Unlikely events part 2

Once again I have to thank Judy Blume for this concept of "Unlikely Events".

In this unlikely event it was 1958. I had a paper route delivering the "Glendale News Press" on my Schwinn Bicycle single speed (now it would be called a Beach Cruiser) with large tires. I had motorcycle handlebars so I could be comfortable standing up while I pedaled the bike with papers. But, the center of gravity was pretty high with the newspaper bags that high up so I really had to be careful when I turned the bike. So, mostly I turned by only leaning the bike so it wouldn't throw the bags too far one direction or another so I would crash into the ground or something.

Anyway, one of the Apartments I delivered to in Glendale was an indoor apartment building like you see more on the East Coast where it gets cold. In California most apartments you get to from the outside only up stairs because it is cheaper to build them that way. So, as I walked through this East Coast old style apartment inside the building and left my bike and papers outside for a moment (my bike was never stolen) to show you how different it was from today then.

As I walked through the inside access to the old apartment building I noticed a fire hose coiled up into the wall and I noticed something inside one of the loops which was something I had never seen before. So, I took it with me thinking it might be gum someone left by accident and forgot. When I got home I asked my Dad what it was and he gave my mother a strange look. Remember, I'm 10 years old and this is still 1958 in California.

My Dad said it was gum so I gleefully opened it up thinking it was a piece of gum but it was a condom, a rubber instead. I said to my Dad, "This isn't gum" and he sort of turned red and then I blew it up like a balloon and we had great fun bouncing it like a balloon all over the room.

I still wasn't sure what it was but it sure was fun to blow it up and turn it into a balloon. Dad said,"It's not gum is it, it's a balloon." and smiled as we blew it up and played bouncing it off the walls and ceilings of our home. I'm not sure I knew for sure what it had been until I talked to my cousin who was in the Navy and 17 and I found a used one in the back seat of his fancy Ford convertible  in the ash tray and asked what it was. He laughed and told me and I said, "Yuck". And that's likely when I knew first when I was 12.

Most kids weren't told much about anything like that then. So, they didn't know.

So, I finally found out what a condom was when I was 12.