Killing someone in old-time Phoenix


In a longish life, I've never killed anyone, either on purpose or accidentally. At least as far as I know. And I'd like to keep it that way. As I get older I've found it more difficult to sleep at night, and the last thing I need is to see someone's surprised expression when they realize that they shouldn't have done that!

Of course, life has risks, and you can try to be as careful as you can, and you may still kill someone. I've known people who have done that, and it haunts them. Nowadays there are all kinds of things that no one ever dreamed of in old-time Phoenix, like seat belts in cars, or bicycle helmets, and so many things that we take for granted that it seems as if it would be very difficult to kill someone, but people do all of the time. This makes me sad.

Let's time-travel back to old-time Phoenix and see how easy it would have been to kill someone. And I'll start with what probably jumps to your mind when you think about the subject - guns. Yes, there were a LOT of guns in old-time Phoenix. And while there would have been a lot of people who knew about safe gun handling, usually ex-military, there would have been a lot of people who didn't. And the kind of gunshot wound that nowadays would send you to a trauma center would probably kill you back then. If you were lucky, you'd live, but probably with a limb amputated.

Of course, killing someone by giving them the flu would have happened, especially in 1918. Simply saying hello to someone, or shaking their hand, could have been a death sentence to them.

Oh yeah, and let's not forget about how common the use of whiskey was. Drunk driving was considered just something to laugh about in old-time Phoenix. It really wasn't until the 1980s that killing someone with a car while you were drunk was really thought to be a very bad thing. Attitudes have changed dramatically!

Speaking for myself, my attitude towards death is different from most of the people I've met. To me, dying is easy, and living is tough. I'm sad when someone dies, of course, but to me they step through a door where there is no more pain. My true sadness is for the people left behind. Let's be careful out there!

Image at the top of this post: Looking east over 1st Avenue between Washington and Jefferson in 1899, Phoenix, Arizona.
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