Gather ’round, those of you reading this who are 30 or younger – and hear a story about what it was like to drive “unsafe” cars when people were still allowed to do that.
Let’s begin by pointing out the obvious; that what you’re reading was written by a guy who – like millions of Americans – is still alive and all in one piece, notwithstanding that we drove (and rode in ) “unsafe” cars back in the day. Because those were the only kinds of cars you could drive or ride around in.
Here’s one example:
Before I was old enough to legally drive, I used to catch a ride to school with a friend’s mom, who would pick me up in her VW Beetle. This car had seat belts – a government requirement, even then – but none of us wore them because at the time, almost no one did. Perhaps because no one was forced to, then. They were uncomfortable to wear and impeded just climbing in and out of the car, which was a thing routinely done in those days. This included kids – who rode up front (unbuckled) rather than strapped into a “safety” seat in the back.
The Beetle had no air bags but it never mattered because my friend’s mom never crashed the car. Same as regards us not wearing seat belts. They are an irrelevance if the car isn’t crashed. But what if there had been a crash? Well, the Russians might decide they’ve had enough of us poking them in the eye – via the Ukrainian regime of the little man who likes to style himself “president” – and lob some nukes our way tomorrow.
Should be we spend our days in underground bunkers, just in case?
If you can imagine it, Americans were once not neurotically afraid of everything. Perhaps because they weren’t taught to be afraid of everything.
It was understood that there were risks, but we did not obsess about them. As a result, we were much happier – because it is a morose thing to be worried all the time (about everything). Try to imagine what it was like to be picked up at the bottom of the street – we kids walked there by ourselves, too – if you can imagine that – by a friend’s mom in a VW Beetle and just clambering in, without any nonsense about “buckling up” for “safety.” Maybe – having grown up this way – we grew up not-obsessed with “safety.” More finely, not rendered neurotically fearful about pretty much everything.
Especially cars. Instead, we loved them. Could not wait to be old enough to drive one of our very own. 
When we got old enough to drive ourselves, we typically drove marginally reliable, rust-bucket used cars made in the ’60s and ’70s (this being the ’80s, for me). None of these cars had ABS; yet we managed to stop them without running into things, most of the time. There was no such as traction control, so we learned how to maintain control. The lack of ABS instilled in us an understanding of the danger of tailgating, while the absence of stability control instilled a respect for the limits of a car’s stability. Many of us experienced this firsthand – but at lower speeds, because the cars of that era had lower limits; they would understeer or oversteer easily and obviously and maybe slide or spin out. But because they let go at lower speeds, the consequences were usually less serious. Maybe a pushed-in bumper or a dented fender.
Today’s “safe” cars impart the feeling of being more in control – until you lose control. Stability control can only do so much. Once a threshold is passed, things happen fast. When they do, the consequences are often much more serious. Luckily, the “safe” car has air bags and you are probably “buckled up” because if you weren’t, the car would nag you to death until you did.
Today’s “safe” cars are certainly much less fun. They are designed – so it seems – to thwart everything about driving (or even riding in a car) that might be fun. Especially for kids – who are trained from infancy to regard riding in a car as a dangerous thing. That message is imparted by strapping them tightly into “safety” seats – often until they are on the cusp of puberty (or even past it). The psychological effect of this is surely of a piece with the effect of growing up with one of those moms who makes sure her kids are afraid of everything. These are the kids who were never allowed to explore the woods behind the house or trick or treat by themselves or with their friends.
It is not surprising that, by the time these kids are old enough to drive, many are afraid to – or just not interested.
I am glad I didn’t grow up that way. That I got to ride in my friend’s mom’s VW, unbuckled and untroubled.
. . .
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We were just a big pile of child in the back of the wagon. Then there was the wagon with the rear facing seats. Then there was the camper van, you could lay in bed or practice your balance. Hunting ground hogs from the back of pickup trucks. My first car was so rusted out you could lift the mat and see the road beneath your feet. I took out the back seat and threw in a couple of lawn chairs. My buddies would ride back there drinking beer while I tried to tip them over.
