- We step out of the chronology of the story here to hear about a time when Dora and the girls were the busiest they'd ever been.
- It just happened to coincide with a time when Cannery Row was in the middle of an influenza epidemic.
- None of the licensed doctors wanted to treat anyone on Cannery Row because they were "not considered a good financial risk" (16.3).
- So Doc played doctor and Dora sent her girls around with soup and comfort.