Messed up stuff we did as kids

[Peyton Manning]

Rode in a car stolen by a friend of my when we were in high school many years ago.

well honest samuel, have you reported it to the authorities?

 

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[ChampFerguson/TN]

Golf courses.

My best friend had an early 50s chevy (this was the 70s) bomb of a car with a homemade muffler. So we were driving down the road one night at dark thirty and all of a sudden he veers off the road onto a golf course. Spinning his tires and flying all over the hills. We were actually catching air as we topped the hills. Its probably the most he ever scared me. Usually, I could see what he was about to do and talk him into plotting an escape route first which gave me time to calm him down + screw up my courage.
No idea what damage we did and I do regret it. But damn what a rush.

 

[jimhenry]

Stupid things like pegging the speedometer riding on re-cap tires......

Oh yeah, that too. I had a 69 Beetle I had done a few things to. My German VW mechanic told me it was the fastest bug he had ever driven. Twice I was stopped by cops who told me basically: "Listen, you didn't do anything wrong, but what the hell do you have in that thing?" Well I was working 3 jobs and going to Penn State's Capitol Campus for engineering full time. Commuting between Philly and the school just outside Harrisburg I often pegged the speedometer at 120. Then one day I looked at my very expensive tires and I could see the radials where the tread used to be! Yes I was young and stupid.

 

[Tpmetal]

So here's a fun one that wasn't quite as devious as my others. So when I was about 15, I got out of school a few minutes earlier than my older brother. At the time he drove a small 2 liter dodge neon. So being siblings I decide I was slacking on my duties of being a younger brother, and hasn't irritated the heck out of him in some time. So my friends and I went to the parking lot to mess with his car. I walk up and see two teachers cars parked next to him. One car directly next to him and one a single space away on the other side. My excelled abilities in visualizing things in space kicked in and the lightbulb turned on. I immediately ditched our original plan, and we proceeded to pick up the back end of the car and slide it sideways into the space. The fit was so perfect that the result was a long wait for him to leave school, as teachers left easily an hour later than students.

 

[jimhenry]

You would have fit in with us just fine

More info, my parents really didn't like my friends and once I walked out of a surprise birthday party my Mom arranged because none of my friends were there, just some dorky kids I hardly knew! A year or two later my parents moved us from this rather urban suburb of Philadelphia (Upper Darby) to a rural (at that time) area, Newtown Square. I hated it, but looking back, all of my good friends from back then ended up in prison, and I did not, so I think I need to credit them posthumously for that!

 

[huntsman53]

Dang and I thought I was bad and did some stupid things as a kid!

From the time I was 8 til 11 years old, we would fill several paper grocery bags about half full of fresh cow manure each Halloween. (Yeah, I lived on a farm with cattle near a big subdivision.) We would take a bag to a house, place it on the porch a foot or so from the front door, light the bag on fire, ring the doorbell and run. As you can imagine, an occupant, usually the owner of the home would open the door, see the bag on fire and proceed to stomp the fire out thus getting cow manure all over his' shoes and clothes and sometimes the door and even carpet just inside. Other times, after placing the paper bag on a porch, we would tear it open, stick a Cherry Bomb in the cow manure, ring the doorbell, light the Cherry Bomb and run. Needless the say, if the owner opened the door at the right time, he was hit by cow manure and the whole (usually) living room in direct line of the door would be covered in cow manure. One Halloween, we had done this to several homes and due to the mess we made and the fact that fireworks were outlawed back then where we lived, the Cops were looking for us like we were criminals. As a couple of Cop cars came across a hill in the subdivision, we darted into a backyard and ran like the wind. Not knowing this backyard like my culprit friends did, I got clothes-lined about mid-way of the backyard and just laid there on my' back for at least a minute or so to recoup. We ran into and crawled half-way through a briar patch but had to come out when the Cops sent the dogs in after us. They gave us all a good scolding, took each of us to our homes and gave our parents an earful.


Frank

 

[Honest Samuel]

well honest samuel, have you reported it to the authorities?

No, because I was not honest back in high school.

