ramblings

I left off my last blog about the flavored straws.  They were great.  I have a "taste  memory" of them as I write this.  Isn't it amazing how we can taste foods in our memories and I can smell To a Wild Rose Powder sachet by Avon my Grandma Rose would put in her bra.  I sure wish they made that fragrance again.  Shriners was a leader in children's orthopedic so they did a lot of teaching.  Besides Xrays they had a photo studio set up and I remember being in a room with my gown tied up to show my hips and had photos taken of my different leg  lengths.  I thought that was fun.  My best friend in Shriners was a girl named Debbie.  She had one hand and used a hook for her other hand.  We had a lot of fun.  One time when I was about 5 1/2 I decided I didn't like the food.  When children had  surgery, a sign was placed on their bed that said No Food By Mouth.  I thought that was a good idea so I placed my own sign on my bed.  I got hungry after a while of missing dinner and took the sign down and they fed me.  I guess I was practicing to be a clown at that time.  The third and last time I was in Shriners was when I was 7.  I was flat on my back or side for several weeks even for eating.  It was hard when kids played ball and I would sit up to catch a ball and the nurse caught me and told me to lay back down.  One time we had a flu epidemic and 2 wards were quarantined so it was 3 weeks we could not see my mom.  We were allowed 2 visitors for 2 hours a week on Sunday afternoon. Grandma Rose visited me a lot.I loved the special guests who came to entertain us.  One group came at Easter and sang Easter Parade and Dry Bones.  We got great presents and baskets.  Clarabell the Clown came and that was a treat.  I could go on and on about Shriners but will say there were good and bad times I remember as a five to seven year old.  The last time I went home my family had moved so I was introduced to a new house.  I changed school to Elias Michael School for the handicapped.  I was picked up by a bus and went to school in a wheelchair.  I had swim therapy for PE.  It was a lot of fun but only lasted a semester because of what happened next. My church had an all night prayer service for my healing.  In about 1957 my mom took me to the clinic for a checkup and the doctor took Xrays and told me to put down my crutches just like in the Bible.  He could find no trace of the Legg Perthes. I suffer back issues from being bent over on crutches for my growing years and arthritis but they are just a reminder of God's grace.  Until next time....