5-7-2006

When we were sick in the 1920’s and 30’s when we were young, we were sick for a good two weeks as they didn’t have the medicines that they have now. It was very boring lying on the couch in the living room. I stuck pins in the hot water bottle and cut the tassels off the comforter.

We had to stay in bed for 48 hours (2 days) after our temperature had returned to normal. (I didn’t even put you kids to bed when you were sick unless you were terribly sick.) The first day up, we could get up for an hour and the second day we could get up for a half day and the third day we could stay up.

When I was in the fifth grade I woke up one morning and said my throat hurts. My mother looked at me and said you’ve got the mumps. My dad said "Well keep her away from me; I only had them on one side." Isn’t that funny. Now we know it’s germs and if you had it you’ve had it. I was dreading a two week stay in bed and quarantine . My mother went across the alley to give the morning paper to Mrs. Hill –we gave them the morning paper and they gave us the evening paper. She came back and announced happily Mrs. Hill says you don’t have to stay in bed and Mrs. Hill loaned me her son’s book King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table to read. The family set me up in the back living room where we had our first radio, pretty new at the time, and served my meals on a card table and I sat in the rocking chair and pretended I was a princess. There was a piano in the back living room and I listened to Walter Damroch, a famous conductor. When I was better I went outdoors and tended my wildflower garden-- Jack in the pulpit and maidenhair fern and so forth. When I went back to school feeling important no one paid any particular attention to me all day. So after the school day I went up to the teacher and said I would like to make up the work that I missed. Miss Teaberry said we were reviewing. You don’t have anything to make up. This session with the mumps is one of the happiest memories of my childhood.

Another time I was sick and recuperating from the flu during Holy Week as Easter was approaching. It was our custom to go outdoors and pull up some grass and make a nest next to the garage and the Easter bunny would come early Easter morning. When we went out we would see some pretty colored eggs in the nests that we had made. I was upset because my parents didn’t think I was well enough to go outside but then my Dad said you can take my derby and we put some newspaper down under the stove (stoves at that time were on 4 high legs). We put down some newspapers and he let me put his Derby hat under the stove and the Easter bunny laid the eggs in my father's Derby hat.