Posted on 08/15/2014 9:54:14 AM PDT by Drew68
I haven’t seen one in California since the last one I fell off of- about 1965.
The playgrounds now all have padding underneath for soft landings - not the sand or dirt we fell into. The elementary school near my home is ripping up the padding under their play equipment to put in even MORE padding.
Those kids won’t have scars like we did, which I proudly wear to this day.
A friend of mine commented on the box on the shelf that said “My First Chemistry Set” -
“you know, you never see them selling ‘My LAST Chemistry Set’”.
When I was about 12 we would take the bus into downtown and watch a baseball game. It was only about 1.50 to sit in the bleachers. We always had a crowd when we went. It's not like I was alone. Just no adults or cell phones to call an adult.
“Frisbee Golf”, but with skill saw blades & trees as goals.
Haha. Ever watch Napoleon Dynamite - the first scene where he drops the action figure out the bus window tied to a string?
We have a playground nearby that has the modern plastic equipment,
but they kept the old metal stuff as well...
Including that “griddle” of a metal slipper slide.
The playground nearest my house had dirt on the ground, and parents were tired of us coming home all muddy so the county put down blacktop!
It's a big seller in Gaza. ;)
Or bottle rocket and roman candle battles...:)
Mine was the old Gilbert with the metal cabinet. I was quite a trader and found all kind of old glassware and scales as well as purchasing other items.
One of the monthly highlights was going to the newsstand and buying copies of Scientific American and Mad Magazine.
Funny you should mention "punks" - I was trying to explain to my kids and DH what it was - we ALWAYS had "punks" --they burned so slowly that we used them to light the other fireworks.
We also had snakes which when lit would expand like a snake along the ground.
I fell from a ladder in the garage while feeding kittens. About age 10.
I hurt my wrist. My parents waited one week, before taking me to the doctor to learn I had fractured the wrist.
About 7 years later, I got into a fist fight, and broke my hand (boxer’s knuckle). My father’s attitude was “serves you right” and “you’re almost 18, think you know it all, I don’t want to pay your doctor bills.”
That’s right, people paid their own doctor bills.
Or paperclips shot by rubber bands?
YES, I remember wood burners - my bother had one - only he didn’t use it on wood, he used it to burn all kinds of things inside and out. I’m sure it would have burned right through my arm if I’d let him get close enough.
Thing must have been 1,000 degrees, no safety equipment, nothing.
But great fun.
Yeah, those shorts are fortunately a tad tight.
Of course, back then a broken wrist wasn't a five-figure emergency room bill.
There was none of this "not my kid" mentality either. Guilty until proven otherwise!
My mother spoke of those - she said there was one at her elementary school and she used to get splinters all the time.
The metal merry-go-rounds we played on heated up in the Central California summer to lethal degrees (daily temps of 110 are not uncommon there).
We played on it anyway, sometimes melting the bottoms of our shoes.
My wife was an primary doc's RN for most of her adult life.
After our kids first couple of minor head wounds/body scars, we stopped going to ERs. My wife was faster and as good as most ER docs/rns
We bought Bactine in big spray bottles and regular band aids and gauze in quantities to treat a Marine platoon.
For the more serious wounds we bought Silvadene in big jars and ADAPTIC Non-adhering Dressing - Gauze Sponges / Rolls ...
Title=ADAPTIC...Dressing
ADAPTIC Dressings are primary dressings made of knitted cellulose acetate fabric and impregnated with a specially formulated petrolatum emulsion.
The doctor, my wife worked for showed her how to use Butterfly bandages for head, cheek and other facial wounds instead of stitches. The butterflies minimized scaring and were less traumatic than stitches.
She was ahead of the game re ferreting out possible concussions and would do a quick run through and have the parents take their dinged child to the ER.
She became so good with the butterfly bandages, doctors and nurses would have her do her butterfly magic on their kids's domes, when they got whacked and cut in a sport.
We kept a couple of big dish towels in case a temp sling was needed.
Often when shopping or walking, a 40 something person will come up and show her a scar on their face or arms/hands. Usually, she remembers them and recognizes them when she sees her positive results decades later.
Now, she would get sued and little boo-boos would be treated for a few thousand $'s in the local ERs.
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