I don't miss the hustle and bustle

[Gumby]

It was 1964 and I was 5 years old. I was in the middle of the front bench set in a Corvair, between my dad, who was driving, and his friend from the Navy. The back seat was full of guns. Of course, there were no seat belts. We ran head on into a big old Lincoln on a gravel back road and I went right through the windshield, slicing my neck just below my chin. A little lower and I wouldn't be typing this now.

Once the state trooper who responded determined I wasn't going to bleed to death right then, he arrested my dad, and I got to sit in the cell with him until someone came from the Navy base to bail us out and take us back to the base hospital, where I finally got stitches.

 

[HFWR]

I’ve worn a seatbelt since the day I was licensed.

But I slept in the backseat with a couple other siblings on long trips, rode in the back of pickups, and even <gasp, argh> drank out of a garden hose.

Being raised a few miles outside of a two small towns, I actually had a lot of freedom, which may or may not have been a good thing. I rode my bike to Little League practice, to the swimming pool in the other close town, and my friends and I rode bikes all over, explored the woods and creeks and old abandoned barns, swam in ponds, and were gone for hours. I think many kids these days don’t have that kind of independence, for many reasons.

 

[NeilDH]

I feel like and rather enjoy feeling like an outsider observing the world's rhythms now. On weekdays, especially when I'm out on my bike, I can very clearly see the rush hours vs. the quiet times: In the Chicago area, the morning rush (when I'm actually out that early) seems to start waning at 8:30, then I can ride pretty freely and safely until about 2:30, when schools start letting out. That's kinda like the pre-rush hour. Maybe there's a little respite from 3:15-4 (so try to get done riding either before 2:30 or, if it comes to it, in that time slot and avoid the school neighborhoods earlier). Then once 4 comes, forget about it and get off the roads, unless I can get in an isolated forest preserve until 6, when the afternoon rush is fading. By 7, it's pretty calm again, and especially in the summer, people are out relaxing and enjoying.

On the weekends, it's a more steady stream of lightly busy. Maybe more are in the forest preserves and less on the more distant roads (that is, not in retail areas), so I must ride there. Sundays are heaven on the exurban roads.