I Grew Up in Missouri Thinking I Was Evel Knievel—Wrong!

If you are a child of the 1970's like I was, you might identify with this. I have colorful memories of my childhood in Missouri where I grew up firmly believing that I was Evel Knievel. Boy, was I ever wrong and I paid the price.

The Evel Knievel action figure (NOT a doll) was the greatest toy ever and no one will ever change my mind

Missouri Childhood Story: I Thought I Was Evel Knievel

I was born and raised in Hannibal, Missouri and without divulging my age will confess that Evel Knievel was a childhood hero. Every time Evel would line up for a jump over cars, buses, sharks or even the Snake River Canyon on ABC's Wide World of Sports, I was in front of my television watching. All of that obsession led to several childhood tricks that I would later regret.

The first was a relatively harmless attempt to jump my Evel Knievel action figure over a small creek in Hannibal, Missouri. Back in the 1970's, there was a small creek with rocks on both sides that went under this small bridge near the bottom of West Ely Road.

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I situated my Evel Knievel action figure (NOT a doll) on the west side of the bridge and launched him toward the east side. The poor cycle's front wheel impacted one of the rocks on the other side and snapped it in half. Evel ended up floating down that creek...somewhere. Mistake #1.

The second childhood trick which would be much more painful happened when I decided that I would jump my Big Wheel over some of my friend's bikes. If you're too young to remember the Big Wheel, this is what I was riding.

Here are some physics I did not consider before I considered that unfortunate jump. The Big Wheel was made primarily out of plastic and when you sat on one, your behind was very close to the ground with only plastic to absorb whatever shock that a jump would entail. I think you can picture where this is going. To this day, I do not know for a fact that I broke my butt bone during that Missouri jump, but it is more than just a rumor.

I grew up in a generation that drank from water hoses and rode in the back of pickup trucks and station wagons without seat belts. I'm not recommending the current generation live dangerously like we did back in those days. However, what I will say is growing up in Missouri and modeling my life after Evel Knievel made me less fearful about taking chances later in life. I'm not sorry that was the case.