Over 16,534,132 people are on fubar.
What are you waiting for?
Born In A Blaze Of GloryNot everybody can say they were born in a blaze of glory, Well I can say I was sort of. But to understand matters more you have to go back a week earlier. It was a normal Friday morning, Dad was off to work December was always a busy time when your a postman. My 2 older brothers to be where off to school. Mum was busy cleaning looking forward to the birth of her forth child in about 3 weeks time, although she was worried about her dad. Since the death of his precious granddaughter a year earlier all he did was sit and stare in the fire, he had taken it badly, Maureen was the apple of his eye. After getting nagged at by mum, he did what most men on Tyneside did, off he went to the toilet to read his paper. Inside toilets were unheard of in the industrial North East, they were reserved for the rich. It was fast approaching dinner time, so mum hurried to make a meal for dad coming in from work and the boys returning for dinner from school. There was no sign of granddad has everyone sat for their meal. Dad yelled out the window and told granddad dinner was ready. Everybody had finished their meal and there was still no sign of granddad. Mum said he was in a huff and she had told him off and told him stop moping around and go out again. As mum cleared up the dishes, dad went downstairs to check on granddad. There was such a noise as you could hear dad banging on the door, eventually getting the next door neighbour to come and help him kick the door down. Poor old granddad had died in his favourite place sitting on the toilet reading his paper. Neighbours gathered round to check on mum, in case the shock of her dad dying send her in to premature labour. I had no intention on making an early entrance, it was all planned when i was ready to be born, it was going to be an entrance for a king, plus I wasn’t due for another couple of weeks. The following week life went on as normal, apart from mum was ordered to go to bed, and the neighbours all gathered round to help out the rest of the family. Granddads funeral was going to be the week later, on the 11th December, despite doctors and every bodies else’s order mum was determined to go to the funeral. There she was on the Friday morning standing right behind her dads coffin as the funeral possession headed off to the cememetary. Nobody could afford cars them days, usually the coffin was taken up on the local milkman’s horse n cart and everybody followed behind walking. She assured everybody she was ok and she would be back in bed again by 10 resting, she was back in bed again by 10 but she was certainly not resting. After a walk of over a mile and up a steep bank and seeing her last remaining parent's coffin been lowered into the ground was too much for mum, and she started to go into labour. A mad rush ensured again with mum been put on the milk cart accompanied by the neighbours, the men had to walk back, men weren’t allowed anywhere near a birth in them days. The women were all in the bedroom awaiting the birth as the men sat round the fire waiting, drinking tea and listening for them first sounds. My two brothers returned from school at dinner time wondering what all the fuss was. Then at last a crying sound was heard, Dave was born into the world, not in the glory way i had planned but i was there. John the youngest of my 2 brothers had a crying match, because his mum had a baby in the bedroom and he was suppose to be the baby of the family. The men all cheered and congratulated Dad, cigars were given out and more tea was made. But, someone in there hurry to get a cigar dropped their cigarette on the wooden floor and it went down the gap between the floorboards. Half an hour later the sitting room was filled with panic and smoke started to rise up through the floorboards. The women barred themselves into the bedroom and blankets were put round the door to stop any smoke from entering the room. One man was dispatched to get the fire brigade, as the rest of the men moved furniture out. Four weddings and a funeral, this was four fireman and a funeral. So there I was born into a blaze of glory, well not quite but it was talk of the neighbourhood. For weeks after apparently when mum took me for a walk in my pram, everybody would stop her and say "Oh is this the little fire baby". What a way to come into the world know as the fire baby. |
