Toxic fumes, tetanus shots, and the Big Wheel

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While on FB I came across a little dittie that reminded me of the fearless generation from whence I came: the 70’s. If you were born a bit before then, the 70’s were just the right age when the stars aligned and curiosity, fearlessness, and determination joined forces and nothing stopped you.

Kids didn’t use seatbelts, let alone have their own car seat. Your seatbelt was your mom throwing her arm across you to keep you from smashing your tiny flexible skull against the dashboard (which only worked 20% of the time). There were lapbelts but, admit it, pretty lame. And pick-up trucks with an open bed – well now we are talking changing a three-seater into a jamb-as-many-friends-in-the-back-seater! The cargo area of a station wagon? Nope this was actually used as a free for all play pen for the kids. Wrestling, laying down for naps, having a picnic, all while dad tried not to lose his shit driving in beach traffic so you and your brother can eat a sand-wich; literally sandwich filled with sand from your sticky fingers (crunch crunch).

Creepy Crawlers… yes please let me inhale toxic fumes, I didn’t want to ace those bubble tests in third grade anyway. And the plastic glob of goo at the end of the straw that magically turned into a huge balloon? Inhale and residue on my fingers which will inevitably go into my mouth at some point, SCORE! Whoops forgot about the lead paint toys too. Back in the day there was no other way to adhere paint to toys to lead was added and those cute little wooden blocks that were used as a teething device was now dropping the SAT scores by the minute. Ivy League schools are overrated anyway.

Sunscreen was called baby oil back in the day. If you weren’t rocking a golden tan or peeling from a summer’s worth of sunburns you were lame and had the worst summer ever. And if you dared show up with Noxema on your nose to lessen the pain, you got your shoulders slapped to remind you of your burn there as well…. good times.

Games: lawn darts were made of razor sharp blades about 6 inches long and you tossed them 10 yards back and forth at one another with the hopes it will land in the  hoolahoop on the ground for points. The company had to completely revamp its design with soft edges because people where getting hurt. Who got hurt with this game? Fess up!  You have to be kidding.  You didn’t know that when that 6 inch blade came even remotely in your direction that you wouldn’t move out of the way?! That was part of the fun – playing chicken with a javelin! Way to ruin it for everyone.

Helmets and elbow pads are for losers. Learning to ride a bike, roller skate (and later on a skateboard) takes balance. If you don’t get hurt falling off, the learning process takes so much longer. Plus the scars are really cool. Who didn’t ride on the handlebars or on the seat holding on to the driver’s butt (which was in your face and hoping he was a real friend and wasn’t going to blast you with a fart) as balance?  There was nowhere to put your feet so your legs dangled and your friend had a bike and you had to walk like a dork so ride-sharing was the norm. Plus there is plenty of room for two on a one-seater, you just have to be creative.

Toss in the Big Wheel (and for you Evil Kineval types the wooden jump plank leaning on a concrete block) and now we are talking some adrenalin. Your friend Sully did it yesterday and you will be damned if he is going to show off that scab alone. Determination supersedes wisdom when you are young.

The adventurous play ground. The days of climbing up inside the ‘metal rocket’ with all its sharp edges, uncovered steel screw tops and nails exposed made for tetanus shots only a doctor’s office can dream of. Don’t forget the 200 degree metal slide against the back of your legs; it’s a beautiful day and that slide has been just soaking in the sunshine for several hours – go metal burn yes! But it didn’t stop you, you shook it off and kept going back up anyway because it was fun.

The special hideaway. Either you had one or your best friend did. It was in a tree house, sitting on a tree limb 20 feet high, under the porch, in a leanto, just some secret place for you to escape the tyranny of your parents or the unbridled beatings of your older siblings. Hiding away for hours was the norm; the police were not called if you were an hour late for supper, you just got grounded. And not the ‘fun’ grounded these kids have these days… TV, xbox, cell phone, all in the room to keep you entertained? Unheard of…you had the old school, sit in your room and stare out of the window at all your friends having fun playing tag or hide and seek while you were missing it. Lesson learned.

There are of course many more… the drinking from a hose and not bottled water, your baseball team losing and not getting the pizza party because “you tried really hard”, the walking to school (in the blizzard uphill both ways) because there weren’t school buses and your family only had one car that dad took to work….

It goes on and on and it was fun. It was a great generation and we learned so much. Please share any ‘good times’ that I may have overlooked.

24 thoughts on “Toxic fumes, tetanus shots, and the Big Wheel”

  1. I was born in 1968… Being a kid in the 70’s was the best! I’m pretty sure I still have a bruise from my mom throwing her arm across me in the car… Good times, good times… 😀

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  3. The station wagon was the best! Dad slamming on the brakes so we would slide forward and then punch the gas to make us slide back to the tail gate. At least until the tail gate popped open when we hit it. Those were the days!!!

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  5. The 70’s were a great time to grow up as a kid….we had freedom and no worries, wouldn’t change it all for anything!!!!! Our moms would yell out the back door to call us in for lunch or dinner. And somehow in the neighborhood, someone would find you to tell you to go home. No cell phones then.

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  6. I was the mom slapping the kid in the face when I hit my brakes, lacking a car seat. Even now, it is not safe to ride shotgun with me. LOL …

    While you ‘think’ you’ve seen changes, going back a mere ten years alters a person’s ‘remember whens’. My mother born in 1916, told me of her experiences riding shotgun on a horse–pulled wagon to deliver groceries as a child. The whole world has changed dramatically in the past 100 years alone. Say ‘VCR’ to a kid today, and they’d look at you like you’d lost your mind, kind of like when I reminisced about 8-track tapes, popular back in ‘my’ day. 🙂

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  8. Pingback: The psychology of writing about the workplace: The Premio Dardos Award | psychologistmimi

  9. I’m pre-seventies and pre-seatbelt of any kind. My mother’s arm shot out automatically when she stepped on the brake, trying to hold us in place. It must be a hard habit to get out of when your kids get older–or your passengers are adults.

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  10. Thanks for reminding me of my dare devil childhood. I was born in 1969 and babies traveled in their baskets without any form of seat belt. This meant when you went over a bump in the road because there were still bumps in the road back then and the car could almost get airborne and you’;d get butterflies in your tummy which are now unheard of,m the baby could fly out. I still remember when my brother fell out of his carbasket when I was about 3 and it was a catastrophe. Mum had gone round a bend and sent him flying.
    I wonder if that explains a few things…
    Hey, such a loving sister!!

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    • being the youngest (with three older brothers) I always got the ‘hump’ in the back seat and as you mentioned, going around corners got me squished so hard it was hard to breath at times, but hey, what are siblings for. Glad you liked the post and thank you for stopping by!

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      • My Mum was one of four siblings and they used to have the four kids in the back of the FJ Holden. There was a very rigid hierarchy in that back seat and the eldest two always sat at the doors and the youngest two were in the middle. My aunt, who was the youngest, was always being squished but knew better than to complain as that meant being in the front with Mum and Dad, which was considered a form of death. My grandparents were very strict and there was a us and them culture there.

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