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csziggy

(34,189 posts)

23. Definitely the stuff of nightmares

Fri Sep 27, 2013, 05:03 PM

Sep 2013

I was in elementary school during the Cuban missile crisis. Living in Central Florida with MacGill AFB to the west of us, we knew if things went bad there would be a strike close to us.

We not only had the duck & cover drills, we had full blown evacuation drills. Every family was encouraged to have plans for where the kids would wait to be picked up by their parents and to have a plan for where the family would go to shelter after the bombs hit.

My parents' plan was to go shelter in the basement apartment at my grandmother's house. Even I knew enough to realize this was a bad plan - the windows faced Tampa and the house sat on the east side of lake in a basin more open to the west. It would have been a completely useless shelter.

A family down the block put in a bomb shelter. It was supposed to be a secret but their kids told their friends, the friends told their parents and the entire town knew where it was.

About the time all of this was happening I read "Alas, Babylon" by Pat Frank (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alas,_Babylon) which was set in Florida not too far from where we lived. I decided that it would not be worth it to live through a nuclear war - the aftermath was just too horrible to consider.

For those who didn't live through those times, "Matinee" with John Goodman is a light hearted look at how kids dealt with them.

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Who is old enough to remember the "under the desk" [View all] MineralMan Sep 2013 OP

Duck and cover! upaloopa Sep 2013 #1

I think we all said it that way, if we were old enough. MineralMan Sep 2013 #3

Black people could not get a decent job. Domestic workers got no benefits upaloopa Sep 2013 #17

The list of 50s sucky stuff is very long, indeed. MineralMan Sep 2013 #24

Yup, those were the bad old days. I'm old enough to remember them. Raksha Sep 2013 #131

Yup--I remember exactly that from a 1-room country school near Hayward, WI. Jackpine Radical Sep 2013 #163

Kinda. I'm 48. Wait Wut Sep 2013 #2

I'm 50, but we never had duck and cover. Thor_MN Sep 2013 #98

I've always been jealous of Lake Superior. Wait Wut Sep 2013 #100

I was there Tuesday and Wednesday, last fishing trips of the year. Thor_MN Sep 2013 #110

Growing up near a military base, we were definitely going to kiss our tails good bye bluemarkers Sep 2013 #107

Ours was a BOMARC base. We knew it was just down the road, but it never was a big deal. Thor_MN Sep 2013 #113

They built a Nike Ajax launch site right behind the tennis courts at my High School. leveymg Sep 2013 #141

They had morphed into tornado drills at my school Art_from_Ark Sep 2013 #152

Interesting observation about making you an opponent of nuclear energy Kber Sep 2013 #4

I don't know. We still have nuclear weapons, and MineralMan Sep 2013 #9

We were neighbors growing, we first lived in Canoga Park, Hardlyaround Sep 2013 #20

Yes, I remember that, too. MineralMan Sep 2013 #25

Is this part of what you are talking about? JDPriestly Sep 2013 #95

Message auto-removed Name removed Sep 2013 #162

We were on a beach clean up near Diablo Canyon nuclear plant last upaloopa Sep 2013 #34

Same here, something I think most older Boomers Warpy Sep 2013 #5

I went to school in the '50s. RebelOne Sep 2013 #49

Damn You! joeybee12 Sep 2013 #6

Being old is better than the alternative, I think. MineralMan Sep 2013 #16

Eternally youthful? joeybee12 Sep 2013 #30

That is what my daughter told me RebelOne Sep 2013 #51

Me too! Auntie Bush Sep 2013 #22

Makes me wish I was a teabagger... joeybee12 Sep 2013 #32

True that! Auntie Bush Sep 2013 #79

Good Times! Blue Idaho Sep 2013 #116

Remember also, the Red Cross fredamae Sep 2013 #7

Raises Hand. Hardlyaround Sep 2013 #8

Me. enlightenment Sep 2013 #10

I remember THAT part too 2naSalit Sep 2013 #130

It's funny, but I was never enlightenment Sep 2013 #135

Yo! Not to mention Junior High for the October Missile Crisis. Fun times. WinkyDink Sep 2013 #11

I am. GentryDixon Sep 2013 #12

2nd grade.. sitting in the hallways Peacetrain Sep 2013 #13

I remember it the way you did...... llmart Sep 2013 #124

I know exactly what you mean Peacetrain Sep 2013 #128

We did them in 1985 Boom Sound 416 Sep 2013 #14

I don't remember them from that late. MineralMan Sep 2013 #19

My folks thought it was pretty archaic too Boom Sound 416 Sep 2013 #27

Me either. I am forty, and we never did them. anneboleyn Sep 2013 #146

I remember them in the 80s too. n/t PowerToThePeople Sep 2013 #132

Had to go down to the basement and sit against the wall. Downwinder Sep 2013 #15

In 1962 we lived yesphan Sep 2013 #18

And all of the AM radios had the Conelrad triangles on MineralMan Sep 2013 #21

Conelrad! I remember that! IIRC it was a feature of our tsunami alerts on O'ahu. Hekate Sep 2013 #159

