Dr. Affeldt asked some questions and carefully palpated my abdomen looking for areas sensitive to pain. After asking more questions, he suggested to mom that she should immediately drive me to St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester, MN for an appendectomy because he thought if she delayed there was a chance my appendix would rupture.
As mom and dad and I were in the car heading 20 miles to Rochester, I remember feeling considerably better the closer we got! "No, we're not going back home!" my folks said.
The surgery went well, my appendix hadn't burst, and after a time in the hospital I was back at home recovering.
I believe that during my recovery, we made a special trip to Dayton's department store in downtown Minneapolis. I was finally able to buy something I has seen at a previous trip to Dayton's and coveted very much: A set of Hopilong Cassidy pistol cap guns complete with a belt holding fake bullets and two holsters. Hopilong was the cowboy of the era!
When I got home with the guns, I wanted to wear them immediately and so put them on and walked up the street to see a girl friend Jane who had been concerned about the outcome of my surgery and wanted to say hello.
The photo below of the back of a toy cowboy sporting twin pistols illustrates how I looked walking up the street to see my girlfriend. (I purchased this from Dreamstime.com for use in this blog)
© Catia70 | Dreamstime.com
Jane and I met on the sidewalk near her house. She was glad to see me and was genuinely concerned about my surgery and subsequent recovery. As we walked together, I suddenly felt embarrassed to be wearing not only one but two shining Hopilong Cassidy cap guns!
After I got home, I removed my prized guns and never wore them again.
