The Plant From Hell

Apparently God Had Plans For Me. Maybe He Wanted Me To Experience Hell On A Lesser Scale. For Almost Two Weeks I Had To Deal With A Severe Rash That Became Almost Unbearable. It All Came About When I Offered Help To My Daughter In The Collection Of Some Cinder Blocks. We Retrieved Them From An Area That Was Over Grown With Weeds. I Looked Over The Area Carefully Before Picking Them Up. I Always Remembered To Look For Three Leaves Which Equals Poison Ivy. Even Though A Vine-Like Vegetation Was Present Woven Through The Blocks I Chose To Ignore It Since It Did Not Have Three Leaves. Wrong Decision. My Daughter Beckie Told Me She Was A Little Itchy And Decided To Shower Shortly Afterwards. She However Was In A Separate Area In Which She Could Have Come In Contact With Poison.
Approximately Three Days Later A Rash Appeared And My Hell Became Reality. For A Few Days I Tried To Tough It Out And Ignore The Itch. It Almost Became Unbearable. I Began Putting Anti Itch Creams To Relieve The Urge To Scratch. No Signs Of Healing. I Began Putting On A Couple Different Lotions Aimed At Relieving And Healing Of Poison Ivy/Oak,Sumac, & Insect Bites. Slowly The Healing Process Began. Before That However I Would Get Comments From The General Public On The Best Way To Either Prevent Or Conquer The Poison. One Old Timer Whispered In My Ear To Pee On It. I Have Always Listened To The Older Generations Since They Tend To Have More "Home Remedies" Since They Could Not Afford The Over The Counter Drugs Available Years Ago While Growing Up. So Privately I Pee'd On Some Tissue Then Transferred It To The Rash. I Felt Like Calling Him Up To Ask Him Why He Didn't Warn Me It Would Burn Like The Dickens. It Seemed Not To Have Any Effects From It Other Than The Humiliation Of Peeing On My Arm. It Showed Signs Of Healing Yet Others Were Eager To Offer Their Home Remedy To This Dreadful Skin Poison. Another Was Gasoline Mixed With Two Cycle Oil Would Take The Rash Away Within Two Days. If You Come In Contact With It And Place This Mixture On It The Rash May Not Even Appear.
Clearly A Plant Of The Devil Testing Your Tolerance To It. I May Have Prayed Like The Devil But Only By The Grace Of God I Would Eventually Be Healed.
This Reminds Me Of A Day Many Years Ago. At My Sale A Gentleman Asked Me If I Wanted Him To Remove The Poison Ivy That Was Near A Tree I Was Standing. I Showed My Appreciated By His Offer Even Though I Was Unaware It Was There. His Wife Quickly Told Him If He Did What She Thought He Was Going To Do He Could Walk Home. He Began Grabbing It, Pulling It Away. In All The Same Motion He Would Rub It Up And Down His Arm And Around His Face. He Then Explained To Me How Indians Would Take Their Young Into The Woods And Make Them Eat Poison Ivy. Their Little Mouths Would Blister Up Both Inside And Out. However For The Rest Of Their Lives They Would Be Immune To Poison Ivy. I Would Never Go To Those Extremes. I Think From Now On I Will Just Avoid It All Together And Error On The Side Of Caution. Whenever In Doubt, If It's Poison Or Not, Treat It Like It Is. Save Yourself From The Life Of Hell And Stay Clear Of It. I Don't Wish This On My Worse Enemy. I Take That Back. Yes I Would:)