Definitely the stuff of nightmares csziggy Sep 2013 #23

I remember watching News Reels at the Movies about the progress of the Korean War. rhett o rick Sep 2013 #26

Norwalk-La Mirada Unified called them "Drop Drills". cherokeeprogressive Sep 2013 #28

Norwalk-La Mirada, woot woot!!! Iggo Sep 2013 #36

El Rancho Unified !!! libdem4life Sep 2013 #73

New River, Corvallis, Norwalk High... Do you remember the Lakewood Sheriff's Air Raid Siren? cherokeeprogressive Sep 2013 #83

St. Paul ES, Foster Road ES, Benton JHS, and I woulda went to John Glenn, but we moved. Iggo Sep 2013 #102

By the mid to late 1970s, Berlin Expat Sep 2013 #71

In L.A. too. trackfan Sep 2013 #148

That, and air raid sirens in one town I lived in. dixiegrrrrl Sep 2013 #29

I never had drills. I was 14 when The Day After aired on TV. phantom power Sep 2013 #31

I Will Be 70 Soon And Remember The Drills Well. TheMastersNemesis Sep 2013 #33

Got that down in college chemistry. A sense of 'we're not quite here,' but damn, it's still great. freshwest Sep 2013 #142

We called it "Butts up, squealing." Iggo Sep 2013 #35

We had on on the corner of my street in Chatsworth, CA. Hardlyaround Sep 2013 #37

'Duck and Cover' the Civil Defense film... PoliticAverse Sep 2013 #38

Creepy Civil Defense marionettes hunkering down K.O. Stradivarius Sep 2013 #55

welcome to DU gopiscrap Sep 2013 #144

Yes I remember those days. redstatebluegirl Sep 2013 #39

Yup! Such good times! What ever happened to that wonderful world in which we all worried struggle4progress Sep 2013 #40

We were out in the hallway..(some schools have indoor hallways)..down on the floor, against the wall Tikki Sep 2013 #41

We had an earthquake drill at work once, and...... lastlib Sep 2013 #42

Sometime in the mid-fifties in Connecticut .... Vox Moi Sep 2013 #43

Oh, yeah. Scary stuff. The Velveteen Ocelot Sep 2013 #44

Me too and I had recurring nightmares for decades livetohike Sep 2013 #45

I had a recurring nightmare about those days too. I was 6/7 at the time. redwitch Sep 2013 #76

Me. lamp_shade Sep 2013 #46

There was a Nike missile site not far from my elementary school. lpbk2713 Sep 2013 #47

We had one in my town. TheCowsCameHome Sep 2013 #89

one near my elementary school also G_j Sep 2013 #150

Yes, and I have had recurring nightmares RebelOne Sep 2013 #48

I remember them well. Lugnut Sep 2013 #50

Don't lean on the horses, children... malthaussen Sep 2013 #52

Third grade during the Cuban missile crisis... prairierose Sep 2013 #53

We had them in Panama (where I was a school child)...although SoCalDem Sep 2013 #54

You would have been among the first to know there was a war going on. lpbk2713 Sep 2013 #59

and the rest of our stateside family lived in Kansas..(Minutemen silos) SoCalDem Sep 2013 #70

Not a warm and fuzzy feeling for sure. lpbk2713 Sep 2013 #75

Yeah, I remember. JEB Sep 2013 #56

Got one better packman Sep 2013 #57

I can do one better. RebelOne Sep 2013 #112

Yes. Had more than a few when I was Still Sensible Sep 2013 #58

I remember them quite well. K.O. Stradivarius Sep 2013 #60

me tk2kewl Sep 2013 #61

Good grief, I remember those drills well. Paper Roses Sep 2013 #62

I remember. Blue_In_AK Sep 2013 #63

You bet! - and did you know KT2000 Sep 2013 #64

We ducked under our desks for the Atomic bomb QuestForSense Sep 2013 #65

I am, but it didn't happen very often fadedrose Sep 2013 #66

Don't Eat the Snow ! joesdaughter Sep 2013 #67

remember them well. Quite ironic too rurallib Sep 2013 #68

"Duck and Cover" and the unsaid part, 'and kiss your kitty-ass goodby' 1-Old-Man Sep 2013 #69

checking in! LittleGirl Sep 2013 #72

Orange County, 1956-1961..yep, me too n/t 2banon Sep 2013 #74

Yes. We had "civil defense" drills in the late 60s treestar Sep 2013 #77

This is me Generic Other Sep 2013 #78

Yup. Second and third grade, (1958-60) LiberalEsto Sep 2013 #80

Yes, and living in NYC, HockeyMom Sep 2013 #81

I was at the tail end of that during the Reagan Era Hydra Sep 2013 #82

And the Reagan Administration had their own "duck and cover" mentality. Rozlee Sep 2013 #105

