Earliest memories.  What are your earliest memories?  We were taking a stroll down Memory Lane at Alice’s the other day while she was doing Grandma Red’s hair.  We had been talking about getting tonsils out and Alice didn’t remember anything about her tonsils coming out, but she remembered the day before.  

Back in the ‘50s, they checked you into the hospital the evening before the actual surgery for a tonsillectomy.  Alice and her brother, Jerry, were both scheduled to have their tonsils removed and Dorothy, their mom, checked them into the hospital the night before.  They were in their pajamas and all ready for bed.  Dorothy got them settled for the night, or so she thought, then went home.  Alice clearly remembers being on the top floor when she and Jerry decided they were going home, too.  Now you must understand, home wasn’t just down the street.  Home was a few miles out on Highway 38.  

Alice was little, and Jerry was in elementary school.   They waited until the nurse was out of sight, then they took off down the back ramp.  That back ramp is not your average architectural detail in a hospital. We can only be grateful they decided to walk and not take a wheelchair.  Anyway, out the back they went and down the street to the Bannock Street Grocery, which used to stand next to where Central is now.  There were two bikes parked in front and Jerry and Alice thought they would ride those bikes home.

However, for some reason, Alice doesn’t remember why, they decided to go into the store before they headed for home.  That was a mistake.  They didn’t think about the reality of living in Small Town USA.  One of the shoppers recognized them and called Dorothy wondering why her two kids were in town in their pajamas when the sun was slipping over the west hills.  It didn’t take Dorothy long to get to town, apprehend the duo and plant them back in the hospital, where they remained until surgery was over the next morning.  

Now, that is a memory!  Life is Good when you’ve got more to remember than just getting Jello when you lose your tonsils!