Back to the Baggage room

I was born in a baggage room. Well, the subject came up, as we were teaching computer skills to some young girls today, and they wanted to know the meaning of a form they were filling out. It asked where they were born. Some of them were a bit confused. Do they stick the City, The Suburb or The Hospital? What? We just told them to write PERTH or SUBIACO or whatever. It then came up, that almost everyone was born in Perth or one of it's suburbs ... all except ... ME!!! I was born in a baggage room in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. My next youngest brother was born in a store room ... the rest of my family were born in hospitals ... my youngest brother Jeff and sister were born in Penang [or Butterworth, to be precise.] Let's face it, being born in a baggage room ... does that elude to the fact that one day I might achieve greatness? After all, a lot of famous people have been born outside of the hospital and in strange places ... but, of course, logic dictates that as Hospitals (and more specifically Maternity hospitals) are quite a recent invention. My own Grandmother was not born in a hospital, because in her day, people were born at home ... which is where she was born. In the upper most room in a house in Burtoun, Dorest. (My mother says the town is now a suburb of Salibury. I'm not sure.) Of course, some people have stranger birthplaces than me. A baggage room isn't the nicest place to be born ... maybe that's a hint from God ... life was always going to be tough for me. I like some of the mythical places people were born ... I heard either Ghengis Khan or Attila the Hun were supposedly born on horse back ... or so someone once said. A very auspiscious start for people from horse riding cultures. [Maybe thier mother was trying to get to the hospital ... and wooops! Don't worry, already had it. Pick it up dear, don't want placenta all over the ground!] A sort of cult has sprung up regarding US Presidential Birthplaces. (Yes, you can go on tours of houses where US Presidents have been born. They're almost as much fun as where they were shot!) There was a temple where Vishnu was born as King Ram [or supposed to have been born depending on your religious persuasion.] The temple got destroyed and the Muslims eventually built a Mosque on the site ... which the Hindus eventually knocked down in the hope of building a Temple there again. [The Mosque was no longer in use at the time.] I don't bring this up to cause tensions between Muslims and Hindus ... because the ones I know aren't fighting over this, and I am sure are quite removed from the arguement. I bring it up just to point out that birthplaces are considered important. Even Mecca, the birthplace of Muhammad is considered sacred. The same as Bethlehemm to the Christians (as it's where Jesus was born ... and he was born in a manger). So, there is some sort of significance with places of birth to a lot of people. I'm sure someone needs to make a book concerning weird birthplaces of famous people. I did a google for it, and couldn't find anything. Anyway, are weird places to be born auspiscious, evil or do they say something about the persons life? Or maybe, they're just places to be born. Anyway, my birth in a baggage room always is a good yarn to tell people whenever the subject comes up ... I just hope I don't die in a baggage room. How embarrassing would that be?