n 1927, when I was in the second grade, my father was offered a job in an abstract office in Medicine Lodge, Kansas. He went to Medicine Lodge and the rest of us remained in Howard until the end of the school year.

hristmas of 1927 was different. It was our custom to go to church on Christmas Eve. The children of the church would put on a Christmas program and at the end of the evening, before going home, each child would get a bag of candy. (I remember singing Away in the Manger one year, probably the only solo I ever sang.) Then we would return home where we would discover that Santa Claus had been there while we were gone. Our gifts would be piled under the tree, and we would get busy and open them.

ut a while before Christmas of 1927, Bob took scarlet fever and our house was under quarantine with Bob, Mother, and me inside and everyone else ordered to stay out. We were afraid we were having a very dull Christmas until Christmas Eve when Mother's Aunt Sarah and Uncle Jim arrived with gifts for everyone. I can imagine Aunt Sarah saying, "Oh fiddle, those children are going to have a good Christmas. quarantine or not." I admire the spunk of those people who were willing to bend the law a bit to give us a Christmas we would never forget.

hen Bob's scarlet fever was first diagnosed, our doctor suggested Mother bring me to his office for immunization. She did this, and shortly after the shot I lost consciousness and my heart stopped. The doctor did not panic; he immediately prepared an injection of adrenalin, and I was brought back to life very quickly.

ther people who have described their experiences during a temporary death, sometimes much longer than mine, almost always use the word light or white somewhere in their description. For myself, I will say that I came out of whiteness. This scenario could have been quite different. Suppose Mother hadn't rushed me to the doctor's office before the red quarantine sign was nailed to the front of our house. The doctor would have had to come to the house to give me my shot, and it isn't very likely he would have been prepared to give an adreneline injection, too. You, my descendants who are reading this, would not be here at all. After a few days of bed rest, I seemed back to normal and have never had any heart problems. I think I was pretty lucky to get off so lightly. There were some deaths as a result of this defective scarlet fever serum, and it was discontinued, never to be used again.