13-Year-Old Daredevil Jumps Trash Cans in Alley on “Junker Special” Bike
I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything that encapsulates the feeling of America in the 1970s more than this local news report about 13-year-old Terry “Evel Knievel” Bolinger and his attempt to jump over 10 trash cans on his bike “made from the parts of several other bikes”.
At the beginning of the segment, the reporter on the scene says of Bolinger, “There are some youngsters that know what they want to do in life from the time they can talk and walk.” And so it appears that his daredevil ways never left him:
Terry Michael “Spike” Bolinger 42, of Indianapolis, lived, loved and died riding his Harley. “Spike” passed away Tuesday, September 6, 2005 in Wishard Hospital. He was born October 7, 1962 in Indianapolis, IN.
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Perfect.
The only time I got stitches as a kid was when I crashed doing exactly this (though I think I tried three cans?) on my orange Schwinn 5-speed. Possibly also in 1972! Though maybe '73. No news crew though.
Preparations for what is going to be a transcendent moment for these kids, and then a sonic reminder that, nearby, someone is just mowing the lawn.
Had a sister named 'Soda.' Perfect.
The fountain in front of Caesar's Palace Las Vegas got nothin' on this Indianapolis back alley.
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