HERE’S JOHNNY!
Catchphrase coined by Nicholson in The Shining, can’t believe he ad-libbed it,
Spoke volumes of his genius as a thespian but that ain’t what we’re looking at,
Happened to be sampled into some dance track back in ‘96, Hocus Pocus made a killing as it lit up clubs, pubs, amusement parks and roller skating rinks,
Speaking of which, your boy right here was quite the beast in them blades,
Early-day wobbles were inevitable, but with practice and persistence wheeled around for days,
Still swimming and practicing karate, achieved green belt status with the latter,
Though time brought about waning interests that had me looking towards greener pastures,
Same could be said of cartoons once enjoyed in early youth, double-digits bringing changes in tastes,
Still retaining the spirit of a gamer, some habits won’t be abandoned in haste,
Music also invading personal interests, the seeds done been planted,
Gonna take some time, though, before the trees grow and blossom.
HERE’S JOHNNY!
Eleventh year on the planet wasn’t half-bad,
Sure, it had its moments, but overall it truly kicked ass,
Learned about The Goldrush at school, the good, bad and the ugly,
Culminated in a field trip to Bathurst, panned for gold but great rewards remained pure fantasy,
Lunchtime hijinks with the boys, playing soccer at the park,
Why they kept putting me as goalie is a mystery, clearly I was nothing short of sucky,
Learned the Macarena as part of the curriculum, not sure for what reason,
To keep us active, I guess, and at least it got us out the classroom,
Tamagotchi craze was on, virtual pets got kids fretting,
Served as class distractions back then like how social media is in the present,
Video gaming sessions on Friday and weekend afternoons were highlights every week,
Mulling over it in class, daily, got me drifting into daydreams,
Even that aspect of life evolved, out with the PC and onto the SNES,
Graphics were sick for its time, now guaranteed to be outdated as hell,
Took some time to watch the Olympic games on TV, two weeks in all,
Remaining oblivious to the magnitude of it all, though felt good whenever our nation won gold.
HERE’S JOHNNY!
Also celebrated a friend’s birthday at Intensity,
Had a great time though admittedly that one almost slipped out of memory,
Took a trip back to the motherland, five years after migrating Down Under,
Keen to experience it as a pre-teen, hopped on the plane fit to burst like a fire cracker,
Reunited with extended fam, even some I ain’t met before,
Jolibee never tasted so good, oh what fun it was to explore,
Shame about the language barrier, Tagalog wiped by five years living overseas,
Felt like an alien in my own birthplace, triggering confusion over true identities,
The heat was a motherfucker, don’t recall it being this hot,
All in all it was fun times, always a thrill to travel abroad.
HERE’S JOHNNY!
Took a beach trip with friends and fam, frolicked in the waves,
Still time to kill in the afternoon, plenty of time to strap on the blades,
Gliding across concrete following a refreshing swim,
Can’t compare to gaming but all in all a great time, still,
Still took the occasional trips to Wonderland despite interests dipping,
The thrill of it somehow fading, gaps between visits widening,
Growing pains evident, subtle spurts of the not-so-flattering kind,
Voice remained Minnie Mouse-like, body looking as though fuelled by pork rinds,
I’m talking round gut and little boy-titties, so much for the swimming and karate,
How the fuck did we get here? Just five years prior was praying mantis-skinny,
Looking back twenty-plus years later had a sudden realisation,
The page was slowly turning, teen years beckoned, gonna be a hell of a transition,
One year ago was carefree as could be, how can one year make a difference?
It’s still out there in the distance but nevertheless felt its imminence,
This year then the next before childhood’s end,
Gotta make the most of it, it’s rough and choppy seas ahead.