Journal Jar --- Accidents, Surgery, Illness

I think maybe I just don't remember most things because we did grow up on a farm, without the internet telling us what was safe and what was not, however I enjoyed many of the things the internet say aren't safe.....I only remember 3 broken legs, some broken ribs, only a few surgeries, I guess lots of various cuts...in the family as a whole.

Dave was run over by a pickup and that broke his leg...(as pictured above) Dale broke a leg by sliding down the school slide with his legs hanging over the outside of the slide so he was jerked off and down to the ground (I am sure that must have caused quite a stir at the school--now-a-days the school would have torn down the slide...I am glad that didn't happen because I enjoyed the same slide 10 years later) Dad (Robert Lee) broke his leg cutting out a big dead section of the poplar tree. (One of those times when we thought out a great way to rope and tackle the tree to reduce the fall damage but soon as it started to go he knew he was in for it) R. Larry I think seemed to have more than the rest of us...this is a picture after his face had a fight with a trampoline frame (back when they had rectangle trampolines-and not in backyards) I only remember the phone call and Mom was upset that night but the picture shows that Larry wasn't upset for very long.Here is a picture of Matthew McEwen (hiding in the leaves), Kayleen, and Angela after knee surgery...I had both knees done but other than that I didn't have any broken bones, or surgery's ... one time I was goofing around at school and hit into the brick wall and thought that I had ripped out part of my eyebrow (later found out that sometime in my childhood I had cut it on a bottle and it was a scar) I still have a scar from chasing a cow on a Sunday morning out of the garden....I forgot about the wires around the tomatoes and caught it with my shin so I still have a 3 inch line right down the middle of the front of my leg....I guess I need to forgive the cows but they always got out as soon as Dad left on Sunday morning or after the lawn was watered. I remember stepping on a freshly sharpened hoe and cutting my heel straight across the bottom from one side to the other ... after mom put it together the only thing I was worried about is that we were supposed to go fishing the next day at "no tell em creek" that on the south fork that is quite a hike straight up and down, and I didn't want to miss it. I didn't either thanks to Mom's excellent first aid....that tells me there must have been plenty of experiences but we survived without too many scars. I think maybe we had strong bones because I know we had plenty of mishaps...

Dale is ten years older than I am so I don't know about his childhood ouches ....a fork sticking out of his arm incident, (if I heard the story right), he had shingles in his late teens (which I remember too well thanks to my not understanding and slapping his back to feel the shingles), prostate cancer in later years.

R. Larry had lots actually after I started thinking...rheumatic fever, cut on his cheek that left a scar, a bike accident where the bike slipped out of gear and he went over the handle bars and left most of his arms skin on the road...(I think that is why even today I have a hard time riding a multi speed bike) he also had a fork incident not too long ago

Karen had appendicitis surgery but I don't remember other big things, she was always a lady in my eyes, (not that ladies can't get hurt)

Dave had knee surgery (for a different problem from mine), a 50' ladder landed on his head leaving a lot of blood and scar (that might show now), had the mumps as a teen (he got a little woozy in the head, I remember him coming out from his room telling me "Turn off the TV" (it wasn't on but he couldn't comprehend that so I shut it off) he also had prostate cancer in recent years.

Julie I don't remember major things either, part of the reason being she is 8 years younger, so she didn't get into trouble until after I left home.

I think it is my memory that is bad because we had horses, cows, machinery, lots of time outside without much TV, no computers etc to take up our time, hunting, fishing, camping, hiking and any other dangerous thing kids can think of to do. I remember having a baby food jar of mercury that was a marvelous experiment maker...turning pennies silver, rolling around drops on table or hand, blowing with a straw to reconnect the drops etc. Fiddlesticks, there was a single little thermometer broken (maybe a drop of mercury released) and they evacuated the whole school and had hazmat come and clean it up. I guess our family all has mercury poisoning, lead poisoning, fertilizer & spray poisoning etc.

We had a truck accident, (pictured above, it rolled when a lady ran a stop sign, it was full of gravel....the lady only worried about her sugar that spilled, I worried only about my apple that I was eating before I fell asleep standing up in the cab (no seat belt), Dale rolled the Rambler making a turn in gravel...no one was hurt, even the car lasted a long time after however ramble or rattler became more appropriate a name, Mom and I spun around on icy roads just before I got married, that made me think of all the stories out there of bad things that happen before you get married but we were fine.

The broken ribs were Dads, he slipped while hopping from edge to edge on some huge boxes up on the truck bed, he had his appendix out, cut off some fingers, I came close to shooting too close to him hunting once...(I still have nightmares about that one, I also don't think any of you know about that one, I haven't been hunting since and don't plan on it now either)

Mom had a hard time with pregnancy, and had a fishing hook catch her in the head and pull her off her feet, and as well I am sure there were many things that I am not remembering right now, However I will repeat we had a wonderful life and a blessed life.