An experience with self pity!!

When I read Arlene's blog on self pity. I had to think about Jack forever saying "Self pity is better than no pity at all". I was thinking about one time when I GOT no pity at all. Except maybe from Jack. He was always so sympathetic.

I been worried about Tyler comin from Florida with two little kids. I hope he has a nice trip.

This made me think about myself. During the World War II, I was real sick. I was living with Mother. No doctor could find what was wrong with me. So the dr. said "she must have war blues". Why don't you go be with your husband now that the war is over. Jack had been pulled out of the fleet post office where he was assigned in San Fransico and sent to Farragut, Idaho. His buddy all through the war was Winston Havens. Win's sister was going to Boise and offered me a ride. I went down to Jack's parents and from there they put me on the train to go be with Jack. The train car that I was to ride on had been retired. The windows were so smokey with soot and the car was filthy and had no heat or toilet,(working). It was the first part of Dec. and it was really cold. In those days there was no such thing as disposable diapers. Not even plastic bags. You could not even buy rubber pants . All I could do was knit soakers to use. Marcia wasn't even old enough to walk and was in diapers. (the diapers were single knit rectangles)
I didn't have a suitcase so I put my belongings in a cardboard box and tied it shut with some twine. Somewhere in Oregon they sidetracked our car in the middle of the night. NO lights and you could hardly see your hand in front of your face. No heat . No water. Marcia needed her diaper changed. I could not see to do it, but the seats were a solid bench. I curled up in a fetal position and held Marcia close to me as we lay on the bench. I tried to keep her warm cause she was so wet. Come daylight they hooked on to our train car and we headed for Athol.
When we got to Athol I couldn't straighten my legs. I was in a world of hurt. I had to transfer to a bus to get on the base where Jack was. I managed to stand up and I needed to carry Marcia off the train, and my box. A sailor could see my condition and offered to carry Marcia for me to a bus depot about half a block away. I said I have to take this box too. He said as soon as I get you and your baby on the bus I will come back and get your box. He looked like an angel to me. After he got me on the bus I turned to thank him and he wasn't there. He said he was going to ride the bus to Farragut also. He was gone!!! The next person I saw was JACK. He was standing near the gate. Regulations would not allow him to come through the gate. He had borrowed Win's car and got us to an apartment he had rented. He had the heat on and it felt so good to get warm. The next morning I could not get my shoes on. So I wore my overshoes.
There were lumps clear down my spine. It was a little over a block to the hospital. Jack took me over there and he carried Marcia. I never left the hospital for 3 months. The Red Cross obtained a pass for Jack to take Marcia to his folks. I had rheumatic fever, and enlarged heart and a leaking valve. There was no penicillin, or sulfa. They gave me 12 aspirins a day. and would not allow me to go to the bathroom. I never left that bed. So I would lay still they kept me on phenobarbital. I was so hooked on the drug that I really suffered with withdrawal.
Jack came to see me in the hospital every day. The hospital was on his mail route, which he would run so he would have time to stay with me for a while. This a case of self pity. Don't you think? There is more to this story, but I am sleepy so I will write the rest some other day. Gma