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My memories of childhood friends are utterly bittersweet. When I was ~9, I fell in with a group that played with WWII munitions that we found in the woods. A fe
by mirimir 7y ago
My memories of childhood friends are utterly bittersweet. When I was ~9, I fell in with a group that played with WWII munitions that we found in the woods. A few years later, two of my younger friends were seriously injured. I was never overtly blamed, but I felt guilty.
And then, about a decade later, now in the US, I fell in with hippies, and got into dealing LSD. But then a couple friends got busted. So I dealt drugs to pay for their defense.
My point, I guess, is that I never really learned how to actually maintain friendships. I am capable of making friends, and doing what friends do for friends. But it always feels like I'm playing a role. Maybe that's why I've become an anonymous coward.
- alexpetralia 7y agoI wonder if you'd find this essay I wrote useful: https://alexpetralia.github.io/2018/04/02/NL-2018-04-02.html https://alexpetralia.github.io/2018/04/02/NL-2018-04-02.html I do very much believe it's a skill that takes effort and investment to develop over years (our entire lives really).
- mirimir 7y agoThanks, that's insightful.
- saber6 7y ago> My memories of childhood friends are utterly bittersweet. When I was ~9, I fell in with a group that played with WWII munitions that we found in the woods. A few years later, two of my younger friends were seriously injured. I was never overtly blamed, but I felt guilty. Care to share more (as much as you feel comfortable)? That's a very unconventional childhood experience! Thanks!
- yellowapple 7y agoIIRC this was (and still is!) pretty common in Europe after World War II.
- mirimir 7y agoBasically, quality control was iffy, so an appreciable percentage of munitions didn't work. Or were just lost and forgotten, in the heat of battle. Weapons too. So it was quite the wonderland for kids who liked to blow stuff up, and play at war. But you had to know what stuff was relatively safe, and what was likely to go off, if you looked at it wrong. For example, you avoided anything that contained picric acid. But hey, I lived through it. And it was great fun. Overall, it was arguably safer than making acetone peroxide, which I gather does go off, if you look at it wrong.
- Kinrany 7y ago> But hey, I lived through it. But would you tell us this story if you didn't?
- quickthrowman 7y agoLet’s get serious here, who would finish writing the story once he’s 6 feet underground and can’t get a cell signal?