Memento mori
And, being FEARFUL.
The opposite of, LIVING.
Helicopter Mom’s and Karen’s just don’t, ‘get it’. Or, refuse to see? Our Overlords are only too happy to oblige.
Aaah, I remember the nights when it was a fun challenge to stuff as many people as possible into a vehicle before driving to the drive-in movie theatre (and cheat a few admission fees-hee hee). Or, getting a ride in the back of the truck bed and feel the wind! Or, riding in “the day back” of those weird station wagons that had the long seat that faced backwards…so you could wave and/or make faces at the vehicle behind you (bwa ha ha ha!). Or learning to drive on the ice with a rear-wheel drive, standard transmission vehicle. I miss being able to just drive (and fix!!!) my vehicle. Heaven forbid if I still was “allowed” to-at the very least-change the front head lamp or light bulb without needing a degree. Oh, and be able to just drive around the corner to my neighbours house without getting nannied to death because I do not have my friggin’ seat belt on! Aaah yes, the “one vehicle length for every ten miles driven” rule. I still keep to that rule, but most take that as a reason to cut you off and then go really slow. As Foghorn Leghorn says, “some days it doesn’t pay to get out of bed” (hee hee). Also another politically correct cartoon that most would find offensive, or hurt someone’s feelings, I am sure.
One of the drive ins in South King county WA rolled with it – $1.99 a carload! Never searched so teens and booze rolled right in. Good times, thanks El Rancho Drive-in!
RE: “to stuff as many people as possible into a vehicle before driving to…”
We went from the high school basketball game over to the Pizza Hut.
Thanks for the cool flashback. Those were The Best of times.
“learning to drive on ice with a manual transmission” – Love it. Uphill as well.
…and rear wheel drive, too!
Thanks for all the cool memories.
I remember the sharp metal dash edge in grampas late 50s Plymouth whatever. I was so terrified of getting my lil head gashed or cut off I always rode in that ones back seat. In moms corvairs I had grown to ignore dangers like that. Ralph was an idiot according to my folks anyway. I didnt need anyone to install common sense even at 3. More likely at cavalier 13. Never used a seat belt unless ordered to.
As a little kid I lived in fear of power windows. Dad’s wealthy friend had, I think a 60s something Buick, with power windows – back then it was chrome trimmed thick glass and powerful motor to make it move. My brother didn’t help “Don’t get your fingers near that window, it’l take your fingers clean off!”
We made a sign for the dash in my 1956 Plymouth that said “In this car we die like men.”
HA! LOVE IT! – “In this car we die like men.”
Near where I lived, teen age years, a long straightaway with an intersection half way, no stop sign on the straightaway. Yep, jumpin’ time! Hit about 50, nice ramp up to the intersection and airborne you went. We were really rolling in my buddy’s new to him but well used 66 Mustang. It was sailing in the air long enough to realize this could be trouble – I screamed “keep the wheel straight!” and when we hit his brother really smacked his head into the roof. Of course no belts just lots of screams and laughter once back on the ground.
Sparkey, your comment reminded me of this one that someone posted a while back. I have saved comments from this site over the years that I particularly like. When I need a laugh, I go back and read some of them. Who wrote this one, I do not know, but the visual I get (with the veggies flying) is hilarious! Never mind that you probably could not get away with that today
~~~~~~~~~~~
Back in 1976 I had a ‘73 Toyota Land Bruiser. I lived in a small town in the Sierra Nevada foothills back then before I had the sense to vacate CA. I took the roof and doors off for the summer. Two of my buddies were standing up in the back holding onto the roll cage with one hand and a beer in the other hand as we passed through the small town of less than 1000 people. We were young and dumb at the time, but sure had a lot of fun. It so happened that the only police car (a Fury) happened to be coming from the opposite direction, took notice of our fun and turned around and gave chase. I put my Land Bruiser in 4wd and headed up an embankment which was so steep I had to stand up to see over the hood. The Fury was spinning out trying to catch us. At the top of the hill I became airborne for a second and landed in someone’s garden. The tomatoes were flying as we drove through someone’s yard and then headed for the creek for the rest of the day. Never got caught, but never did anything like that again.
