Friday January 8 2016  SONGS UNSUNG

I did receive an email this morning in response to the plea to my sister to add what she could to yesterday’s story.  Her email pretty much verifies what I wrote.  I did edit and take out personal comments not related to the story.  I thought it might be interesting to see another’s angle of what was going on.  First of all I wasn’t at the house to see what was going on, and secondly, being so young makes it fuzzy in my memory.  The reason I know the facts as I do, was because years later after I became an adult I obtained my medical records records from Brookside Hospital, and the words “Infantile Paralysis”, was the final diagnosis.  To be truthful, I didn’t really realize at that time that Infantile Paralysis and Polio were one and the same thing.  Most people refer to the disease as polio.  Believe it or not, when the polio vaccine was administered at the public schools, with three drops on a sugar cube, my mother stood in line with me and I was vaccinated for something I had already been exposed to first hand.  Well, I’ve never had it again!  My polio episode was in 1954.  The first proven vaccine came out in 1956. 

Following is the email from my ever so helpful sister.  The way it sounds, I guess I was a bit of a challenge as a child.  I know I liked to roam and explore and stay out until after dark.  When I was eleven and twelve years old and lived in the projects, my neighbors loved me because I would take their babies out for walks in their strollers.  I would walk for miles all around the little town of Rodeo.  Rodeo, just so you know was and still is a HILLY PLACE.  I would have done it at a younger age but was restricted in walking and playing due to a bone disorder that affected my legs which was very painful.  Once it was okay for me to use my legs again nothing could keep me in one place.  The disease I had was Ozgood-Schlatter Disease.  I have attached some information at the end of this blog if you are interested in reading exactly what it is.  It affected me for about two or three years when I was younger.

In her email my sister makes mention of watching me so I wouldn’t run across the street.  Our cousins lived across the street and I would fly out the door, the screen would slam, the gate would clunk and then the screech of brakes, as I made it across to safety.  However, one time the car actually hit me.  It must have just bumped me a bit after having applied his screeching brakes and almost coming to a stop.  It threw me forward into the street and I banged up my elbow which turned out to be all skin abrasions with no broken bones. My mom told me later she just knew I had been hit when she heard the breaks so quickly following the slamming of the screen door.  I remember the incident and at the time I asked her, “Why did that car hit me”?  I was just flabbergasted that that car would hit me!  Oh, when I think of the mind of a child it almost scares me.  I’m just glad our children are grown now, and survived their childhood.  I mean that in all sincerity.

One other explanation about Velma’s email.  She mentions our friend Albert.  We moved to the projects when I was 6 years old.  Albert and his family lived in the apartment below us.  There were many a nights when his father, in a drunken state, would pound on our door in the middle of the night because the three pound coffee can of marbles (no lid) would come crashing off the top bunk, spilling hundreds of marbles onto the linoleum floors above  his bedroom.  Believe me, it was loud.  After several times of that happening my mother promised me a good whipping if that happened again.  To the best of my knowledge I never let it happen again.  I was a good marble player and we played for keepsies.  Back to Albert.  Just want you to know he is still a cherished friend after all these years.

In case you are interested in the debacles of an old lady, read the email from my sister for the closing chapter about yesterday’s episode.  When writing to each other we use our initials:

 

WKM,

I cannot verify anything that happened to you after mama and daddy took you to the doctor and you didn’t come home with them.  However, I remember very vividly the day mama told me you may never come home again.  It was devastating to me.  I asked mama what was wrong with you and mama said they didn’t know.  That was after you had been in the hospital for five days.  Mama was making briskest for breakfast on a Sunday before we would go to church.  She said just pray for her like you have never prayed before that she will come home. 

Both mama and daddy spent every minute at the hospital that they were allowed.  Me, Carolyn and Scarlett were at home with Aunt Hattie looking in on us when mama was at the hospital.  Of course daddy couldn’t always be at the hospital with her because of his work schedule.

