Monday, January 5, 2009

Leg bones


A favorite author of mine is Roald Dahl (1916-1990). He wrote children's books, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but also wrote adult fiction, particularly some great short stories full of irony. I heard it mentioned yesterday that after he had his hip replaced, he kept part of his old thigh bone on his desk as a paperweight (I think I see it in the photo). The story reminds me of the shattered lower leg of Major General Daniel E. Sickles (1819-1914), which was amputated when damaged by a cannonball during the Civil War. He used to visit his leg bones at the Army Medical Museum, now the National Museum of Health and Medicine, where they can be seen to this day!

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