Re: Quarantines of Old

Lew: When I was a youngster, a yellow “quarantine” sign would be placed at the front door of any house where an occupant had been diagnosed with a communicable disease. The sign did not imprison any of us, but served as a warning to others. There were no government agencies surrounding the house to keep us in, but it was understood by each of us in our family that our remaining inside was an act of responsibility so as not to infect others. This was true even for homes in which a family member had come down with polio, a disease that did not pass by contact with others, but for which everyone had a rational [i.e., not hysterical] fear.

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8:41 pm on October 6, 2014