The highlight of this week’s Sepia Saturday image are the telegram boys on bicycles. This is a very apt theme for my family: my father rode his push bike to work every day, in hail rain or shine because we didn’t own a car. Mum and I also had bikes and we would sometimes go on family outings in the wider neighbourhood. I distinctly remember having to ride my bike down some of the scary roller-coaster-like hills in our suburb with my heart in my throat.
How frustrating then, that I have nary a photo of any of us on a push bike! Can you believe it? I can’t and will have to see if I can hunt one down (assuming there is one).
So being lateral I had to find another picture which would serve. This photo of Mr Cassmob aka Marlon was taken in Alotau in Papua New Guinea, outside his parents’ new house, not too long after the government offices moved there from the island of Samarai. Mr Cassmob was studying long-distance and working on a coconut plantation about 30kms away, supervising the labourers. I’m sure they loved being under the jurisdiction of a teenager.
On the back of the photo which he sent me, he wrote “Love from Marlon. What no ‘pack’ behind fearless leader?” I think he was kidding himself on a number of counts:
- Marlon? I think he was much better looking that Marlon Brando, though perhaps “smouldered” rather less
- He’d been listening to the Shangri-La’s Leader of the Pack too many times
- That his little Honda was in competition with the deadly rumble of a Harley Davison.
Family history across the seas 
Good thing your Marlon didn’t come to the sad end the Leader of Pack did on that rainy night. Pretty funny all around. Hope you find some pictures of you and your on bikes. Why didn’t we take more pictures of those events?
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Yes I thought that too when I was listening as I wrote. He did have a buster on the Red Hill -a big very steep hill up to their house which was red clay -just imagine that after tropical rain. I guess we tend not to photograph the everyday. I’ll have to ask Mum though I’ve acquired quite a few of the old pics recently.
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That’s because I did go slow, Kristin. Hard to do anything else on a Honda 50cc trail bike!
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He is totally cute and I love his sense of humor!
Kathy M.
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I think so Kathy 😉
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I like pictures where the photographer is shown as well 🙂
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That’s the problem with strong tropical sun, Peter…hard to avoid at times.
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Marlon on a bike, that does conjure up images, and yours very much fits my mental picture. A perfect Sepia Saturday contribution, thanks.
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Thanks gluepot 😉
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Enjoyed you blog about Marlon 🙂
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Thanks Lorraine.
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