A Memorable Day

As a little boy, I grew up in a little town in Northern Utah: Corinne. Each day I walked to school; it was probably about three-quarters of a mile to get there. It happened that I had some kind of intestinal issue, which occurred occasionally: I would first get a taste of liver bile in my throat, and shortly after that, I'd throw up. Every two or three months, the condition would recur.

One morning, as I was getting ready for school, I tasted the liver bile. I said to my mom: "Mom, I don't feel so good; maybe I should stay home from school today."

"You've just got Nine O'Clock fever, Johnny. Go to school!"

So I walked to school, and around 10 AM, I was standing at the blackboard alongside a little Japanese girl named Miyoko Nakano. I turned my head in her direction, and vomited all over her! The teacher jumped in, they called my mother, who came and got me, and I was dismissed for the rest of the day.

Fast forward to about 2017. My wife and I were meeting with the new director of the Citizen's Health Advisory Council for Mountain View. She told us her name was Naomi Nakano Matsumoto. After our meeting, I asked her: "Naomi, where did you grow up?"

She said: "In Northern Utah. Brigham City." (about 7 miles from Corinne)

I asked: "Do you know someone named Miyoko Nakano?"

"Why yes! That's my Aunt Mikki! She lives in Brigham City, and she has 12 kids!" said Naomi.

Then I said: "Next time you're talking to her, mention the name of John Reed. I bet she'll remember me!"

By the way, I asked Doc Moskowitz, father of Peter, what I should do about my abdominal issue. He said, "John, you'll be fine as soon as you get away from your Mom's cooking!" And he was right — once I left my Utah home, I never again had that problem with the liver bile.