That time my mom had scarlet fever

Before the advent of antibiotics like penicillin, a strep throat infection could lead to scarlet fever. When my mother was a girl, she came down with scarlet fever when she was at school. They made her go home and quarantine until she got better. But then her older brother got it and her younger sister after that. The whole household had to be under quarantine until the infections stopped.

The family was in quarantine for about two weeks. During this time they were not allowed to leave their farm and my mother’s grandfather brought them groceries. My grandfather kept dairy cows and would usually sell the cream they separated from the milk. They were not allowed to sell their cream while under quarantine so my mother told me they gave it to the hogs. When she returned to school she found red spots on her school books from some treatment that had been done to them.

The moon is in a phase and I guess that I am too

Last night Graham and Thomas had their final orchestra concert of the year. In anticipation of the event, several months ago I invited my mother to visit us at this time so that she could attend. Graham’s fourth grade orchestra was the first to play and they did a very nice job of showing how much they had improved during the year. After they took their bow, they all started off stage to make room for the fifth grade orchestra. As Graham stood near the edge of the stage waiting for the rest of the kids to move, he chatted and laughed with his nearby friends. I looked away for a second to talk to Tina and then we heard a crash in front of the stage followed by a gasp from the audience. Somebody fell. Tina asked, “Who fell?” Scanning the group near the commotion, I realized Graham was no longer on stage. “It’s Graham!” I told her as she stood and then rushed down the stairs to the stage.

Continue reading “The moon is in a phase and I guess that I am too”