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Show ST5- Something induced me to c a l l my mother during my free period at school. When I had thought of her during the day, a silent shriek seemed to f i l l my chest and would not l e t i t s e lf out. Her voice was f r a i l and I could t e l l that she had been crying. "What's wrong, Mama?" She sighed heavily. " I t ' s a long story. I don't know where to begin." I glanced around the faculty room. The Utah History teacher sat nearby grading papers. Two P.E. teachers were playing a noisy game of ping-pong. The school secretaries were gossiping over coffee. What a field-day everyone would have if I slipped and mentioned the Principle! "Don't s t a r t now, Mama. I have to teach again in a few minutes. Let me come and v i s i t you. Brian will probably be gone tonight. I ' l l be out at about seven, a l l right?" 'My mother began by describing her breakdown. It seemed to escalate daily, moving from her toes, up through her legs, affecting her s c i a t i c nerve and back, r e i n s t i g a t i n g the old problem with her female organs. "I've thought about having a hysterectomy. But you know how your daddy feels about t h a t . Besides, I'm not even sure it would help." For once, I agreed with my f a t h e r . I did not think surgery would help my mother - I was c e r t a i n that i t would only make her worse. Her physical and nervous malfunctions had been a fact of my l i f e . It was against her brand of i l l n e s s that 1 had stood when my body began to bloom with the sensuality of adolescence. How was I to know t h a t one extreme breeds the same r e s u l t as another? |