A Matter of Life or Death
Paris, 1937
It was late afternoon by the time the young American woman reached Pasteur institute. There was no one around except for an old man sweeping the yard. Good afternoon, Mademoiselle," He said politely, "May I help you?"
"Oh no, I am merely came to see…" She said.
"You want to see the great Louis Pasteur?" asked the old man.
"I am training to be a teacher, and next semester we are doing a project on him." the woman said.
Suddenly, thunder rumbled and heavy rain fell.
"Oh, no!' cried the woman.
"Come in, please, and make yourself comfortable. Mademoiselle, shall I make you some coffee?" he asked.
"Oh, thank you," she answered him.
The old room was part of the shed that he lived in, and part of the large storeroom that held dusty lab supplies. The man said, "Mademoiselle, shall I tell you a story about Monsieur Pasteur?"
"Sure, why not?" the lady replied.
He carefully poured the coffee into two chipped mugs as he launched into his tale.
"It was in 1885 that monsieur Pasteur was studying the disease Rabies. You are familiar with the disease?"
"Why, of course!" replied the woman
"He had made a vaccine out of the back bones of rabbits. Rabbits that died from Rabies."
The woman listened patiently as she sipped her coffee
"He weakened the germs hoping to find a vaccine for Rabies."
There was another flash of thunder. ''Suddenly there was a knock at his door. A mother with her child came in. The child's name was Joseph Meister. He had just been bitten by a Rabid dog"
"A Rabid dog!! That's terrible!!" she said.
"He decided to try the vaccine on the boy, or Joseph would DIE. But, this was the 1st time he ever injected it into a human. He had tested it on only dogs, so they never got rabies. But would the same work on humans? It was a matter of life or death. A doctor injected it while Monsieur Pasteur gave advice. Injected? Pah - it was more like being stabbed in the belly! Of course, the boy was scared, very scared. But he was brave and did not cry out." he continued.
"So did he live or die?" she asked.
"He's alive and well! Mademoiselle, I shall pretend no longer. The boy in the story was me. My name is Joseph Meister!! Monsieur Pasteur saved my life. I promised to work with him all my life. As you see, I kept my word."
And their faces wrinkled into smiles as they sipped their coffee.
THE END
It was late afternoon by the time the young American woman reached Pasteur institute. There was no one around except for an old man sweeping the yard. Good afternoon, Mademoiselle," He said politely, "May I help you?"
"Oh no, I am merely came to see…" She said.
"You want to see the great Louis Pasteur?" asked the old man.
"I am training to be a teacher, and next semester we are doing a project on him." the woman said.
Suddenly, thunder rumbled and heavy rain fell.
"Oh, no!' cried the woman.
"Come in, please, and make yourself comfortable. Mademoiselle, shall I make you some coffee?" he asked.
"Oh, thank you," she answered him.
The old room was part of the shed that he lived in, and part of the large storeroom that held dusty lab supplies. The man said, "Mademoiselle, shall I tell you a story about Monsieur Pasteur?"
"Sure, why not?" the lady replied.
He carefully poured the coffee into two chipped mugs as he launched into his tale.
"It was in 1885 that monsieur Pasteur was studying the disease Rabies. You are familiar with the disease?"
"Why, of course!" replied the woman
"He had made a vaccine out of the back bones of rabbits. Rabbits that died from Rabies."
The woman listened patiently as she sipped her coffee
"He weakened the germs hoping to find a vaccine for Rabies."
There was another flash of thunder. ''Suddenly there was a knock at his door. A mother with her child came in. The child's name was Joseph Meister. He had just been bitten by a Rabid dog"
"A Rabid dog!! That's terrible!!" she said.
"He decided to try the vaccine on the boy, or Joseph would DIE. But, this was the 1st time he ever injected it into a human. He had tested it on only dogs, so they never got rabies. But would the same work on humans? It was a matter of life or death. A doctor injected it while Monsieur Pasteur gave advice. Injected? Pah - it was more like being stabbed in the belly! Of course, the boy was scared, very scared. But he was brave and did not cry out." he continued.
"So did he live or die?" she asked.
"He's alive and well! Mademoiselle, I shall pretend no longer. The boy in the story was me. My name is Joseph Meister!! Monsieur Pasteur saved my life. I promised to work with him all my life. As you see, I kept my word."
And their faces wrinkled into smiles as they sipped their coffee.
THE END
Credits: Nick Arnold
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