It is strange the things one chooses to remember from childhood. The important and influential people and big, life changing things we obviously expect to remember….but…more often than not, we also recall the odd and otherwise mundane day to day with vivid detail. This, often includes stories we were told. Stories and folklore, afterall, are what became the basis for much of civilization. It is a common, universal experience that transcends every culture. Some of us, however, also remember some really odd and silly things. Why those things made an impression is anyone’s guess. I still remember the VIN numbers of several cars I once owned, for example. Not much reason to 30+ years later…but I just do.
One story I recall was a discussion in my fourth grade class. Our teacher, Mr Taylor, had at one time prior to teaching worked as a UPS driver and a janitor…I suspect these were jobs he held while working through school in order to become a teacher. And…the efforts were worthwhile as he was a good teacher as far as I am concerned. So one day he is talking to the class and mentions part of his experiences as a janitor–in a local hospital. Now at this point, you can just imagine the sorts of stuff he had to deal with. Apparently and not surprisingly back in those days things were done differently than they are done now. For example, today, it is not as likely that one would lift a common trash bag up from the can and say, “Gee this is awfully heavy, I’ll look inside to see why”……only to find…..a human leg. Yep. A severed leg. Just in the trash. Right there next to the Dixie cups and leftovers from the cafeteria. Hopefully the two weren’t related. But if they are, then maybe that explains a lot about hospital food. True story?…maybe…maybe not…but in anycase it was a good and memorable story, even if I do not remember how the discussion that lead to it got started. Needless to say, in more ways than one, his going to school while working did help his career by enabling him to get a leg up on the competition. Sorry. That was bad. I couldn’t help it. Ok, that’s not completely true…I’m not really sorry.
Oh, and if anyone is driving around in a ’77 Plymouth whose VIN number is PM23K7D105092 or a 1957 Volvo PV444 with chassis #129618 then I’ve got some other stories to tell you.