Anyone else old enough to remember standing in line for your polio shots

[madamesilverspurs]

5. And sugar cubes.

Also remember going door-to-door with Mom as she collected for the March of Dimes. One of my schoolmates wore leg braces and used crutches, and he missed a lot of school. In the summer, there were days when our community swimming pool was locked because somebody had been diagnosed with polio. When I was in second grade I wound up in the hospital after breaking my arm in four places; I woke up in a ward with ten other kids, only three of us were in beds, the rest were in iron lungs. I remember thinking Okay, first you break your arm, then they stick you in the sideways water heater.

We were all frightened of polio, with good reason. But we all sported dime-sized scars from the small-pox vaccination, we were already familiar with the vax concept. It was kind of amazing when we all lined up for the shots; there were some tears, but none of the kids ran away from the nurses. Interesting time, in hindsight. And it's utterly appalling that there are those today who choose to believe thoroughly debunked research; what a terrible price will be paid for such stupidity. Readily available information should be a reliable prophylactic against such thinking; should be, but some people make the choice to remain ignorant -- and more's the pity.