Dear Friends of Mavis - this blog is mostly dormant. Now and again, if I’ve got news of MG interest — I hope there’ll be more coming soon — I rear my head. Otherwise, it’s bent over the grindstone of The Bankhead Gleaner, which is my gain of function commonplace book.
Leaning in too close to one’s work can be hazardous. In 1874, Lucy A. Osborne (or Osborn, it varies), just 19, and with a luxuriant head of hair, had a terrible accident while at work in a Connecticut button factory. That she survived was miraculous, and for the next six years, on and off, surgeons at St. Luke’s Hospital in New York worked to restore her scalp by grafting 14,000 pieces of millet-sized flesh, much of it taken from their own forearms. Prominent clergymen and society ladies also gave of themselves. Lucy’s is a tragic but remarkable, story. Also noteworthy, and connected to the early days of what came to be called plastic surgery, is the American superstar soprano Alice Nielsen, who had a facial mole that was her trademark. Alice loved her mole until she didn’t love her mole and then she loved and married the doctor who removed her mole and then that ended, too. Alice excelled at high notes and moving on.
These are two of the stories told in the latest Bankhead Gleaner — I think this is number 46, but who’s counting? — and you can read it here, should you care to. If you want to know when they appear — about three times a week — just hit the subscribe button for the Gleaner. Again, just to be clear — these are two separate projects, both published on Substack. I should really just get a job. My apologies to those of you who have received two emails, wishing you all the best, Bill
Boy can you spot (and tell) a great story. The trailer for "Tuesday" is terrific!
Glad to hear from you. Better late than never xx