Dangourous Growing up in the 60’s and 70’s

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I'll bet people have sustained the same sorts of injuries crossing the street; should we all be forced to wear helmets in that situation too? I suppose within a generation or two, we probably will be.

Grew up in a cloud of second-hand smoke. The thing is, when I am outdoors nowadays in my mid-size city, the air is usually very clear and clean, and I think of China and I'm glad that we are post-industrial and have cleaned up much of our pollution. It feels great to take a big deep breath of clean air.

Personally, I live in a mid-size city (population circa 100,000) and I can't walk down the street without being able to smell - and often taste - the car exhaust fumes. I can even smell them in my apartment if I have the windows open.

Well, i did survive the 70's and 80's. Cannot remember eating raw sugar, but lots of candy. Dad always insisted that we should wear seatbelts and we did. Best day ever was when both mom and dad had stopped smoking.

But sure, i was a reckless kid. I went for long walks into nature by myself when we moved to the countryside. I always knew where i was and the general direction to go back home, that was never the problem, the big problem would have been if i had injured myself and had to crawl back through dense forrest and a swamp or two. Also there were wild animals that i saw from time to time. Bears were present, but i never saw one.

Bike helmets didn't exist at that point. Sure i fell off the bike many times and got cuts and bruises, but that was part of growing up - the lesson was simple: Don't do stupid s**t.

1. DDT Truck: No. However, it used to get painted on my window sills.

2. Sugar: As much as I could get without just eating from the bowl.

3. I didn't wear a helmet when I rode my bike until I was 28. Then I used a hockey helmet, as the best available.

4. I was seldom totally unsupervised 'till I was 15 and mother left. However, I had to spend a lot of time alone.

5. Seatbelts were not available when I was young, but I installed them in my first car.

6. I crushed a thumbnail on a swing set, but the falls were on sand.

7. I didn't play with very many "hazardous" toys, but I had power tools available, and drove tractors.

8. One of my friends had a Pinto.

9. When I was 16, my dad came in from the barn, and accidentally dropped a pack of cigarettes. My sister and I said nothing, but soon she went and got her pack. Then I did the same. Dad said nothing. I quit at 20.

10. Sat in the front seat whenever possible, with no belt available.

11. Summer was "be back by dark." I'd take a boat out of sight, and spend hours jumping off of sand cliffs.

Our Boy Scouts would wait until the Scoutmaster had turned his head, and then start their fires with gasoline. I used to slide through corners in my car at every opportunity, and did wheelies on a lawn mower. I did a trick dive that only scared me when I saw pictures, but somebody should have told me to cut it out. I knew slightly one guy who got drunk and totalled his car without hurting himself. What killed my Canadian friends was mostly suicide, and on the American side, conscription.

I don't want to hijack this thread, but I can't help noticing that you apparently grew up almost directly on the US border at a time when (in my opinion) there was far more congeniality in the relationship between our 2 countries than nowadays.

I can't help wondering about your thoughts regarding the evolution of US/Canadian relations over the years, from the POV of somebody who has spend their life right on the border and thought nothing of having friends on either side. To contrast, I have a relative in Canada whom I've invited to visit and has told me twice, in all seriousness, that she fears travelling in the US (although I believe she has in fact done so once or twice in the last year).

I can understand if you've never given this much thought. However, many Canadians seem almost obsessed with this topic, so I'd be surprised if this is true (although I have been told that this obsession diminishes west of Ontario).

Should you care to tackle this subject on WP, you might want to start a new thread elsewhere.

Thanks in advance!

^^I had a customer visit from the eastern US last summer, and I stayed strictly off politics, as did he.
My grandparents were snowbirds, wintering in Florida, and my sister has been spotted there too. When I was 16, I took my girlfriend to Niagara Falls for a picnic, and, since we had never been over to the American side, I suggested we go. She wondered why "the toll booth guy was asking funny questions," not realizing we had crossed the border. When I was 20, half my friends were draft dodgers. At 22, I had to cash in my traveller's cheques to cross the border, as they were not assumed to be valid. I continued visiting for special events, and always found my hosts to be quite hospitable and accommodating. I was turned away once by a beginner, causing considerable inconvenience.

