Had to laugh at some of these. Pictures 1 thru 12.
1. Yeah. Bumps, bruises most of the time. My wife did get hit by a car on her bike and spent 4 weeks in traction at Hackensack Hospital. But no injuries a helmet would have helped with.
2. Smoke all over the place. My Mom and sister both died at age 55 from lung cancer. I can remember having the back door open in February in NJ because the adults smoking at my birthday party created a grey haze in the house.
3. Yup. Poisons and chemicals all over the place. Garage contained gas cans, oil paint cans, turpentine, weed killers and other poisons and flamables.
4. Bebe guns, dart guns all over. We used to make our own bazookas with wood handles and a cheap scope taped onto some pipe. Took CO2 cartridges used for whipped cream dispensers, put them in a vice and punctured them to let gas out (dangerous in itself) then filled the empties with match heads. Put cartridge in the pipe, and one of the guys lit it. Damn was that powerful. Used to go by railroad tracks and shoot at moving box cars. If I caught my son doing that he wouldn't be able to sit for a week. If my dad caught me I probably couldn't sit for a month!
5. Had sun poisoning a few times on the Jersey shore. Also had 2 buddies die young (30s) from melanoma.
6.Yes. My '61 VW Bug convertible had seat belts. So did my dads new 1964 Chevy Impala. They were immediately tucked inside the crease of the car seat and never used.
7. So funny! Helicopter mom's! During the summer you left the house in the morning and mom told you to be back on time for dinner. At night, be home when street lights turned on. Punishment was having to stay indoors. My sister laughs that punishment now is to go outdoors and play, away from computers and TV. In those days there was one TV, and dad had control. If you didn't watch what he wanted, tough. Some exceptions were Disney and a few other shows. The reason why American Bandstand was on at 4 PM was dad wasn't home then and the kids had control of the TV.
8. Days of chemistry sets, erector sets and train sets. Good thing the chemicals came in small amounts, or we probably would have blown something up.
9. No safety factors whatsoever. Jungle gyms were dangers. Many kids got stitches. Fall near the top and you bounced down over that metal piping like a pin ball machine.
10. Lead paint and asbestos all over the place. We had a basement cafeteria in grammar school with pipes running overhead with asbestos insulation. Normal in those days. Now they'd wear a hazmat suit in that basement.
11. Lawn darts. We used to shoot with a bow and arrow to see who could get the arrow closest to the other guys foot. I carry a scar in my head from 5 stitches I got when my buddy nailed me right on the top of my head. About 9 years later he was a USMC Captain fighting in Vietnam. I doubt he was using a bow and arrow there.
12. Looking at grand kids today I can't imagine mom's not being able to pick up phones and finding where kids are. Around eleven years old I decided to bike 12 miles to my cousins house. Rode most of the way on the shoulder of highway 208. Came home for dinner and told mom and dad (had to, my aunt was home I knew I made the trip) just to get grounded for a few days. During summer in those days, it was nothing to go to the river to fish at 6am, come home around 11 or 12, pick up a ball, glove and bat, pick an empty glass milk bottle out of the insulated milk delivery box, fill it with water and head to one of the baseball fields at the school. Chose up sides, play a few games of ball, and make it home for 5:30 dinner.
I had great parents, but worrying about a kid living 8 miles outside of New York City never seemed to be a major concern. They were survivors of the Great Depression and WWII. They didn't make idle threats. Screw up at school, disrespect a neighbor, a teacher, a cop; and that stinging feeling on your ass lasted a good 24 hours. It made being a teacher or a cop a lot easier.
The Dangerous 60's
1. Yeah. Bumps, bruises most of the time. My wife did get hit by a car on her bike and spent 4 weeks in traction at Hackensack Hospital. But no injuries a helmet would have helped with.
2. Smoke all over the place. My Mom and sister both died at age 55 from lung cancer. I can remember having the back door open in February in NJ because the adults smoking at my birthday party created a grey haze in the house.
3. Yup. Poisons and chemicals all over the place. Garage contained gas cans, oil paint cans, turpentine, weed killers and other poisons and flamables.
4. Bebe guns, dart guns all over. We used to make our own bazookas with wood handles and a cheap scope taped onto some pipe. Took CO2 cartridges used for whipped cream dispensers, put them in a vice and punctured them to let gas out (dangerous in itself) then filled the empties with match heads. Put cartridge in the pipe, and one of the guys lit it. Damn was that powerful. Used to go by railroad tracks and shoot at moving box cars. If I caught my son doing that he wouldn't be able to sit for a week. If my dad caught me I probably couldn't sit for a month!
5. Had sun poisoning a few times on the Jersey shore. Also had 2 buddies die young (30s) from melanoma.
6.Yes. My '61 VW Bug convertible had seat belts. So did my dads new 1964 Chevy Impala. They were immediately tucked inside the crease of the car seat and never used.
7. So funny! Helicopter mom's! During the summer you left the house in the morning and mom told you to be back on time for dinner. At night, be home when street lights turned on. Punishment was having to stay indoors. My sister laughs that punishment now is to go outdoors and play, away from computers and TV. In those days there was one TV, and dad had control. If you didn't watch what he wanted, tough. Some exceptions were Disney and a few other shows. The reason why American Bandstand was on at 4 PM was dad wasn't home then and the kids had control of the TV.
8. Days of chemistry sets, erector sets and train sets. Good thing the chemicals came in small amounts, or we probably would have blown something up.
9. No safety factors whatsoever. Jungle gyms were dangers. Many kids got stitches. Fall near the top and you bounced down over that metal piping like a pin ball machine.
10. Lead paint and asbestos all over the place. We had a basement cafeteria in grammar school with pipes running overhead with asbestos insulation. Normal in those days. Now they'd wear a hazmat suit in that basement.
11. Lawn darts. We used to shoot with a bow and arrow to see who could get the arrow closest to the other guys foot. I carry a scar in my head from 5 stitches I got when my buddy nailed me right on the top of my head. About 9 years later he was a USMC Captain fighting in Vietnam. I doubt he was using a bow and arrow there.
12. Looking at grand kids today I can't imagine mom's not being able to pick up phones and finding where kids are. Around eleven years old I decided to bike 12 miles to my cousins house. Rode most of the way on the shoulder of highway 208. Came home for dinner and told mom and dad (had to, my aunt was home I knew I made the trip) just to get grounded for a few days. During summer in those days, it was nothing to go to the river to fish at 6am, come home around 11 or 12, pick up a ball, glove and bat, pick an empty glass milk bottle out of the insulated milk delivery box, fill it with water and head to one of the baseball fields at the school. Chose up sides, play a few games of ball, and make it home for 5:30 dinner.
I had great parents, but worrying about a kid living 8 miles outside of New York City never seemed to be a major concern. They were survivors of the Great Depression and WWII. They didn't make idle threats. Screw up at school, disrespect a neighbor, a teacher, a cop; and that stinging feeling on your ass lasted a good 24 hours. It made being a teacher or a cop a lot easier.
The Dangerous 60's
