Reading the letter from J. A. of Nutley, N. J. (November 1972) brought to mind what happened to me several years ago, when I was 16, and dating a girl who had an older sister, a graduate nurse. I visited my girl's home frequently and often stayed overnight in the guest room. One weekend, Nancy's parents were away but Karen was home from her hospital job, to supervise us really. I woke up on the Saturday morning with a stomach ache and told Nancy, who called her sister.

Karen insisted that she take my temperature and fetched a white thermometer case and a jar of Vaseline. Only when she smeared the thermometer with Vaseline did I realize what she was going to do. I felt like leaping out of bed and hiding, but was too embarrassed to move. I hardly felt a thing except the gently probing of the thermometer as she pushed it in, but she put her hand over my buttocks to hold the thermometer in place and that really caused me to have and erection, covered by my pajama shirt, thank goodness.

Since I had a slight fever and stomach cramps, Karen suggested a mild enema would pep me up. When I said I'd rather not, she only laughed and said it wouldn't hurt. She told me to lie still and relax. A minute or two later, Karen was back with her small feminine hygiene kit and was attaching a small enema tip to the rubber hose. I guess she gave me the enema very slowly because I felt no discomfort at all. A few moments later I went to the bathroom and, sure enough, I felt much better during breakfast. Nancy didn't even mention the incident during the day and neither did Karen, much to my relief.

That evening before bed, Karen came into Nancy's room where we were listening to records and announced it was temperature time again. My face was as red as a beet but Nancy went off to the bathroom while Karen took me to her room where again it was bare bottoms up for her thermometer!

Four years ago I married Nancy after she graduated from nursing school. She's a great wife but when sickness comes along out comes the old rectal thermometer and it's bottoms up again. I really don't mind rectal and I take hers that way, too. The only thing I don't like is that Nancy will leave the thermometer and Vaseline out when I'm sick and just about everyone knows what it's for. R.W., Waterloo, Iowa (May 1973)