The baby Michael has a cold. His head is stuffed and he can barely
breathe. Mam worries because its Sunday and the Dispensary for the
poor is closed. If you go to the doctors house and the maid sees youre
from the lower classes she tells you go to the Dispensary where you
belong. If you tell her the child is dying in your arms shell say the doc-
tor is in the country riding his horse.
Mam cries because the baby is struggling to get air through his
mouth. She tries to clear his nostrils with a bit of rolled-up paper but
shes afraid to push it too far up.Dad says,Theres no need for that.Youre
not supposed to be pushing things inside a childs head. It looks like hes
going to kiss the baby. Instead, he has his mouth on the little nose and
hes sucking sucking the bad stuff out of Michaels head. He spits it into
the fire, Michael gives out a loud cry and you can see him drawing the
air into his head and kicking his legs and laughing. Mam looks at Dad
as if he just came down from heaven and Dad says,Thats what we did
in Antrim long before there were doctors riding their horses.
Michael entitles us to a few extra shillings on the dole but Mam says it
isnt enough and now she has to go to the St.Vincent de Paul Society
for food. One night there is a knock on the door and Mam sends me
down to see who it is.There are two men from the St.Vincent de Paul
and they want to see my mother and father. I tell them my parents are
upstairs in Italy and they say,What?
Upstairs where tis dry. Ill tell them.
They want to know what that little shed is beside our front door. I
tell them its the lavatory.They want to know why it isnt in the back of
the house and I tell them its the lavatory for the whole lane and its a
good thing its not in the back of our house or wed have people traips-
ing through our kitchen with buckets that would make you sick.
They say, Are you sure theres one lavatory for the whole lane?
I am.
They say, Mother of God.
Mam calls down from Italy.Whos down there?
The men.
What men?
From the St.Vincent de Paul.
Theyre careful the way they step into the lake in the kitchen and
they make tsk tsk and tut tut noises and they tell one another, Isnt this
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