Saturday Memory
May 2, 2026

Despite my ear hurting, I went to the Saturday matinee which I frequented regularly as a kid, To mu surprise, I won the door-prize drawing. It was a box of Hershey chocolate bars. A couple of days later I was in the hospital with a serious case of mastoiditis, stemming from an infection in my middle ear. I began a round-the-clock treatment with penicillin shots (in the butt, as I remember). Penicillin had only recently become available. Arthur Fleming had won the Nobel Prize in 1945 for its discovery in 1928. My Mom thoughtfully brought in a small radio so I would have something to listen to. Radios in those days were powered by tubes that got hot. Without thinking, I put the box of Hershey bars, which mom had also thoughtfully brought, on top of the radio. Of course, they melted. Nonetheless, I licked up the gooey mess. I don’t recall thinking there was a lesson to be learned here. Even now, I’m not certain what the lesson might be. I do remember I enjoyed the melted Hershey bar. Perhaps that’s the lesson. One can enjoy the consequences of one’s errors.