# ID this short story about a kid who builds a bomb shelter in his basement

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-short-story-about-a-kid-who-builds-a-bomb-shelter-in-his-basement/776847>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [January 11, 2017, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-short-story-about-a-kid-who-builds-a-bomb-shelter-in-his-basement/776847 "2017-01-11T00:13:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-short-story-about-a-kid-who-builds-a-bomb-shelter-in-his-basement/776847/1 "2017-01-11T00:13:03Z")

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I read this story in _Esquire_ around 1979 or 1980. It was set during the 50s and is about a boy who gets freaked out by his school’s “duck-and-cover” drills and starts building a bomb shelter in his basement made up of dozens of boxes of pencils. I know the story fairly well but can’t remember the title or the author. Does anybody here know?

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**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-short-story-about-a-kid-who-builds-a-bomb-shelter-in-his-basement/776847/2 "2017-01-11T00:17:52Z")

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> [@NDP](#):
>
> I read this story in _Esquire_ around 1979 or 1980. It was set during the 50s and is about a boy who gets freaked out by his school’s “duck-and-cover” drills and starts building a bomb shelter in his basement made up of dozens of boxes of pencils. I know the story fairly well but can’t remember the title or the author. Does anybody here know?

Sounds like a variation on a classic story by PK Dick “Foster, You’re Dead” [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foster,\_You’re\_Dead](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foster,_You're_Dead)!

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**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-short-story-about-a-kid-who-builds-a-bomb-shelter-in-his-basement/776847/3 "2017-01-11T02:13:37Z")

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_Civil Defense_ by Tim O’Brien.

> **[Esquire — August 1980](https://classic.esquire.com/issue/19800801)**
>
> Explore the full August 1980 issue of Esquire. Browse featured articles, preview selected issue contents, and more.

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**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-short-story-about-a-kid-who-builds-a-bomb-shelter-in-his-basement/776847/4 "2017-01-11T18:00:51Z")

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> [@BlankSlate](#):
>
> _Civil Defense_ by Tim O’Brien.
> 
> [August 1980 | Esquire](http://archive.esquire.com/issue/19800801)

That’s it. Thanks.