Bobby's Dead and I''m Next

The polio vaccine came in when I was in the first grade.  I knew about polio by then.  When someone in the city came down with polio, children were denied contact with anyone outside  their family for several weeks.  If polio came calling in the summer, all public swimming pools closed.   I loved the water, no swimming seemed the ultimate victory for the virus.

A mass vaccination for all children was held in Austin in the summer I was a second grader to be.   High school auditoriums were set up as vaccinations sites.  My paternal grandmother arranged for us to go with our neighbor and her son to McCallum High School.   That was fine with me.  Bobby and I played together every day.  We were best friends.

McCallum was packed.  Bobby and I took our places in line.  Adults were shooed to the other side of the auditorium, so mu grandmother and his mother deserted us.  Bobby and I were left in a line slowly moving toward the place of vaccination..  Bobby, always the brave one, went ahead of me.

I do not know how long it took us to reach the nurse delivering the shots, but it was long enough for me to build up considerable apprehension.  We had had our first shot in our elementary school, one class at a time.  There had been little time to fret about that shot.   Now, however, I had plenty of time to worry.  Bobby did not seem worried.  His nonchalance helped keep me calm.  Some kids behind us were crying

Jonas Salk vaccinating a child.

Now, we were at the vaccination station.  There were two nurses.  One giving the shot and the other comforting the last recipient of the vaccination.   Bobby stepped forward resolutely.  The nurse pushed up his sleeve a little, swabbed is arm, and injected the vaccine.

Bobby's  skin  instantly turned a translucent white.  He fell at my feet eyes closed, unmoving.  Dead, I assumed.  I could not move.  That shot had  killed my best friend.

Out of nowhere my grandmother and Bobby's mother appeared.  His mother scooped him up while my grandmother cradled his head.  They left with the body.

 Bobby was dead and I was next.  My grandmother had left me.  I was as frightened as I had ever been in my life.  I was so afraid that I did not cry.  I wanted to run, but I was frozen in place.

The helping nurse urged me forward with platitudes I do not remember.  All I remember was my heart pounding.

I managed to step to the appointed place.  The vaccinating nurse rubbed my arm with something cold, then deftly injected the vaccine.  I barely felt it.   I took a deep breath.  I was still alive,

The helping nurse patted me on my shoulder.  "You can go now."

I moved away as quickly as I dared, but I did not run.  The auditorium was large it took me a moment to spot my grandmother and Bobby's mother.  I went to them.  Between them on a bench lay Bobby.  Alive.

Bobby was a still pale, but his eyes were open.  The back of his had was resting on his mother's purse.

"Bobby's fine.  He just fainted," my grandmother said.

I said nothing.  Bobby was alive and so was I.

Watering the Garden

I was up before seven this morning to turn the sprinkler on in my vegetable garden.  The temperature hit 100 yesterday, a record for that date.  That kind of heat sucks the moisture out of the plants faster than they can replace it.  We had a good rain a week ago, but you wouldn't know it by the looks of the vegetation.

The city allows you to water twice a week, in the morning until ten, then at night starting at 7pm.  Of course, the system is really designed for people with sprinkler systems, not people like me who have to drag hoses around.  I go out every 45 minutes to move my sprinkler so that I can have the back yard watered by ten.  This evening I will do the same in front.  I do not have a big yard

With the advent of high temperatures, I will be watering not only my vegetable garden and flower beds, but areas of lawn ( bare of grass) so that the trees will get plenty of water.  I lost a big elm in front this spring and a native pecan.  The pecan was a surprise because 20 years ago, I tried to get rid of that tree and it just came  back.  Now, I did nothing and it's dead.  I wonder what is going on under the ground because the elm and pecan were in the same area.  Is something toxic buried there? Since my house is 97 years old, probably not.

I watered a section of the backyard where I will sow my okra seed.  This will be the last vegetable I will put in.  I adore okra.  I especially like it raw, right off the stalk.  I may trying putting in some beans with the okra.  The soil where I will put the okra needs to be turned and compost and fertilizer worked in , but the pain in my back has become a living, pulsing torment, so I will delay until the weekend.

Photo by  bucklava

The tomatoes are coming in.  The Bonito Oro has wonderful, golf ball size fruit.  The cherry tomatoes continue to perform well.  I bought bacon and lettuce yesterday, so today we can have BLT's from the enormous tomatoes produced by Solar Set.  I am not sure I save any money with the garden, but the taste of fresh produce can brighten your whole day.