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- Story Listed as: True Life For Adults
- Theme: Family & Friends
- Subject: Childhood / Youth
- Published: 02/08/2022
The tin of yellow paint.
Born 1953, F, from Auckland, New ZealandThe city rubbish tip, oh what treasures we found there.
It was opposite my childhood home and down a long driveway.
Way back then it didn't seem like a weird place to live. In fact, all the kids in our neighbourhood hung out there at some stage.
For the older girls and guys around Penrose Rd it was a sneaky place to meet up and smooch and have a forbidden cigarette.
For the younger kids my age it was a treasure trove. We always managed to find something to take home.
Micheal found a suitcase that was full of money. It was handed over to the police by his parents then given back to him 6 months later. We told the best stories about that money and made up stories about where it had come from.
We also had great plans on how to spend it. The lollies we were going to buy and eat them until our bellies hurt and we would vomit from eating too many.
Instead Mikes parents opened a bank account for him to have when he was older.
Which brings me to the best find ever. A tin of yellow paint. Scrounging through the rubbish. Noses blocked from the stench of rotten garbage this rusty yellow tin stuck out on top of an old smelly mattress that was wet from the rain.
The smell was always a lot worse after a rainfall. It sometimes drifted over the entire neighbourhood.
No child was ever put off by the smell and always keen to get back over there for an exploration. For us it was like a journey to a fancy English shopping mall.
I spotted the yellow tin first so I bags it as mine. I was so happy walking home with that yellow tin in my hand.
Mum was at work and I had talked one of the guys into helping open the tin with dads file. It was a rusty old tin and when opened had a thick skin that we removed. Under that skin was the brightest sun yellow that was like finding gold.
I went under the house and found a couple of old paintbrushes. Rick said they were too hard to use but I pushed on with the plan and told him they would soften up with use.
So here we were. Ready to paint the bathroom. Mum was going to love it.
We take the paint into the bathroom, dropped some on the bath so that's where we started.
We painted the walls, the bath, the vanity and most of the floor before mum walked in.
Screamed, screamed some more and a lot more. Wow, could that woman swear.
Never had I been in so much trouble........
We had to walk down to the shop and buy bottles of turpentine.
We took it home and Mum poured it into the bath.
We stood ankle-deep, feet stinging from the turps and wiping the entire bathroom.
That bathroom was never the same. little bits of yellow scarred left, right and centre.
I was banned from going over to the tip for a month or so.
A few years later they filled in that tip with soil and it became a Boy scout den. The older kids still hung out there.
The tin of yellow paint.(Gail Moore)
The city rubbish tip, oh what treasures we found there.
It was opposite my childhood home and down a long driveway.
Way back then it didn't seem like a weird place to live. In fact, all the kids in our neighbourhood hung out there at some stage.
For the older girls and guys around Penrose Rd it was a sneaky place to meet up and smooch and have a forbidden cigarette.
For the younger kids my age it was a treasure trove. We always managed to find something to take home.
Micheal found a suitcase that was full of money. It was handed over to the police by his parents then given back to him 6 months later. We told the best stories about that money and made up stories about where it had come from.
We also had great plans on how to spend it. The lollies we were going to buy and eat them until our bellies hurt and we would vomit from eating too many.
Instead Mikes parents opened a bank account for him to have when he was older.
Which brings me to the best find ever. A tin of yellow paint. Scrounging through the rubbish. Noses blocked from the stench of rotten garbage this rusty yellow tin stuck out on top of an old smelly mattress that was wet from the rain.
The smell was always a lot worse after a rainfall. It sometimes drifted over the entire neighbourhood.
No child was ever put off by the smell and always keen to get back over there for an exploration. For us it was like a journey to a fancy English shopping mall.
I spotted the yellow tin first so I bags it as mine. I was so happy walking home with that yellow tin in my hand.
Mum was at work and I had talked one of the guys into helping open the tin with dads file. It was a rusty old tin and when opened had a thick skin that we removed. Under that skin was the brightest sun yellow that was like finding gold.
