about a 5 minute walk from my home at Macquarie Fields. My first class was KB, which stands for Kindergarten Blue. From the very start I was 'expressive and confident in my language skills', and showed a big interest in reading books and socialising with other students. Outside of that all I remember from Kindergarten was the dominance of the colour red, both inside and outside on everything including the classroom walls. The library was a place that I would feel at home in, and over my early primary school years it became a place where I would gradually spend more and more of my time. A nerd in the making!

Year One saw me enter class 1 Red, with my teacher Mrs L.Muys. I improved in everything in leaps and bounds, according to my report cards. This included spelling and listening as well as word recognition, comprehension, oral and problem solving skills. A quick learner. All that I remember from this time was the fact that I really loved going to school. Not only to hang out with new friends I was making but to soak in as much information as possible. I still hold that learning ethic today.

Another memory was the fuss that Mum made over Australia winning the �Americas' Cup' when we watched it live on TV one day. Being a big historical win meant that it would be talked about for many years to come, but I think Mum took the win more to heart back then than most people do who follow the major sports of today. It was one of the few times that I saw Mum really ecstatic in a good way, which is why I remember it so well.

Lee-Anne (my sister) was involved in a road accident during this time involving a car which reversed dangerously and ran over her arm in our street. At the time it was a horrific ordeal and everyone, including our close O'Reilly neighbours were upset with the news. I remember being at school one day and getting a message to go over Bev's (O'Reilly) place after school to stay there until my father came to pick me up. I suspected that something big was going on. Bev then explained to me that Lee-Anne had been run over and that she was hurt and in hospital. I don't remember much after that except that Lee-Anne had to get her nerves stitched up in her arm and that she ended up being fine afterwards.

1982 was also the year that I celebrated my 7th birthday, and I was going to have my first birthday party ever! Among the obvious people who were invited were some other neighbours in our street, and my first best friend Brendan Braver. It was fantastic having all of this attention on the one day, and getting heaps of cool presents. I think it's one of those things that every kid should experience in their childhood, to have a birthday party with heaps of their friends invited. As mentioned previously Brendan was my first best friend, and our friendship revolved largely around the fact that we were in the same classes, lived close together and both had a good sense of humour.

2W was my class name for that year and my teacher was Mrs E.Roebuck. She was one of my all-time favourite teachers, and I quickly learnt the benefits of becoming the 'teacher's pet' that year. I received a ton of encouragement from her, which boosted my self-esteem and made me feel as if I were part of a team. It felt like an awakening, and before I knew it I was helping my teacher carry her class materials at school and then tying up my own shoelaces all by myself. I also had Mrs Owen (for Grade 3) but I don't remember her as much, probably because she didn't make me feel as good about myself.

In 1983 my world changed quite a bit. Our family moved from Macquarie Fields to Narellan (which was about a 40 minute drive away) leaving behind the world that I knew at Curran Public School, with all my neighbours, teachers, classmates and my best friend Brendan Braver. Still, to this date, I hate the fact that I lost a good friend this way. I don't think I ever got the chance to explain to Brendan where I was going, or even why we were moving. It hurt, but I suspect that everyone can identify with a similar situation in their own life like this. But now there was this new beginning ahead of me, what could it hold in the area of new friendships?

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