The memory is vivid these 70+ years later. It was summer time and I was staying with my grandparents in Bremerton, Washington. My maternal grandmother was very keen about keeping track of my toilet habits. "Stu, have you had a BM today?" My answer ? "No, Gram." I had been taught to always tell the truth, but this set of circumstances called for a different response. My "No Gram" resulted in a series of steps that soon became routine.
"Well, Stuart, you need to keep regular. If you do not have regular bowel movements, I will have to give you a spoonful of Fletcher's Castoria. If that doesn't work, I'll have to give you an enema." There was always this warning. "You don't want to be like Uncle Al and Uncle Charlie. They have to have enemas every day." Aha! Something to strive towards. Al and Charlie lived in a tiny house on my grandparents' property. I frequently saw Gram headed down there with the enema equipment in its box.
Soon it became a major goal of my life to get the enemas. I loved the enemas. They started when I was six or seven. The first ones were from a bulb syringe, but I soon "graduated" to the 2 quart Rexall bag from the Ivory colored box with a cellophane window. She used the small black nozzle, but my eyes lit up when I saw the longer, larger douche nozzle.
I was intent upon watching the whole process. Gram would test the water from the faucet - not too cold - not too hot. When the temperature was just right, she would hold a bar of Ivory over the opening of the bag such that soon soap suds would come billowing out. The bag was filled to the brim. The black rubber stopper was screwed back in and the bag was hung from the shower curtain rod.
I was across Gram's lap as she sat on the closed toilet seat. My memory tells me that I took most of the bag each time. That was a large volume for a young boy. I don't recall any accidents. She got me onto the toilet seat in plenty of time to expel.
I told this story a few times as an adult. A psychologist colleague of mine observed, "Sounds like your grandmother had a bit of kink." I have always defended her. It was the period of the 1940's and 50's. It's been described as "The Golden Age of Enemas."
Those years of my childhood and adolescence were times when a person rarely saw a doctor. Whatever the malady, the first treatment of choice was one or more enemas.
When I was seven or eight years old, my father was being prepared for some type of diagnostic procedure. The doctor's instruction was "Give enemas until clear." Mom and Dad were in the bathroom for what seemed like hours. My father was screaming. "Ahhhhhhhh" "Ohhhhhhhhhh" I could not tell if these were sounds of pain or pleasure. These 70 plus years later, I still don't know. A part of me wishes they had sent me to one of the sets of grandparents.
In 1961, my parents were selling their Olympia home and moving to a retirement facility. One of the things we discovered was a stack of Penthouse magazines and it sister publication, Penthouse Variations. It was during that time that many of the articles were on the topic of enemas. My father initiated a conversation with me about enemas and the role they played in my parents' marital life.