Where were you October 1962? I was in the third grade - almost 9 years
old when Kennedy went toe to toe with Russia's Prime Minister Khrushchev. A few
nights ago, I watched a PBS presentation, The Man Who Saved The
World. It seems a Russian submarine commander refused to go along with
his comrades. It took three keys to program and fire a nuclear missile aboard
the subs prowling the waters off the coast of Cuba. The commander spurned the
idea.
It would be many years before the truth concerning the sub’s nuclear capabilities were acknowledged by the Russians. Loaded for bear with atomic
warheads the Russians were ready to do battle, while the oblivious American Navy threw depth
charges trying to force the subs into submission. One missile would have taken
out the U.S. Naval fleet poised in the Gulf. This act of war would have Kennedy
launch atomic weapons pointed toward Russia and visa-verse.
I admit I can't remember much. My poor
memory necessitates my being a fiction writer. We lie. However, I do remember
the "fall-out shelter" born in our shallow basement as fear melded my
mother's heart. Each week a few cans and provisions were added to the larder in
our cellar. A first aid kit, jugs of water, but what set our bomb-shelter
apart, we had a Geiger counter.
Purchased through a magazine offer, the
10" square box had a plastic hose running from one side with a metal
wand supposedly used to detect radiation. The face of the box sported a
V-shaped window. When the switch was on a red pointer flipped from one side
and back, indicating the battery was good. No one knew exactly how to use it.
Of course, there was no way to test, and if it didn't work, there was no getting
your money back. For the longest time we weren't allowed to touch "the
box". But as I got older, I remember sneaking down the cellar with
friends, pointing the wand and making guttural sounds, going crazy with
radiation beams wafting from the lone window, and falling down convulsively.
Poor Mom.
I wonder how her fears affected a third
grader, and then I remember my report card from 4th grade. It showed I gained 60 lbs. in one year. That's
another whole kid.
Bun candy bars aside, I think it was the
radiation.
