How did we survive childhood ?...

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Now every1 leaves me alone because I'm about 6' and hairy as a 40 year old.

Bullies started leaving me alone because I tracked them down and caught them without their crowds. Without their friends to jump in and protect them they were wusses.

BTW, I weighed under 140 when I entered the army just after high school.

[duiker]

Just finished reading all of the posts in this very enjoyable thread.  Some were very humerous, some were scarry, and some I could relate to.  I noticed that over 1300 had visited this thread and I imangine that most could relate to some of these activities. 

 I once had an Emergency Room Physician tell me that any American male that reached the age of 25 should consider themselves lucky.  He attributed a lot of these stupid activities to the effects of the male hormones kicking in.  I am glad that they have settled down and that I survived.

[mondotrains]

To the young kids out there, reading these posts may give you ideas, but you should NOT be playing near or on railroad tracks.  When I was 15 years old, one of my good friends was walking on the tracks with another one of our friends, like we always did.  Luckily, I wasn't there that day.  Joe thought the train was on a different track than he was on and when he jumped as the train got close, he jumped right in front of the train.

Well, I'll never forget watching TV news that night, as I watched our town priest giving last rights to the body of Joe, covered up by a white sheet.  By the time the train stopped, my friend Joe, who was just 15 years old, was cut into several pieces.  I'll also never forget his mother's crying at his funeral and how empty his seat seemed in class the next week.

I know my story is morbid, but I thought it was necessary to tell to the young folks on this forum. 

Mondo

 

[pike-62]

Anyone want to admit to peeing on an electric fence? Or convincing your buddy to?    

 

 

Yup, The Mythbusters had that one all wrong. Out on a camping trip with some buddies...got woke up about 3AM to a blood curdling scream

[selector]

...What bothers me most, to this day, is that I had a passenger.

-Crandell

Oh Come on, finish the story..

"Who complained loudly all the way back about their now soiled shorts!, but of course I couldnt hear them after they screamed so loudly in my ear when the truck went past that I was deaf for two days"

...and no I wasnt there, lets just say, been there-done that...

Funny, but I don't recall that he said a much...at the time.  I do have a dim recollection of him crushing my hips with the insides of his thighs.  He had been lolling around on the back, looking around, legs splayed.  But, honestly, aside from later saying something like, "If you ever...!", I don't think I got much of a rise out of him.

[shayfan84325]

Having watched this thread since it started, and posted on it, I'd like to make another comment.  I think a lot of the reason we survived childhood was because we instinctively know the limits of safety.  Of course there are cases in which misjudgement results in an unfortunate outcome, but most of us know how close we dare step to the "edge."  We also listened to the advice that made sense:

As kids, my old pal Todd and I used to explore the SP yard in Ashland, Oregon fairly often.  One time one of the guys who worked there came over and told us it was OK to hang around, as long as we are careful.  He also told us that it's important to never linger on the tracks.  "It's like crossing the street." he said, "Look both ways and walk across.  Train's can't hurt you unless you're on the track, so don't spend much time there."  I still heed that advice.

Granted. that was 40 years ago and things have changed, but that advice is probably much more effective in preventing accidents than simply chasing kids away.

Todd and I once discovered some "torpedos*" on the rails where they stored replacement wheelsets.  While explosives have a high "cool factor" we were smart enough not to touch them; we also knew that they should not be where they were.  We went and got one of the train guys and he removed them.  See what I mean about instincts?  I bet most of you would have done the same thing, because we know our limits.  That's how we survived.

*  Torpedos are small explosive devices that are placed on the rails to warn engineers of obstructed track ahead.  When a train runs over one it explodes and the noise/shock tells the engineer to stop the train.  An example of how they would be used would be of a tree falls across the track - torpedos would be put on the rails about a mile or so in either direction from the obstruction.  If a train is heading toward the obstruction it will hit the torpedo first and the engineer will have time to stop the train and thus avoid a collision.

[my05hammer]

*  Torpedos are small explosive devices that are placed on the rails to warn engineers of obstructed track ahead.  When a train runs over one it explodes and the noise/shock tells the engineer to stop the train.  An example of how they would be used would be of a tree falls across the track - torpedos would be put on the rails about a mile or so in either direction from the obstruction.  If a train is heading toward the obstruction it will hit the torpedo first and the engineer will have time to stop the train and thus avoid a collision.

