Listen to your mother!

There were many ways we could get to school when I was in elementary school. There was no bus service to those who lived in the town so we walked, rode our bikes or used our roller skates. Our skates were not like the ones we have today. They were all metal and hooked onto our shoes. On the front of the skate was a pair of hooks that attached to the front part of the shoe and in the back there was a strap that went around the ankle. We carried a skate key on a string around our necks so we could tighten the hooks if they came loose. One morning, when I was in the fourth grade, I asked Mom if I could skate to school. She told me she didn’t want me to skate that day, but I could ride my bike or walk. I really wanted to skate because some friends and I were going to go skating after school. I sneakily tucked my skates in my school bag and walked to school that morning. After school, I gathered with my friends and put on my skates for the trip home. When I got about 3 blocks from home I was skating pretty fast along the sidewalk. I came to a curb, jumped off the curb, and hit gravel. My feet went out from under me and I fell on my right arm. You can probably guess the rest. I broke my arm in 2 places. Since I was in front of a friend’s house, her mother tied a scarf around my arm and neck to hold my arm in place and sent me home. Dad took me to the doctor to have my arm set. The doctor sat me in a chair and dad held my arm while the doctor pulled on it to let the bones set into place. I have never since felt such pain. The doctor thought that Dad would faint because he turned white when he heard my screams. I was upset with the doctor because he used only a wooden splint and gauze to hold my arm in place. I had wanted a plaster cast. Anyway, the moral of the story is, when you Mom says no listen to her. She might be right.