The Back Yard - 1966


It's 1966 and my friend Doug and I are in the pool playing secret agents! In fact, I'm pointing a James Bond 007 Luger at my mother who is taking the photos. (You can see it at Doug's feet in the shot where we're standing.) A major impetus to our aquatic spy scenarios in the backyard pool was "Thunderball" (1965), which Doug and I must have seen about 346 times. To my knowledge, sadly, nobody manufactured air-powered underwater toy harpoons.

Most of my toys made it into the pool during the summer whether they were designed to or not. For instance, I'd make vehicles out of Lego and use a Marks-A-Lot to print "Sea Patrol" onto the sides; they then became toys suitable for the water.

It was Dad's idea to paint that fence contrasting shades of light blue and green. The neighbor's tree, badly overgrown into our yard, provided the rest of the landscaping.


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