Thank you for bringing back that memory Shadow! I am the one who performed that dastardly deed. Still feel bad about leaving the tire tracks in some unknown person’s garden-of which I am sure spent many an hour tending to their garden. I still laugh though (this is so bad of me LOL) to imagine the surprise of the homeowner. Had to be a true WTF moment! I had “jumped” my Land Cruiser once before out at Sand Mountain outside of Fallon Nevada, so I knew to keep my foot in it and keep ‘er straight for the landing. The garden came up much too close to the runway of my landing to steer around it. I have other stories of car related mischief to be sure. That was a very short window in life as a mostly carefree older teenager. I certainly wouldn’t trade that time or those experiences in life for the “safety” and coddling that so many young people live out such boring and sterile lives today. I grew up quickly after that, worked and studied hard-much as my father had modeled for me. He taught me that “Can’t never could do anything” and was a man full of love and compassion. Dad had a childhood of much difficulty, yet did well through all of that. I am nearly the age now when he passed away. I still want to be like him! For I too have many stories to tell.
Thank you for sharing this one Dr. Grandpa I still get a good laugh and smile when I read it.
School buses do NOT have seat belts … what about the precious children …. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
I see garbage truck drivers standing up, halfway out the door, moving their truck down the street. They are not wearing a seatbelts, nor are they sitting in the driver’s seat.
Motorcycles do not have seatbelts or airbags.
Some people have fallen off cliffs to their death while hiking.
Every year sharks eat people swimming.
Governments start wars which kill their own citizens. Take Ukraine for instance, the top military commander says the Ukraine army deaths is over 2 million. Wounded is a factor at least 2.3 times the death count.
When Israel and the United States wanted to start the War of Terror they did a false flag on 9112001. They crashed jets into the trade towers, and then did a controlled demolition with high explosives, killing at least 3850 Amerikan tax slaves when the buildings imploded from detonation charges. The wars that they themselves engineered killed millions in the years to come, including maiming/killing thousands of servicemen. Many lost limbs or were burned alive.
The US government did not clear the Trade Towers before the intentionally collapsed them, hell, they didn’t even get a NYC controlled demolition permit.
So why do we allow the government to be in charge of our safety? They clearly do not care about our safety, as they routinely kill us in false flags, wars, and with deadly vaccines. The idea that the government cares about children’s safety is a sick joke. They give newborns up to age 2 over 30 jabs which makes them sick for life. If that child survives the vaccine mandates they could be forced into the military and killed in a trench on a front line somewhere in eastern Europe. If you think about it, the government is a gigantic death machine. Just how many woman and children have been slaughtered in Gaza because slavish Ziowhore Trump endorses Israel?
No truer words have ever been spoken Yukon. Dead accurate. 100%
Nice to see someone else notice, “School buses do NOT have seat belts … what about the precious children …. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh”
Howevah, I wonder, you mention, “Just how many woman and children have been slaughtered in Gaza”
…Do you ever go on about the same in other countries? Maybe I missed it?
It’s ALL wrong. Just wondered if you only had a focus on one place & time. That is all.
I’m gonna take a slightly contrarian view on old versus new(er) cars, espcially those after the 1980s.
Cars were largely unsafe until the mid to late 1970s. For a while, they were awful to drive, unless you had a high performance car like a Firebird, a Corvette, a Shelby Mustang, a Grand Prix or something like it. They wallowed, they swayed, weaved, and their steering was terrible. They were plagued by poor visibility due to 1W headlights. I drove a couple of Chevy Concours station wagons I was interested in buying. The bias ply tires cured me of any desire to own one. Seating positions were terrible.
