Childhood Memory # 6 Tom Thumb (Part One)
I was 9 years old. It was the week between Christmas and New Years. Every Saturday my brothers, sisters and cousins would walk uptown to the movie theater. I would buy the same thing for a treat--JuJu bees. We watched Tom Thumb. I had been waiting to see it. This particular Saturday though, I had a very bad headache. I gave by juju bees away. I didn’t enjoy the movie. Along with the headache, I developed a fever. Then, I got very weak. Doctors still made house calls, or at least this one did. However, I didn’t want him to come because I knew he would give me a shot on my backside. My aunt Etta promised me he wouldn’t, so I calmed down some. Only he did! I stayed mad at my aunt for a long time because she lied to me. She later made amends by buying me a big stuffed skunk. (I was a Bambi fan, and liked the skunk, Flower.) Any way, by Monday, I couldn’t even stand up. My dad and mom took me to the doctor’s office. He carried me. I remember sitting on the examination table and the doctor used the little “hammer” to test my reflexes. I didn’t have any on my left leg. From there, I went straight to the hospital.