Stuff you just can't live without

[Vern Humphrey]

I wouldn't use the word "teach". Like anyone in her position she had to go by the books decided upon the county and state. Mostly what was taught by all teachers then was about as useless as a used condom.

Instead of the word "teach" I would say she got her point across more so by screaming, hollering, and perhaps some jumping up and down. Just kidding, she was far worse than this. Obviously she never married and lived alone. She taught history which later in life became one of my favorite subjects but in school I learned nothing of any use, especially the BS that was in the books. This part wasn't the teachers fault---they had to "teach" what was presented to them but a real teacher can make things interesting. Few to none of them did that. They stared at the clock on the wall as much as the students.

And things have got worse, not better, since your time.

[Former Cav]

had one guy through a cherry bomb down the toilet and flush it at school. the pipes came off the walls.
No body ever ratted him out that I know of. Crazy dude. wonder if he is still alive.

[Vern Humphrey]

had one guy through a cherry bomb down the toilet and flush it at school. the pipes came off the walls.
No body ever ratted him out that I know of. Crazy dude. wonder if he is still alive.

Wonder if he still has all his fingers.

[Allen]

Cherry bombs and M-80's. Some of my best childhood memories and something kids nowdays only hear about.

[Vern Humphrey]

Cherry bombs and M-80's. Some of my best childhood memories and something kids nowdays only hear about.

You can get them here in Arkansas -- they sell tons every July.

[Allen]

You can get them here in Arkansas -- they sell tons every July.

Did not know that. Fireworks here are legal but the good stuff hasn't been available here since the 60's. The firecrackers they sell here barely have enough power to blow the paper off of them. They sell things that look like M-80's sometimes called M-60's but they are a joke. If I were younger I would buy these, drill out the plug on one end, fill it with powder then re-seal.

[lyman]

You can get them here in Arkansas -- they sell tons every July.

not legal here in VA,

had a friend that mixed up flash powder of some kind, and made fireworks out of them,


the small tubes he made were better than a M80, the bigger were damn near dangerous

like a flash bang, big flash, second later a large bang,


many years ago my brother and I were shooting a 1\2 scale Napoleon cannon on the 4th, and a friend of my Fathers, who was a bit tipsy, Marine VN vet, was tossing those damn things at us while we were loading the cannon and shooting,

took a while for the grass to grow back in that area, but we managed to get the round (3 jiggers of FF packed and wad and and a ball loaded, and fired, about every minute, )

slow I am sure, but it was done

I will admit, beer and likker was involved,


good times

[Vern Humphrey]

Did not know that. Fireworks here are legal but the good stuff hasn't been available here since the 60's. The firecrackers they sell here barely have enough power to blow the paper off of them. They sell things that look like M-80's sometimes called M-60's but they are a joke. If I were younger I would buy these, drill out the plug on one end, fill it with powder then re-seal.

The son of a friend on mine, in his mid-50s makes his own fireworks. She showed me a picture of his right hand, after one of his homemade crackers went off.

[Allen]

There was a guy in my school about 3 or 4 years older. He tightly grasped a cherry bomb when it went off. Don't know if it was some kind of dare, a bet lost, or just being a stupid kid at the time but I heard it messed his hand up pretty bad. He wasn't in my class so I never saw it.

Accidents happen and you can't fix stupid but I doubt he did this again so maybe a small part of his "stupid" was fixed.

[Vern Humphrey]

There was a guy in my school about 3 or 4 years older. He tightly grasped a cherry bomb when it went off. Don't know if it was some kind of dare, a bet lost, or just being a stupid kid at the time but I heard it messed his hand up pretty bad. He wasn't in my class so I never saw it.

Accidents happen and you can't fix stupid but I doubt he did this again so maybe a small part of his "stupid" was fixed.

At Mersa Matruh, along the coastal highway west of Alexandria, Egypt, there was a fellow who made his living by disarming a certain Italian landmine and selling the copper fuzes.

One went off, and he lost a hand. So he had a stick lashed to that wrist and used the other hand. Another one went off, and he lost that hand. When I knew him, he was holding them mines between his two sticks and unscrewing the fuze with his teeth.

[Allen]

At Mersa Matruh, along the coastal highway west of Alexandria, Egypt, there was a fellow who made his living by disarming a certain Italian landmine and selling the copper fuzes.

One went off, and he lost a hand. So he had a stick lashed to that wrist and used the other hand. Another one went off, and he lost that hand. When I knew him, he was holding them mines between his two sticks and unscrewing the fuze with his teeth.

I suppose if you see him again he may have sticks for teeth. It sounds like he already has a stick for a brain.

It also sounds like the Italian's don't make very powerful landmines. Maybe THEY are the ones who need the M-80's.

[dryheat]

I knew a guy who knew a guy who did the pyrotechnics for the local football shows. I got some M80 looking fireworks. Only an inch longer. The serious green fuze.
I wasn't there, but some friends blew a Ford truck hubcap from the back yard to the front yard. Over the roof of my house. I still have the hubcap. It suffered some damage.
So, I was at the gravel pit with a friend and some girls. We had a campfire. I can't remember his name now but he lit one from the campfire. The flame wavers. The charge went off in his hand. It was a crisis for us. We got him over to a house nearby and the woman there took him to the hospital. I saw him later in school and he still had the hand bandaged up like it was broke. He played guitar some, I hope he still does. At least he didn't hold the Cherry Bomb in his teeth. If you do that, that's about it.

[Vern Humphrey]

I suppose if you see him again he may have sticks for teeth. It sounds like he already has a stick for a brain.

It also sounds like the Italian's don't make very powerful landmines. Maybe THEY are the ones who need the M-80's.

I've never figured out why we invaded Italy. What did we WANT with Italy?