Author Archives: Troy Furniss

Love or Riches

Informant: My informant, G.L., is 19 and was born and raised in West Lake Village. G.L. parents both run their own company together. She has one older brother and her family is mainly Italian but is completely Americanized.

Folklore: “When money stops coming through the door, love flies out the window.” G.L. heard this story from her dad after he found out one of his friends from college was getting divorced to his wife of 20 years after going through financial problems for several years. He told her this saying as a lesson for her to never let money be the reason to get in the way of a relationship. She said that her parents have been together for almost 30 years now, and have never considered getting a divorce even when her family was struggling financially when they first got married.

Analysis: I’ve never heard this piece of folklore like this but have always heard of people splitting up because of their financial status. To me it just felt like this was common sense because people who are constantly struggling to make ends meet usually lose their love along the way. This is a very common phrase known around the world now, and its origin is unknown.

Upset Stomach Remedy

Informant: My informant, G.L., is 19 and was born and raised in West Lake Village. G.L. parents both run their own company together. She has one older brother and her family is mainly Italian but is completely Americanized.

Folklore: “The ingredients and instructions to cure a stomach ache for a baby or small child was taught to me by my mom. When a baby has an upset stomach, you boil water and when it reaches boiling temperature you mix in fresh mint in the water. You’re supposed to let it keep boiling for ten to fifteen minutes and then let it cool to room temperature. Once it’s cooled down, you put the mixture in a baby bottle and feed it to the baby and it’s supposed to settle the baby’s stomach.” G.L. learned this recipe from her mom when she decided to start babysitting when she was in middle school. Her mom wouldn’t necessarily call it a family recipe, but more of common, natural cure she learned from her small town growing up. G.L. said she’s only need to use the cure once when she was babysitting and said it actually worked.

Analysis: I’ve never heard of this cure before, but when I asked my mom she said she used the exact same process when she was taking care of me when I was a baby. I tried to find the origin of the cure, but it seems to widespread now to try and track down it original origin. G.L. mom claims that her family has known this little trick for many generations now so it could possibly be Italian.

Drinking Proverb

Informant: My informant, L.K., is 19 and was born in New York but raised in Dubrovnik, Croatia from age 5 to 18. L.K. father is working for a tourist agency and part time water polo referee and his mom is a financial manager for a restaurant in Croatia. He has a younger brother and sister with his family being fully Croatian, but has integrated small values from his time in the United States.

Folklore: “Liquor before beer, you’re in the clear. Beer before liquor, never been sicker.” L.K. heard this rule for drinking when he came to the United States his senior year in high school from one of his friends. He told me that everyone from his high school lives by this rule in order to avoid a rough night of blacking out or throwing up. L.K. claims that this rule isn’t actually true and has never affected him anytime he has drunk, but has seemed to work for the people he went to high school with.

Analysis: I have heard this rule when I started drinking in high school from a friend, but I have to agree with L.K. in saying that I don’t actually believe it’s true. Unfortunately, I have had a fair share of nights where I have blacked out, but I have tried to use the rule and have never really worked for me. For me, I believe that the only reason you black out is due to how much alcohol you drink as whole rather in what order you drink it in.

Energy Drink Recipe

Informant: My informant, L.K., is 19 and was born in New York but raised in Dubrovnik, Croatia from age 5 to 18. L.K. father is working for a tourist agency and part time water polo referee and his mom is a financial manager for a restaurant in Croatia. He has a younger brother and sister with his family being fully Croatian, but has integrated small values from his time in the United States.

Folklore: “The recipe for a homemade energy drink containing:

Spinach

Apple

Lemon juice

Half of a banana

Pineapple

Ginger

Parsley

Plant based powder (bought at local store in Croatia).”

When L.K. reached high school and was still playing water polo, he always seemed to be feeling more tired than when he was younger. School became a lot harder and he was forced to give more effort than he had in the past to try and keep his grades up. He told his dad his situation and told him about the family recipe that his parents had taught him for a homemade energy drink. Every morning he would make the exact same smoothie and he felt that like he was getting his energy back. He still uses the same recipe every day, but he now he has to substitute the plant based powder only found in Croatia with kale and spinach.

Analysis: I like hearing about healthier recipes like this because I do believe that recipes that are natural always seem to work better than ones put out by companies. The plant based powder is a Croatian product that is similar to a powder that is found in the United States but L.K. and his family still has the powder shipped from their town in Croatia. L.K. family is reluctant to change their family recipe and would rather spend the extra money that try something new.

Make it a great day

Informant: My informant, L.K., is 19 and was born in New York but raised in Dubrovnik, Croatia from age 5 to 18. L.K. father is working for a tourist agency and part time water polo referee and his mom is a financial manager for a restaurant in Croatia. He has a younger brother and sister with his family being fully Croatian, but has integrated small values from his time in the United States.

Folklore: “Make it a great day or not, the choice is yours!” L.K. heard this phrase every day from his principal in high school back in Croatia. The principal would finish the announcements over the school speakers every time with this phrase. L.K. came to hate the phrase after hearing it repeatedly every day, but does look back and understands the meaning behind the phrase.

Analysis: My mom would often find similar phrases like this and hand them up in our rooms. The message to be taken from the phrase is that people have a choice as to how they live every day. You can either choose to look at the negatives and consider that today is a bad day, or you can choose to look past the negatives and decide to make it a great day every day. Looking this phrase up online tells that its original origin is said to be linked to Buddha, but has apparently spread across the world. The phrase is being used worldwide for the exact purpose of a positive reminder in morning announcements in schools.