When you came home and I saw your behind (butt), I was horrified; it was so black and blue I cried.  Mama said stop that crying, those shots saved her life, and you will always have to help me look after her;  make sure she doesn’t get over tired, or hot.  Make sure she doesn’t dart into the street in front of cars (which you did often).  I could tell a few tales about that habit of yours.  I don’t think mama should have allowed you out of the yard – you were a real pill to keep alive and safe.  No amount of instructions made a bit of difference.  Hence, I have been looking after you ever since, and I guess I still am trying.

The word polio was never mentioned in our household, however, until the polio vaccine was available we were not allowed in creeks or rivers to swim or play.  Now you and your doctors know you had polio.  The last time I saw your butt was after Courtland was born and you still had scars of those shots.

What happened to you in the hospital I have no idea; however, you told me the same story that you wrote in your blog today.  I was only 13 at the time so I just listened and you often repeated it until you met Albert and I think you probably told him.

That is another thing that we can be thankful to the Lord for – that we met Albert.  I love Albert as much as you do – I feel like he is a wonderful person and is a brother to me and a great friend.  In other words I trust Albert. 

VFM (my sister’s initials)

 

I almost mentioned the condition of my behind yesterday in my blog, but supposed I had finally grown up enough to be discreet.  However, since my sister mentioned it I will add one more tidbit of interest to the story.  I maintained the scars of those shots on my behind, shaped like a big, dark, dark (almost black) brown, crescent moon until I was past the age of 50. The larger I grew, the bigger the scar, and the lighter it became.  When I gained weight I think I just couldn’t maneuver to see if it was still there.  THOSE NEEDLES PROBABLY WERE AS LONG AS MY LEG!

SONGS UNSUNG

By Kathleen Martens

January 8, 2016

 

I heard a man say

Just the other night,

That for the old,

Reminiscing was a plight.

 

And so it seems,

That’s just what I’ve done,

By looking back at memory lane

When I used to jump and run.

 

Bygone days of yesteryear

In my heart are stored.

The whiter my hair becomes,

The more my memories soar.

 

Just to tell of escapades

I experienced while I was young,

Seems to give the heart release,

As well as songs unsung.

 

So listen if you will,

To the stories of old.

For when I am gone,

They’ll no longer be told.

 

Though children are not interested

In what happened before they were born,

When no more questions can be asked,

Then they’ll be forlorn.

 

I seek so many answers.

My older generation is gone.

There is no one I can question

Who can still sing their song.

 

But I have a sister

Who remembers much more than me

And often it is she

Who breaks my memories free.

 

So thank you for listening

To my tales of old.

For in my stories I am young

Fearless, and always bold.

 

Today Dave and I are with our grandsons.  One is in school and one is home.  It is my turn to go downstairs and play ping pong and air hockey with a four year old.  And what an amazing four year old he is!  After all, HE IS OUR GRANDSON!

It is only 9:24 a.m. and my blog is finished for this day.  The rest of the day is busy and non-stop.  I brought dinner and plan to have everything ready for the evening meal when Amy comes home.  Tonight is our final night of our week’s services.  They have all been excellent!  There is no preaching, but lots of praise and worship, and singing and coming together as a congregation to pray for certain groups on certain nights.  Wednesday night was the best!  It was the night we prayed for all the young people in the church.  There were too many children, from birth to about 10 years old, to make a single line across the front of our sanctuary.  The line had to double up.  We have a large, spacious building so that will let you know the scope of how many kids there were.  It was a hands-on prayer time.  The children also had a chance to pray for the adults.  

All I can say is, I am glad I did not miss one night.

Have a great day and God bless all of you.

 

P.S.

Information from the Internet:

Osgood-Schlatter disease can cause a painful lump below the kneecap in children and adolescents experiencing growth spurts during puberty.

Osgood-Schlatter disease occurs most often in children who participate in sports that involve running, jumping and swift changes of direction — such as soccer, basketball, figure skating and ballet. (This described me to a T, especially the skating aspect, but no ballet).

While Osgood-Schlatter disease is more common in boys, the gender gap is narrowing as more girls become involved with sports.

Age ranges differ by sex because girls experience puberty earlier than do boys. Osgood-Schlatter disease typically occurs in boys ages 13 to 14 and girls ages 11 to 12. The condition usually resolves on its own, once the child’s bones stop growing.