Hidden Treasures

Hidden Treasures

If you do not want a kid to have something, do NOT hide it. Kids do not care about things that they are allowed to have. On the other hand, if they are not allowed to have it there is an insurmountable intrigue until the forbidden item is found.

Ruby always hid the Fletcher's Castoria in the high cupboard over the ice box. Once in awhile she would give us a spoonful when our tummies hurt. First off, it didn't taste all that bad. Secondly, it made us feel better. We had within our midst a miracle bottle of forbidden stuff that we were not allowed to have. They hid candy and cupcakes from us, too. This must be even better since they are hiding it so high up in the secret cupboard.

Did Ruby really think a Dixon child would not be able to scale the cupboard by sliding a kitchen chair a few feet across the room? Did she really think that Marian did not have the capacity to boost little Donnie onto the ice box? It was all too easy and we ran off with our prize and imbibed until the bottle was emptied beyond a droplet.

We were able to make the first bathroom run in time because we were playing upstairs near the sight of disposal. But when we were downstairs both Donnie and I made runny poo poo in our little drawers (mine being the kind with lace poofed onto the back of my pretty little undies that made my pedal pushers bulge out in the back).

Ruby cussed like a sailor as she had to follow us upstairs to rinse out our clothes, wash our hineys and dress us for the day...again. During the rinse wash and dress we each had to run to the toilet several times until Ruby thought to ask us what we had gotten into to make us so sick. Donnie and I glanced at each other and said in our small, innocent voices in unison "nothing...." To which brought on Ruby's tirade about "You little house apes expect me to believe you are shitting down your goddam legs for no reason at all? Let me get my switch!"

That's all we needed, a switch across our poor little sore bony backsides! We fessed up about the bottle of Fletcher's Castoria and spent the rest of the day where Ruby parked us in front of the bathroom door, in our skivies and with orders to eat an entire box of saltine crackers.

I have never had another spoonful of Fletcher's Castoria to this day.

Life On South Street