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Monday, May 10, 2004

OUR FIRST HOME IN KANSAS CITY 

My enthusiasm fell flat when I saw our new home. In the daylight it looked like a shanty on a vacant lot. Probably because that’s basically what it was. It was an old house that had been through tough times. There were additions that rambled indiscriminately and the floors were all in different levels. Our furniture that was only four years old looked like it was in an abandoned warehouse.

With a baby soon to be born I knew I didn’t have much time to grieve over a house that hopefully was only a stepping stone to a better one. I did the best I could with the way it was. George was unable to spend any time on the domestic scene as he had scores of towns to learn along the mail routes leaving Kansas City every day and then on the return trip back.

Punky was a happy kid because our friends from Cabool lived next door and they had two children, one older and one younger than him. After being the only child for three years he was delighted to have playmates. Jack and Freda also had a television set. We were invited to watch TV with them in the evenings when George didn’t have to study. I’ll never forget the excitement of having small-scale movies in your own living-room. The shows that were so wonderful to watch seem so generic now. At the time we couldn’t wait for Saturday nights when the really, really, big shows were on. The Ed Sullivan show along with the Sid Ceaser show, The Honeymooners, Jackie Gleason and at other times there was What’s My Line, I Love Lucy, The Hit Parade, $64,000 Question, Jack Parr on the Tonight Show and then the Today Show with (??) can’t remember the first MC…all I can think of is Jack Lescoulie….(help).

We couldn’t wait until we would be able to buy our own TV. There wasn’t any money for movies or other kinds of entertainment so we enjoyed it at Jack and Freda’s and waited.

I drove up and down the street around the business area we lived close to and found a doctor’s office. His name was Dr. Needles. I thought it would be pronounced like a “needle” but it was “Nee-dells.” His nurse was a wonderful woman whose son played for the Cleveland Brown’s Football Team at the time. Her name was Mrs. McCormick and his name was “Big Mike” McCormick. She was understandably proud of him. He came up the hard way…..by working hard to get there. He had no “connection” to help.

Dr. Needles agreed to take me as a patient and told me he was affiliated with St. Mary’s hospital so that was where the baby would be born. He also agreed to take installments on the delivery. I was shocked when I found out it cost $350 for maternity and delivery. Of course we had no way to pay except monthly. I still appreciate his willingness to carry us along until it was paid in full. He didn’t have to do that.

With everything settled about the baby I worked hard to make a few things for the arrival. It made the time go by when I was alone and I knew we could use the items when the baby came. I was crocheting an edging on some flannel receiving blankets and I had spent the afternoon visiting with Freda. When I went home I picked Punky up and carried him because of the snow on the ground. As I set him down to open our door, I felt a sharp pain in my left thigh. I looked below my jacket and saw the crochet hook protruding out of my leg. I tried to pull it out but it was stuck tight. When I left Freda’s I had put the hook and thread in the large pocket of my smock. I had accidentally hit the end of it when I put Punky down and in doing so, shoved the hook straight into my leg.

Trying to think what to do I carried him back with me to Freda’s and when I took my jacket off to show her, the needle fell out in my hand. My walking motion had caused it to work itself out so that I didn’t have any problem at all. This long after the horrendous puncture I’m amazed I didn’t get lock-jaw. I’d never had any tetanus shots.

A few days later my water broke and Dr. Needles told me to get to the hospital right away and as it happened George was at home and could take me. I was settled in good and Dr. Needles said if the baby didn’t come by 9:00 pm he would induce labor. I checked in early afternoon. By 9:00 pm I still didn’t have a baby and was growing more miserable by the hour.

The nurse came in the room and said Dr. Needles had called and she was to start me into labor. I had wondered all day how that would be done…….and I was about to find out………tomorrow.

Until then,

Essentially Esther