I’m not so sure that if I was born 10 years earlier if I wouldn’t have had a different view. I don’t know.
At the end of that road test, I was happy to get back in my 1987 Acura Integra and go home. It had discs, radials, the interior was noisy by today’s standards, but overall teh car felt very solid and controlled. It’s low center of gravity and the rack and pinion steering saved me from crossing into oncoming traffic on a rural interstate sometime in 1994.
The US highway fatality rate began falling in the mid 1960s due to ongoing additions to the interstate highway system. In addition, credit should be given to the adoption of sway bars in some models. Radial tires were beginning to be installed in new cars beginning around 1968 or so. By 1973, radials comprised 20% of new tire installations. They got a big boost in 1974 when their share doubled. By 1976, more than 80 percent of tires were radials.
Unfortunately, credit for the dropping fatality rates of the period (from 5.5 in 1965 to 4.15 by 1973 and 2.0 in 1990) was given to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. They deserved none of it. No Federal Motor Vehicle Safety standards mandated any of the improvement that undoubtedly reduced the casualty rate in the 70s through today.
Continuous improvement in vehicle handling and predictability accounted for most of the improvements during a period or relative regulatory calm. Those are what people perceive as safety even today.
So, while 1960’s cars were stylish, the ingredients of a safe and fun to drive automobile include, heavy duty suspensions, rack and pinion steering systems, speed rated radial tires, anti-sway bars and disc braking systems. That’s it. The rest is up to the driver.
Low speed driving is never a solution, though, as high driving speeds do not cause traffic accidents
The lions share of that improvement
Hi, Rat. It’s all in the perspective. Im not that old, but I grew up on antique cars. I restored a 24 Model T before high school. Was it unsafe? it had a high center of gravity, wobbly wooden wheels on tall skinny bias ply tires on split rims, a long wobbly steering column with a acorn nut pointed at your sternum, and not an ounce of padding except for the diamond tucked seat. It had a single mechanical drum brake, and a pair of handle operated rear drum brakes for emergency and holding. Was it unsafe? Compared to anything newer, absolutely. Compared to dealing with a horse which could kick, run away, etc, not even.
My stuff from the late 40s and early 50s is generally quite safe in modern traffic, it can go 60 without a problem and has 4 wheel hydraulic brakes. It wont stop as quick, steer as precisely, or ride as nice as the new stuff.
By the late 60s we were getting front and sometimes all wheel disk brakes (with power sometimes!), and good power steering.
But you’re right, not a bit of it has to do with the bureaucrats in DC or the state houses. What was improved was highway and guardrail design, for which they do get some credit.
Yes. It’s all a matter of preference. If people want to drive a 20’s Model T or a Tesla EV that’s their choice.
With an unlimited sum of money, I would have the following vehicles:
1. 1968 Buick Riviera
2. 1963 Chevrolet Corvair
3. 1967-69 Jaguar 420/70 Jaguar XJ6
4. 1970 Mercury Colony Park Wagon
5. 1970 Travelall
6. Lexus LS400
7. 1969 Oldsmobile Cutlass
and probably many others.
I would want my brothers ‘67 Pontiac GTO, it was the perfect ‘60s USA machine.
As a former owner of a ’66 GTO convertible fun car (I regret selling & couldn’t afford to buy now) and a few other older cars, I totally do not get Swamprat’s rant about, “Cars were largely unsafe until the mid to late 1970s. For a while, they were awful to drive,”.
Do you?
Why would his top picks be a 1968 Buick Riviera or a 1963 Chevrolet Corvair?
…I’m not following that line of thought. At all.
Amen, Helot –
I have owned a number of cars made in the ’60s, including my ’64 Corvair (wish I had kept that one). If driven sensibly, with respect for their capabilities, they were by no means “unsafe.” I still own a ’76 Kawasaki motorcycle. It has a drum rear brake, a single disc front brake and a tube-steel frame. Does it stop as well as a modern bike? No, of course not. But it stops well enough. If you ride it stupidly, then – yes – you can get into trouble. The thing to do is not ride it stupidly!
