Protected Back In 1962
Pete and I were gob smacked by these saviors in October of sixty-two.
Women in our apartment swiftly efficiently measured our heads too.
We both wanted to know why, but back in the sixties, kids did not ask.
The women were gluing and shaping with vigor, an arduous task
Kids were sent to our kitchen to get their heads measured and noted.
Any idea? We whispered. All of us were afraid to be quoted.
This was back in the day when adults were the only ones in charge.
To ask them anything was daunting, not done, considered a barge.
When women were finished, we each had a helmet on our little head.
Pete and his argyle sweater made me grin, a bow-tied alien instead.
What is happening? He frowned at me and shook his head ‘no’.
During my childhood, kids did not dare ask, argue, or blow.
Spied this photograph in Grandma Kay's album and I had to laugh.
Helmets was supposed to save us from nuclear fallout and the riff raff.
These women engineers were intense, and eager to save us though.
Endearing memory to this day. Their love for us a nostalgic glow.
Copyright © Caren Krutsinger | Year Posted 2021
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