Monday, May 25, 2009

One Hundred Things My Mother Taught Me A Million Times - Chapter 6

#6 - "Never say headache, allergies, or nervous."


Mom truly believed that you are what you say, what you think, what you believe. Therefore, if you never said, thought or believed you had a headache, or allergies, or were nervous, then you weren't, or didn't (sorry about saying these words, mom.)

She not only believed this, she lived it. She never said those words, and if they ever crept into my vocabulary, she would quickly and enthusiastically shush me, as if I had just uttered a profanity. I seem to recall that those words gained a lot of social traction during the fifties and sixties. It was during this era that TV began advertising Bayer aspirin and Alka-Seltzer; it became vogue for parents and children to proudly declare that they had the "a" word; and I first heard a furtive, and therefore intriguing reference to a "ner____ breakdown" in a movie. I had no idea what a headache, an allergy, or nervous breakdown were, but I desperately wanted them.

The Alka-Seltzer ads really made me want to try alcohol - the party scene, lots of laughter, lampshade on the head - looked like fun to me, and when you felt bad later - just pop an Alka-Seltzer into a glass of water, enjoy the bubbles, and in minutes you were smiling again! But mother was never lured by those ads. I vividly recall that 104 degree fever and "death’s bed" being the only occasions when a half of an aspirin might be called for. Now I justify taking aspirin by telling myself it's good for my circulation. I don't take it for "you-know-what."Click On Read More Below...