I remember when they were doing the tests and watching them from the schoolyard. Tierra_y_Libertad Sep 2013 #84

I also lived in the LA area....Long Beach truegrit44 Sep 2013 #85

You mean it's OK to come out now? TheCowsCameHome Sep 2013 #86

My parents actually built a fall-out shelter in our back yard! deurbano Sep 2013 #87

I remember the fall-out shelter craze! One of the items of discussion was.... LongTomH Sep 2013 #96

Yep. Then I perfected the technique in Vietnam, Republic of .. DemoTex Sep 2013 #88

I remember having this poster during my high school days. . . DinahMoeHum Sep 2013 #90

I confess. Scarred my psyche forever. Thanks for reminiscing. JDPriestly Sep 2013 #91

First they showed us films sulphurdunn Sep 2013 #92

Yep, I hear ya.... paleotn Sep 2013 #93

My mom would PatrynXX Sep 2013 #94

I remember. even at a young age, I thought it was incredibly stupid, and asked what we were niyad Sep 2013 #97

I do vividly .... tweeternik Sep 2013 #99

Yeah, early to mid 1960s. But we were never told why, so no bad dreams. Auggie Sep 2013 #101

Yep, I remember those well! n/t RKP5637 Sep 2013 #103

Bend over and kiss it goodbye. liberal N proud Sep 2013 #104

These were all over Manhattan. rug Sep 2013 #106

Yep. And the air raid siren tests... n/t PasadenaTrudy Sep 2013 #108

Thanks for all the posts! MineralMan Sep 2013 #109

Not only that! I'm old enough to remember the first time they started doing drills AAO Sep 2013 #111

I am... WCGreen Sep 2013 #114

Present. nt bemildred Sep 2013 #115

Here's The Lyrics to the Song 'Duck and Cover' Wolf Frankula Sep 2013 #117

We still do them. LWolf Sep 2013 #118

me! Army brat - raised on army bases, we were always having those things. "cover your neck"! Liberal_in_LA Sep 2013 #119

Oh, yes. Especially during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Buns_of_Fire Sep 2013 #120

56, I remember IDemo Sep 2013 #121

BWAH! good one! kath Sep 2013 #154

Oh yeah. And lived near the Davis-Besse nuke plant for a time as well. riqster Sep 2013 #122

In my school in the mid to late 1950's, the air raid drill was LiberalElite Sep 2013 #123

They called them "air raid drills" ... surrealAmerican Sep 2013 #125

We had tornado drills, but also worried about air raids. xfundy Sep 2013 #126

1951 - 1955: Atom bomb tests seen from Los Angeles octoberlib Sep 2013 #127

I remember them Grateful for Hope Sep 2013 #129

We still do them... Mike Nelson Sep 2013 #133

third grade, D.C. elementary bigtree Sep 2013 #134

I am. Even in grammar school my friend Bill and class Cleita Sep 2013 #136

I do. truebluegreen Sep 2013 #137

I remember that, the dog tags we were given and the assignments as to who'd die at school or home. freshwest Sep 2013 #138

I remember the T-V propaganda scaring everyone about Commies. Coyotl Sep 2013 #139

No, what I remember most is Adam-Bomb Sep 2013 #140

We never had drills Silver Swan Sep 2013 #143

Remember them well. Grew up in Southern NV and for science kiranon Sep 2013 #145

Fascinating I never heard this before with school children. gordianot Sep 2013 #155

yup.. started school in the early 50`s madrchsod Sep 2013 #147

me, and kiss your ass goodbye spanone Sep 2013 #149

Yes, I do remember them well loveandlight Sep 2013 #151

Duck & Cover, Sputnik, Cuban missiles, assassinations, moon landing, U-2, VN War, Watergate... pinboy3niner Sep 2013 #153

My first thought was this when I saw the OP HarveyDarkey Sep 2013 #156

Oh Gods yes. We lived in Pacoima in the San Fernando Valley. The day a jet crashed on our school.... Hekate Sep 2013 #157

When I saw the thread title, my first thought was "Monika Lewinsky?" redgreenandblue Sep 2013 #158

Back in grade school I actually thought those drills would save my life. B Calm Sep 2013 #160

I think it went quaker bill Sep 2013 #161

I remember the drills and the movies. ladyVet Sep 2013 #164

Heck,I spent a couple of days Lifelong Protester Sep 2013 #165