OIL PATCH KIDS

Mercury poisoning is the ill effects the human nervous system and other bodily systems due to the over-exposure of mercury. Mercury is a neurotoxin, meaning it affects the nervous system. Not that it will do that much to ya, well other than personality changes, nervousness, trembling, and dementia (all of which I have had at times), or death.

Point being, we grew up in the East Texas oil field. The oil field included oil/gas related equipment going every which way. A common oil field strategy of the time was to use mercury switches for various purposes.

I don't know if mercury had a significant resale value (theft) back then, but I do know that folks would obtain (steal) it as a novelty. One reason it was a novelty was because a small bottle of it was extremely heavy. Another characteristic was that if you rubbed a silver coin with it, the coin would looked like it had been "chromed" like the bumper of a car. As kids, we would "play" with the mercury, including coating a coin (if on rare occasion we had one). Naturally we would carry the coin in our pocket as a souvenir.

I don't really think that my "personality, nervousness, trembling, or dementia" at times is mercury related, but I doubt my exposure increased my life span by much either?

Another childhood treat of the oil patch included the oil well pumping units. They rocked up and down like a great iron horse as they pumped oil from the wells. What a great free ride for an adventurous child. Never mind that they would remove any appendage placed in their way without nary a bump. They were just there as too much temptation.

We help gather and poor "drip" gasoline, and slopped it all over us. We would siphon the gas thru a hose and swaller it. We would clean engines, tools, and our hands with it. Never mind that it was a carcinogen (we would have just said we never heard of that model car?).

Anywho, I guess I have sufficiently framed my question: How did oil patch kids ever manage to grow to adults?