Trying to remember way back to the Stroh place when I was 5 years old is a stretch. I do remember that one of dad's friends was a carpenter. Back in those days a carpenter could carry all the tools of his trade in his pockets and in a leather pouch. All you really needed was a saw, a hammer, a level and some sand paper. Oh, nails. You needed nails. I think his name was John and he carried his nails in a pouch, but when he was hammering he held them in his mouth so they were "easy to get at." As years went by that little habit had some dire conseqences. He developed cancer of the mouth. He had to have part of his bottom jaw removed and after that it was just not much fun being a carpenter so he just died. Funny how life goes sometimes.
That was back in the day when cancer was just beginning to rear it's ugly head, or at least the medical community was seeing this strange disease that could eat you alive. Ever so often we would hear of someone who just took sick, wasted away and died. We heard the whispered word "cancer" more often back then. It just seems like when cancer was given a name it spread like wildfire.
So it was no wonder that when momma went into the hospital when I was in 7th grade that I was worried. Yes, it was cancer. They hoped they got it all. Doctor was sure he had and we trusted him. After all, my mother cleaned his house once a week so it was in his own best interest that he keep her healthy. And he did. Her recovery was slow, but she did recover.
Living in a small town and having my mother as a "cleaning lady" opened a lot of doors for our family. She cleaned and I babysat for the people she cleaned for. One of the families was the family who owned the mortuary. I must remember to tell you about that little episode. Oh no time like the present.
That was back when television was first coming into being. The Lamb family lived over the mortuary. They had 5 little red headed kids. They had to go out for the evening so I was called to babysit. There was a body in repose in the viewing room but the man who worked for them would stay until they came home.
I got the kiddies settled in bed and thought I would just watch me a little television. Do you remember when I think it was Orson Wells wrote a play about the war of the worlds or something to that effect? The first words the television spit out were " We have been invaded by aliens! They have come to kill us and we are all in danger!" Of course I snapped that television off because if I was going to be killed I sure as hell did not want to know about it. There is a lot to be said for the element of surprise. I can still to this day feel the terror I knew that night when I heard that. It was so realistic and I had never dealt with television before so I knew it was true. But the night was just beginning.
The phone rang and I picked up just in time to hear the man down stairs say to his wife, "Of course, I will be right home. I am sure it will be alright. Let me just lock up and I will be there in a few minutes." Click! Oh, shit. Now I not only had the worry of the aliens landings, I now had the reality of a dead body only feet away and no one guarding it. I knew I was not going to turn that tv back on for sure. I had only one course of action.
I went into the kids bedroom and woke them up and read to them. I am sure they thought I was nuts, but I was 15 years old and scared to death. The kids finally could not stay awake and I heard sounds downstairs so I knew the man had come back, or at least I hoped to holy hell he had! Just for giggles check out that period in history. The papers were full of stories about people who had heard the beginning of that movie and thought we were being invaded. Hind sight tells me that I handled the situation better than a whole lot of people.
It was John. John was the carpenter. I remember. Amazing how these facts come back if I just talk to myself for a little while. I am not sure if the facts that come back are the way it actually happened, but that is the best part of being me. That is how it happened and John was the one with cancer. If mother were here, my facts may not stand a chance, but she isn't is she? So I will enjoy telling my stories and you will enjoy hearing them, because this is just how it is!
That was back in the day when cancer was just beginning to rear it's ugly head, or at least the medical community was seeing this strange disease that could eat you alive. Ever so often we would hear of someone who just took sick, wasted away and died. We heard the whispered word "cancer" more often back then. It just seems like when cancer was given a name it spread like wildfire.
So it was no wonder that when momma went into the hospital when I was in 7th grade that I was worried. Yes, it was cancer. They hoped they got it all. Doctor was sure he had and we trusted him. After all, my mother cleaned his house once a week so it was in his own best interest that he keep her healthy. And he did. Her recovery was slow, but she did recover.
Living in a small town and having my mother as a "cleaning lady" opened a lot of doors for our family. She cleaned and I babysat for the people she cleaned for. One of the families was the family who owned the mortuary. I must remember to tell you about that little episode. Oh no time like the present.
That was back when television was first coming into being. The Lamb family lived over the mortuary. They had 5 little red headed kids. They had to go out for the evening so I was called to babysit. There was a body in repose in the viewing room but the man who worked for them would stay until they came home.
I got the kiddies settled in bed and thought I would just watch me a little television. Do you remember when I think it was Orson Wells wrote a play about the war of the worlds or something to that effect? The first words the television spit out were " We have been invaded by aliens! They have come to kill us and we are all in danger!" Of course I snapped that television off because if I was going to be killed I sure as hell did not want to know about it. There is a lot to be said for the element of surprise. I can still to this day feel the terror I knew that night when I heard that. It was so realistic and I had never dealt with television before so I knew it was true. But the night was just beginning.
The phone rang and I picked up just in time to hear the man down stairs say to his wife, "Of course, I will be right home. I am sure it will be alright. Let me just lock up and I will be there in a few minutes." Click! Oh, shit. Now I not only had the worry of the aliens landings, I now had the reality of a dead body only feet away and no one guarding it. I knew I was not going to turn that tv back on for sure. I had only one course of action.
I went into the kids bedroom and woke them up and read to them. I am sure they thought I was nuts, but I was 15 years old and scared to death. The kids finally could not stay awake and I heard sounds downstairs so I knew the man had come back, or at least I hoped to holy hell he had! Just for giggles check out that period in history. The papers were full of stories about people who had heard the beginning of that movie and thought we were being invaded. Hind sight tells me that I handled the situation better than a whole lot of people.
It was John. John was the carpenter. I remember. Amazing how these facts come back if I just talk to myself for a little while. I am not sure if the facts that come back are the way it actually happened, but that is the best part of being me. That is how it happened and John was the one with cancer. If mother were here, my facts may not stand a chance, but she isn't is she? So I will enjoy telling my stories and you will enjoy hearing them, because this is just how it is!
No comments:
Post a Comment