Short Story: The Sugar Cube. Mrs. Tanksley, my 3rd grade teacher, had been reading us part of a diary of a soldier who had survived the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. We all felt so bad for him because so many of his friends died. The next day, Wednesday, Mrs. Tanksley talked about polio. We all knew a little bit about polio. John, who was about 8 years older than I was and lived on my block, had polio when he was little and had to wear leg braces for many years. He couldn’t run or play baseball. I felt sorry for him. Mom always said that John was lucky to be alive because she knew people who had died from polio. Mrs. Tanksley then showed us pictures of people wearing leg braces and people in iron lungs because polio wouldn’t let them breathe. It was a horrible disease that no one wanted to catch.
When I got home from school that day, Mom and Dad said we had to go to a meeting back at school in the gym and that I had to come with them. When we got there, the gym was almost full and all my classmates were there with their parents. Principal Murray welcomed everyone and introduced Dr. Smith who had come all the way from the state capital. Dr. Smith started talking about polio, just like Mrs. Tanksley had done earlier that day.
Dr. Smith continued and said that tomorrow everyone in our elementary school was going to take a vaccine to protect us from polio. I looked at Mom and said that I hate shots. She told me to be quiet and listen. Dr. Smith said that no one was getting a shot, instead all the children had to do was to eat a sugar cube. The sugar cube would have 3 drops of vaccine on it and it would turn the sugar cube pink. He said all that your children have to do is eat the sugar cube and then they would be protected from polio.
There were a lot of questions. My Mom was an avid reader and she knew that the early polio vaccine trials in the 1950s had killed some children because some of the original vaccine was made poorly. She asked Dr. Smith if all precautions had been taken and if the vaccine was made properly. He said that millions of children had already taken the vaccine and that it is safe. He said that his own kids had eaten the sugar cubes. Dr. Smith said that government scientists had fully approved it and the School Board and Public Health Department had made it a requirement for all students.
When we got home, we had a late dinner and we talked about the vaccine.
“Mom, what really causes polio?” I asked.
Mom thought a minute and said, “Well, it’s caused by a virus that is spread from person to person through sneezing or coughing. It is very contagious.”
“So, it’s spread like a cold. Well, what’s a virus?”
“I knew you were going to ask that. A virus is something so small that you can’t see it and when it gets in your body it will make you terribly sick. The polio virus can paralyze you, it can make it so you can’t breathe on you own, and it can kill you.”
“So, the government is going to make us eat the sugar cube?”
Dad jumped in, “The most important job of our government is to protect us. Fighting this disease is just like fighting an enemy, like the Germans during WWII. Mom and I have seen the terrible things that polio does and you’ve seen what it did to John. The scientists that work for the government study these things and help our leaders make decisions.”
“What if someone refuses to eat the sugar cube tomorrow?” I asked.
Dad looked at Mom and he replied, “Well, I’m not sure what will happen. But why would you not take it? It not only protects you from polio but also makes it so you can’t spread it to your friends and neighbors. Sometimes you can have the polio virus and it doesn’t affect you, but at the same time you could spread it to someone without knowing it and they could become very sick or die. Would you want to be the cause of someone dying?” I shook my head no.
Mom interjected, “Remember that we are taught to love our neighbor and it seems to me that by taking this sugar cube we are showing our love for our neighbors.”
It all sounded good to me. I decided that the sugar cube would be a morning treat. After homeroom the next day, Mrs. Tanksley took us all down to the gym to get our sugar cube. We knew the sugar cube was safe but we were still a bit nervous. We couldn’t believe that Principal Murray was actually playing the local radio station over the loud speakers because that only happened at sock hops after school. I could hear “Walk Like a Man” by the Four Seasons as I stepped on the gym floor. Several of us started imitating the way our Dads walked. It was funny and we all laughed. There were 3 lines and we were in the middle one. Just as I got up to the table, I could hear Skeeter Davis singing “The End of the World.” The red haired nurse was laughing and told the blonde haired nurse that somehow the song was probably not appropriate for the occasion. She gave me a small paper cup with a pink sugar cube in it.
“OK sweetie, let me see you eat it now,” she said.
I put it in my mouth and smiled. “It tastes just like sugar.” The nurse laughed. The blonde haired nurse said “Here’s your prize” and she gave me a nickel, which was just enough for a chocolate milk from the milk machine in the hallway. Wow, it had been a really good morning!
After another nurse checked my name off the list, we all returned to our classroom. Mrs. Tanksley continued to read us part of the diary of the young soldier who survived the great Spanish flu pandemic. After listening to the story, Katie, one of my best friends, whose Dad had an underground fallout shelter, told Mrs. Tanksley that the soldiers should have eaten a sugar cube to prevent the Spanish flu. Mrs. Tanksley thought a bit and said, “I believe that one day we’ll all be able to do just that.” Mrs. Tanksley was one of those gifted teachers who always had an eye on the future and encouraged us to sneak a peek.
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