I can renember as a young child being sick a nummber of times, although he never said as much I dont think my father was happy about that. Again it was never said but something like " Lets throw this one back and make another " has the right tenor behind the words. The wildest ride I can remember during my childhood is when I was 9 or so I woke up one morning with my neck hurting bad. My father being the ultimate arbiter of all such things searched for a leaking blood source, having not found even the tiniest amout of blood I was declared healthy and told to go outside and play.When all I could do was stand there with my head on my shoulder making moaning noises, Even my father had to concede, " The boy needs to go to the Doctor. Permission in hand I was taken. At this point the story gets bizzarre, because it was 1969 and not a later version of history my mom escaped childabuse charges. The doctor claimed the damage done couldnt have occured any other way except a severe beating. I guess I convinced the Doctor I had not been beaten. For my troubles I was admitted into the hospital and placed in Traction for ten days. Traction, was initially created during the inquisition to torture people, then was used later on 9 yr old boys to punish them for not telling the truth. After my Traction was complete I was placed in a full back brace which I had to wear for the next 10 months. It gets even more Bizzarre. The diagnosis was given as a dislocated cervical vertebrae, to this day a mistery, it couldnt have happened and yet it did, I set presedence early in my life. I wore this back brace through the summer and into the fall, I believe my school work was being sent to the house. I dont know how I slept in the darn thing or did much of anything, this certainly prove the old addage that time heals most wounds. Certainly time has dulled the sharpness of what should be a vivid memory. One last chapter to this saga. The Christmas holidays were quickly coming, normally a joyfull time, I always enjoyed them, I caught the chicken Pox the week before. I could not join the family for Christmas, I will have to hunt down the photo, I have seen it, I was laying on a couch in my back brace, Dotted with the Pox and looking physically as though I had been recently rescued from a concentration camp. Fortunately the Back brace eventually came off. The most startling event connected to that was the fact that I had no strength in my neck muscles and it took hours to be able to hold my head up.

Always with love,
Tony.