Forty-seven: Cold Mountain

Cal's a bit under the weather so I am in full folk medicine force to help him combat this nasty cold. Let me preface this by stating that I am all in favor of using the traditional over-the-counter products to help you get through the working day. Vick's DayQuil is a miracle of modern pharmaceutical wizardry. It can suppress a cold's worst symptoms and creates the impression that you're a functioning person without the never ending mucus trail and the hacking lung cancer cough. It fools you into believing you're a better, stronger and more polished individual a lot like its recreational cousin, tequila.
But there also lies within me a little old Appalachian woman named Erline dressed in brown and blue callico, a frayed cotton apron and worn leather workboots who believes garlic in all its forms can heal all things. I made some chicken soup tonight. The tenderloins were cut in smaller than bite sized pieces because when you have a cold, even chewing can leave you weary. I threw in some rappini for extra immune building head-butting strength, carrots because orange food is always so cheerful when you're sick, green beans to keep the carrots company and mushrooms to give the soup an earthy feel. A whole head of garlic went in that soup too. Erline insisted. She damn near threw the butter churn at me.
Erline will also, if a sore throat appears, mix a concoction of honey, lemon juice and cayenne pepper. This syrup never fails to soothe a ravaged throat and has been credited for stopping the rosary praying coughing fit of 1991 where after a solid 42 minutes of coughing, I truly believed death would soon be slapping me on the back and saying, "Next!"
Erline also swears by a fresh grated ginger infused tea with lemon and honey as the cold and flu cocktail of choice, every 2 hours for the first 36 hours of a cold. Close proximity to a bathroom is a must. Besides a warm mustard poultice and the waving of chicken bones over Cal's forehead, there are other items of comfort to aid and assist a germy and viral assault. We all have our favorites. Cal will often re-read The Wind and the Willows when he's sick and if his head doesn't hurt too much. For me it's saltine crackers, ginger ale and any screen version of a Jane Austen book.
So let's hear it, Eastside Scribes, spill your best cold and flu remedies and/or your favorite cold comforts.