 

[dirtdigginfool]

Ok...first off, great stuff! Between my self-imposed, 1980's induced memory loss and the statute of limitations, I remember a doozy...when I was 7 or 8 thru the age of 13 or so, I stayed at my friend's place out in the country during summer break (used to be a city boy). Richie had a Honda XR75 and we ran the wheels off that thing! One of our fave places to ride was right across the road from hid house in a valley near a dam and a lake, it was perfect, like a skate park made for dirt bikes. Perfect as it was, it was on state land and the local Ranger had ran us off so many times that he promised to confiscate any and and all dirt bikes next time we were caught there. So there we are up, down, up, down and failed to see that ever so familiar green and white full size Bronco coming, beacons blazing...everybody scattered like roaches, he can't catch us all! I jumped on the back, going as fast as an XR75 will go loaded with 2 helmet-less juveniles...the Ranger was hot on our tail but as the trails narrowed we were able be to put a little precious time between us. Feeling like we'd given him the slip, we realized we had ridden ourselves into a dead-end, the only escape being a very steep, narrow walking path up a high wall. Richie killed the bike, laid it down at the edge of the lake and we both knew what we had to do...he grabbed the forks, I got the rear wheel, and SPLASH!..into the lake it went into about 4 feet of murky lake water. We sat down on some sandstone as the Ranger slid to a stop, getting out with that GOTCHA look on his face. He looks around while we innocently skip rocks...WHERE'S THE BIKE!?...with Oscar award winning acting, we played it off.."what bike? He scours the trees, bushes, rocks...nowhere. He interrogated us for 15 mins, we held our ground...at that time we could hear some of our absconding biker buds off in the distance, he flashes one very disapproving look and jumps in his Bronco and peels out of there. We go home, wait 2 hours and go back, it took 4 of us to fish it out and took turns pushing it home. It took the rest of the summer to fix it, Richie said it needed a new head gasket anyway..lol. One of many stories but one of my most memorable...O the good old days! Ddf

 

[trdking]

We most definitely put our drafting teacher bug in a fountain at school. We loved jacking up a girls car and placing blocks under it so the wheels were a quarter inch off the ground and watch them rev the engine till smoke was coming off it and going now where.We drove our cars on the wet hills in the golf course and made road maps everywhere. We broke down in Hollywood hills in my 57 Buick Century and walked down to the local gas station and stole the first thing we saw there and drove it home. We parked it two streets over and hiked the rest of the way. Turns out what we all thought was original shenanigans was just us being creative kids. We made some mayhem and we survived. Today our kids are governed by a boob tube and a computer. They are walking around with iPhones about to be taken out by traffic and they own fidget spinners and have Man buns. If I had a wish it would be that we could go backwards and let our kids and grandkids live the way we did. I had a humdinger of a time and wouldn't trade any of it for anything. The only thing I wish I could trade for anything would be to not have my good friend Mark Anthony Corella die in the Aeromexico crash in Cerritos CA. I would change that if I could. I for one Had a fantastic time growing up.

 

[huntsman53]

One moonlit night before Halloween, me and some friends decided to take many of a neighbors' Pumpkins from his Pumpkin patch and stack them across the tar and graveled road I lived on. This road was notorious for drunks who liked to drink and drive. Well, about 10PM or so, here came a car down the road just a barreling it and we hid in the bushes. It was one of those drunks and he plowed right through the pumpkin barrier, destroyed almost every one of them and kept going like a bat of hell, probably because he was afraid of getting caught drinking while driving. After the car was out of sight, we walked out of the bushes to survey all of the mess that was made and laughing. The neighbor who had heard the crash, had snuck down to his' Pumpkin patch and seeing that most were gone and the mess in the road started screaming and shooting a shotgun loaded with rock salt at us. We ran like hell and I don't think the neighbor ever figured out that I was one of the culprits.


Frank

 

[Kurios1]

I remember a friend and myself once spotted a panel van recovered by the county police force. Not certain about how they got it. Drug bust perhaps. Anyhow two younger "officers" were driving it down our main street one winter night and we had plenty of nice wet snow to launch a couple well placed snowballs directly into the side of their van. It made one hell of a thud. Within seconds the van came to a screeching halt and the two young patrolmen are hot after us two scared as HELL punk kids. We were wearing our heavy snow boots not even made for outrunning grandmas let alone two pissed off police officers. We made a beeline for my buddies home with the officers not giving up their pursuit of us. Darting through backyards in foot deep snow with those two yelling at us to stop gave us all the more reason NOT TO! Once arriving at my buddies home we crawled under the back porch through a small opening next to the stairs. Within a minute I reckon we heard the two officers talking just feet from us hiding under the porch.

Our hearts were racing a million miles an hour and we were trying desperately to remain as quiet as church mice and not breath although heavily winded and gasping for breath. They loitered around for a bit but, eventually gave up their pursuit of us little criminals. We stayed under that porch for quite awhile to make sure they weren't trying to draw us out and haul us to the pokey. I don't think we launched anymore snowballs at cars after that event. At least not unmarked police vans. This is one of the more "innocent" violations of common decency that I can remember. Also one of the more terrifying. I was NO angel that's for sure.

