Inhaling DDT For Good Wholesome Fun

“The Mosquito Truck.” That’s what we called it. As soon as I could walk by myself, I remember chasing behind the mosquito truck. It was a good thing. It destroyed the mosquitos and we could disappear in the white smoke of DDT the truck spewed out, laughing and breathing in the sweet smelling toxic gas. This was when I still lived at 81st and Chappel on the South Side of Chicago. We moved from there when I was around 10 to Pill Hill on 92nd St., also on the South Side of Chicago.

To think that our parents let us do this, baffles me on too many levels. As soon as we heard the roar of the truck coming down the street, we ran out of the house screaming, “The mosquito truck is coming,” and we’d jump into the smoke as if our death depended on it.

To the best of my knowledge, no one died from it, at least not on the same day. No one wound up in the hospital. Hell, I don’t remember anyone coughing! The only downside to the whole experience was that we had to take a bath afterwards. It had nothing to do with the hazardous chemicals; Mom didn’t like the smell on our clothes.

Some kids rode their bikes into the plumage, weaving in and out of the smoke, which was pretty cool because they seemed to appear and disappear. Some kids were brave enough to grab onto the iron bar on the back of the truck and ride standing up on the bumper. I remember doing that on a few occasions when I was older, like 7 or 8. Riding on the back like that gave you the benefit of inhaling the noxious gas all the way down to your toes.

And our parents didn’t care! They considered it to be free mosquito repellent for their kid, at least for that evening, and it was always good to see your tax dollars at work. “The government wouldn’t allow it if it was a danger to your health,” my dad would say as he took a long, slow drag off his cigarette.

Some no-account, rabble rousing, library card holding adult must have read up on DDT and its effect on…well…everything, and suddenly we didn’t see the mosquito truck anymore.

We mourned the loss.

Inhaling DDT on a regular basis.

I laugh every time someone tells me about avoiding the radiation from my cellphone.