Aw, Shucks, by Lewis

The summer of 1954 is now being set down in the history of my life as the worst summer of my entire worldly existence.  Not only did I contract ringworm of the scalp on a family vacation to the East Coast that summer, heretofore already recounted in this forum, but I tried to crack a rock with my head, as well.

Here's how it went down--literally.  Granddad Homer had just presented me with my first bicycle, complete with training wheels.  I was eight years old and ready for the next leap in mode of transportation beyond relying solely on the soles of my feet.  So, I joined a couple of older boys who were riding their bikes in the street in front of my house.  Not yet comfortable with the dynamics of bike riding, I suddenly found my path cut off by one of the other boys and, rather than collide with him, I steered into the curb.  Aw, shucks!

Upon impact, I was thrown off my bike headfirst into a flood-control ditch four feet below the street surface.  Aw, shucks!  My forehead collided with a piece of broken concrete.  Aw, shucks!  I will never forget the odd feeling I had after taking a blow to the head--not so much pain, as a feeling of stupor or disconnectedness.  I was bleeding and my parents took me to a doctor.  I was expecting to get stitched but instead the doc used metal staples to hold my wound shut.  Aw, shucks!  He also gave me a tetanus shot.  This resulted in the second-worst "Aw, shucks!"  of that star-crossed summer.

The next day, my family embarked upon their annual vacation trek to the mountains of Colorado.  That first night in the cabin, I started to feel really crappy.  I was nauseous and feverish and couldn't sleep.  Neither could my parents or grandfather.  Turns out that I was having an allergic reaction to the tetanus shot, which was derived from a serum made from horses.  Aw, shucks!  Our vacation was cut short and we headed home.  Aw, shucks!  To this day, I always think of this story when I'm asked by a medical professional if I have any allergies to medications, even though horses as the source of vaccine against tetanus has long been abandoned.  For which, I'm sure horses everywhere are grateful.

© 6 April 2015 

About the Author 

  

I came to the beautiful state of Colorado out of my native Kansas by way of Michigan, the state where I married and I came to the beautiful state of Colorado out of my native Kansas by way of Michigan, the state where I married and had two children while working as an engineer for the Ford Motor Company. I was married to a wonderful woman for 26 happy years and suddenly realized that life was passing me by. I figured that I should make a change, as our offspring were basically on their own and I wasn't getting any younger. Luckily, a very attractive and personable man just happened to be crossing my path at that time, so the change-over was both fortuitous and smooth.

Soon after, I retired and we moved to Denver, my husband's home town. He passed away after 13 blissful years together in October of 2012. I am left to find a new path to fulfillment. One possibility is through writing. Thank goodness, the SAGE Creative Writing Group was there to light the way.