Member-only story
First Self Portrait — First Quarter/Nineteen Years pg41
Colorful companion to my memoir The Incompetent Psychic
There are clear and fuzzy memories of being stuck in traction in the children’s ward for six weeks. Six-year old Beverly lived in the next bed. She was native Canadian, but it was hard to tell she was even a girl because of the burn scars all over her. Her family was killed in a house fire that only she survived. Beverly was mostly healed, and although she was supposed to stay in her bed, she seldom did. No one wanted her or visited her, and she took all my toys to play with. I didn’t mind because the only important things were my drawing pencils (which I hid under my pillow) and the table Daddy made to fit over me so I could get propped up and make drawings. — From Chapter 2
This small watercolor was in the ancient roll of childhood paintings my mother Joan had saved. A note in the top corner in her handwriting says, ‘Mernie October 1959 age 4’. It must have been done after I got out of the hospital as I’m pretty sure the mean nurses wouldn’t allow wet media in the bed. Joan didn’t mind a mess if we were being creative, and there was always space and materials to make and paint stuff while we were growing up.
Other children’s mothers were’t this generous or tolerant of an artsy mess, but the neighbor kids…
