61

AV & DM inter. M/M Sulk.
- 34 -
8/11/72
Tape 25-2

old places there's coal in them, loose coal you know, it was down left in the
and it was still there, didn't work them places for 35 years nobody worked there
so he said you know what, we'll put a chute in and youse can load that coal
out of that breast in there so he said we'll keep on till he comes back, so that's
what we done, we put the chute in and started shovelin' and we were workin' a
couple days like that and a goddam piece fell off from the top and hit me here
and knocked the bones all out and mashed and splintered them and took the clothes
right off my back down there if that would have hit me here or on the head than
was done for but it hit me here on this arm and down my back so I got up like
this twisted and my daddy looked, i, yoi, yi he said he seen how bad it was
that's hangin' like a rag so when I went to the hospital they didn't do much that
night but next day they came over and sat on my bed the 2 head doctors, they
were 2 good doctors tho, and the sonofagun he was talkin', talkin' about different
ways and that he said how would you feel if you had to lose your arm, well
I said if I have to I have to but I said listen, you know one thing I'm goin'
to tell you I'm a good healer I said I'll take a chance with anything, I said
I think youse are bright enough to fix that up that you don't have to take it
off.

DM: He's also a psychologist

JS: So they finally went out and then come back later on and they sez alright be
ready tomorrow morning for your operation, well I didn't know what it was goin'
to be, so finally when they took me in the dispensary to operate on my arm, or
whatever they were goin' to do there was a fellow that lived right up above
the upper house he lived up in there and he seen what was goin' on,
they took him in instead of me, but then when they seen the doctors comin'
the sez, they hollered out to the nurse, send that man in youse sent the wrong
fellow in so they so they left him in on the stretcher, you know he seen what
they were doin' so he said when they stripped it down and the bones and everything