Duck and Cover

Ah yes, I was in elementary school during the days of "duck and cover" when nuclear war drills were held and all of us practiced getting under our desks and avoiding the windows. 

No one sobbed. No one worried. As I recall the conversations from the playground, the unanimous opinion was the drills were fairly ridiculous because crawling under our small desks was unlikely to provide any real protection. We also had the strong belief that nuclear war was unlikely because the Russians wanted to live as much as we did. Although we couldn't put a name to it we understood the deterrent effect of Mutually Assured Destruction.

There was one family in our neighborhood that had put in a backyard bomb shelter. Everyone knew who they were and the expenditure was regarded as foolish. Their son was amused by this minor claim to celebrity and told me that his dad had sheepishly turned the redoubt into a combination den/storage area. I suppose that was as good a move as any. I have visions of the old man sitting in there drinking beer, reading Louis L'Amour novels, and half-wishing for the sound of air raid sirens.