Vicks Repercussions

FROM WHERE I SIT  VICKS REPERCUSSIONS  11/5/13 PAT DEKOK SPILSETH

The weather outside is frightful.  Though the calendar tells me it’s November, chocolate bars still fill bowls near the door where I greeted the visiting witches and goblins mumbling “Trick or Treat”.  I love seeing the little tykes coming to my door with their pumpkins and parents.  But I’m gracious to teenagers who can’t give up the ghost and still want to trick or treat.   After all, it still pains me to remember hearing the grumpy guy who told me “you’re too big!” when I rang his bell in my yearly witches’ costume. 

Snow is expected tonight as temperatures dip.  Docks and boat lifts still dot the lake, and fog coats the air so thickly that I can’t see across Carmen’s Bay.   I feel a cold coming on; aches and pains are creeping into my body, making me feel my advancing age.  Time to swallow the Ibuprofen tablets and apply Vicks under my nose.  I haven’t resorted to hanging a clove of garlic around my neck.  I still enjoy being with friends; I know they’d turn up their noses at the garlic, but my friends do use Vicks and like its odor.

A previous column about the medicinal  ingredients in Vick’s little blue and green bottle had emails flashing on my computer, phone calls and notes from folks.  Many other affectionadios of that little bottle share my affinity for the pungent medication that cures without a doctor visit and costly prescription.  But even Vicks has increased its price.  My movie star cousin Beverly noted that her tiny bottle of the salve cost over $7.00 at Walgreens.  Not only does she use the stinky salve for colds, but she greases her hands with it too.  So many soothing applications are possible.

Fargo reader Barb, who taught in Glenwood back in the late 50’s, has 3 bottles of the magical mix on hand.  Some who heard that my mom Esther actually swallowed a glob of the salve when she had a cold and sore throat exclaimed, “Did she REALLY DO THAT?  That’s disgusting!”  But it worked...

Others wanted to know where to buy a bottle of cod liver oil.  That fishy smelling liquor must be available at health food stores as well as some drug stores.  

Allergies are another menace this season.  Stuffed noses, throbbing sinus, fevers and chills demand a remedy.  Buddy, my Beagle sidekick, suffers from snuffles.  My vet told me to give him the little pink pill others use for allergies.  Covered with a dab of creamy butter on a muffin, he gobbles the muffin and pill in one gulp.  It’s been no trouble for Buddy to take his pill if I simply say the word TREAT.  In a flash Buddy is off to the laundry room, where treats are stored.  The pill hasn’t quieted his snores, but they’re sweet as he snuggles in Grandma’s rocker my office as I type my columns.  

Boxes of Kleenex appear in every room of my house.  Sneezes, coughs, watery eyes and nose blowing seem to pass from Dave to me to Buddy to guests.  The paper tissues are so convenient, but I do miss the soft cotton hankies Mom would wash, iron, and fold into four squares to tuck in my pockets.  They didn’t irritate my nose so I didn’t develop a huge, red nose.  

Handkerchiefs are kinder to a tender nose, ballooned and reddened with repeated blowing and sneezing.  My nose hurts when I reach for a paper tissue, but Mom’s dainty squarers of cotton hankies are perfect.  They’re stored next to my Vick’s bottle in the night stand next to my bed.

Remember when Moms used to tuck their hankies in their apron pockets or the sleeves and tops of their house dresses?  Often that enhanced their bosoms.  Today, the only time I see a lace or linen hanky is at a wedding, sometimes a funeral.  Hankies seem to be comfort signs to nervous brides and sad mourners.

A November storm is approaching from the west.  The lawn furniture is stored; we’ve mulched some leaves and Thanksgiving pumpkins and Pilgrims decorate the house.  The fire in our fireplace is so inviting so I’ll relax in my red leather chair with Buddy and a good mystery.  Let it snow; let it snow; let it snow...  727