Re: [CH] Holiday Party...really OT big time!

Doug Irvine (dougandmarie@shaw.ca)
Thu, 15 Dec 2005 09:19:54 -0800 

Don, you broke me up! And brought back a memory from the far distant 
past...away back in 1944, during WW 2, I worked at the University of 
Toronto, in the Dept of Physiology for Dr. Charles Best, who along with 
Banting & McLeod discovered that insulin could be extracted from animal 
pancreas, specifically the Islets of the Langerhans beta cells, which 
secrete insulin. Dr. Best was a Commander in the Royal Cdn Navy during 
the war, and research was primarily regarding sea foot, and blood plasma 
subsitutes. I worked in a little lab, where those gentlemen had 
conducted their work some 15 or more years previous. Anyway, every fall 
Toronto has a huge Santa Claus parade, which occurred, war or no war in 
November. As the Parade moved down University Avenue, people at the U of 
T had a ringside view, from the Anatomy lab, where disections were 
taught to the Medical students. The room was fairly dark, as the green 
blinds were always down, but raising one a little gave a great view of 
the parade, of which I was aware, having been there the year previous. 
The odor of formalin was quite strong, however one became accustomed to 
it. There were long rows of tables, covered with rubber tarps, about 3 
ft from the windows. We had a new employee that month who had never been 
in the Anatomy building, and was quite happy to watch the parade from 
such a great vantage point. Well, the parade came along, and it lasts 
for about an hour or more, and he backed up and leaned against one of 
the tables. He then put his hand on the table and encountered a foot, 
which of course was attached to the rest of the body which was under the 
tarp! That was the end of the parade for him, he took off like 
gangbusters, so I followed him, as I did not wish to have him creating a 
big fuss! He grabbed his coat, said " I quit!" and left! As it was close 
to lunch time, he had also left his lunch. Turkey sandwiches. Which were 
quite good. Even if they did not have any chiles in them!  As long ago 
as that was, I can still remember those sandwiches! And I also remember 
his name, Sol Spiegel! Poor guy likely had an aversion to cadavers ever 
after :-) ! Cheers, old Doug on Vancouver Island BC

Rael64 wrote:

>Thank gawd you didn't say that the Feast (man, *what*
>a feast!) was eaten in joy and merriment...amongst
>cadavers and sacrificial rats.
>
>Euuw.
>
>Peace, Hendrix, and Chiles.......
>Don
>
>
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