 

Do railroads still use torpedos? 

 

[vsmith]

*  Torpedos are small explosive devices that are placed on the rails to warn engineers of obstructed track ahead.  When a train runs over one it explodes and the noise/shock tells the engineer to stop the train.  An example of how they would be used would be of a tree falls across the track - torpedos would be put on the rails about a mile or so in either direction from the obstruction.  If a train is heading toward the obstruction it will hit the torpedo first and the engineer will have time to stop the train and thus avoid a collision.

Do railroads still use torpedos? 

I've heard that some RRs still have them, dont know about use them, mostly eliminated with the advent of radio communication. Flares are still used by non-railroad entities like Police or Fire Depts to warn oncoming trains even after they'd called an incident in that warrents contacting the railroads, like a traffic accident on a crossing or a fire next to or on the tracks, this is because of the time delay contacting the proper RR personel and getting word to any crews can intail.

[Kenfolk]

When I was growing up, I used to hear the explosives go off along the tracks from time to time back in the '60's and '70's; don't live close enough now to hear them if they still use them.  

One time, walking along a section of abandoned track, at the end of the rails found some sticks of dynamite tucked in a hole beneath the rails. 

I've often wondered how we survived--no seatbelts, bike helmets, or fences between us and the  tracks or grapevines (he he).

I tried riding my bicycle across a trestle--wheels on the rail.

[Last Chance]

I have done some bad things, and a few of them were dangerous, and not always solely to myself.  I get no pleasure thinking about them, so you'll understand why I won't discuss them here.  They make me cringe whenever they cross my mind.  

I will admit to one really dumb, and lucky event.  I was riding a motorcycle and passed a semi on a curve.   It was a very broad curve, and I thought I had the time and clearance to pass based on what I saw ahead of the truck...and the power.   I was wrong.  I was just aft of the tractor when another semi came hurtling past me.  What bothers me most, to this day, is that I had a passenger.

-Crandell

 

Well, you wont believe some of the adjustments to the 18 wheeler I had to make to give a stupid or reeally dumb driver on a sports car or motor bike just enough room to get out between me and the bridge barrier or another vehicle. 6 People got between my trailer and me over downtown dallas in a tiny sports car and I was certain that they would be crushed and ground up once the second "S" bend of that bridge came around over the 35 interchanges. I gave the folks a extra foot and they got out. I almost retired from trucking that night. They tell you all about risk management but idiots like those dont deserve to live. However manslaugher times 6 charges in texas isnt exactly welcome either LOL.

[Packers#1]

I just gotta say that I love this thread. Man, it had to be fun growing up back then

Another possibly stupid stunt was wearing my New york Mets T-shirt into Turner Field! And to make it more miraculous, I was cheering my head off for the mets, who won 7-1, lol.

I'm trying to think of other stupid stuff I've done. Can't really think of anything now. Maybe playing tackle football w/ guys two grades ahead of me when I was in 4th and 5th grade (and I sometimes will to this day). And no pads, just your shirt (maybe) and your pants and shoes.

[HEdward]

 

July of 97,  Same deal.  Mets Jacket(no t-shirt available that day)Mets behind 0-6 after two.  Top third, I stand ON my seat begin "Let's Go Mets!" cheer.  14 Mets fans stand and cheer along.  Mets win 7-6 on ESPN Sunday Night Game.  45,000 mourners and 14 people high five me out in the parking lot.  Safe as could be.  Much bigger risk in going to Boston driving a car with NY plates and asking for directions to Fenway.  Even if the Yanks weren't visiting. 

Takle football in the street with snow and ice and cars arked along the street.  No pads.  No refs.  No rules.  No chance not to get injured.  We also hung out in the dead bus lot adjacent to the M line yard between Metropolitan Av and Fresh Pond Road.  We used to cross the LIRR tracks and yard as a shortcut.  Yup.  They now put two sets of fences between the streets and the rails.  Guess what?  Just as many tresspassers get hurt there now as then and the spot where the runaway diesel went, well there's nothing to protect anyone along that branch.

I made it out alive.  No problem.  Still, I'm not raising my sons there, am I?

