19Jan 2011

Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – 1950’s Band-Aid Sheer Strips and Knee Op Progress

I’m happy to report that I’m making a swift recovery from surgery to repair a torn meniscus in my left knee yesterday. I still have all the festive bandages on that were my medical souvenirs, but within a week or so all will be removed and I can scale back to the dainty little strips that normally cover cuts and scrapes.

Back in the 1950’s when this Band-Aid box cranked off the assembly line, it was important to be stylish at all times, even when dressing gushing wounds. This box made going to get a bandage in the bathroom a very cheerful and almost glamorous journey.

Even the packaging of the individual bandages made it look like having a cut was some reason to celebrate. If only that artwork were on the bandages themselves…

Band-Aid boxes were great back in the day, made out of that pristine white metal that always made you feel like a starched white nurses uniform was hanging in the room. Not the thin, ratty cardboard wrappers that surround such products these days, the old stock was meant to aesthetically comfort anyone who had the need or bleed to dip inside, happy families made even happier that a Band-Aid was currently in use amongst them.

Made, of course, by Johnson & Johnson, Band-Aids have always ultimately won my heart. I still experiment with other brands as one of the most thrilling things in the world to me is standing in the medicine aisle of a big drug emporium and trying to find sizes and shapes I don’t have so that I’m prepared for any foreign object or circumstance that may befall a body part. But when I need a sure-fire hit it’s always J&J.

At present, the bandages on my knee are substantially larger than any contained in this box of sheer strips:

The good news is that I have excellent nurses on hand to swap out the ice packs over my bandages every half hour: Nurse Charles Phoenix, who came bearing a hand brace wrist corsage for my sprained wrist (yes, two injuries!)…

… 24 hour nurse Prudence Fenton…

… and nurse Niblet who’s about to nibble my wrist corsage:

And excellent news is I’m told that in just a few days I’ll be back (gently) hopping around and all I’ll need are a few tiny Band-Aid sheer strips!

10 Responses to “Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – 1950’s Band-Aid Sheer Strips and Knee Op Progress”

  1. Mod Betty / RetroRoadmap.com

    Oh wow hon, I hope you heal quickly and safely! Make sure Nurses Phoenix and Niblet come a running whenever you ring your bell!

    LURVE that Bandaid lady- she’s so elegant! Thanks for sharing your fun finds, even from the sick bed.

  2. Christina

    I had the same knee surgery about 3 years ago. The recovery time isn’t too bad if you like having your friends wait on you and bring you fun things to eat, drink, watch, I enjoyed coloring books for some reason, must’ve been the meds. Anyway I still enjoy coloring books and I hope you have a speedy recovery because it looks like you have a lot of nurses to idle away the time with. Enjoyed the Band-Aid presentation. I remember them well, still have an old tin Band Aid box for paperclips.

    Be Well sistah!

  3. Georgia

    Geez- just saw your post! Do hope you’re healing quickly and you’ll be feeling much better very soon!

    Take good care of yourself and let your ‘nurses’ help out as much as possible.

    I hope the wrist corsage helps to make the wrist injury feel better…I do love a wrist corsage and remember how they tended to cure what ails.

    Hugs!

  4. Sally

    Geez, yeah, that BANDAGE on your knee is significantly bigger than the Band-Aids in the box….! Holy Cow! Do heal quickly and well. Looks like you have a top-notch nursing staff there. Everyone looks GREAT in their masks….! Except for that grey one….. (Niblet). He looks like he’s pretty disgusted with that bandage/cast thing hogging up all the good ‘owner lap’ space!

    Thought of you last night as I had a great time being well entertained by the one, the only, David Lindley. You know, he’s got quite the ‘kitsch’ clothing collection….

    Hope you’re up and hopping around the Wonderland real soon!

    .Sally

  5. Heidi Ehrenreich

    It looks like you’ve got better care than Consuala could have provided. And much more festive uniforms. The wrist corsage bonus is such a great idea.

    Bandaids. Kids love them. They now come in all sorts of colors, themes and sizes. They are a status symbol in pre-school. A badge of courage. A colorful distraction. An advertisement that the boo boo was tended to and that the fall was survived.

    I still have a scar on my knee where a stone got embedded when Sheldon Bergman pushed me down in the gravel playground behind PS 22 in Buffalo NY. He had a crush on me, but I told him “no way” so he pushed me down. My first love induced scar. I think, in your honor, and Sheldon’s, I am going to get me a band aid and put it on my ancient boo boo.

    I am sending you all good stuff. Including, lots of laughing. The good thing about knee surgery is it doesn’t hurt to laugh.

    xheidi

  6. Bambi Byrens

    Jeez Louise… At least you have a sense of humour! Heal Fast!

  8. Maria

    Hope you recover quickly…. Cyber and good vibes hug to you!!! I remember the metal band-aid tins! They were great for storing stuff like beads and small rocks (I was a very odd child)…