Vicks VapoRub, oh how wonderful!

I was born with allergies and today I still have them.  In fact I spent the first year of my life, according to my mom, mostly in the hospital because they, Dr. Cecil Snyder of Winfield Kansas, could not figure out what was wrong with me.  I just could hardly breath.  In fact Dr. Snyder decided that I should have my tonsils out at the early age of one or there-abouts (that is Osage talk for around that time),  to see if that would help.  To no avail, but they did finally decide that I was allergic to milk, which is a travesty since I grew up on a dairy farm.  I should also note that I was blessed in that we got rid of the dairy cattle by the time I was about 7 or 8 years old.  If you don't understand it is because you never lived on a dairy farm.  The work is never done and you work from before daylight to after dark 7 days a week!  Anyway, back to the allergies and me being sickly.  The doctors and nurses told my folks I would never grow to a very large person because of all my problems.  Did I tell you that in the second grade I was as tall as my teacher, 5 foot 2 inches (Mrs. Casselman )?  They were wrong but they always marveled out how big I got and how fast it occurred.

Now on to Vicks:  I heard a native American last week talk about how his mom would take a glob of Vicks with her finger and put it in his mouth if he ever showed a sore in his mouth or had a cold.   Then she would rub it all over the inside of his mouth.  He read the instructions and told his mom that it was for external use only.   She said, "that is for white men".  I laughed hysterically but I also remember that Vicks was the cure for stuffy nose, allergies, colds and about anything you can think of back in those days.  In fact I loved it because I could breath better.  In fact I would put globs of it below my nose and all over my chest and neck.  Mom used it aggressively as well when she applied it to my body.  It felt a little sticky and greasy but man  it worked.  I really liked pushing a little or a lot of it up my nose.  Awwwwwww, relief!!!!  Great stuff!!!!  I can almost smell it right now!  What a great memory!

Now I will tell you about another great remedy using Udder Balm, but that will be another story.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• Vicks is for kids and adults
• Doctors always set the expectations low but God allows us to have hope and high expectations
• Snorting a little Vicks is good for what ails you

Thanks for listening,
gary
golson21@hotmail.com

go to Amazon and buy my book, "Home on the Range by Gary Olson" and the profits will go to Wings, a community for adults with special needs, like Autism and Down Syndrome etc.