I'm so old that they didn't lock things when I was a kid.
A couple of things I mentioned in my last post reminded me of what it was like when I was a kid in the 40's and 50's. When I mentioned pushing cars around at Halloween I suddenly remembered some things about cars and houses.
When I was a kid in the 40's to 60's , we did not lock anything. In fact we left the keys in the car ignition. That's the kind of world we lived in. The really old cars did not have keys. They had a toggle switch with off and on. Some people modified things so that they didn't need a key to start the car. They were more worried about losing keys than cars to theft.
So we could have driven the cars around instead of pushing them. All we did was put the car gears in neutral and three or four kids could move the car. One kid had to steer.
Houses were not locked on farms or in the villages and small towns. When Mom and Dad went away one time, they decided to lock the house. The problem was they couldn't find the key so the house was left unlocked.
When I first came to this city in 1969, I did not lock my house door or my car. Shortly after that I started locking both but was not that rigorous about it. I learned that I was in the city and it was different. Somehow time had moved on so that most cars and houses were locked.
When we lived in the woods, there was an prison escape. A murderer with ties to the Seneca Nation was in the area, and everyone was being warned to keep their cars and homes locked. The problem was we had no idea where our house keys were.
ReplyDeletePretty scary when some one of that record is on the loose.
DeleteOk, I don't remember cars starting with a toggle switch! Goodness! Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteWell, you turned on the little switch and then had a thing on the floor that you stepped on and got the started going. Before that there was a crank at the front.
DeleteA friend who lives on an isolated farm still never locks his doors. He reasons that if anyone drives down the lane with the intention of robbing the house they will not be deterred by a simple lock. I can't fault his logic but if a burglary did occur I wouldn't want to have to convince the police and insurance company.
ReplyDeleteLocks are a deterrent but not a fool proof solution. .
DeleteYes, those were the “good ol’ days” and I remember them. And, yes, that pretty much puts us in the “old” category. 😊 Thanks for the look back.
ReplyDeleteNow we just forget to lock the doors!
DeleteI always make sure the doors are locked. Years ago, crime was not as rampant. Take care, have a great day!
ReplyDeleteIt's very wise to lock the doors. We also turn the radio on.
DeleteIt's interesting how times have changed, Red. You were so rural that people would have to walk a long way to break into a home.
ReplyDeleteIn the Chicagoland suburbs, we are a lot closer to each other!
We were also so poor that we didn't have anything worth stealing.
DeleteLife on a rural American farm is still the same way. We never lock houses and the keys are in all the tractors and vehicles at all times. It was hard on me to learn new behaviors when I moved to a more urban environment.
ReplyDeleteIt's a long time since I was rural so I'm not sure what they are doing now.
DeleteWhen I was teaching in the early 2000s, I had students who lived on farms in the area who also said they never locked their houses. This shocked me, as I've always been one to lock up - I even make sure I'm locked IN when home. Then again, I've been a city dweller my entire life, so it's all I know. Having had my car broken into and stolen (years ago!) I also am vigilant about locking vehicles. Time and place make a big difference.
ReplyDeleteI think one or both of the car incidents were break ins as the car was locked. I also remember the stress you went through with these issues.
DeleteI worry more about losing keys now because they are so darn expensive to replace. It's a ripoff really.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm so old I lose my keys!
DeleteIt never occurred to me that there was a time and place where people felt safe enough to not have to lock their houses. I sure wish we lived in safe times like that now. (NewRobin13)
ReplyDeleteIt took me a while to get in the habit of locking door and cars after I left the farm.
DeleteI just lock my apartment, I have no car.
ReplyDeleteThat makes for much less stress.
DeleteYes, out in the country in those earlier years we did not lock up either. I think it was in the late 70's that my mom and dad, still on the farm, got robbed. Then the locking up began.
ReplyDeleteThe lock may have deterred the theft. It's easy enough to break into most places.
DeleteI like to lock everything these days. It is sad to feel that way!
ReplyDeleteYes, I lock everything even my out door sheds.
DeleteThose were the days:)
ReplyDeleteWe did not have any worries about bad guys.
DeleteInteresting look back! I grew up in downtown Toronto and we locked uo!
ReplyDeleteYes you would lock things.
DeleteI remember not locking cars. It cost me a couple packs of cigarettes, stolen from the dashboard. So, I got up early one morning and caught the paper boy in the act. "Do you want me to tell your parents, or your boss at the paper?" He quit soon after. And, I locked my car.
ReplyDeleteSad that some inconsiderate incident causes us a lot more stress.
DeleteWhat a wonderful feeling that must have been to not worry about homes being broken into. As I recall, we did lock our doors in our sugar plantation camp. I remember hiding our keys in the shoe box on our porch. I'll bet that's where everybody hid their keys. LOL!
ReplyDeleteWe were carefree with little stress. I think it was a common hiding place. Under the door mat was used too.
DeleteI remember not locking my car and then one day some clothes were taken from the back seat. After that I locked it.
ReplyDeleteI locked my car in the city and it was broken in to when I left some stuff on the seat.
DeleteI always lock my place up.
ReplyDeleteYou get in a routine and it's easy to remember.
DeleteAh yes, time marches on. I can recall coming home once or twice and being alarmed that I had left the front door unlocked. And the same with my car in a parking lot at the supermarket. Always a bit surprised that neither had been invaded. Might not be that lucky down in Phoenix.
ReplyDelete