My name is Benjamin Harris. Three years ago, I was sixteen and a junior in high school. My parents and I had moved from California to a small town in Arizona named Desertville. I believe that one factor for our move was because my father grew up in Desertville. They both worked for T.S.I aka Top Secret Institute, government stuff. I had no clue of what type of "top secret" work they did because they would never talk to me about their job.
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Little did I know that soon I would meet a pretty girl named Marley at a diner. I'd also eat some really good pie. She caught my attention as I walked into the diner. She sat by me and started a conversation. That conversation we would have, would lead to a life changing event.
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Back in Cali, we left my aunt, uncle, and cousin James who was an only child like me. We also left my grandfather who I was very close to. Even though we had left all of my family back in California, I could say that the move was not tough for me, because the reality was, James was the only person that I hung out with at school, so I wasn't really leaving anything too important behind.
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James and I were pretty much brothers. The same age, grade, and almost birthday. He was born July 12, and I August 12.
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It had only been 2 weeks since the move from California to Arizona, and I was unpacking stuff upstairs in my room.
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I felt my neck was bothering me again, sometimes it would be my back too; the pain came often.
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"Hey Dad? Can we make an appointment with Dr. Clyde, that thing is happening again." I asked Dad as I walked downstairs to the living room where he was. He was sitting on the couch changing the channel with the remote. The TV changed from Aliens with Ellen Ripley to the cartoon Hercules.
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"Some aliens don't look like that," Dad said under his breath. Then he turned to me.
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"Is it your back or your neck?" he asked.
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"It's just my neck. Do they look like the ones with giant black eyes?" I rubbed the back of my neck to help relieve the pain.
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"No. Not all of them," he said.
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I questioned how Dad knew that. Maybe it had something to do with him working on top secret government stuff. I nodded at his comment.
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"Okay. I'll call him to see if he is there today. I'm just glad we can drive to Clyde's clinic right down the street," he said.
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"Okay, thanks Dad," I said, rubbing my forehead now. I felt like I was getting a headache from all the pain. I could barely turn my neck.
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Dad was referring to the past when Mom had to make house calls to Dr. Clyde. He would come to our house and treat the issue in my neck and back. Sometimes we would also drive all the way to Arizona just for a 20-minute appointment. I figured that this might also be another reason for the move.
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"Okay. Sounds good. See you at 12:30 pm," I heard Dad say on the phone, while I was in the kitchen.
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"Who was that?" Mom came downstairs. She had been upstairs unpacking stuff.
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"Clyde," Dad said.
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"Oh. Hunny, is it your neck again or back?" she asked me. I walked out the kitchen and came back to the living room.
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"My neck," I said.
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She nodded and looked worried.
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"We should eat before we go. I'll make us something, maybe pancakes?"
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"I never get tired of those," I said.
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By the time we all had finished eating our pancakes, it was almost time to leave. I looked at the bag of cassava flour that was still open (I closed it since Mom forgot to).
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I went over to the fridge where dad was standing and pouring himself a cup of coffee.
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"Alright, we can go to the store today or tomorrow hunny," Dad told Mom.
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"Okay. I'm happy to hear that. I'll go grab my purse and put my shoes on," Mom said. They had been discussing buying a new table, since we were without one after the move.
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"How's work and everything Dad?" I asked him. "You know with the new job? Did you guys get a new job or do you still work for the government...?" I was aware that they had gone back to work since the move, I just wasn't sure of where but I had a feeling it was still with the T.S.I. and I was curious to know.
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"Yeah. Still for the government, and it's about the same." He sipped his coffee.
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"T.S.I or....?"
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"Yeah. T.S.I."
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"So will you guys have to drive back and forth to Cali for work to you know...???"
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"No. There's another facility out here that your mother and I will go to. Are you ready to go to Desertville High School?" He seemed like he was trying to change the subject.
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"I don't know. I think it's gonna suck since I'm not going to school with James anymore. But then again, I still think it'll be pretty cool going to the same school you went to," I said.
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He patted me on the shoulder and smiled. "That's great, I'm happy to hear that."
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That was probably the only thing I would ever hear about their job. They were very conscious of not telling me anything about it EVER. All I knew was that they worked at T.S.I, and that they worked Monday through Friday from 9am to 6pm. It was the same thing in California and now I knew it would be the same thing in Arizona.
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"I think I should get my shoes on. We should be leaving in a few minutes," He looked at his watch and sipped more of his coffee. "We need to get you to Dr. Clyde so he can use that device thing again," he said.
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Dr. Clyde had created a device called the Clydescope. It fixed the bone in my neck that kept dislocating. As Dr. Clyde put it, it digitally readjusted the bone in my neck, putting it back in its place.
