Old Granny Tales

Everyone has heard of old wive's tales involving everything from how to get pregnant to how to get better from illnesses. My Granny is full of them and everytime she tells me a new one I usually drop my jaw because I am so shocked by the craziness of it all. I decided that I need to document some of her more crazy tales. A quick background of her is she is 83 years old, of relatively good health, on husband number four and the first three are dead and she grew up in the backwoods of central Florida, right down to the horse and buggy and outhouses. I love her dearly and I even named my daughter after her, Violet.

Whenever she spouts one of her Granny Tales it is always out of nowhere and rarely involves the topic of conversation. Thus making the tale that much funnier for those listening in. This one involves thrush in babies. I know first hand what thrush is as my daughter and I experienced it when she was 12 months old. Here is how this particular Granny Tale goes. To cure thrush in a baby all that has to be done is for a man that has never met his father has to blow in the child's mouth. The story is a relative of mine his father died when his mom was 6 months pregnant with him (in fact the father died at 21 years old). His whole life people everywhere had him travel great distances to blow in their sick child's mouth. It would cure them every time. If a person tried genetian violet (remedy used at the time and at times still is used as a homeopathic remedy) it would turn everything the liquid touched purple for days and clothes permanently. Instead mothers would search out this man in my family and have him cure their young. My Granny firmly believes in this remedy today and will fight you back if you mention science or absurd propaganda that it does not work. She will then go into detail about how people her whole young adult life would come up to her and tell her how (I believe her great-grandfather) he cured their children. She will tell you exact first and last names of those that told her it worked. She says it is not used much anymore since it is hard to find a man where his father died before he was born. She believes it so strongly which is what makes me chuckle.

Don't get me started on how she proved my daughter would be a girl before she was born.

For next time....how to cure warts...trust me this is the weirdest one yet!