Tonsils

Okay, getting your tonsils out isn't exactly what one would call fun. The baloney about eating all the ice cream you want afterward is a great idea, except that your throat hurts so bad you don't want to eat ice cream. At least that's the way it was with me.

But two things stood out for me, and obviously meant a lot, since I still remember them. The first was that my father came and stayed in the hospital with me, and we played cribbage. The second was that he bought me a miniature red railroad lantern, that I still have.