Morning, Sparkey!
A high school buddy of mine – the Stu Monster – owned a ’71 GTX 440. Can you imagine? This was when we were in high school. He bought it for a sum that would not buy a hard-used Corolla today. It had the gattling gun exhaust tips and a slapstick 727 Torquflite. It was the first car I ever drove that chirped the tires on the 1-2 upshift.
Cars had to be reengineered to match the new Interstate highways. All those issues you brought up, from tires to suspension parts, weren’t much of an issue at low speeds. Once you got above 50 MPH that’s when the problems start to show.
Even the weak 6 volt headlights weren’t much of a problem in cities, where streets were usually lit with mercury vapor lights. Out in the sticks there wasn’t enough traffic to cause glare so your eyes could adjust to the dark -but you weren’t outdriving your headlights anyway because the narrow winding roads weren’t set up for high speed cornering.
‘I used to catch a ride to school with my friend’s mom, who would pick me up in her VW Beetle.’ — eric
Likewise, I used to ride home from school with a kid next door who had an early Sixties Beetle. It had no gas gauge. As with a motorcycle, when it began to stumble because of low fuel, he would kick a lever on the floorboard to activate the reserve tank — simple, cheap and functional.
If one happened to be passing another vehicle when fuel in the main supply ran low, an accident could happen. Maybe some did. But the double contingency of running low at the exact moment of a critical maneuver such as passing was considered too remote to address with protective measures.
One of our greatest periods of technological innovation — the roaring Twenties — coincided with mass-produced but extremely crude vehicles such as the Ford Model T. Owners had to deal with frequent issues, from flats to mechanical breakdowns. Badly adjusted, the mechanical brake linkage favored by Henry Ford could pull the car to one side or the other.
Nevertheless, most drivers met the challenges and reached their destination. And the US fedgov, which spent only 3 percent of GDP during the Coolidge administration versus 23 percent now (chart linked below), had not a single ‘crat in charge of dictating auto safety or fuel economy.
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYONGDA188S
Calvin Coolidge, a Vermont farmer by origin, would be sickened and appalled to see the US fedgov’s transformation into a sprawling, debt-choked regulatory leviathan. Every bitter complaint levied against King George in the Declaration of Independence applies to today’s DC entity, including ‘For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world’ and ‘For imposing Taxes [i.e., Tariffs] on us without our Consent.’
Sic simper tyrannis. — John Wilkes Booth
Boothe screwed us all by being a procrastinator.
One could say the same about Netanyahu still walking the earth — and even defiling Congress and White House with his presence — after two years of slaughtering several hundred thousand civilians.
When I was a kid my friends and I would sometimes ride on the tailgate of the family station wagon on short trips, feet dangling over the road, sometimes touching the road when hitting a bump. Good times.
P.S. Imagine doing that today – probably get a SWAT team called on you, though might be worth it if you gave a Karen a heart attack on seeing it.
My first memories riding in a car (early 1960’s Rambler) is in the front seat with my mom and kid sister. No seat-belts but mom warned us to stay putt on the front seat because you could see the road through the floor. Passenger floor was completely rusted away. Yup, Mom drove an old rusty 60’s AMC through Syracuse NY winters.
Soon after Dad brought me home a BIG red steering wheel I could use so I could pretend I was driving. Thanks pop!
Also, the smell coming out of the tailpipe was Amazing.
Does anyone remember how good gas used to smell? It sure doesn’t smell like that today.
I remember those day. In almost every measure, for the average American, life was better in the 1960s than today. I remember even in the 70s being nostalgic for that period.
Hi Swamp, I love articles like these, and all the nostalgic themed videos I see on you-tube these days.
Kids need to learn and adults need to remember what has been stolen. They plan to take even more from us.. take everything.
https://www.soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=15046610
How are the cars today any safer if you get into a wreck, and the car smashes in like a beer can?