 

[huntsman53]

One hot summer around the 4th of July, me and a friend were having a Cherry Bomb War with his cousins in front of their' house. Me and Steve were behind an old broken down truck and his cousins were behind a 4 foot or so high fence. We had been tossing Cherry Bombs back and forth for some 10 minutes or so with no consequences and no complaints from Steve's Aunt and drunk Uncle inside. That all changed when missile armed a Cherry Bomb through the window of the house where Steve's uncle laid on the bed watching TV. When the Cherry Bomb went off, all hell broke loose and Steve's drunk uncle came out the house yelling and cussing and shooting a shotgun at us. Me and Steve ran up through the field and got peppered a few times with pellets but none did any damage. From that day on, we were not allowed anywhere near his cousin's home and we would always have to take a wide detour when going to my' home or his.


Frank

 

[trdking]

My Dad tells a story from when he was young. It was halloween and he went at night to his farmer neighbor Mr Gandy. Him and his friends tipped the out house over on its door while Mr Gandy was in it. Mr Gandy got pretty riled up about this and swore his revenge The next year My Dad Ran up to tip Mr Gandy over in his outhouse and Mr Gandy had moved his outhouse 4 feet forward. Need I say more?

 

[Kurios1]

One hot summer around the 4th of July, me and a friend were having a Cherry Bomb War with his cousins in front of their' house. Me and Steve were behind an old broken down truck and his cousins were behind a 4 foot or so high fence. We had been tossing Cherry Bombs back and forth for some 10 minutes or so with no consequences and no complaints from Steve's Aunt and drunk Uncle inside. That all changed when missile armed a Cherry Bomb through the window of the house where Steve's uncle laid on the bed watching TV. When the Cherry Bomb went off, all hell broke loose and Steve's drunk uncle came out the house yelling and cussing and shooting a shotgun at us. Me and Steve ran up through the field and got peppered a few times with pellets but none did any damage. From that day on, we were not allowed anywhere near his cousin's home and we would always have to take a wide detour when going to my' home or his.


Frank

Shotgun pellets. That's pretty serious. Reminds me of some real hillbillies I knew around our area. They would dress up with several layers of clothing for "protection" and have "shotgun" wars at lengthy distances so as to not kill one another. I never participated with them in their battles and I don't believe anyone got seriously injured. I did do the BB gun battles but, gave that up after catching a round in the face one time. I knew a kid growing up who lost an eye to a BB gun so I thought the better of going down that road.

Another one of the more entertaining things I remember on my granddad's farm was corn wars. He had a corn "crib" that was designed with the open path for the wagon in between the two halves of the structure that the corn was stored in to dry. My brothers and who ever else wanted to toss large ears of dried field corn at each other would split up sides and clime up into the fully stocked corn crib. One team on one side and the other team on the other. Then we would start tossing ears of corn at each other. Being little kids we still could heave an ear of corn pretty good. When the ear of corn would hit the rafters of the roof grains of corn would go flying off from the ear like "shrapnel" and pepper the "enemy". This was a hoot and I don't remember anyone getting seriously injured participating in this joyous childhood event.

 

[huntsman53]

When I was 15 and 16, me...my friends and their younger brothers and sisters would play tag during summer nights on their property that had a 60 degree ridge on one side and 45 degree ridge on the other. Usually when it was the younger kids turn to hide and us seek, the younger kids would just hide behind a big tree and holler ready. Us older boys could usually find them really easy. When it was our turn to hide and them seek, us older boys would climb to about three quarters of the way up the steep 60 degree ridge. Jess and myself would climb 3 to 4 inch diameter, 30+ feet tall saplings almost to the top and when the younger kids would come looking for us, we would ride the top down behind them and scare the crap out of them. We never thought much about it but if the saplings had broke just after we started bending them over, we would have fell more than 80 feet to the ground because of the steep angle of the ridge. Yeah, stupid!


Frank

 

[Tpmetal]

When I was 15 and 16, me...my friends and their younger brothers and sisters would play tag during summer nights on their property that had a 60 degree ridge on one side and 45 degree ridge on the other. Usually when it was the younger kids turn to hide and us seek, the younger kids would just hide behind a big tree and holler ready. Us older boys could usually find them really easy. When it was our turn to hide and them seek, us older boys would climb to about three quarters of the way up the steep 60 degree ridge. Jess and myself would climb 3 to 4 inch diameter, 30+ feet tall saplings almost to the top and when the younger kids would come looking for us, we would ride the top down behind them and scare the crap out of them. We never thought much about it but if the saplings had broke just after we started bending them over, we would have fell more than 80 feet to the ground because of the steep angle of the ridge. Yeah, stupid!