I went under the house and found a couple of old paintbrushes. Rick said they were too hard to use but I pushed on with the plan and told him they would soften up with use.
So here we were. Ready to paint the bathroom. Mum was going to love it.
We take the paint into the bathroom, dropped some on the bath so that's where we started.
We painted the walls, the bath, the vanity and most of the floor before mum walked in.
Screamed, screamed some more and a lot more. Wow, could that woman swear.
Never had I been in so much trouble........
We had to walk down to the shop and buy bottles of turpentine.
We took it home and Mum poured it into the bath.
We stood ankle-deep, feet stinging from the turps and wiping the entire bathroom.
That bathroom was never the same. little bits of yellow scarred left, right and centre.
I was banned from going over to the tip for a month or so.
A few years later they filled in that tip with soil and it became a Boy scout den. The older kids still hung out there.
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Marla
08/17/2022So here we are. Ready to paint the bathroom. Mum was going to love it.
This made me laugh out loud, and sometimes a person just needs a good laugh.
Thanks for sharing this story, Gail! :)
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Shirley Smothers
02/19/2022Thanks for the memories. As kids we would find treasure. Most of the time our Mom would make us take it back. Great story.
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Darren Turner
02/19/2022Great story. I used to live next to a tip when I was a kid but I never would go that close to it. I guess because I was a lazy kid more interested in playing Sonic lol. But I remember we would ride our bikes past it and I always wondered if was anything worth taking.
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Gail Moore
02/19/2022Thanks so much Darren. Yeah, the tip was an interesting place that's for sure
:-)
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Jason James Parker
02/12/2022Awesome story, Gail. I spent a lot of time in my youth finding 'treasures' at the tip. You're a supreme storyteller and this is a great read. Loved every word. : )
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Gail Moore
02/12/2022I am very happy to hear there are other people like me.
The simple things in life that bring so much happiness.
And of course the recycle aspects to it.
Thanks so much Jason, you make my day :-)
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Shelly Garrod
02/12/2022Wow Gail, what a great little story. I bet your paint job was amazing! In your eyes the bathroom needed a touch up and yellow is such a bright bold color!
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Lillian Kazmierczak
02/10/2022Gail, I can't stop laughing, I can see you with that yellow paint and brush, so proud you brightened up the bath! That was great story, I new you had some mischief in you, but never knew there was a budding artist as well. That was another good story from you!
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Gail Moore
02/10/2022Oh yes Lillian, That was the day I realised my mum could swear like a trooper.
Thank you so much for reading. I am very glad it made you laugh :-)
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Gordon England
02/10/2022Sounds like something I would do and really get in trouble. Most girls know better than to do these things. You wrote a good childrens story. Last line was not needed.
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JD
02/09/2022Wow Gail, what an adventure your local garbage dump was! I've never heard it called a 'tip' before. How did New Zealanders come to call it a 'tip'? Is it because garbage trucks tip their load up to release their truck full of garbage into the land fill? I guess we use the word 'dump' the load, but 'tip' the load is a much nicer word. I think most garbage fills have treasures to be found by those who look for them. It is amazing what people throw away. And you know what they say... 'one man's trash is another man's treasure'! I'm not sure I would have been so excited about a can of yellow paint as you were though... especially after making your mom have a meltdown when she saw what you did with it. But maybe that was the intention? / But your friend finding a suitcase full of money is truly AMAZING! Especially the fact that no one claimed it and he was allowed to keep it, and it was not confiscated by the police as being some sort of 'dirty money', like drug money. I wonder how much it actually was... did you ever find out? I wonder if it was enough to pay for his higher education and if he ever used it for that purpose, and what career path he followed, etc.... There are so many more stories hidden between the lines of this one. But what a truly great short story it is, Gail.... especially what you used the yellow paint for.... ! Priceless! :-)
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JD
02/09/2022So interesting and intriguing!
I surely do hope we can stop wasting so much and re-using and recycling more....
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