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It looked like a borescope mixed with an otoscope. My parents said that when I was a young boy, my spine was crooked and that's when Dr. Clyde came to the rescue. He'd fix my spine with the Clydescope or send me to a nearby chiropractor. He first diagnosed me with Juvenile Disk Disorder then he ended up diagnosing me with Degenerative Disk Disease in my spine as I got older. He said it was very rare in children because it was most common in adults.
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Mom and Dad said I got surgery in my spine when I was an infant. The question of how it was even possible for an infant to have a surgery in their spine, always crossed my mind.
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Then at five I had another surgery to help fix a bone in my neck, I guess it was the one that was still sticking out. I could only remember the surgery vaguely. All I could remember was Mom saying that I grew a foot taller when it was over and that I could stand again. However, the pain in my neck and back remained, even after the surgeries.
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~~~
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We drove down to Dr. Clyde's small clinic which was about 15 minutes by car. I noticed how Desertville didn't seem too small during the drive, but I still considered it a tiny town.
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"Hello, Benjamin!" Dr. Clyde greeted me at the entrance of the door with a hand shake. I felt the cool air coming from inside of the clinic and wanted to run in to escape the heat.
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We walked into the clinic. It had one couch, a desk and a computer chair. There was a black chair for patients, like the one at the dentist.
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"Hi," I said.
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Dr. Clyde was a close family friend of my parents. Dad had told us a few childhood stories of how he had grown up with Dr. Clyde in Desertville, and with some other friends.
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"Ivan. Evelyn. How's it going? How's the move been?" he gave my parents a hug.
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"You know, just trying to get adjusted. Thanks again for helping us move! We really appreciate it," Dad said.
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"No problem. If you guys need any more help, Alan and I, we're here," Dr. Clyde said.
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"Yeah. Thanks," Dad said.
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"He's gotten so big. I remember he was just a little boy," Mom said. She was talking about Alan, Dr. Clyde's son.
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"I know. Kimberly still treats him like one though. I try to remind her that he's a man now," Dr. Clyde said.
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Kimberly Clyde, also known as Mrs. Clyde who was Dr. Clyde's wife. She was my speech therapist when I was six years old. I had a frontal lisp but she helped me to correct it within a few years.
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"Him and Benjamin are both men now," Dad agreed with Clyde.
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"They are growing up fast," Dr. Clyde said, grabbing my shoulder firmly.
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"Thanks," I said.
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"Alright, Ben. You can sit here," he directed me to the black leather chair. I sat in it. There was some of that same paper placed on the chair like one that they put over hospital beds. I was facing a very large window that gave me a view of the empty street. The sun was shining through and beaming on the ground in front of me. I was so glad Dr. Clyde had A/C.
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There seemed to be no other employees at Dr. Clyde's practice. It was just him that I knew of. He sat down in front of me on the rolling stool. My parents were sitting on the couch behind me.
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Dr. Clyde came over to me and checked my eyes with an ophthalmoscope. Then he checked my ears with an otoscope all while making small talk with my parents.
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Dr. Clyde lifted my chin and turned my face side to side, looking for abnormalities, I presumed. He stood up and walked behind me. He checked the back of my neck where the pain was coming from. It was directly where the surgery had been performed. I tried my best to sit up as straight as possible.
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"Hm. Have you been stretching lately?" Dr. Clyde asked.
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"No. I've..." I said but Dad finished the sentence for me.
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"He's been busy with the move."
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"I see. Just make sure you continue stretching. I can only imagine the pain you have been in."
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"Yeah," I said. "This time it feels like something is swollen or like a small bone poking on the inside."
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"Right here?" He put two fingers directly in the middle of the back of my neck. Something for sure felt misplaced.
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"Yeah, I feel it too. You must've gotten taller. Seems like we have to put your bone back into place again," he said.
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That happened every few months to me. Though, I didn't feel like I was getting any taller.
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"Will you need to use that device again?" Mom asked.
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"Yup, just the Clydescope, no chiropractor this time. I'll be right back." He got up and walked into the other room. There were two other rooms right next to each other that had their doors shut. One of the rooms was Dr. Clyde's office and the other, I assumed, was just like the room we were in.
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The next thing, as usual, I removed my shirt so he could evaluate my spine.
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While Mom and Dad were conversating, I turned to them to ask them a question.
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"Can't I just get another surgery?" I said.
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"Are you sure you would like another surgery?" Mom said.
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"Yeah, I do. I know I run the risk of being paralyzed, but I think it will be better than having to go through this every couple of months."
