Caught for double dinking on a pushbike

@JudyEv (381760)
Rockingham, Australia
December 21, 2020 5:02pm CST
I wrote recently about possibly being caught for speeding. Fleur (@Fleura) said she got caught for speeding when going to a funeral, which reminded me of this little story. When Vince was about 12, he was riding his bike with his younger brother sitting on the bar in front of him. The newly-arrived traffic cop saw them and signalled for them to stop. This was a bit tricky as they were going down a hill and had no brakes. But by putting their foot on the front tyre, they were able to pull to a stop. They had to go before the magistrate, much to the embarrassment of their mother, as she had to accompany them. The magistrate asked where they were going. ‘To school’, they said. In his great, booming voice, the magistrate said, ‘I think you were going to a funeral. Your own!’ then laughed at his own joke. They were fined a shilling each. The photo is of my brother and sister on their way to school. If my brother was ill and didn’t go to school, the pony wouldn’t go either.
21 people like this
22 responses
DianneN
@DianneN (254949)
• United States
22 Dec 20
I can imagine the entire scenario. Wonderful photo.
3 people like this
DianneN
@DianneN (254949)
• United States
22 Dec 20
@JudyEv They were lucky!
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381760)
• Rockingham, Australia
22 Dec 20
I can just see the boys trying to stop the bike by using their feet. It's a wonder they didn't come off.
2 people like this
Eva James
@wolfgirl569 (135583)
• Marion, Ohio
22 Dec 20
I would have been laughing at my kids.
3 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381760)
• Rockingham, Australia
22 Dec 20
It would have devastating for her in those times. It was a big deal to have to go before a magistrate.
2 people like this
Notlilie
@prinzcy (32299)
• Malaysia
21 Dec 20
Wow, going with a pony? How many people went to school with a pony at that time?
3 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381760)
• Rockingham, Australia
22 Dec 20
Quite a few of the farm children would have. The schools were small and close together so maybe five or six at a school. Some drove a horse and sulky. Before my brother and sister were able to take themselves to school, my mother took them in a sulky. I'm the little one in between my siblings.
3 people like this
rebelann1949
@rebelann (117199)
• El Paso, Texas
22 Dec 20
That is such a kool photo. At least someone got the message across that a bike needs to be in good repair before it's put on the road where it might become a danger to others.
2 people like this
rebelann1949
@rebelann (117199)
• El Paso, Texas
22 Dec 20
What does dinking mean @JudyEv ?
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381760)
• Rockingham, Australia
22 Dec 20
@rebelann Dinking is giving another person a ride so having two on the bike. Sometimes one sat on the handlebars or on the bar of a boy's bike. Occasionally a bike had a seat behind the rider.
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381760)
• Rockingham, Australia
22 Dec 20
Yes, that's true. I must ask him if it ever stopped them dinking each other.
2 people like this
Bojel
@jobelbojel (36791)
• Philippines
22 Dec 20
That was a great memory! My mom told me that they go to school by foot.
2 people like this
Bojel
@jobelbojel (36791)
• Philippines
22 Dec 20
@JudyEv It will be exciting to ride a horse to school.
1 person likes this
Fleur
@Fleura (34927)
• United Kingdom
22 Dec 20
@JudyEv What did they do with the horse during the day - just tether it outside school?
2 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381760)
• Rockingham, Australia
22 Dec 20
Yes, those that didn't have a bike would have had to walk. My sister rode a horse for a few of the years she went to school.
2 people like this
CarolDM
@CarolDM (203396)
• Nashville, Tennessee
21 Dec 20
What a memory, I was picturing Vince as I read. Cool photo of your siblings.
2 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381760)
• Rockingham, Australia
22 Dec 20
Thanks. It's nice to have these old photos even if they are black and white.
2 people like this
CarolDM
@CarolDM (203396)
• Nashville, Tennessee
22 Dec 20
@JudyEv I have a few as well.
1 person likes this
snowy
@snowy22315 (208746)
• United States
21 Dec 20
A friend of my son's once got a DUI and he was riding a moped. I once got pulled for speeding on the way to church...lol, luckilly I got no ticket.
2 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381760)
• Rockingham, Australia
22 Dec 20
That was lucky. You can caught for drunk driving if you're in a horse and cart too.
1 person likes this
OceanTiara
@RebeccasFarm (91299)
• United States
22 Dec 20
Oh I LOVE this photo Judy what treasures!!
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381760)
• Rockingham, Australia
22 Dec 20
We are lucky to have some of these old photos. Most have been copied to the computer so hopefully they'll be around for a long time yet.
1 person likes this
OceanTiara
@RebeccasFarm (91299)
• United States
22 Dec 20
@JudyEv I need to do a bit of that myself but somehow never get round to it Judy.
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381760)
• Rockingham, Australia
22 Dec 20
@RebeccasFarm At least they get preserved that way.
1 person likes this
MARILYN
@Marilynda1225 (91013)
• United States
22 Dec 20
Imagine being in front of the magistrate when only 12 years old. I'm sure his mom wasn't too happy.
2 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381760)
• Rockingham, Australia
22 Dec 20
She would have been mortified. This was the 1950s and it would have been a big deal in those days.