[EM-1]

Never had many close calls around the local railroad ROWs, except maybe for just making it across the river before a train got on the swing bridge.  The bridge was an illicit and common shortcut that could save a couple miles if you were waling. At the local park where I did most of my ice skating, I was one of the kids the city attendants allowed to go to the local B&O yard to pick up coal for the pot-bellied stove.  They seemed to be able to recognize those of us who would pay attention to what's around us and those who wouldn't.  City never provided enough coal to really get that stove glowing.  Attendance really dropped off when the city converted the stove to gas.

Friend did have a close call once.  Some other friends of his "found" a couple boxes of torpedos, asked him to hold them.  He did.  Then after a couple days, he got a phone call that the police had picked up one of the other kids breaking into a caboose.  Expecting that the kid would probably sing like a canary, my friend tried to get rid of the devices by throwing them in the trash barrel and burning them. He was expecting maybe a flash.  But, the torpedos started popping just as the cruiser pulled into his driveway.  Luckily, he wasn't hurt, no damage was done, and the cops had enough expereince with the other gang to accept his explanation that he was only asked to hold them.  Also, the cops already knew that he was in early stages of MD, and didn't have the physical capability to break in to a caboose.

Maybe the reason most of my crowd didn't get hurt around the railroads was some of our fathers had spent considerable time during the depression hopping trains looking for work, and passed on a lot of the lessons they learned the hard way, including graphic descriptions of what happens to the careless.

Other than that, most of us got away unhurt from things like streetball, tackle football on our (Parochial) school's gravel parking lot, later paved with asphalt.  We usually played tag football untill there was a couple feet of packable snow to serve as a cushion. Funny, nobody ever got seriously hurt at choose-up, no matter where we played, untill some of us went out for "Organized, Safe" scholastic football in Juinior or Senior high school.  That led to concussions, broken bones, heat sickness, bad sprains, badly bruised or torn muscles and hospitalisations. Then there was the swing rope under our High Level bridge, hanging just over the slope of one of the abutments, about a 60' fall if you slipped.  Or the rope broke.  Which almost never happened.  The rope was wrapped multiple times, with a thick chunk of carpet wrapped around the girder. 

Almost forgot  about the stamped sheet metal toys held together with twist tabs on the outside.  Playing mumbilty-peg with pocket knives.  everybody drinking from the same bottle or glass.  Stepping or putting the hand on rusty nails, and not going to a doctor or hospital for shots.  Hitchhicking.  Shooting at each other with BB guns while wearing leather jackets.  Learning how to stand up to bullies has already been mentioned.  Learning to cross heavily trafficed streets before Walk/Don't Walk signs.  Riding bicycles on streets, in traffic, without helmets or other padding.  Hopping cars (done on roller skates, sneak up behind a car at a stopsign, while semi-squatting grab hold of the bumper, and try to hang on).  Sword fighting with sticks.  Cutting grass with a sickle.  Running early power tools with minimal parental oversight.  Going out in the woods with knives, hatchets, and other tools and building clubhouses and other things, sometimes cutting down trees.  Match fights (buying boxes of Ohio Blue Tip matches, licking the tips, and tossing them at each other.  They rarely burn with a flame, but put out lots of smoke).

Model building before anybody found out model cements and paints were able to cause cancer in California.  

When I got to AF basic in Lackland AFB, findng out we may be the last flight to go through the confidence course without safety ropes, and with real barbed wire and explosive pyrotechnics.  Seems some parents had been complaining the course was unsafe(in 1965).

I mentioned parochial school.  Grades 1, 2, and 3 punishment for misbehaving was a number of swats on the open hand palm or behind with a 12" ruller.  4, 5, and 6 grades used a yarstick on the top or bottom of the hand or knuckles, across the shoulders, or the behind.  In grades 7 and 8, it was heavy maple dowel pointers. 

 Actually, the closest  scare I had involved some target shooting across an abandoned industrial spur.  I was standing about 10 feet away from somebody practicing quick draw with a .22 LR revolver.  Heard a shot, felt something hit me in the waist.  There were several bullet fragments at my feet, and a dent in my belt buckle.  People jumped when they head me yelp, and the shooter had to set down when I showed the fragments and the dent. When he drew, he squeezed the trigger a bit early, the bullet hit the rail and ricochetted into my belt.  Ended the shooting for the day.  Somebody else had to drive us out of there.

 Seems the smarter people thought about what they were doing before they did it and were (relatively) safe.  The less smart people might sometime have gotten hurt once and learned from it.  The really dumb ones never learned, and sometimes natural selection stepped in.