On my last visit, in '02, I probably irritated a lot of people by driving the speed limit, but I'd heard too many stories of small towns that only taxed tourists. On the whole, I'd guess that a Canadian in the US is safer than quite a few of your own citizens, but with all the new regulations, I have not even been near the border in a decade, nor flown domestically. I would hate being forced to play charades with a uniformed fool, partly because I might forget myself and crack a joke, with dire consequences. The people clamouring to get into the US are, once again, those fleeing death.

Doesn't the same thing happen in Canada? How fast would you be willing to drive through Dog River? The last time I was in Canada (over 2 years ago) I was afraid to exceed the speed limit on the 401 even though nobody else seemed to be obeying it. I feared the police would single me out for being American.

True in your case because you're white. Exact same thing for me.

My border-crossing story:

When I was about 19, I had traveled from Austria to Budapest and on the train back to Austria, I had had a couple of beers and the border policeman came by the compartment and insisted that I empty one of my bags, presumably because it might contain some sort of contraband. At first I protested that it contained nothing but dirty laundry but he insisted so I dumped all the dirty laundry on the seat. I think it rather disappointed him that I was telling the truth. Through all of this, I didn't act especially intimidated by him but also did nothing to provoke him (having had a couple of beers wasn't illegal after all). So after he went on to the next compartment, these two older ladies with whom I was sharing the compartment spoke up to apologize on behalf of the Hungarian people as she said Hungarians were really respectful people and that border policeman was basically a dick and not representative of Hungarians in general. I found it surprising that she took my side in this. BTW I would probably not have gotten away with this insouciant behavior in TODAY's Hungary.

NOTE: In case you're wondering how these conversations were possible, in fact they took place in German. The two ladies were from a generation in which educated people in Hungary learned German, and of course the policeman needed it for his job.

I had not heard about Canadians being targeted, just non-locals. In Canada, I used to drive 10% over, and never got a ticket. Now, I drive 10% under, to reduce my climate footprint. In general, I think we are still into traffic flow, and won't chance a traffic jam for a minor fine. I have not heard of Americans being targeted for fines - the tourist board would put up a huge stink. However, the border means it when they say to leave your guns at home. I used to work at a resort an hour north of Toronto, and every summer, we'd see at least one American guest pull in with their toboggan or skis. The Stoney Creek Battlefield Park is in Canada, but US citizens often assume that they won the battle. Young Americans who travel the world and want to meet the locals sew a Canadian flag on their gear. To get an idea of why we laugh at many of our neighbours, watch CBC's Rick Mercer "Talking to Americans." I hope you can join in.

I won't claim that nobody ever did this, but I think this is mostly an urban legend. FWIW I couldn't find anything about it on Snopes.com. This might have been more likely during the Vietnam war when a lot of younger Americans were made to feel genuinely ashamed of their country, but that was more than 40 years ago.

Chasing After DDT Trucks On Your Street
Not exactly but the mosquito spray days on a military post is close

Eating Endless Amount Of Sugar
Like chocolate but honestly i ate more good stuff. My dad often had snack plates of cheese, sausage, fruit with crackers or lil melba toasts. I did often have wine at formal dinners.

Not wearing a Helmet when riding bike
Yep unless BMX racing

Being A Latchkey Kid
Latchkey deluxe... I also was in charge of making sure monthly bills had payment sent when dad was away

Never Wearing A Seatbelt
50/50. Didn't wear shoulder belts when they became a thing since they went across my neck. Tall as I am, most still do.

Having Fun In Reckless Playgrounds

Only incident was a big wooden ship= splinters!!

Playing With Hazardous Toys

Yes. Science kits, mercury, junior rifle, slingshots and pocket knife.

Taking A Ride In A Ford Pinto
No

Passive Smoking
Yep. though mild effect. I was asthmatic from consecutively catching scarlet and rheumatic fevers as toddler

Nabbing The Front Seat In The Car
50/50 I liked shotgun or backseat near window

Being The Best Babysitter Ever
I was popular babysitter

Summer or any day
Back before dark/before parents get home; don't be out of call range unless at someone familiar's house. this rule stayed constant until I was about 9.