I Think You Feel a Low Blood Sugar Coming On… 1965

by Ann Heaven Roe

My roommate in my sophomore year was a lovely girl named Alice Gill. She and I would go on to become life-long friends. She was a diabetic long before there were blood test kits to determine a person’s sugar level. We lived on 3rd floor North Cunningham. There was a rule that no one was allowed in the basement rec room after 10PM. After studying hard until midnight or later, many times she or I would get a candy bar attack! Where to get a candy bar. Oh, yes, how about in the machine in the rec room? But we’re not allowed down there now. I would say, “Alice, I think you might be having a low blood sugar. Don’t you think so?” She would smile sweetly and say, “Yes, I believe I am!” With that she would put her diabetic ID tags around her neck, and we would sneak and giggle our way down four flights of stairs at the back of the building to the rec room. It was kind of spooky down there at that time of night! Candy in hand we would fly back up the stairs praying that the house mother wouldn’t catch us! Back in our room we would laugh at another successful adventure and thoroughly enjoy our contraband candy! We never did get caught.