A Flash From the Past...

While perusing my life story, "Jim's Journal," I came across this little bit of my history that I think some of you may enjoy. It should be rated, "R," because of it's somewhat graphic content but I'll post it anyhoo.

This is a true story of an incident that happened in Odessa, Texas when I was married to my first wife. I may have posted this at sometime in the past on another blog but here goes anyhow.

"...my brother-in-law, Lloyd Sebolt. He was a tall, raw-boned man who was quiet and friendly.

*I remember a story about Lloyd. At one time Maggie and I lived in a house at the rear of Bertha and Lloyd’s house, on the same lot. Needless to say, we spent some time at each other’s house visiting.

One day Maggie and I were in Bertha’s house talking with her when Lloyd came in from work. He was holding his left hand in his right hand and was evidently in pain. Bertha asked him what was wrong and he told her he had smashed his left thumb. He held it up and it was black and swollen. She told him to drill a hole in it to relieve the pressure and he said he had already done that but it still ached. She put ice on it but that didn’t ease the ache.

It was really smashed badly and he groaned with the throbbing pain. He finally sat on the sofa and asked for a towel. Bertha brought it and Lloyd said,” Berthie, I cain’t stand this. Get me the pliers!” She got the pliers and asked him what he was going to do. He said he would yank his thumbnail off. She told him that would hurt terribly and he answered, yes, but only for a minute and then it would be over.

He put the towel in his lap and told Bertha to watch and not let him fall forward off the couch if he passed out. Then he gripped his left thumbnail firmly with the pliers and yanked as hard as he could. The thumbnail came off cleanly and he sighed and fell backward, passing out.

I felt sick and sat down. Bertha held the towel around his hand to keep the blood from getting on the couch. She told Maggie to wet a wash cloth and put it on his forehead and Maggie did it. They put the wet cloth on his forehead and, in a minute, he woke up.

He was cold and sweaty. In another minute he sat up and asked for the thumbnail. Bertha gave it to him and we looked at it and his left thumb. The nail had come off cleanly and the thumb looked all right. I asked him if it still hurt and he said it did but not as much as it had before and he could always grow another one. Then Bertha put Merthiolate on it and wrapped it in a bandage and I never heard him mention it again.

That's the way it happened.

Later...