Tuesday, April 08, 2014
The old arm-fling maneuver
I remember riding in the car when I was little. Most of the time, I'd hang out in the back seat and read comics, and then crawl up over into the front with mom when I got bored.
I guess maybe there were seatbelts back then, in the sixties, but I don't remember us ever using them.
And whenever I was in the front seat, and mom had to stop suddenly, she'd fling her right arm out, across me, to keep me from hitting the dash. Or, you know, going through the windshield.
And to this day, whenever I have to stop a car suddenly, I fling my arm out across the passenger seat, just like mom. Of course, I never had any kids; I guess it's just a reflex from watching mom do it all those years. At most, it stops my purse from falling onto the floor of the car.
And now I'm wondering: Is it just me, who does the arm-fling maneuver? Are there other old pre-seatbelt folks out there who still do it, too? Or how about riding in the way-back of the station wagon? Remember that?
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12 comments:
Oh that brings back memories :)
We always wore seatbelts in the car - except for the kid who sat in the middle of the back seat where there wasn't any seatbelt, but the *rest* of us always had seatbelts.
My mom, however, ALWAYS did the arm fling maneuver - even though whoever was in the front seat was buckled up - presumably because she also remembered driving in cars without seatbelts.
And years later - despite *never* having driven in a car without a belt, when I started driving, I do the same thing, if I have a child in the passenger seat. I don't seem to do it if it's an adult for some reason though.
As the youngest by several years, I was the lucky one (sarcasm) who got the choice between riding in the middle seat in the back or in the way-back of our Subaru wagon. I usually chose the latter because it gave all of us kids more room, and on long road trips, I could lay down and nap against the luggage. Sounds barbaric now :)
I do the arm fling sometimes, but my mom never did. I think it's more like I don't want things to fall or move around (human, purse, whatever). It's instinctual but I don't know why I started doing it.
I'd like to say that none of the women in my family ever did the arm thing because we figure that when stopping suddenly it's important to maintain control of the steering. But the real reason is probably that we all have such short limbs that it wouldn't have done any good anyway.
I don't remember seat belts at all through my childhood. Front belts appeared in my late 20s, I think, and rear belts in my early 30s.
Oh, and all except expensive foreign sports cars had front bench seats, so seat belts didn't come around until cars sprouted bucket seats.
Anyone else remember bench seats in the front? When it was common for there to be three people in front?
I do the arm fling...my husband things it's vaguely weird but there's no stopping it if there's a person on the passenger seat :-).
Kris
Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one who arm-flings!
spiffikins, did you draw straws to see who went seat-belt-less? "Okay, on this trip, if we get in an accident, we'll all live except ... Mary!" Ha.
Kate, I LOVED the way-back - I could read my comics in peace. And play pretend-games like pioneers or camping. Except we usually were on the way to GO camping on trips, so not sure why I felt I had to pretend-camp. Practice?
~~Silk, I remember bench seats! The first car I owned as a teen had bucket seats, and I remember being disappointed because how could I make out with my boyfriend in bucket seats? (You move to the back. Duh.)
and Kris, you are obviously a more caring person than your husband. (KIDDING I am kidding)
All this car talk has me missing drive-ins ...
Drive-in movies or eateries?
Yes, I have always been an arm-flinger as a mom, but it wasn't from copying a parent as we never had a car. I get plenty of grief from my grown kids about the unused seat belts of their youth. Only fussy, particular people used them then. I need to find a picture of the baby's car seats at the time......basically contraptions made of pipe cleaners. The kids won't understand until later that better thinking progresses a little each generation. The newspapers, or whatever, in the 60's used to remind people that, "When you lay your baby on the front seat of the car, be sure its head doesn't touch the hot metal seat belt latch!" They didn't even HAVE car seats for babies too young to sit up. As for station wagons, my kids used to ride breathing down the back of my neck.....and I would look in the rear view mirror and see an expanse of car being paid for which went to waste (except on long trips).....Ginny
Both, Ginny! Around here it was the V-Drive-In for movies, and A&W for food. I remember they had mamaburgers, papaburgers and babyburgers - maybe they still do. It was the most insane treat in the world to eat in the car - ha!
And yeah, it wasn't like my parents were outliers or something for not using seatbelts - NObody did. Nobody we knew, anyway.
But if you patronize A&W, there is no joy in whispering, "BRASSIERE, BRASSIERE, BRASSIERE!" and laughing until you are ill.
Ginny, you are correct. It's not a complete fast food meal unless you can laugh yourself silly.
I certainly hope you were getting my reference to your adventures at Dairy Queen with the brazier burgers, otherwise I sound like a complete perv.
No worries, Ginny - I get it. But I'm thinking about referring to you as "Ginny, the complete perv" from now on. :)
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