135 – A Lifetime of Changes

Last Friday after work, I took Ms. Charlsie to get some blood work done. They called her yesterday and told her that she is a little anemic and they wanted her to come in for a B12 shot.  So, I took a late lunch today and took her to the doctor for the shot. 

She always says things that interest me. Today she was talking about one of her siblings who had died as an infant in 1929.  He was a twin to her brother, Lloyd.  She said that he died from what they called “Summer Complaint”.  I wondered what that was and she told me she never understood it, either.

So, of course, I Googled it..

Cholera infantum - A common, non-contagious diarrhea of young children, occurring in summer or autumn. In the nineteenth century it was considered indigenous to the United States; was prevalent during the hot weather in most of the towns of the middle and southern states, as well as many western areas; and was characterized by gastric pain, vomiting, purgation, fever, and prostration. It was common among the poor and in hand-fed babies. Death frequently occurred in three to five days. Synonyms: summer complaint, weaning brash, water gripes, choleric fever of children, cholera morbus.

I asked if she remembered him and she said, “oh yes!” (She was almost 11 years old when he died.) She recalled a memory of both babies in what she called a “daybed” (a crib big enough for both babies) and when her father had come in from outside he tossed his hat into the crib with the babies and they played peek-a-boo with the hat.  She said “it was the cutest thing you ever did see!”

We talked a little about the amazing events or discoveries that she’s lived through and she said she couldn’t really name the one that most stood out to her… “maybe the first walk on the moon?” She mentioned getting a phone, electricity, inside plumbing and air conditioning.  She said they used to buy ice and put it in an ice box.  She also talked about the changes in farming from working animals to getting their first tractor.

She has lived an interesting life and has witnessed a LOT of changes in her lifetime.  What’s great is that her mind is so sharp and she remembers so many things.  There’s never a loss for conversation with her!