No doubt. 10,000 words could be said about that.
I think you may have opened pandoras box here. We all survived the ’50’s, ’60’s, ’70’s, ’80’s and enjoyed life, learned how to handle our cars so we were in control, more or less, bought our first and possibly many more cars for less than a hundred dollars, or maybe more. One of the things I miss is the bench seats, I feel sorry for the kids taking dads car out for a date and having to deal with the center console. My third grade teacher at a private school taught us to drive a ’50’s jeep pickup in the alley behind the school. Grandpa had us drive his car so we knew how to drive. I got my first car to drive to college for free, a 1965 Rambler classic 770, it didnt run, I tuned up the engine and drove it for two years. AHH the good old days…
You, said it! “One of the things I miss is the bench seats, I feel sorry for the kids taking dads car out for a date and having to deal with the center console.”
I absolutely – cannot imagine – trying to kiss a girl in the passenger seat of a Toyota FJ Cruiser for the first time.
I sometimes wonder, how-on-earth do young people manage? I think, for many: they don’t.
They go without. It doesn’t happen. Forget the $1,000 Invest in America plan. So many barriers. …I digress.
Best driving course I took in my youth was a wet grassy field learning to spin and counter steer. Oh, what fun. Got into some trouble with AGW doing this but back then, they just took you home to the whipping you were going to get from Dad.
A picture of freedom: a cheap old throw-away Harley or Honda with custom paint on the handmade tank, and a set of 6 foot chrome forks, ridden by a guy with no helmet, a well worn 1911 tucked into a shoulder holster, wearing greasy leathers emblazoned “DILLIGAF”.
A pathetic picture of a feminized neurotic: a purple haired biped of uncertain gender strapped into a 10000 lb Cadillac Lyriq. Afraid of driving. Afraid of living. Afraid of guns. Afraid of animals. Afraid of doing anything without permission. Afraid of other people. And driven by its fear to try to control every aspect of the lives of others.
Which one is worthy of emulating.
If children don’t know about the 1st one, are never allowed to be the 1st one (think: helicopter moms) they won’t know there’s an option.
Also
…Yuk/wow, I just got a new image of the military boot stepping on humanity’s face forever: a feminized neurotic: a purple haired biped crossed with my brother’s University trained Marxist Germophobe Covidian-Face-Diaper baby momma.
Shibber me timbers.
Forget about just getting a ride to school or eventually driving to high school. Remember when you had to actually WALK to the school bus stop or use your legs and WALK to school?? These days our coddled kids get dropped off by a bus right in front of their house! No exercise at all and, God forbid, if you’re driving behind one of those buses making stops every couple of driveways and getting stuck.
Can’t let the kiddos WALK anywhere anymore… some deranged Lefty creep may want to give them a “bad touch.” Oh wait, that’s only if it’s a “he, him” and wants to fondle a “she, her.”
I often envied you city folk who got to avoid the long ass boring ride to school in a bus. As we passed you by in the bus & I looked down on you walking on the sidewalk, you always seemed like you were having so much fun.
Plus, you got to stop into a 7-11 & get bubble gum *& stuff.
…1/2 hour of boring bus ride, dang straight I was happy to finally get a ride to co-ed prison from a friend. Or, better yet (when it was half-way warm out) ride a moped! …14yrs old & out on the open road! What pure joy!
We didn’t have to have those ridiculous orange flags on a pole off the back end, either. It was as close to riding a motorcycle on the road as we could get. And. It. Was. Glorious.
I used to catch a ride to high school from the neighbor in a Gasp…… 1946 Chev Fleetwood. Till I got my license …then Real freedom….I had a 1973 Honda CB 500 Four. I am still alive and kickin 45 year years later.
When I was a about 4 years old my dad had a dark red 1963 Chrysler 300. On the right side of the dash was a chrome grab handle. Not sure why. If he was just driving around town he would let me stand up while holding onto that handle, which I thought was so fun.
