Cure For The Chicken Pox

We did not have our shots when we were little like they do now. You start your little ones getting their shots at age 6 weeks, but back then parents did not inoculate every child. We went through all those childhood diseases such as measles, mumps, and chicken pox. They were miserable and itchy and in some cases embarrassing, but we made it through..

When I was 7 , I had the unfortunate experience of getting the Chicken Pox . In those days if someone had chicken pox you did not isolate the child, you took your kid over so they could have them and get it over with.

My Daddy was an interesting concoction of superstition, healer, and denier of all things medical, but on this day he told me he had a cure for my chicken pox.

He started walking to the many brooder houses we had for chickens in the side yard and I took off behind him. I was getting a little nervous because I spent more than enough time in the cages gathering and candling eggs that I had no desire to have anything to do with those chickens. You did not dare voice concerns or disobey daddy, so I followed him to the front of the largest cage.

It was an interesting experience for me, because I had an inquisitive mind and daddy said he had a cure for chicken pox. In my 7 year old mind I was already thinking, this could be big! lol

He said, "take your shoes off" and I started to squirm a little. I never went into the chicken coop without shoes or it would be a squishy, smelling mess for what I thought would be years to come, but I silently took off my shoes and looked to daddy for the next direction.

With some trepidation and my shoes removed, daddy opened the chicken coop door and motioned for me to go in. I immediately thought this is not going to be any fun and I entered the coop. There were two levels of long poles that the chickens roosted on and all around the outside walls were little bins filled with straw for them to lay eggs. I picked my way over to the side thinking we were going to be getting a few eggs and I might get something good to eat.

Then Daddy said "go over there Glorann" and he motioned underneath the tallest roosting pole. I walked over or slunk over there slowly and positioned myself under the first and tallest pole. This sent the chickens into flapping and clucking because I was invading their territory.

He then said, "now Glorann, I want you to walk underneath these roost 3 times." My eyes opened wide because I was old enough to know that the chicken poop was going to go in between my toes and I hesitated, which made him give me a look.

I gulped and started marching underneath the roost.. I could feel the poop squish in between my toes, and I could smell the chickens and hear the flapping. It took every thing a body could do to finish one turn but I kept walking and crawling til I got to the end. The roost were different heights so that when you made it to the end of the walk, you were crawling to get under the chickens.

When I ended one pass, I started another. The poop was now on the top of my feet, my hands and legs. My feet were sliding as I tried to complete another turn. The second pass completed, I started my third pass gingerly stepping to try to keep myself afloat and to finish this up as quickly as I could.

When I was done, daddy said. " now go wash yourself off with the hose" and off I went. He seemed confident that I would be cured so I went back into the house to goop myself up with calamine lotion. At night daddy tied socks on my hands so that I could not scratch myself to death, because the itch is like nothing you have felt unless you have had those dreaded chicken pox.

Daddy thought it would cure me and it did.

My Chicken Pox went away in 10-14 days and daddy just knew it was all due to walking and crawling underneath the chickens.
All I really got from it was a chicken poop smell that lasted 3 days, but daddy meant well.. lol

( I tried to take a clear picture of the chickens. I could not get a good one, but I tried)

Gloria Peacock Kimmel Oct 21 2015