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alex_antonin's tumblr reminded me of an incident when I was growing up.
First off, I have to describe where our house was. We were at the top of a 500 foot slope with the Spokane River at tnhe bottom. A couple miles away across the valley was a ridgeline with 100 foot cliffs on part of it. And about 20 miles away on the other side of the ridge was Fairchild AFB. Which at the time still had B-52 bombers (and likely nukes)
So, this summer night in the late 60s, in the early evening, there was a beautiful clear sky, with lots of stars. Nary a cloud in sight.
Suddenly there's this *incredibly* bright white flash somewhere beyond the ridgeline. It lit up most of the sky.
And my first thought was to look for the mushroom cloud. Yep, my first thought was that the USSR had nuked the airbase.
Given the geography involved I *wasn't* worried about a shockwave. And fallout wouldn't be an issue for hours (yes, I knew these things in my teens).
No mushroom cloud. Apparently it was a massive bit of "heat lightning" (remember, there was a clear sky)
I want you younger folks to stop and consider the mindset and the *world* where that was my first thought. And that it was not an unreasonable one.
BTW, I know someone who is a few years older than me. And she has talked about the way she felt living *on* an airbase during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
We may have screwed the world up some. But at least *those* are no longer "normal" worries.
Yes, it's still possible that somebody might nuke a city or two (though it'd most likely be terrorists, noit North Koreasor China or the like).
alex_antonin's tumblr reminded me of an incident when I was growing up.First off, I have to describe where our house was. We were at the top of a 500 foot slope with the Spokane River at tnhe bottom. A couple miles away across the valley was a ridgeline with 100 foot cliffs on part of it. And about 20 miles away on the other side of the ridge was Fairchild AFB. Which at the time still had B-52 bombers (and likely nukes)
So, this summer night in the late 60s, in the early evening, there was a beautiful clear sky, with lots of stars. Nary a cloud in sight.
Suddenly there's this *incredibly* bright white flash somewhere beyond the ridgeline. It lit up most of the sky.
And my first thought was to look for the mushroom cloud. Yep, my first thought was that the USSR had nuked the airbase.
Given the geography involved I *wasn't* worried about a shockwave. And fallout wouldn't be an issue for hours (yes, I knew these things in my teens).
No mushroom cloud. Apparently it was a massive bit of "heat lightning" (remember, there was a clear sky)
I want you younger folks to stop and consider the mindset and the *world* where that was my first thought. And that it was not an unreasonable one.
BTW, I know someone who is a few years older than me. And she has talked about the way she felt living *on* an airbase during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
We may have screwed the world up some. But at least *those* are no longer "normal" worries.
Yes, it's still possible that somebody might nuke a city or two (though it'd most likely be terrorists, noit North Koreasor China or the like).
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Date: 2015-07-09 08:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-07-09 11:55 am (UTC)And as for a cloud of real mushrooms, all I can say is YOU'D WASTE MUSHROOMS!!!!!