When I was very young, about 6, my parents took me to the local theme park for some fun. I was hanging out in the kiddie rides section and took a trip on the tiny Ferris wheel for tots. The girl who shared my compartment was wearing a dirty dress and she was covered with red spots. She probably had chicken pox, but I didn’t learn about the pox until second grade. Being a Catholic school girl, I had, however, heard all sorts of stories about leprosy, so the whole time I was on the Ferris wheel with the dirty girl, I worried about touching her accidentally and contracting leprosy. Of course, nothing of the sort happened.
This article appears in May 10 • 2002.