Attribution: National Archives at College Park – Still Pictures , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
By Bill Stokes
Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper’s two best boyhood pals came down with polio during the epidemic of the early 50’s. Both cousin Rob and neighbor Darold suffered lifetime crippling effects, with Rob henceforth walking only with the aid of his “sticks.”
The keeper lucked out after a spinal test with a needle the size of a pool cue and remembers the rides with Rob’s parents to visit Rob at the Sister Kenny Institute in Minneapolis where Rob received months of treatment.
Many years later, the keeper remembers writing in a Chicago Tribune column about Jonas Salk and the polio vaccine.
Today, many more years later, the keeper hears of the potential vaccine ignorance and science denial in those headed for positions of political leadership, and he consults with Phyllis as to the advance of civilization and asks her if we are making a U-turn?
Comments