The only thing I remember about the Cuban Missile Crisis was it’s the first time I ever felt that my life could end tomorrow. It was October 1962 and Kennedy was on TV just basically saying to everyone, I’m not backing down and we need to be prepared to face the consequences no matter what they are. We were all aware of what the consequences might be. We had a bomb shelter in our school. We had taken part in the classroom drills in the event of a nuclear attack. Get under your desks and put your head between your legs. We saw the training films. The night before I went to bed I looked up at the peaceful sky and wondered what’s going to happen tonight and tomorrow. Am I going to see my tenth birthday? My parents put on a brave face, as did the rest of America. Needless to say, it worked out okay. But it was a terrifying experience and a real wake-up call for all of us. Immediately after the crisis was over, the most popular home improvement project was building a family bomb shelter and stocking it with survival supplies and food. There were several built in our neighborhood. It was on the cover of Popular Mechanics magazine and Life Magazine – Build your own fall-out shelter for less than $500!