QuicksandMania wrote:My earliest memory of quicksand comes from the 1965 movie "The Hallelujah Trail" which was broadcast on national television some time when I was a very small child. (I was born in 1966.) ..." I became obsessed with the topic and would routinely check new encyclopedia sets in the libraries for what they said about the subject. I remember an episode of "Lassie" that had a little boy in quicksand who looked just like me. Do not even get me started on "Tarzan's Hidden Jungle" which was challenging even before puberty.
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EDIT: I should add that back in 2017 I took a diagnostic test and discovered that I am not on the spectrum of autism but land within spitting distance of it which might explain some of my peculiar traits. I know we have discussed this topic on this board elsewhere in the past. I think it bears relevance here.
As much as I've been able to reconstruct it, this is similar to my experience. I'm was born in 1963 and have vague memories of the scene in Guns of Darkness. Research shows it first aired on network television in 1965 at a time and manner consistent with my being right in front of the new 25" RCA that dad bought to watch Disney and Bonanza in color. I also remember Hallelujah Trail ,the Lassie episode you describe, all the original Gilligan's Island run, and a host of other moments. Walter Cronkite describing the Apollo I fire is in there too and I guess it's no surprise that I am likewise, as you know, a huge spaceflight geek. Television was obviously a big part of our formative years. Discovering that I was not alone in early 1995 was more akin to the universe being changed than just my life. There does appear be a streak of autism that runs throughout the community but this is where I diverge. Pretty sure I'm nowhere near that with my general lack of concern and attention to detail about most everything. Trouble with girls seems to be a common problem too but I was pretty successful there.
Retirement is in the plans for me next year. If I can somehow get myself back to a modest level of fitness I might get out there again. We'll see about that.