• Images
    • Images of History
    • Images that leave an Impression
    • The Birds We See
      • Djibouti
      • Ethiopia
      • Port Louis, Mauritius
      • Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
  • Page One
    • America (with a “C”)
    • one sided conversations with the damn cat
    • Serious Stuff
    • Something to Think About
    • Things to remember while traveling overseas
  • Page Three – What I Saw
    • Apparition Hill – called Podbrdo
    • I Walked Among Them
    • St. James … they just didn’t want to leave.
    • The Cross
  • Page Two
    • Roses
    • Harpo Speaks!
    • I’ve always hated book reports
    • initial Addis Updates
    • The Dichotomy
    • Written Words
    • My Most Unforgettable Characters

Nine Yards … and counting.

Nine Yards … and counting.

Monthly Archives: May 2012

Doctor Key and Milk of Magnesia

25 Friday May 2012

Posted by dknolte in Uncategorized

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I come from a family of nine kids.  Doctor Key delivered all of us, except one, and that was because of the distance between Texas and Nevada, especially in the 60’s.  When I was little, my older brothers told me I was not born but hatched.  If that was true, it was still Doctor Key who did the hatching.

One of the outstanding traits of Doctor Key, was his use of the miracle called “Milk of Magnesia”.  When any of us kids got sick with a bellyache, Doctor Key would prescribe a “big ol’ dose of Milk of Magnesia”.  It cleaned us out before the bugs could multiple and take over our bodies and perhaps even kill us dead.  So whenever Mom brought us in to see him, the first thing he ask, “Did you give him a big ol’ dose of Milk of Magnesia?”  And Mom would proudly say, “Yep.”  I often thought, if Mom ever took me into Doctor Key’s office for a broken arm, the first thing he would probably say is, “Did you give him a big ol’ dose of Milk of Magnesia? ‘  And Mom would’ve say, “Yep.”

The stuff has a heavy chalk taste that we abhorred, so Mom gave us crackers to eat with it.  In looking back at those times, I now realize the crackers really did nothing but fool us into thinking they actually made the horrible stuff go down easier.  Today, it has been converted into pills.  Kids these days don’t know how lucky they are.

So, as I grew and raised a few kids, I too used the wisdom of Doctor Key.  It wasn’t until my teenage daughter had a bellyache, did I realize there may be something different about this.  I gave her a big ol’ dose of Milk of Magnesia, and when that didn’t get rid of her bellyache, I gave her another.  Still the miracle did not work, so I took her into her doctor, since Doctor Key had long retired.  When he asked what the problem was, I explained how I dutifully gave her a big ol’ dose of Milk of Magnesia, and when that didn’t help, I gave her another.  Since the bellyache didn’t go away, it had to be something sinister.  The doctor had a peculiar look in his eyes and said, “Why did you do that for?”  It was at that point, the Little Guy in the back of my mind told me something was not right.  I explained, that’s what Doctor Key said to do.  He asked, “Who’s Doctor Key?”  I had to mention that he was an old family doctor, and added that I was named after him, thinking that may quell the situation some.

He did some poking and prodding and took a spit sample or something, and said she is already getting better and will be okay.  Then he told me to take her home and buy her some fresh yogurt to replace the good bacteria that I flushed out of her system.  “And don’t do that again!” he yelled.

Man!  I felt bad…

Well, I still have not learned my lesson completely.  A couple of weeks ago, I had a bellyache that I couldn’t get rid of, so I took some laxative pills my wife had, to flush the bugs out.  Still didn’t do too good, so I went to the Med Unit and told them I have a sinister bug in me.  … and I told them I tried to flush it out with a laxative.

There was that same, why did you do that for?, look.  “Well, when I was a little boy, my family doctor used to prescribe it to me when I was… “ and I let my voice trail off to a mumble.  Well, bottom line is, she said, “You’re getting okay now, but don’t do that again!”   Wow!  I won’t do that again.

It’s amazing how medicine has changed over the years.  Mom would always put a drop of cod-liver oil on our tongues every night before bed.  So, recently I got to thinking about that and decided to find out what Mom was really giving us.  Wikipedia states: “Cod liver oil was traditionally manufactured by filling a wooden barrel with fresh cod livers and seawater and allowing the mixture to ferment for up to a year before removing the oil.  Modern cod liver oil is made by cooking the whole cod body tissues of fatty fish during the manufacture of fish meal.”  Now the question here is:  Were we getting the traditional stuff, or the modern stuff?  I tell you right now, when I was a little kid, the word “modern” wasn’t invented yet.  You figure it out.

Me and Grace

22 Tuesday May 2012

A new couple had just arrived a week or so earlier and needed a place to do some laundry, so we invited them over for pizza and to use our washer and dryer.   After eating, their little one and I took a quick nap.  When your grand kids are 10 thousand miles away, you don’t pass up a chance to hold someone’s little one.

Posted by dknolte | Filed under Uncategorized

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Terese and I …

16 Wednesday May 2012

Posted by dknolte in Addis Ababa

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Terese and I frequent a restaurant on the 5th floor of a building where we get a lovely view of Addis with its road construction and horde of dangerous taxis, stopping  in the street stalling traffic to pickup anyone with a few birr.  Pedestrians clog the traffic flow, and venders and beggars annoy those walking by.  One of the main roads I drive on is under major construction.  The Chinese have come in to widen the street and add overpasses at clogged intersections, and overhead walkways.  When they get done, long after we move to our next post, the drive to and from work will be nicer.  In the meantime, the drive home which took about 20 minutes now takes 35-40, because of the path I have to take.  … and the pedestrians!  If someone could just turn off the spigot.

(under the category of: we don’t know how lucky we are, babe)

While driving to and from work, one interesting item I see from time to time, is the lone individual, either heading to work in the morning, or heading home at night carrying a simple tool.  Usually, it’s a hammer, shovel or pick.  Now think about this a moment.  Whereas I have several of those items in storage in Lubbock, or you may have a few in your garage or shed, this object they carry is probably their most valued possession.  It is the tool they use for their livelihood.  They have a special place for this tool at home and maybe take time to clean it before putting it away.  This may have cost them several months pay but it was an investment to help survive life and feed his family.

@>-}-}–

Michael, the Gardener, has a fondness for the cat.  This animal is not domesticated in Ethiopia.  Cats are small scavengers in the city that chase mice and die from an occasional dog bite.  To have one roaming freely in the home, that you can pick up and caress, strangle or cuddle, is a most unusual thing.  So, Michael was baffled and intrigued at first, but now appreciates the little critter.  When Terese goes into work with me, he will let the animal out in the yard with him while he works.  Our backyard is a wonderland for her.  When we had her in Moscow, she had the feel of grass only briefly.  Here in Addis, once Michael had the backyard cat-escape proof, we let her out.  Strange as this new experience was for her, the grass was most baffling.  Terese picked her up and placed her in the middle of it.   She froze, trying to stand without using her four feet.  Once she finally accepted it, the next step was to get her furry butt used to sitting in it.  Took several ups and downs, but she finally mastered it.  Now, it is her heaven on earth.

It will be some time before this site works properly.  I’m not a 14 year old middle school kid anymore, so be patient and don’t be surprised to see things change.  … or not work at all.         D.

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