Feb. 4, 1976... I still have the runs, but the tutor came anyway. I didn't have to go while she was here anyway! I'm glad she came though, because it helps pass the day a little better. I stopped drinking the lemonade as it seems to "go right through" me. It made my diarrhea all foamy and icky. (Not to mention that the runs aren't icky and gross and all of that anyway!) Feb. 9, 1976... I'm sure glad I don't have the runs anymore. Tutor came today. After she left I wrote 2 poems, although I still have to do some changing and correcting. One is about food, and the other is about the bed pans. My idea of comic appeal found its way into the creative outlet of poetry. I figured that everyone could relate to the nastiness of having to use a bed pan even if they never had the misfortune to encounter one; after all, going to the bathroom was funny, if for no other reason than the fact that it brought humanity down to the elemental functions of the smallest insect. No one was above it. "Diarrhea keeps the world running," and as long as I was able to keep laughing it didn't seem so bad. I showed two nonsense poems I had written to my tutor; she rewarded me with a smile. Neither of us mentioned submitting them for the yearly Junior High poetry collection, however. After she departed, I turned toward my lessons. Homework. I held the word in my mind and reflected on my life. The word was befitting of my study habits; all my work was homework this year. When You're In The Hospital I say this from experience For I know it's not much fun, When you just gotta use the facilities... But you can't get up to run! There's a button that you push for a nurse, Located somewhere near your bed, Just hope she gets there in a hurry, Or you've really something to dread. She'll pull out something resembling A well bent silver can... Now you're the center of attention Seated on that cold bed-pan! Different Foods For Different Likes It's a funny thing When you think about foods, Some people eat different things To suit their changing moods. Kids usually eat Just the things they've always liked, While certain teens prefer Only foods that have been spiked. Chinese sit on the floor Eating egg rolls and cooked rice; But to the Spanish in their wide-brimmed hats, Enchiladas are quite nice, There's the cook in fancy restaurants Making fine recipes for "Turtle Stew " And then there's my Mom at home, Concocting some famous "Leftover Brew." There's that fat guy going to Bishops, To get Ambrosia Pie just for fun, And the other guy going to McDonalds for his Twoallbeefpattiesspecialsaucelettuse cheesepicklesonion Onasesameseedbun! Now there was Euell Gibbons in the forest, Eating his "wild hickory nuts," But I heard he had an ulcer, And should have stuck with Pizza Huts! I could go on and on About foods, drinks, sweets and such, But I think I'd better quit now, While I still have the "rhyming touch"! Lauren Isaacson 8th Grade February of 1976