What’s the Statute of Limitations on dumb-ass things a group of pre- high school boys would do in Flushing, NY (a city within the City of New York, in the borough of Queens) in the summer of 1954. Yeah, that’s 70 years ago.
We would normally sorta gather in a wooded area within a block or two of where we lived. (Yes, there were wooded areas in NYC). So, it’s about 3 PM. and Donny (moi), Tommy, Andre, Kenny, and Jimmy were
Hangin out at our wooded hangout, when one of us noticed a large branch had fallen from a tree. It was shaped like a big letter “Y”. Uh-oh, our imaginations went into overdrive. One of us said, “ Boy, that could make a great slingshot “. The word, “ awesome” was not in style in 1954.
Just get an old inner tube and stretch and tie it across the expanse of the letter “Y” and voila, you got a slingshot.
The next essential part of this dumb- ass exploit is that about 1/2 block north of our location, on a busy street corner, was a Quonset Hut, being used as a commercial car wash.
Yes, someone eventually said, “I betcha, if we make a slingshot from that branch, we could hit the outside of that there Quonset Hut and scare the crap outta the people inside”. The dumb-ass idea was now a fact. The next day one of us brought a strip of rubber from an inner tube. We’re ready to do our stupid stunt. None of us saw past our own nose to see the bad things that could happen ( hit someone, hit a car, break a window, etc).
To make it work, one of us had to hold the big branch firmly, with the pointed end down on the ground with two arms of the Y at the top with the inner tube stretched across.
On the first try a rock went flying from our location and hit the outside of the Quonset Hut. Bwam, Bwam, the noise was quite loud. We removed and hid the inner tube and threw the branch down with other big branches. Then went about our usual talking idleness.
Before too long, we saw a police car pull up. Out stepped the police officer, but with a little 8-9 year old kid we scooted away the day before.
“OK, where’s the sling shot ?” He asked. The “kid rat” that turned us in said, ”There it is.” Pointing to the big branch on the ground. The officer said” Kid, that’s a freakin branch. I don’t see no sling shot”. He turned, drove away and we survived. Kid rat had to avoid us for a while, but time heals all wounds. We didn’t do it again.
If it’s such a small stunt, why am I still thinking and writing about it 70 years later. Hmm. I think I’m past the Statute by now. Don’t you? Enuf.