"CATS & GHOSTS"
(snapshot dated March, 1967)

During her years at Yerba Buena, Myrtle Neufeld, the wife of Dr. Ray Neufeld, many times displayed her fine writing skills by contributing very interesting, often humorous stories to the Newsletter. Here are two such pieces from the March, l967 issue:

"Catventures & Meditations"

I am a beautiful, white angora cat. I really do not belong in the clinic, but when there is a rat problem a cat likes to help out.

So every night I silently steal from corner to corner and from room to room, pouncing upon the evil creatures that trouble those poor humans so.

One night recently I had a terrible experience. I went creeping up on the rafters along the wall and decided to cross to the side. "Nope, I better not," said I to myself when half way over, "but how can I get down from here? Oh, that's easy after all! There's a bed right below." I landed and there was a terrible shriek. What could be the matter? I ran for my life... and now, they are all talking about me! How was I supposed to know that that girl had just been operated on and that I landed right on her incision? I've been thinking, they really do need a new hospital around here!

******

"Ghosts!"

A week ago at the clinic we were suddenly brought to the realization that we indeed live in the land of the enemy. A middle-aged man came 200 miles to have his bilateral hernias repaired. During the examination the patient offered the following story:

He had been to a witch doctor who had promised to have his hernias cured by the "invisibles" (een-vee-see-blays), who do their work in the night without waking the patient, "no mars, no scars." All he had to do was pay $l,200 pesos ($96.00 dollars), go to bed, and get up in the morning -- healed!

He did get up in the morning, but he still had his hernias. The "invisible" was gone and so was his money. He sent the law after his money -- but no success. He brought himself to Yerba Buena and is now recovering from an operation -- with success. This time he will have "scars" to remind him of his surgery experience.

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