Did It Hurt?As some of you may have
gathered, my husband, Michael has a rather ‘black’ sense of humor. This has been his favorite personality quirk
for as long as I can remember. I’ve
tried to dissuade him over the years, but he is too fond of his own wit to not
take advantage of certain situations.
A particular insightful
recollection is from over 50 years ago.
When we were youngsters, the local health department would schedule
‘Vaccination Days’ at the grade school.
On this day, the children were
lined up in the hallway of the school with their parents, waiting to go into
the little office in the corner that was set up for their injections. As this was a new process, the children were
filled with fear and trepidation. They
knew that whatever awaited them in that office could not possibly be good. In the background, small whimpers and some crying
could be heard mixed with soothing words of parental encouragement.
The nurse, after what
seemed like hours in line, called to Michael that it was finally his turn. He marched in, got his injection and decided
that the whole experience was rather uneventful. He walked back down the same hall where he
had been waiting for so long. With his
mother, hand in hand, he was somewhat disappointed. Sure, his arm hurt a little, but it wasn’t
that big a deal -- especially after so much dread.
Every kid in line stared
at those who left that little room and tried to gage the level of pain that
they would soon experience. Michael had
done so himself a few minutes earlier.
They were half way down the line, when one youngster looked at Michael. With eyes wide with anxiety & fear, and
he asked “Did it hurt”?
Hah! Someone had taken the bait! This was Michael’s moment to ‘shine’. He held out his hands as if to indicate the
size of fish he had just caught and said, “The needle was this long, and they
give it to you in the NECK!” The kid
looked up at his own Mother, and shrieked, “In the NECK?? I’m not going in
there!” Several others where now
whimpering even louder than before. In
fact, the whole line was in an uproar!
Michael’s Mom tried to
apologize, tried to calm everyone, but finally decided to remove Michael from
the building as quickly as possible.
Michael, though, had a grin on his face, and thought the day went rather
well.
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