The Untold Story About the Birth of Son Number Two

Western South Dakota; 18 February 19501 (Corrected, thanks to an Anonymous comment!)--

This day started early on a Sunday morning; the Mother awoke the Daddy about 0330 in the Hohum, announcing that she thought "today is the day"! This "coded message" could mean only one thing: our second baby (in the olden days, sex was only a speculation by the Doctor, based on criteria like fetal heart rate, phase of the moon and the orientation of the tea leaves among other things, until after the birth!) -- was due.

Even the Daddy was excited by this news; he had nearly died of unfounded fear when his first son was born just 18 months before. About six o'clock, the Mother put in a long-distance call to her parents, who had previously agreed to stay with the Daddy and toddler while the Mother tended to the business of giving birth to the anticipated girl (see method of predetermining baby's sex above). She had purchased yellow blankets and "onezies", hedging on the possibility that the Doctor's prediction was wrong -- wise woman!!

After making the aforementioned telephone call, the Mother set about making a Sunday dinner fit for the guests who would arrive in about three hours. I can't remember the menu she prepared, but needless to say, it was a feast fit for a king and queen! As she toiled to prepare the meal, the Daddy noticed the increasing frequency and relative severity of the Mother's reactions to the labor pains. Finally, about noon all was ready; the guests had arrived and the table was set.

• "Okay, let' s sit down and eat," said the Mother.
• "Yes," echoed the Daddy. "But not you! We are heading for the maternity home (in Spearfish) -- right now!!"

The Mother was surprisingly agreeable on this day and hopped into our second-hand 1942 flat-head Ford V-8. The Daddy tore out of our driveway and headed down US-85 to Spearfish, 10 miles away. The road was not straight, but the curves were decently tilted such that they could all be taken at 60-70 miles per hour. All cars that were not in a hurry were passed with the throttle wide-open, blue smoke from the crankcase oil being "burned" in the engine spewing out the exhaust in a dense cloud. On the straightaway once down in the Red River valley, the old Ford showed its best speed -- the Daddy was fully-occupied watching the road ahead to avoid entering cars, trucks and tractors, so he did not register the top speed, but a blue haze still hung over the valley a half hour later when he returned to Belle Fourche.

Upon entering the Spearfish city limits, the Ford was only slightly throttled back; when the street to turn up neared, the Daddy simply squealed the tires around the corner and hit the gas again, the exhaust emitting more blue smoke. As he pulled up in front of the Calvert Maternity Home, he helped the now-ready Mother into the home's maternity room, then letting out a huge sigh, noticed the City cop slowly driving away; it seems that he saw/heard the commotion/pollution entering "his town" and was determined to "do something about it", but then he realized that maybe it was "an emergency".

The Daddy had barely sat down at the kitchen table to have a cup of coffee with the husband of the house, when the nurse came out to announce, "You have a son!!" And what a son he turned to be!! (See photo on right.) One of a kind.

The Daddy jumped back into the still fuming Ford and made his way (now at legal speeds!!) back to Belle Fourche to inform the Grandparents. When he popped in the door, the Grandmother started chastising him with, "You should have stayed with the Mother until she had the baby!"

The Daddy explained that he had stayed, and that the baby, a boy, was already born and that as soon as they had finished their dinner, we could all go over to Spearfish and see Mother and new baby boy.