Stupid Allergies

When I was little, I loved it when Dad would bring a load of corn in from the field in the big, red truck.  I would watch for him to arrive at the grain bins and run out to meet him.  At the back of the truck, Dad would hoist me up and throw me on top of the huge pile of corn.  I would scramble across to the other end of the truck bed as he raised it to let the corn slide out the back, onto a conveyer belt.  I would ride the pile of corn as he unloaded it, crawl back up and slide down, over and over again.

It got harder to do as the truck bed was raised higher, so time was a factor.  Climbing up a pile of lose grain as it nears a vertical slant is not easy.  I had to get as many "rides" in as I could, as fast as I could.

One day, I had to stop before I wanted to because I could no longer see anything.  I slid down, leaned against the inside of the truck bed with corn rushing past me, and yelled in the direction where I knew Dad was standing, "I can't see!"

He stopped raising the truck bed and the corn eventually stopped sliding out.  He stopped the conveyer and saw that my eyes were swollen shut.  He carried me to the house and Mom put me in the bathtub.  After the swelling went down enough that I could see, she called the Dr. Stolz's office and got me in right away.

Allergies.  Among other things, I ended up being highly allergic to molds and other stuff that thrives in a  load of freshly harvested corn.  Stupid allergies ended my corn rides in the back of the red truck forever.

Stupid allergies even ruined my cartoon watching!!  The doctor decided that the best way to treat me was shot therapy - two shots in each arm every Saturday morning!!!   Back in the day, as they say, we didn't have Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon on television 24/7.  Saturday morning was the only real cartoon viewing time our 3 TV channels dished out.  I had to get 4 shots, right in the middle of prime cartoon time.  While I did get to see some shows, I grieved my cherished time with Bugs Bunny every weekend.

Before our recent big move, our realtor told me the St. Louis area is the allergy capital of the United States.  I thought, as long as my eyes don't swell shut and I can see a cartoon once in a while, I think I'll be OK.