Frank

We used to do that all the time. Riding trees was a blast. Added bonus was that your buddy could attach something before you let go, and presto instant catapult.

 

[chub]

Ok...first off, great stuff! Between my self-imposed, 1980's induced memory loss and the statute of limitations, I remember a doozy...when I was 7 or 8 thru the age of 13 or so, I stayed at my friend's place out in the country during summer break (used to be a city boy). Richie had a Honda XR75 and we ran the wheels off that thing! One of our fave places to ride was right across the road from hid house in a valley near a dam and a lake, it was perfect, like a skate park made for dirt bikes. Perfect as it was, it was on state land and the local Ranger had ran us off so many times that he promised to confiscate any and and all dirt bikes next time we were caught there. So there we are up, down, up, down and failed to see that ever so familiar green and white full size Bronco coming, beacons blazing...everybody scattered like roaches, he can't catch us all! I jumped on the back, going as fast as an XR75 will go loaded with 2 helmet-less juveniles...the Ranger was hot on our tail but as the trails narrowed we were able be to put a little precious time between us. Feeling like we'd given him the slip, we realized we had ridden ourselves into a dead-end, the only escape being a very steep, narrow walking path up a high wall. Richie killed the bike, laid it down at the edge of the lake and we both knew what we had to do...he grabbed the forks, I got the rear wheel, and SPLASH!..into the lake it went into about 4 feet of murky lake water. We sat down on some sandstone as the Ranger slid to a stop, getting out with that GOTCHA look on his face. He looks around while we innocently skip rocks...WHERE'S THE BIKE!?...with Oscar award winning acting, we played it off.."what bike? He scours the trees, bushes, rocks...nowhere. He interrogated us for 15 mins, we held our ground...at that time we could hear some of our absconding biker buds off in the distance, he flashes one very disapproving look and jumps in his Bronco and peels out of there. We go home, wait 2 hours and go back, it took 4 of us to fish it out and took turns pushing it home. It took the rest of the summer to fix it, Richie said it needed a new head gasket anyway..lol. One of many stories but one of my most memorable...O the good old days! Ddf

LOVE the XR 75. I drove a Z50 monkey into a creek one night after 20 beers....had to rebore it after the instant cooling made the ring gap big enough to drive a bus through


chub

 

[ChampFerguson/TN]

Snowballing cars, o yeah.

We had a point system that ran all winter. Hit a car 1 pt, van 5 pts, large delivery truck 10 pts, if they stopped +5pts, yelled +5pts, chased +25 pts, police car 500pts(none of us ever threw at a popo car!).

Due to my iron rule "Plan Escape Route First", we never came close to being caught. Always waited on fairly deep snow, sheltered hiding place in woods + on a hill, snowballing only on those vehicles going Down the hill. The postal vans were the best; loud Thumps that echoed. And postmen, for some reason, would always try to stop, slide 100' or so, get out, yell, and even sometimes try to chase us. We would always stand there and laugh at them unless they got at least halfway up the hill. Today, postmen would probably be shooting at us.

 

[huntsman53]

Snowballing cars, o yeah.

We had a point system that ran all winter. Hit a car 1 pt, van 5 pts, large delivery truck 10 pts, if they stopped +5pts, yelled +5pts, chased +25 pts, police car 500pts(none of us ever threw at a popo car!).

Due to my iron rule "Plan Escape Route First", we never came close to being caught. Always waited on fairly deep snow, sheltered hiding place in woods + on a hill, snowballing only on those vehicles going Down the hill. The postal vans were the best; loud Thumps that echoed. And postmen, for some reason, would always try to stop, slide 100' or so, get out, yell, and even sometimes try to chase us. We would always stand there and laugh at them unless they got at least halfway up the hill. Today, postmen would probably be shooting at us.

Love it but were you all aware that you can be tracked in the snow? Maybe as kids, it never cross your minds!


Frank

 

[chub]

Snowballing cars, o yeah.

We had a point system that ran all winter. Hit a car 1 pt, van 5 pts, large delivery truck 10 pts, if they stopped +5pts, yelled +5pts, chased +25 pts, police car 500pts(none of us ever threw at a popo car!).

Due to my iron rule "Plan Escape Route First", we never came close to being caught. Always waited on fairly deep snow, sheltered hiding place in woods + on a hill, snowballing only on those vehicles going Down the hill. The postal vans were the best; loud Thumps that echoed. And postmen, for some reason, would always try to stop, slide 100' or so, get out, yell, and even sometimes try to chase us. We would always stand there and laugh at them unless they got at least halfway up the hill. Today, postmen would probably be shooting at us.

ha ha -great -you really should tell us what your score was or who won though

Chub