I was a 1st Lt in the Marine Corps, pilot and on second tour in transports. During a TransPac from MCAS El Toro to Japan and back I became severely constipated (18 day trip)...don't remember having any BM's. Upon arrival back at El Toro I couldn't walk...had to carry me off the airplane..and over to Sick Bay where they "dug" the poop out of me. The Navy Flight Surgeon wanted to see what he was dealing with so after they got me cleaned out did a Barium Enema. He came into the room with a bunch of X-Rays and said, "I've always heard that you Marines have a lot of guts, this is the first time that I've seen physical evidence of it!"
That was the way, at age 23, that I found out about my "Mega Colon" and the source of all my childhood problems.
Well the Navy Flight Surgeon asked if I was living off-base, then wrote out a prescription for me have filled in Laguna Beach. --I wondered why I was to have it filled there instead of at the base but didn't think too much about it. (By the way, didn't try to read it.)
When I got to Laguna, stopped at the drug store where I usually shopped, handed the script to the Druggist...he chuckled and came out from behind the counter and led me over to a rack that held all the douche-enema bags and pointed out that I could chose from the various types; travel, open top, combination, etc. --this was done in a normal speaking voice...but all could hear and the drug store was busy at the time.
I WAS MORTIFIED! --but made my selection (a latex traveler) and my escape!
All I could think about was "that damn Squid" and his sense of humor. I saw him at Happy Hour a couple of weeks a later and made him buy me a drink!
the boxcar