Please don't let me be alone.

Last week, as workers tore up and re-paved the street in front of our apartment, I caught a whiff of the smell of tar.

Instantly, I was brought back to elementary school -- a simpler time, when, fun could be measured in toxicity.

The memory?

On especially hot Los Angeles days, parts of my school's roof would liquefy and drip off the sides of the building.

As it fell and collected on the ground, all of us kids would rush to grab the molten gobs of fun. I recall pushing and yelling as we all tried to collect the most tar.

Fresh from the ground, it would be pliable enough to shape into little balls and other non-recognizable shapes. And, as a sign of accomplishment, we would rest the little tar trophies in the pencil groove of our desks.

Knowing children, I'm sure none of us washed our hands before eating our tuna-fish sandwiches and Lunchables. And of course, because children are utterly bizarre, I'm quite sure that some of my peers couldn't resist putting the tar in their mouths.

Such a strange memory.

But considering what a hit "slime" was at my school, it is no wonder that we took great pride in the natural wonder that dripped from the roofs.

The other day I asked Ben if he and his classmates collected tar like my Southern California comrades and I.

His response?

"Um, no."

What about you? Did you play with tar?

Comments

[Susan]

I also grew up in Los Angeles. I remember well those hot days when your feet stuck to the blacktop ever so slightly as you walked.

We didn't play with the tar, though.

However, I had a friend come to school with a vial of mercury which he poured out into each of our hands, and we played with that for several days. Little silver blobs that rolled around on the desk and on our hands. That escaped into tinier blobs when you tried to pinch them between your thumb and finger.

So, Tar: No; Mercury, Yes.
Maybe that is why I have trouble with file paths to this day!

[Mallory]

Us kids would take walks around the subdivison in the summer and peel the tar from the cracks in the cement after they had been filled by the maintence guys then we'd just squish it and play with it til we found something else better to do.

[Ava]

As one of your older readers, I am one of those little kids that rolled it up in a little ball and then chewed it like gum. I don't know why, it was just one of the things we did. We also chewed the sap from pine trees. Maybe that's why I am like I am.

I like your journal. Been reading for a while.

[s]

yes, we played with tar, where i grew up in canadia. we also collected pieces of broken headlights that we found in the parking lot... the insides of our desks were kind of filthy, actually, with all our various treasures.

[Becky]

Oh yes. Los Angeles tar, just like you. And I did once chew a bit of it, just to try it out. Which I highly recommend if one wants a stomachache, blackened teeth and an aftertaste that takes ages to vanish.

[Jeff]

Susan! Mercury! I remember in junior high, someone brought some mercury to school and some of my friends put it on their soda cans to make the top nice and shiney!

I'm proud to say I declined that treat. The others made a quick stop at the doctors!

[A Woman]

You are not alone. I've still got tar on me and it's been 30 years.

[Roxy]

My dad told me that back in the good old days before they figured out mercury was toxic, they would break open thermometers and roll the red stuff in their hands until it magically disappeared. Maybe that explains his radioactive palms...

[voodoukween]

when i was a kid in so.cal. there used to be tar that floated up to shore and often after swimming, playing in the ocean and along the beach, we'd have tar stuck to the bottoms of our feet. it was sticky and smelled of oil and ocean and made a huge mess if you tried to rub or peel it off. it was best to just go get the turpentine. my mother told stories of being so poor that they used to chew tar as kids instead of chewing gum...ugh!

[Jeff]

Tar at the beach! Oh, the memories! And the turpentine. I could feel the "lump" on the bottom of my feet as I walked in my "zorries" (flipflops).

Playa del Rey, 1983, it was a hot and breezy day. The soles of my feet burned as I quickly walked from the parking lot to my sandy piece of real estate... Oh, wait, this isn't my blog.

[Tom]

Mercury was a favorite of mine as a kid too. My dad worked for the phone company and he used to get it out of relays and other equipment. As a matter of fact, in Cub Scouts my Pinewood Derby car used mercury for weighting. Just drilled some holes, filled them with mercury and then Plastic Wooded them over.

[Chris]

Hmm... Tar. Being kind of a young one the maintence crews had figured out how to keep the tar on the asphalt by the time I was growing up. I do remember eating paper. I really don't remember why... I guess I was dared to. Funny what you will do for the girls that MIGHT kiss you. I never had a real girl until high school, but that is another very long story. I do remember making arrows out of the reeds that grew in the ditch by my house. They never really stuck in anything other than people though. However, shooting them at your unsuspecting friend was a riot... Until they wrestled the bow from you... That and BB gun fights. I still haven't figured that one out...

[Kevin]

Never played with it, but like you, the smell takes me back to school. In my case, it takes me back to my first semester of college at Indiana University. It was a warm fall and they were doing construction on the roof of my dorm. The little tar-cooker was right outside my window, toxins bubblin and all. I like smelling it...A free little time machine for the mind!

[Bill]

I did a search just to see if anybody else chewed tar in place of chewing gum. Lo and behold, I found your site. It's nice to know I wasn't the only one.
I grew up in north Texas, where the tar would bubble up from the cracks in the street. At the time, it made perfect sense to pluck some and chew it.
My brother and I also played with mercury. I would even put it in my mouth. I was impressed by the way it felt like metal, but looked like liquid. I would hold it in one hand and devide it with the fingers on my other hand, etc. Now I see them evacuate schools because some kid had some in his shoe. I guess I'm as good as dead (I'm 46).

Bill

[anglyhag]

why would "I" eat tar????????