1 person likes this
Fleur
@Fleura (34927)
• United Kingdom
21 Dec 20
At least I was grown up before I got stopped by a traffic cop lol! I did get stopped once when I was a student. It was dark and I was cycling home when a policeman stopped me and asked 'Why are you cycling on the pavement?' (sidewalk - which is illegal) I replied 'Because I haven't got any lights' (also illegal) - it was clear he hadn't noticed that! So he asked why I didn't have any and I explained that I had gone out in the morning expecting to be back in a couple of hours, but one thing had led to another and now here it was late at night. Then he asked where I was going and when I pointed to the next-but-one house and said 'Here' he let me off.
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381760)
• Rockingham, Australia
22 Dec 20
So was that really your house?
1 person likes this
Fleur
@Fleura (34927)
• United Kingdom
22 Dec 20
@JudyEv Yes it really was, I'd made it the 3 miles or so from town only to be stopped practically outside my own door!
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381760)
• Rockingham, Australia
22 Dec 20
@Fleura Oh wow, I'm glad he let you off.
1 person likes this
Loretta
@noni1959 (13009)
• United States
22 Dec 20
What a fun story and great picture. That would have been scary to ride down a hill fast that way and to stop using a foot on the tire! So much could have gone wrong.
2 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381760)
• Rockingham, Australia
22 Dec 20
I don't how they managed to stay on the bike. It wouldn't have been easy.
2 people like this
Namelesss
@Namelesss (3364)
• United States
22 Dec 20
Love the photo and what a great story. Can't believe they actually had to go to the magistrate and pay a fine. lol
2 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381760)
• Rockingham, Australia
22 Dec 20
It seems a bit tough, doesn't it? But I guess it let everyone know the cop meant business.
2 people like this
LindaOH
@LindaOHio (222222)
• United States
22 Dec 20
A great photo and a great story.
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381760)
• Rockingham, Australia
22 Dec 20
Those were the good old days, weren't they? Well, in some ways they were.
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381760)
• Rockingham, Australia
24 Dec 20
@LindaOHio Me too. I think we had the best of the times. Everything seemed much safer and more secure.
1 person likes this
LindaOH
@LindaOHio (222222)
• United States
23 Dec 20
@JudyEv I'd love to go back to the 60s and 70s...I could relive those days over and over again.
1 person likes this
Teti ariani
@Cheyee (8352)
• Pakanbaru, Indonesia
22 Dec 20
What...Your brother was using a pony? Incredible.
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381760)
• Rockingham, Australia
22 Dec 20
My sister is on the pony and my brother on the bike.
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381760)
• Rockingham, Australia
24 Dec 20
@Cheyee It was in those days. My siblings are twins and born in 1938.
1 person likes this
Teti ariani
@Cheyee (8352)
• Pakanbaru, Indonesia
23 Dec 20
@JudyEv is that something usual there.
1 person likes this
Always smiling
@allknowing (153544)
• India
7 Jan 21
Quite an interesting memory you shared with us How different life was then.
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381760)
• Rockingham, Australia
7 Jan 21
It's hard for the young people to believe some of the stories we tell them but they are all true.
1 person likes this
crazyhorseladycx
@crazyhorseladycx (39503)
• United States
26 Dec 20
oh, bless her! 'd to be most embarrassin'. love the photo! seems that pony 'twas loyal to jest him :)
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381760)
• Rockingham, Australia
26 Dec 20
It's funny how the pony wouldn't go to school if my brother didn't.
1 person likes this
Kimberley
@mom210 (9170)
• United States
24 Dec 20
Being a mother to rowdy little boys does put us in embarrassing situations sometimes. My heart goes out to mom.
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381760)
• Rockingham, Australia
24 Dec 20
In those days, having to appear in court, even for such a small thing, would have been very shameful. Nowadays we'd probably see it for the trifle it is.
1 person likes this
Valerie J. Routhieaux
@just4him (323168)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
22 Dec 20
I'm surprised they went before the magistrate and fined for speeding on a bicycle.
1 person likes this
Valerie J. Routhieaux
@just4him (323168)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
22 Dec 20
@JudyEv Yes, it does, especially since they were children.
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381760)
• Rockingham, Australia
22 Dec 20
I guess the new cop was establishing himself but it does seem a bit harsh.
1 person likes this
Hanni Harel
@Hannihar (130150)
• Israel
22 Dec 20
@JudyEv So I take it the pony could feel his pain. Did anyone else laugh at teh magistrate's joke? So after that happened did Vince ever have his brother ride on the handbars again?
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381760)
• Rockingham, Australia
22 Dec 20
I doubt his mother would have laughed and I think they probably double-dinked afterwards.
1 person likes this
Hanni Harel
@Hannihar (130150)
• Israel
23 Dec 20
@JudyEv I understand that his mother would not find any of it funny.
1 person likes this
DB
@dgobucks226 (37621)
•
24 Dec 20
School can be an unpopular place to go sometimes. And expensive it seems too! Fun post
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381760)
• Rockingham, Australia
24 Dec 20
Thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
1 person likes this