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Clues to Cherry's Hidden Past
When we first meet Cherry Ames, she is eighteen years old and about to leave home to attend nursing school at Spencer Hospital. But what was her life like before that? What influences formed her? A close examination yields a few clues to Cherry's elusive past.
Cherry and her twin brother, Charlie, were born to Edith Anderly Ames on December 24. They were delivered by Dr. Joseph Fortune; Charlie is a few minutes older than Cherry (for example, Student Nurse, Clinic Nurse). |
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A Cherry by Any Other Name ...
Cherry or Charity? Legal name or nickname? Even Cherry's not sure. Click here to read more!
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When Cherry was three years old, while she was visiting her Aunt Cora and Uncle Jim Ames (actually older cousins), in Iowa, she fell in a duckpond (Rural Nurse). Presumably, she was fished out again, but the details of the rescue are not available. What is known is that Cherry later became a strong swimmer (Camp Nurse), possibly as a reaction to this dunking.
Cherry lost a tooth when she was five (Ski Nurse Mystery).
Grammar School Years
Every year through grammar school and high school, Cherry and Charlie hosted a joint birthday party with all the neighborhood young people--"forty or fifty of them playing games and stuffing on birthday cake" (Army Nurse, p. 14).As a little girl, Cherry was fascinated by "The Red Shoes," the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale about vain Karen, whose red shoes almost danced her into the grave. After her father read the story to her, Cherry says she "was always crazy about red shoes and used to pretend mine were magic" (Mountaineer Nurse, p. 208).
There is further evidence of Cherry's early belief in the supernatural; as a child, she also firmly believed that the Pendleton house--a grim, gabled stone house in her neighborhood--was haunted (Veterans' Nurse).
Cherry and Charlie liked to slide down the banister at their home when they were seven (Private Duty Nurse).
When they were in the third grade, one of Cherry's classmates had epileptic seizures (Book of First Aid and Home Nursing). Cherry's class at school also included students who had hives (Book of First Aid and Home Nursing). It is impossible to say how this early exposure to affliction may have influenced Cherry's eventual career choice.
When Cherry and Charlie were ten, Charlie got stuck in a tree on their grandparents' farm and had to be rescued by the fire department (Book of First Aid and Home Nursing). What effect this had on Cherry, we can only speculate.
Charlie had a pet garter snake in his room when the twins were ten, but Cherry--revealing early evidence of a compassionate nature--never objected to it. Their mother, however, did, and said snake was summarily banished (Book of First Aid and Home Nursing).
Though Cherry took piano lessons, she cannot play well (Private Duty Nurse). Indeed, she also lacks the abilty to sing (Private Duty Nurse), but there is no evidence that she ever attempted to remedy this deficiency by taking singing lessons.
During her childhood, Cherry was afflicted by measles, mumps, and chicken pox (Country Doctor's Nurse).
When Cherry and Charlie were both recuperating from an undisclosed illness at age twelve--perhaps a bout of the aforementioned measles, mumps, or chicken pox?--their mother had a hard time with the "rebellious little convalescents." She kept them quiet by putting them to work making maps, puzzles, and games for younger sick children. "Cherry had labored over a map of the United States, each piece of the puzzle a separate state. Then, at the last minute, tiny Rhode Island had disappeared. Cherry had been on the verge of tears until Charlie, howling with impish laughter, had produced it from the pocket of his pajama jacket" (Mountaineer Nurse, p. 94).
The principal of Cherry's school put Charlie and Cherry in separate classes with different teachers, because they each expected the other to do all the work (Dude Ranch Nurse).
High School Years
Cherry and Charlie attended Hilton High School in their hometown. One of their classmates was Sherman Harden, who would later become city editor of Hilton's County News and a patient of Cherry's (Clinic Nurse). Two other classmates, who were seniors when Cherry and Charlie were freshmen, were Kitty Lane and Rachel Poole (Rest Home Nurse).In high school, in the school cafeteria, Cherry once slipped on a cup of soup spilled by another student, hurt her back, had to go to the doctor, and limped for a week (Book of First Aid and Home Nursing). Years later, Cherry would again injure her back in a fall during an air evacuation mission (Flight Nurse).
Cherry once covered her face with a mud pack that hardened, and she couldn't get it off for six hours; Charlie helpfully offered to use a hammer (Visiting Nurse).
While Cherry was in high school, Molly Fortune, Dr. Joe's wife and Midge's mother, died (for example, Student Nurse). Cherry often helped out with housekeeping chores while Dr. Joe conducted research in his home laboratory, and his dedication eventually inspired her to become a nurse.
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Cherry's Purr-suit of Nursing
Who really deserves the credit for setting Cherry on the path to nursing? Was it Dr. Joe or a fetching feline? Click here to read more!
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When they were sixteen, Cherry and Charlie gave an outdoor summer party for forty friends (Student Nurse).
Cherry's worst subject was mathematics (Ski Nurse Mystery); in fact, she flunked algebra in high school (At Hilton Hospital). Subjects that Cherry studied in high school include bookkeeping, algebra, and geometry (Country Doctor's Nurse), and biology and chemistry (Student Nurse).
Although Cherry's brother, Charlie, spent at least two summers at the Bluewater Boys' Camp (where he is later a camp counselor) when he was in his teens (Clinic Nurse, whether Cherry was ever afforded a similar opportunity to attend a girls' camp is unknown. As an adult, however, she did eventually work at a girls' camp (Camp Nurse).
Before Cherry and Charlie went away to school, their father made them memorize the correct portrait on every denomination of paper money, because he felt that every citizen had a duty to try to wipe out counterfeiting (Clinic Nurse).
These, then, are the events and choices that shaped Cherry Ames before she boarded the train to Spencer Hospital one fine day, and began her storied career in nursing.
Copyright © 1996-2003. All rights reserved.
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