Eyes & Witches & Bears

First time walking into the foyer of St. Joseph Hospital in OKC, I was dumbfounded by it all. My only reference to its artdeco vastness came from some Superman cartoons on TV, so that's the sensation it imparted as we went inside to check me in for first strabismus surgery.

I wasn't frightened by it or by any of the experiences leading up to and including surgery. Doctor King was a nice man and somehow kept me calm and happy through all the exams.

The nurses were nuns and they also treated me very nicely, never doing anything untowards. They even let me keep my battered old hat, a gift from Pooch Sprague, handy while there.

But I still had some nightmares after first stay at the hospital, nightmares about the witches.

A second surgery was required to fully optimize my binocular vision when I was a year older.

That's when trips to doctors offices and hospitals began to become tiresome ordeals for me.

So my parents started wrapping up visits to OKC for my eye doctor appointments with trips to the Lincoln Park Zoo. The reptile house was my favorite exhibit area, but Carmichael the polar bear always impressed me with his size, especially when he stood upright on two paws.

I imagined what it must be like to be so huge and locked away for life inside a tiny exhibit. I didn't like seeing him caged up there. I wanted him to be set free, his exhibit closed down.

I speculated about getting into his exhibit area and telling him in great detail how to escape.