Eric wrote: Try to imagine what it was like to be picked up at the bottom of the street… by a friend’s mom in a VW Beetle and just clambering in, without any nonsense about “buckling up” for “safety.”
Mom was probably smoking a Salem menthol too. Imagine being trapped in a VW bug, windows up and “heat” blasting carbon monoxide into the cabin, and add to that second hand smoke! You might have found it offensive, but you dare not say anything, because if word got back to mom and dad that you insulted the neighbors, there’d be hell to pay! Unless you’re the asthmatic in the group, then maybe going through channels, via mom and dad who would have a word with smokey, might lead to her cracking the window.
Now I grew up in Western Pennsylvania. The roads around there are cart paths with asphalt. They have sharp and blind corners, graded the wrong way and rolling elevation changes. The streets just go where they go, without regard to steepness or navigability. There’s snow and ice storms that eliminate traction on those steep hills. They’re a lot more difficult to drive on than the big boulevards of California and Texas. I totaled a Dodge Omni while learning about gravity and speed and centrifugal forces. But we survived, largely unhurt (although my reputation took quite a hit and I didn’t get the keys as often after), and lived another day. A friend used his 1983(ish) Buick Regal with the turbo V-6 to remove several hundred feet of guardrail. It was much more vehicle than he should have had but we know that now. Again, he walked away from the accident. So even when there were accidents they were still plenty safe.
My dads family lived near Pittsburgh. My cousin drew a funny picture of cars trying to drive up one of those steep hills in winter snow and ice, then sliding down, backwards. She saw this kind of thing happen every winter!
Hmm, this caught me eye: “Unless you’re the asthmatic in the group,”
…There was no such thing, back then. Here, anyway. I never knew a one.
No one, in my entire school. No one, in my extended family.
…Just thinking out loud. I asked my parents to crack the window, too.
Zero breathing problems 57 yrs later. I think there’s a scam afoot. One, of multitudes.
Ditto that, Helot – re asthma. Or allergies. Or autism. I cannot recall a single kid I knew or even knew of when I was a kid who was afflicted with such. Also, there were no obese kids. Just that one chubby kid that every group of kids knew.
That’s because you guys weren’t nerds. The nerds had at least one in every clique.
“Paul can’t play today, his allergies are acting up.” As Paul would look out the window forlornly.
Nope. The nerds were around. They liked slot car racing, too.
Not a single, “Paul can’t play today, his allergies are acting up.” from anyone.
They had to wait at the same school bus stop & play on the same recess playground. Nary a single “allergy” among us.
Growing up in the 60’s & 70’s in a family with five kids, we always had a VW van. (We called it a “bus”) Because of how the seats were laid out we could move easily from the back to the front; there was even a “walkway” of sorts between the two front seats where I remember standing as a little kid while we were going down the road. I don’t remember whether or not there were seatbelts because we never wore them. Amazingly all five of us are still alive and well.
As an aside, and another thing (not) to worry about, in those days my dad was a chain smoker. Consequently, in the winter with the windows closed the bus was always filled with a cloud of secondhand smoke. None of the five of us ever had asthma, and three of us are marathon runners.
Ditto the VW bus, Dad had a ‘62 with all the windows and a slippery fabric sunroof. Chain smoker as well, his mobile ashtray, you probably remember, a beanbag base with metal ashtray assembly for stability, next to his wide base coffee cup.
I suspect one reason why so many Americans today are so obsessed with all things Saaaaaaaaaafety! is because they fear death more. And the reason so many Americans fear death more is that they no longer believe in God or worship God.
When you stop believing in God, you believe that this life is all there is and when it’s over, it’s over. So death is to be avoided and feared. What’s more, when you stop believing in God, it doesn’t mean that you believe in nothing—it means you believe in anything. Saaaaaaaaaaafety! and Safetyism are among the things that people who stop believing in God believe in.
