Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for January 10, 2022

And Mom will have a cup of hot cocoa when you get home.

Calvin has the makings of a used car salesman…..

. . . and if we get to the bottom of the hill in one piece, let’s do it again!!

And to that, they say “Whatever!”

And Hobbes is supposed to be the smart one.

Watch out for that tree ahead!

“Yes, this sled truly is a hazard to life and limb.”

Well, looks like life and limb are having a ball.

“Behold the dreaded toboggon: suicide sled.” Ever wonder why Mom and Dad got him one of those things, and then let him ride it unsupervised?

How can it be so dangerous? Aren’t those just 5 skis nailed together. I would think 5 skis would be sturdier and safer than 2 skis.

Rosebud!

Hazard to life and limb? I tore my anterior cruciate ligament riding a toboggan so I can vouch for that!

Reckon those two are ready for the Winter Olympics in Beijing.

We (three boys) had not only a toboggan, but a three people sled. The kind with steel runners and a steering bar at the front. Steering a toboggan isn’t hard. Just drag one foot and the toboggan will try to run over it.

I remember our family’s toboggan. I always wanted to sit in the back so that I could fall off like my siblings (part of the fun), but since I was the littlest, I had to sit in front, protected by the curve.

The more dangerous, the more fun, huh, Calvin?

The COUNT WANTS ONE!!

Where I grew up there was a gold course with a great hill on itthe only problem was the water hazard at the bottom.

We used to toboggan down a disused railway embankment that had a single strand wire fence at the bottom – you had to duck!

I loved toboggans. We had one for 8 people plus my baby brother and a high hill. It sure went off with all that weight.

Perhaps, the toboggan is a metaphor for life?

I rode a toboggan once when I was a kid. Just once. Lesson learned. The pain to excitement ratio was tilted way over to discomfort.

What could possibly go wrong? :D

6/10

Lost half of my right front tooth to one of those things and age 9. The “driver”, me, would kneel in the front to be able to twist the nose enough to get some illusion of steering. When we landed, after jumping the stone wall at the bottom of the hill, the force drove my head down into the curled up front of the toboggan. Wore a stainless steel front tooth until age 19, when a permanent crown could be fitted. All of my school pictures from then on featured my shiny steel tooth. Never did find the half that broke off.

Watching a group of 5-7 people ride one of these at once is always an entertaining sight!

Calvin has never let the thought of possible death or injury stop him from having fun. Unlike a lot of us.

Old-fashioned metal garbage can lids appeared to make good sleds. I say appeared as I never got to ride one. Living in Los Angeles, my parents would drive us two hours up the mountains to play in the snow. We didn’t have proper snow clothes and got cold and wet. I loved it (actually, Mom brought a change of clothing for the ride home)

Back in 1948 an antique toboggan was given to my parents. It was long enough to seat 5 teen agers & had rope handles on the side. My parents thought it was too dangerous for me & my brother, so they gave it away to another family in our Allentown PA neighborhood.

Had to beg for a ride with the other kids in the gang for a ride down a steep hill toward a good size creek at the bottom through a forest of trees. We had to pull up on the side ropes to hop the toboggan from side to side to miss a tree. We nerve went into the creek because we would upset the toboggan & dive off at the last moment.

Plus there are no brakes

Was that a warning or a dare?

Dare it is!

I seem to recall you COULD steer them by everyone leaning to one side or the other. Not a great turn, but at least in the general direction to miss a tree now and then.

Kamikazie sled, you mean.

lol

The hill you’re sledding on should also be a factor, but go on…

My grandfather was a tinsmith, and he made a toboggan big enough for 4-6 riders. He fashioned guide levers on each side that could acted as struts that dug into the snow/ice/ground and steer in the direction of the contact like a tank. Together they acted as brakes. It worked famously, and the multiple passager arrangement helped groom the hill. The neighborhood went crazy when we showed up with it. What great fun and memories. He also developed a shallow pond across the street from our house that froze easily and was never a danger for ice skaters, and built a small shed with a fireplace where everyone could warm themselves. What a great man he was. We were all lucky to have him. Bless his memory.

I was about 13 or 14 when we hit a bump when I was on the back of a packed toboggan. Bruised my tailbone so badly I could barely walk for a week. I’ve never been on one since.

Try riding a land luge down a windy mountain road!

This strip does take on the fear factor which keeps most of us from enjoying the realm of adventures.

You had me at “Hazard”.

I had to have ACL repair because of one of those sled.

I once experienced an uncontrolled downhill slide. I was about ten years old and was jumping from clay ledge to clay ledge above the Brazos River. It was a lot like flying, until one of the ledges gave way. I slid/bounced about fifty feet down the near vertical face and feared I would not stop until I hit the river. Fortunately, I stopped short of the water. All I suffered were massive bruises over the whole left side of my body. After that, I sort of lost my enthusiasm for uncontrolled gravity rides.

The good ol’ days—now kids would have to have air bags, seat belts and crash helmets.

As far as I can remember, there was no place in Clallam County, Washington —where grew up my first eight years— to sled down when it did snow. As for Lewis County —where I grew up my next 20 years— there was kind of the neighborhood which was on a hill. Now that I’m in Clark County these past ten years, I don’t know where.

I’d have put Hobbes in front. I’m just saying…

Were I live there is this one street that is pretty steep and they use to close it in the winter due to safety issues but the town would let the kids, and bigger kids, use the street for sledding and toboggoning and everyone had fun but then insurance issues became an issue for the town so they weren’t allowed to do that anymore but living in a rural town there are a lot of places that are hilly for the kids to have fun on during the winter.

A bunch of good friends, wooden toboggans, mildly steep long hills, snow packed to a firm base and temps in the low teens. Wood fire and hot chocolate at the end of the day. No cell phones or other PED’s in sight. Just laughs, some bruises and memories that we still laugh about 40 years later.Yea, I’m old and damn grateful for it. And I’ve tried to give my kids the same opportunities for these things.

Are we sure this isn’t Frazz as a kid?