I went in because I was a young teenager smoking pot and taking some pills. I have to admit that I had a bit of an attitude problem and I was NOT going to be pushed into doing something I didn't want to do - at least for a while. I took about twice the usual time to move from one phase to the next, like my 14 days turned into about 30ish. I actually couldn't wait to go back to school!
Because Cooper City had so many seed kids, a lot of them the people that I knew before the Seed, we all kept each other "straight" (fear was a great motivator) but independent of each other, we all kinda went back to our old ways during the summer between 10th & 11th grade (1974) so most of our inhibitions about each other mostly evaporated.
I never saw or heard of any physical abuse and I was surprised to read about on this forum, but I've got to admit I was not shocked by it. Mental abuse, well - that is pretty much a given wasn't it? I never realized until now how much I've forgotten about the place and my time there. I barely remember anyone except my circle of friends and those are rather sketchy as well. A girl named Suzy lived with my family for six months or so and aside from her having red hair; I really don't remember anything else about her. I'll never know how my time there changed me, but I do have problems dealing with unpleasantries as I tend to shut down rather than confront them - God knows at the Seed, you eventually learned how to fly under the radar or learned to deal with the consequences.
This Straight, Inc. place reminds me of what happened at Abu Gharib prison. I am sure that they started out with the best of intentions ? to get kids off drugs, but when there isn?t anyone willing or able to stand up when the line is crossed, well that line keeps getting further and further away. I consider myself ?lucky? that I was in and out of the Seed before things really went south, and those nut-job do-gooders got involved.
When I think back on really how young I was when I was getting stoned on a daily basis and then I consider my nieces and (step)grandchildren current age, I am pretty well amazed. I have nieces that range in age from 12 to 16, my granddaughter is 13 and my grandson is 12. I would NOT be happy to think any of them doing drugs even though I thought I was well old enough to handle whatever came my way back then. I do not blame my parents in anyway for putting me in there because they were doing what they thought best for my future, and in light of what society was at that time that smoking pot was the first step on the slippery slope to becoming a junkie. Dragnet was not long out of production in 1972 and that is where most of my parent?s generation got their information from.
Funnily enough though, I may not remember much of the people and events from way back when ? I do remember that an oz was $20. and I bought my ciggies for $0.50 a pack out of the machine back then!
See ya,