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"We'll ask him. Just expect Clyde to say no," Dad said.
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Dr. Clyde came back into the room with the device (The Clydescope).
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"Okay. Stand up for me please. Remember to try to stand as straight as possible and look straight ahead."
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"Okay," I said. I stared out the large window in front of me. The desert was a hideous place compared to where I had previously lived. But I knew I could get used to it. As I looked out the window, no cars were passing by; it was almost therapeutic. The heat was the only thing that I knew was going to bother me.
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I could feel Dr. Clyde moving the device side to side close to the back of my neck. I could see the reflection of the bright red light emanating from the tip of the Clydescope on the ground. I knew on the other side of the tip of the Clydescope, was a small rectangle screen with a view of my bones.
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Dr. Clyde had shown me how it worked one day by letting me try it on Dad. We didn't move any of Dad's bones, but we were able to get an X-ray of the bones in his neck. No bones would be moved unless you held the red button down on the handle. He explained that it was like an X-ray that could digitally move a bone in the body. However it worked it was still an odd device to me.
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For a quick second, there was extreme pain running down my entire back and neck. Then immediately after, there was an immense relief.
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"Okay, there we go. We are done!" he told me. I moved my neck side to side with no hesitation. Then I rubbed my neck, and there was no weird lump anymore.
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"Thank you," I said.
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"You're welcome."
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"Better?" Dad asked.
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"Yeah," I said as I turned around.
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"Thanks again, Clyde." Dad shook Dr. Clyde's hand.
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"No problem. Anytime. You guys are family. I'll be seeing you around," he said.
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"Dad?" I said.
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"Right. Ben wants to know if he can have another surgery, for you know..." Dad said.
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"You know Ben, it would be better if you kept stretching and keeping your checkups. The surgery is very risky and we don't want you to run the risk of becoming paralyzed."
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I took a deep breath and shook my head. "Alright. I had researched it and thought that there could maybe be a chance that I could get the surgery," I said.
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"I'm sure you did, but it's just too risky."
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"I also have one last question, Dr. Clyde," I said. "Can you remind me of what was the bone that you had replaced when I was five?" I asked him just out of curiosity.
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"Um...It was the uh..." he said and closed his eyes thinking but he looked very unsure. He put his hand to his chin.
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"The degenerative vertebrae," Dad said.
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"Yeah, that. Sorry, Benjamin, I couldn't quite remember," he said.
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"No problem," I nodded.
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"Well, take care, Clyde," Dad said, quickly changing the subject.
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"I will. You guys should stop by tomorrow. We are having a party for my son and his friends. Kimberly is inviting some of her friends as well. Bring your bathing suits, we'll be swimming and barbecuing!"
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"Sounds good," Dad said. "We'll be by tomorrow. Where do you guys live again?"
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"When you leave out of here, make a left, and drive down two lights. Make a right, and then, make a left. Drive down and it will be the 2nd house to your right."
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"We'll call you again for that information," Dad said. They chuckled.
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We left Dr. Clyde's clinic and got into the car. I was so glad Mom immediately turned the air on.
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"Oh my gosh!" Mom said. She was complaining about the heat.
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"You guys hungry?" Dad asked.
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"Yeah, I'm starving," I said.
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Mom laughed, "You guys just ate," she said.
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"That was only a snack hunny," Dad said. "I only had one pancake and a cup of coffee."
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"Two pancakes was a snack?"
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Dad nodded. Mom turned around from the driver's seat and looked at me. Her hair was in a bun and she was wearing a yellow flower dress. Her brown skin was glowing. She looked beautiful. I'm sure Dad thought the same. I saw Dad stare at Mom a few times. She usually didn't wear dresses, only her work attire which was a white blouse and some black slacks.
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I nodded and agreed to it being a snack.
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"There's a Diner, Mom. I saw it passing by. I think it was called..."
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"Yes! Grandma's Diner," Dad remembered.
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"Yeah, that's what it's called I think," I said.
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"I can't believe Audrey's Grandma is still alive..." Dad whispered to himself.
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"Who's Audrey?" Mom asked.
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"Umm..., just some old girlfriend."
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"Can we eat there?" I asked.
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"Even though it's just a hole in the wall, their food is really good."
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"Hunny, hole-in-the-wall restaurants are usually GOOD," she told him.
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"I know. Let's eat there."
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Mom nodded in agreement and put the car in reverse to back out of the parking lot.
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Although I was very hungry, I couldn't stop thinking about how Dr. Clyde could not remember the bone he replaced at my surgery when I was five. Maybe it was because it had been so many years ago. I thought Doctors were supposed to remember that stuff. Right?
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