“I told him if he’d stay off of it, it might plumb heal up. I believe in healing.”
Last night’s video: Common Folks 3.
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“I’ve accomplished a right smart this morning.” ——————- Tipper Overheard: snippets of conversation I overhear in Southern Appalachia
As a kid, we didn’t go to no doctor cause dad couldn’t afford it. I split my heel on a nail. Should had stitches but nope , dad just got the kerosene out and poured it on there. Or if had a tooth ache, he would go and get his home made moonshine and we would hold it on there. Never had no doctoring.
This is for everyone that replied to my comment, I knew I had spelled paregoric wrong. This is for the Texas Farm Girl, just as you said it seem like us country kids always had a cut, stumped toe, nail in our foot or something else wrong especially during summer months when we went barefooted. I have plenty of scars to prove it. It could be tough sometimes trying to hop around on two sore feet at the same time. Somehow I never had any broke bones that I was aware of. I did take out a good many of my front baby teeth with a bicycle and a low tree limb. The tooth fairy let me down that time! Like I said yesterday, what we don’t get told is how much of these things it takes to be unhealthy. Ed, a local pharmacy got busted during my youth for selling paregoric without having a prescription. How many have used Rock and Rye, honey, and lemon juice and sometimes hard candy for cough syrup? Some of the old time country doctors would even tell you to give it to your children. I like to joke and tell people I am big as I am today because of going barefoot and and what are now called free range chickens. A lot of fertilizer between my toes when I was growing up,
I’m another believer! A body can do amazing things, given a chance.
I’ve used plumb to make a point. I’m plumb crazy about… I’m plumb tuckered out after all that work. I’ve said “lay off “ to mean to stop doing something. Yes, I do believe in healing! God heals in many ways, through remedies, through medication through doctors and nurses, because God gave all these to be His hands and feet to heal. God can heal directly with no help from anyone or anything. God can give the ultimate healing of transforming our bodies to be perfect as we enter in His heavenly kingdom of glory and that is the finial healing when we leave this earth. All healings are according to how God will’s them for our good and for His glory.
I wonder sometimes how we kids made it to adulthood. We didn’t run to the doctor every time something was wrong with us. There were so many home remedies that would be unheard of now, enough to have killed us. Plumb was and is still used quite a bit by my family. You get injured and it’s done turned plumb red, plumb foolish, plumb crazy, plumb forgot about it. I heard my Daddy say when my brother had emptied the gas tank from riding around so much one time, “well the gas tank is plumb empty.” Tipper, I enjoyed last night’s reading. I think this may be the best book yet. Verna Mae is something else. Have a wonderful day everyone!!
My grandmother was a believer in the healing power of kerosene. I had many kerosene soaked bandages. For bad congestion I was given a spoonful of sugar with several drops of kerosene. I guess it worked, at least it didn’t kill me.
Yep, sounds just like a busy and/or determined man. Doctor told a man I knew, “When you get tired of the pain we can fix that.” His reply was, “Doc, I can stand pain ” He never did have anything done. I don’t know if Appalachianers are different or if it is more just anybody who does rough work but there is a degree of expectation and acceptance of aches and pains as being ‘just life’. It isn’t heedless, just a refusal to let fear of them control.
I believe in healing too!
My parents always told us kids if we messed something up ” what puts it in takes it out”. I’m getting older and it’s getting harder to live by that nowadays.
My grandpa Nick meets up with his neighbor Ren….
Ren: How are ye, Nick?
Nick: Jist tollible, ye awrite, Ren?
Ren: Naw, all stove up, ain’t no ‘count no how..
We always had to add plumb to stress our statements. I am plumb tired, they plum forgot, and I am plumb crazy about your blog. It stresses everything to the bump umpth degree. Hope everybody has a wonderful week end. Spring is on its way 🙂
Boy, I have heard “ if you want it to get well stay off of it”many times, often times said to me. Me and my friend were talking yesterday about some of the things we did when we were growing up and we got cut or stuck a nail in our foot or had other similar aches and pains.. We mentioned kerosene soaked bandages, mercurochrome, iodine, and the other one methylate, castor oil or paragart (maybe spelled wrong) epson salt and one other, tobacco on bee stings. Now according to the exspurts of today, these treatments should have killed us, but somehow we healed and lived to be old men. We also came to the conclusion that the so called family doctors of today are not much more than a referral service, their hands are tied because of rules and regulations of today and their offices being owned by the large hospitals.
Paregoric. I am almost 87 and well familiar with all of the things you mentioned including stubbed toe.
If what I’m thinking it’s spelled paregoric. You used to could get at the drugstore but only a small amount. It is a tincture of opium or morphine. It really worked but it was (and still is) highly addictive. Too much can stop your breathing.
Amen Randy, truer words were never spoken. Blessings.
Randy, I can sure relate to your post! Yep, us kids always went barefoot and often got cuts, scrapes, nails, splinters, or glass in our feet. The worst to me was a real bad stumped toe. Out would come the kerosene or more often the turpentine. Mama would bandage us up after a good soaking in her remedy. A few times the cut or nail stick was worse than we thought and we would wind up going to the emergency room. We still went barefooted and walked on the bandage. Mama always said watch to make sure a red line doesn’t start going up our leg. She checked it and redone the bandage sometimes more than once per day. She said, a red line meant we had blood poisoning or as she said it, “blood pisoning.” The doctor would give us an antibiotic and sometimes a shot. He would tell us to stay off it until it could heal. Sometimes he had to drain the wound and then bandage us up. He also said wear a sock over the bandage. Mama had all sorts of remedies. A lot of them were those you listed. She also gave us cream of tartar tablets at a certain time of year. She said that was to purify our blood. If we were given an antibiotic, she would also give us a round or two of cream of tartar tablets.
I use home remedies more often than going to the doctor. Nowadays we use essential oils or herbs for just about any ailment. More than once I’ve got rid of infections by taking 5 drops of oregano oil 3 to 4 times per day. It usually takes 5 to 7 days to get rid of it. Pretty much the same amount of time as it takes a regular antibiotic from the doctor.
Our best healing practice for our kids when they were growing up and even to this day for us, our kids, grandkids is prayer. We talk to the Lord about every ailment. None of our kids ever suffered a broken bone or serious illness growing up. However, our youngest son had a cancerous tumor removed from his leg. You can bet along with the medicine, this family was talking to the Lord about it. He has now been cancer free since the surgery in 2019. Every time he goes for a checkup we again commit him to the Lord’s healing hands and ask that no cancer will be found. Yes, we talk to the Lord, but we also use doctors, medicine, and home remedies too as we’re led.
I believe in healing too!
Completely!