Oh, what horrible, neglectful parents we had by today's standards. First of all, they smoked! In the house! Second, they would let us head out the door in the morning, and not give a second thought to us until we wandered in at suppertime! And, horrors of horrors, they let us ride in the back of pickup trucks!
Oh, the PC police would have them arrested and flogged nowadays. But nobody gave a second thought to any of that stuff in the 50's, 60's, and 70's. Life was an experience that required a bit of common sense. On thew other hand, lawyers have turned present-day life into an experience of needing, indeed DEMANDING protection from one's own stupidity.
When I was eight years old, my father obtained a blue-green 1966 Chevy pickup. We had just moved to a farm in rural Missouri, and a pickup was a necessity. I rode in the bed of that truck for countless miles. I would sit against the cab of the truck (dad insisted on that, we're back to common sense) and savor the wind blowing through my summer-bleached-blonde hair. Riding in the back of that truck was a lot of fun.
Dad bought a stock rack for that pickup as well. That allowed the hauling of one or two cows. When the rack was on, the sitting-against-the-cab restriction was lifted. I could climb the rack and face into the 60 MPH wind. That was cool, too.
I loved that old truck. In 1973, when I was thirteen, dad let me drive it in the pasture. I was able to master a three-speed-in-the-column transmission at a very early age.
In 1978, Subaru introduced the Brat, a small pickup with actual seats installed in the bed. The seats were gone after 1985, and riding in the bed began to be viewed as taboo.
In local communities, tales were shared about drunks who fell out and were instantly killed. Soon, laws were passed that made criminals out of fathers who did exactly what MY dad did,
Nowadays, we get ticketed if we don't have our seat belts on. Ironically, if you rode a motorcycle in Arkansas during the 70's, a helmet was required. IMHO, that's common sense. If you take a tumble on a bike, road rash hurts for weeks, but brain damage is permanent.
But nowadays, Arkansas bikers have fought for and earned the right to ride helmet-free. But if you get caught driving with passengers back of a pickup, you'd better get ready to cough up the price of a steep fine.
Somehow, it's all politically correct.
Comments (4)
We were just talking about this last night at home!
When I went to summer camp. they used to load us all (40-50 campers)into the back of a 1 ton truck, and, drive us 30 minutes down the highway to go get ice cream.
If we were good, when we got back to camp, they'd drive to a field, and, do donuts, and, other crazy stuff with us in there.
Posted by Elizabeth | June 28, 2007 4:04 PM
Posted on June 28, 2007 16:04
I remember this! We used to ride all over the town and country, standing up and leaning against the cab, while my dad careened on at who knows how fast! I don't think I'd have the courage to do that today, but then my older brother and younger sister were fearless.
Posted by Mike Burleson | July 3, 2007 5:44 AM
Posted on July 3, 2007 05:44
Out here in texas they still party in the back of moving pick-ups, but, then again, its texas, which kind of explains everything....
Posted by scott | July 12, 2007 3:26 PM
Posted on July 12, 2007 15:26
Dad had several pickup trucks. We as kids sat back in the back! It was fun and also remember sitting on the downed tailgate for short runs. Really dangerous! I too road a motorcycle in the 70s, but we had to wear a helment and face protection. One day in the late 70s, I laid my bike down and walked away with little damage to myself! But said, why am I doing this..I amk gonna kill myself! My motorcycle days were over, although I stay maintain a motorcycle licence. We rode in the back of many early seventy models of Pickups! It was dangerous, but what the heck, we didn't think much about it.
Posted by Rivers End | June 21, 2009 10:01 PM
Posted on June 21, 2009 22:01