Poison Ivy
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
On June 30, the Times-Union published an article from Scripps Howard by a fellow named Joe Lamp'l, author and Master Gardener, who claims to be an excellent authority on poison ivy. He swears that you can't catch poison ivy by brushing against it. Yes, you can.
Don't tell me about poison ivy. In my youth, I endured more cases of poison ivy than you can shake a stick at. I've gotten it through brushing against it, by leaning against it and even from smoke that comes from a bonfire consisting of poison ivy leaves.
In May 1934, I decided to go swimming in the Tippecanoe River. There was a wooded area nearby where, after I had taken a swim, I decided to doff my swimsuit, and for support, while stepping into my shorts, I leaned my bare posterior back against a tree covered with a pretty green vine which I paid little attention to.
Well, it wasn't long before I found out what that pretty green vine represented. It was poison ivy. For several days I moved about in the privacy of my home exposing a bare posterior. My backside looked as though I had sat down in a mass of soft-boiled egg yolks. I couldn't bear to have anything touch that itching glob of blisters and rash. Furthermore, I couldn't sit down, and I couldn't lie on my back. Believe me, I was a real mess.
However, no one could possibly imagine what a heavenly relief it was when all of that poison was cleared up. And do you know what took care of it? Just plain old Calamine Lotion, which certainly was a godsend. That lovely pink liquid in a bottle dried up the pesky rash and blisters once and for all.
I went through plenty with my bad case of poison ivy, but it was my brother, Glen, who suffered a real dilemma from the effects of the three-leaf toxicodendron, better known as poison ivy. I recall that summer when Glen agonized from a bad case of poison ivy. (He was just as allergic to it as I.) So, one of his cronies decided to give him some advice regarding his miserable state. He informed Glen that if he ate a little of the ivy, he would become immune to it. Therefore, Glen ate a little (which was more than enough), and his throat became so festered and inflamed, that he nearly went crazy.
Then, Glen received advice from another chum stating that if Glen would down a shot of whiskey, the whiskey would burn out the poison. So, Glen took a shot of whiskey, and it nearly killed him. But, he survived. However, never again did my brother ever take any more stupid advice from his cronies in regard to the perfect cure for poison ivy, or for any other ailment he might at attained.
Don Kaiser
Warsaw[[In-content Ad]]
On June 30, the Times-Union published an article from Scripps Howard by a fellow named Joe Lamp'l, author and Master Gardener, who claims to be an excellent authority on poison ivy. He swears that you can't catch poison ivy by brushing against it. Yes, you can.
Don't tell me about poison ivy. In my youth, I endured more cases of poison ivy than you can shake a stick at. I've gotten it through brushing against it, by leaning against it and even from smoke that comes from a bonfire consisting of poison ivy leaves.
In May 1934, I decided to go swimming in the Tippecanoe River. There was a wooded area nearby where, after I had taken a swim, I decided to doff my swimsuit, and for support, while stepping into my shorts, I leaned my bare posterior back against a tree covered with a pretty green vine which I paid little attention to.
Well, it wasn't long before I found out what that pretty green vine represented. It was poison ivy. For several days I moved about in the privacy of my home exposing a bare posterior. My backside looked as though I had sat down in a mass of soft-boiled egg yolks. I couldn't bear to have anything touch that itching glob of blisters and rash. Furthermore, I couldn't sit down, and I couldn't lie on my back. Believe me, I was a real mess.
However, no one could possibly imagine what a heavenly relief it was when all of that poison was cleared up. And do you know what took care of it? Just plain old Calamine Lotion, which certainly was a godsend. That lovely pink liquid in a bottle dried up the pesky rash and blisters once and for all.
I went through plenty with my bad case of poison ivy, but it was my brother, Glen, who suffered a real dilemma from the effects of the three-leaf toxicodendron, better known as poison ivy. I recall that summer when Glen agonized from a bad case of poison ivy. (He was just as allergic to it as I.) So, one of his cronies decided to give him some advice regarding his miserable state. He informed Glen that if he ate a little of the ivy, he would become immune to it. Therefore, Glen ate a little (which was more than enough), and his throat became so festered and inflamed, that he nearly went crazy.
Then, Glen received advice from another chum stating that if Glen would down a shot of whiskey, the whiskey would burn out the poison. So, Glen took a shot of whiskey, and it nearly killed him. But, he survived. However, never again did my brother ever take any more stupid advice from his cronies in regard to the perfect cure for poison ivy, or for any other ailment he might at attained.
Don Kaiser
Warsaw[[In-content Ad]]
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092