You could be right, Bryce. Many of these people may have also come to view science as some sort of god that CAN’T be questioned, as narratives surrounding COVID, face diapers, climate change, and COVID jabs were framed as “Settled Science”. Look at the way they treated those who questioned the narratives surrounding any of them, throwing out names willy nilly like “Climate Denier!”, “Science Denier!”, “ANTI-VAXXER!”, etc.
Spot on, Bryce! This concept was cemented for me during Covid.
Absolutely Bryce,
These people substitute the true God for the false gods of “saaaaafety” and “the science”.
I think the prospect of dying is more evident, too. I mean, back then we were pretty healthy because we didn’t get 70 shots and ate reasonably OK food mom made every night. We got chicken pox together, got sick when others got sick, our immune systems were challenged like they’re supposed to and spend a lot of time outside doing stuff.
It was exceedingly rare to hear of a heart attack or cancer. We had one friend’s mom pass away in a high school of about 600 with breast cancer and it was all anyone could talk about and it was notable enough that she was memorized in our year book.
I think now, especially after the disaster of COVID, people hear of really sick people, even young kids and 20-somethings dying all the time. If I was a normie who is clueless I’d probably be terrified that the reaper is always right there, too.
Your comment, Telly, reminded me of this clip (about 6 minutes) from George Carlin, when he talked about germs. I like the one guy’s comment, when he said that “Covid was so scared of George, it arrived after he was gone”-ha ha. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X29lF43mUlo
Thanks for reminding me. Carlin was one of the wisest men ever.
Hi Telly,
I think your analysis is correct. We live in Fearful Times. Those of us who lived before these times have a reference point. People who are say 30 or younger today do not. They think it has always been this way. It’s sad.
No. No. No. Imho, it’s not at all about, “stop believing in God”.
It’s about being FEARFUL.
Memento mori
Watch old movies & notice none of ’em are buckled up. Since I don’t watch modern movies or teevee all that much, not sure if they show it.
Imagine a bank heist scene where the getaway driver tells the robbers “we are not moving until you buckle up!”.
Or a chase scene where the collision avoidance / lane departure keeps the good n bad guys from doing something exciting.
Hi MH.
Please don’t give Hollyweird any tips on how to make their movies any crappier than they are now. 🙂
A concrete example: the movie “Teen Wolf” with Michael J Fox, with the kids doing urban surfin? Hanging ten on top of he van with Beach Boys blasting in traffic on a city street? I never did it but when I saw the movie my reaction was,” Why didn’t I think of that and do it?”.
I’ve noticed some older movies on tell lie vision have added shoulder belts in driving scenes to reinforce the propaganda.
I surfed on my friend’s Honda CRX, Ernie, at about 16. Smoking a cigar, nonetheless, which gets you a lot of hot embers in the face, so not recommended, but I wouldn’t take back those times for anything.
For most of reading this thread, I thought of all the roof surfing we all did. …No ocean.
…Now, while smoking a cigar, Super cool there, BaDnOn.
…Sideways? next time/next life. Idk.
Haha, I know, Helot. Not particularly bright, any of it. But again, I’m sure you understand. When we look at the new generations of sad and cowardly kids being generated by their fear-riddled parents, some of us actually feel somewhat proud of the maniacally stupid things we might have done.
For some of us, that might’ve been a long list. But when I think of the kids today and the fact that they might just grow old regretting that they didn’t even try starting on that sort of list when they were young, it makes me a little depressed.
I miss the old cars and days before when someone else knows what is best for you I hate most new car with the safety crap my old land Rover has only a front dash airbag so visibility is so much better with no side bags and jumper seats in the trunk every time I look at them I think it would never be allowed today.
“before when someone else knows what is best for you”
…You can say that again.
Morning, Helot!
I used to own a T-top Camaro, back in the ’80s. passengers used to regularly stand up in the front seat and “review the crowds.” I miss those days.
That would be a sight.
For some reason T-tops were really rare in our town. I only recall seeing two, an IROC-Z & a white Trans-Am, both of which were kept totally spotless by their owners who would never ever allow that kind of fun behavior.