Hammer Time: Before Cars
A lot of folks may look at their early teenage years with fleeting moments of fondness.
Friends, birthday parties, fun and games. Not to mention a healthy variety of mischievous activities to help keep life interesting between the endless classroom lectures and local social drama.
I don’t remember 99.9% of it… which is no doubt a good thing since my life was pretty much in a counterclockwise hormone ridden tailspin by the time I hit the big 1 3.
But I do vaguely recall one unfortunate thing I never could avoid.
Long distances to get anywhere that would remotely qualify as fun.
In the asphalt asphyxiated roads of northern New Jersey, nearly all fun activities for a pre-licensed teen required a long drive through potholed roads with a mom chauffeur (usually) and a never ending chorus of stop signs and red lights.
The two movie theaters took about 20 minutes. A nearby roller rink loaded with, even then, vintage arcade games like Pole Position and Mr. Do took another 25 minutes. A walkable town? That was 10 minutes away. But at least over there I could get a slice of pizza and a video on VHS.
The weather was cold, cloudy and windy most of the time. While the freedom was limited to parental whims, a 10 speed bike, and Converse All-Stars.
Sometimes I would listen to a Walkman and just jog around the neighborhood… for fun. The thought of it now depresses me. In part, because life is now infinitely more interesting. But also because I now realize that a lack of mobility, at any age, can be as crippling to a person’s psyche as any other challenge.
So this brings me to two distinct thoughts for you to consider. Was there a time in your younger days when you didn’t have your own wheels, but needed them? Related to this, what the heck did you do for fun back in the day? Other than watch TV?
More by Steven Lang
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I kind of divided things up between getting taken places by my 6 year older sister (One of the few pluses of having someone that much older), my mom and dad, and the bike. I walked a lot too, but I have to admit I kind of hated it, it just took too long to get anywhere. The buses were in very bad shape at the time, being of WWII vintage and prone to breaking down, so I almost never used them. My sister only took me when she had to, usually because our parents made her. Towards the time I started to drive, she got into hot water with our parents when she took off and left me to walk 5 miles back home in the Winter a couple of times. My dad, who had a voice like a radio announcer, a really LOUD radio announcer, reamed her good after he picked me up about 2 miles from home in a snowstorm the second or third time she stranded me. He got her to the shaky lower lip and red nose stage before he stopped yelling at her. My mom then took over and got her blubbering, more with anger than anything else. I laughed till my stomach hurt. It was worth the cold to see her like that. With no cell phones, and no money for a cab or bus, walking was it. After that reaming, she never stranded me again, as my dad told her she wouldn't have a car if she did. The six months from when I turned 16 until I got my license were the longest of my life.
Played with toy cars. Later on, drugs.