 |
| "I am a Boy Scout I know what to do!" - - C. F. Cline |
At the age of eleven, I had responsibilities around the house. The primary duty was washing dishes. My mother believed in scalding the dishes after you washed them to kill any virus or anything else undesirable. One day, after finishing the lunch dishes, I turned on the stove, put the teakettle on the burner, and waited for the whistle sound it made to let me know it was ready. Once I heard the whistle, I put the dish towel on the handle as usual, and I picked up the kettle to rinse the dishes with the water. I must have forgotten to put the lid on the top of the kettle because hot steam sprayed over my hand and arm. My natural reflex was to drop the hot kettle. When I did, the scalding water burned me from the waist down. It burned the skin off most of my legs. I must have let out a huge scream because one of my neighbor next door and my brother C. F. both were there to help me within minutes.
My brother C.F. started saying, "I am a Boy Scout, and I know what to do - I am a Boy Scout, and I know what to do!" The neighbor looked at him and said, "Good because I don't have a clue what to do." C.F. then told me I needed to get all my clothes off immediately where the boiling water hit my body. I did not move, I just screamed it hurts! So, he took scissors and cut off what I was wearing from my waist and below. He carried me into my parent’s bedroom and placed me on the bed. He got two fans and placed them facing me and turned them on. Then he just stood there with an odd look on his face, as if he were thinking, "now what." I was still crying, and the pain was still dreadful. C.F. then went into the bathroom and looked in the medicine cabinet. Whatever he was looking for was not in there. He asked the neighbor, Mrs. Morris, who had come to help if she could take him to the drug store. C. F. also asked Mrs. Morris if she knew where our mother was, and she didn't know but thought she left an hour ago. She agreed to take my brother to the drug store, and they left me alone. Before leaving C.F. told me not to get up, everything would be alright, and he would be back soon. I was in pain, I was crying, and I was frightened. Then I was all alone with my fear.
Our Dad owned a nursery, and you never knew where he was at any given time or when he would drop by the house. Fortunately, he came home about ten minutes after C. F. left to go to the drug store. Dad asked what was going on and what happened. I told him the best that I could, as I was still in a lot of pain, and recalled C. F. telling me that he was a Boy Scout and he knew what to do. That did not seem to give my Dad much comfort. He asked where my Mother was while calling the doctor's office. I told him I didn’t know. Upon talking with Dr. Chrichlow, my Dad was pleasantly surprised to learn that C. F. did what needed doing. Dr. Chrichlow called in two prescriptions. One to ease the pain, and the other to keep the burned area clean and moist. Dr. Chrichlow advised that I needed to stay on the bed without any clothes on for another day before going to his office.
My Mom then came home and I went through everything that happened again. She felt bad that she was not there and tried to make me as comfortable as possible. I remember the house seemed full of people, at this point. C. F. returned within minutes after my mother came home. He brought something to put on my burns. My Dad told C.F., “The doctor said that you did the exact best thing for Margaret at the onset of the burns. I appreciate your stepping in to help her.” Well, C.F.’s head was so big from that comment he could hardly walk through the door opening. He smiled big and said, "See, being a Boy Scout teaches you valuable skills." As I look back on that day, C. F. was sixteen at the time of the accident and most likely was a bit self-conscious about stripping me of my clothing. That is why he kept repeating, “I am a Boy Scout and I know what to do” several times. I am just glad my brother was there and did what needed doing at the time. Thank you, C.F.
No comments:
Post a Comment