Ohhhh ... boy, pretty much the same here. We were going to bars at the age of 16, drinking age was 18, most places didnt check, some that did were ok with phony copied birth certificates a few really popular places were not. It was a crazy time, no one knew if and when you turned 18 you would be selected to go to Vietnam. We all knew brothers of friends and family who did.
We were a TIGHT group of about 8 close friends who went on to meet a tight group of 5 or 6 girls from a town that we literally lived on the border with but they went to a different HS. Met them in the summer when they found their way into our community private park.
Gosh the times I think it started around 13 or 14 years old. Maybe 15 we were getting bottles of Boones Farm Apple wine in ways I wont disclose here. We were a good group, never destructive or a fighting gang, just plain old fun, all the time. We may have been intimating to some but it was just the large group of us. Except for pot we never got caught up with hard drugs.
Times were different then, I did have some minor skirts with the law, one Halloween night walking through communities, was kid stuff but me and a close friend where picked out of our group and arrested *LOL* didnt harm anyone, a prank that went a tiny bit too far. Never went to court, people dropped the charges, record sealed. But it was a few months of torture, our parents not happy. Ironically, I recently relived that night (which I regret) when I decided to semi-retire and take a part time 25 hour job at a financial institution because I was offered full time health benefits which was a great holdover until I hit the medicare age of 65.
WELL, what do you know that OVER 5 decades later in a state now 1000 miles from where I lived back then, a lengthy background check was done, that turned up an incident on Halloween night over 50 years ago!!! *LOL* But it was just a ding since the records were sealed since it never went to court and I was under age. Anyway, long story short the back ground check turned into a multi month ordeal before I finally got the green light to be hired. I offered them the information as to what it was because they could not get the information.
Also back then, one last bad one, older now, 17 years old. I got stopped by the cops in my 67 GTO. I got stopped MANY times for racing, speeding etc. Only one ticket in all those years. I was also ALWAYS respectful to police and carried PBA cards and a badge from police friends who came into where I worked. One night I got stopped on the way to visit my friend at a large department store.
In the parking lot I stopped, cop said I was swaying a little bit back there and where am I going. I opened my mouth and heard my own words slur as I told them going to visit my friend at the store, well, back then the stores where closed on Sunday and it was a Sunday! *LOL* I was screwed. He asked what I was drinking and I told him the truth, Southern Comfort with a little bit of coke. Thing is he thought "coke" meant cocaine! NO, when I said coke, I meant a dash of coke the soda added to the southern comfort. By then I was surrounded by police cars. They asked nicely if I had drugs in the car, told them no, as I said I didnt do hard drugs, even back then. Anyway, then asked permission to search my car (all this a little fuzzy*LOL*) I said yes and boy did they search, nothing there of course. Then put me in the back of the police car and made me wait. After a while his partner says to me how lucky I am, doesn't know why his partner is doing this. They took the keys to my car, parked it next to the Police Booth and drove me home. Told me to pick up my car tomorrow. Ok, get this, I still cant believe it. They stopped a few houses before my house so no one saw me get out of a police car, my parents weren't home but didnt know how I would explain no car when they did get home. I called a friend, he drove me back to the police booth that night and with no cops around, got my car and sped all the way home to park in the driveway.
Dont get the wrong impression, these were wild times in this country, almost movie material but overall we were a good group or kids from good families. Just a bit misguided. If I could go back in time of course there would be things I did much differently and still had the fun. This was teenage stuff. I worked hard my whole life (event during those times!) to get where I am, never involved with drugs and the drinking teenage college years faded away.
(so ends the longest off topic of the thread) I am not checking for typos
You know, when you think how much advancement took place in this country from people who grew up during those times, I have to say, the work ethics and independent attitude and independence from your parents as you entered the world at 18 years old is what made this country so innovative. Think about that, just about the entire technology structure of this nation and current companies was started with people from that era.
