Author Archives: Alexander Greenblatt

Mary Had A Little Lamb Variation

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Forest Hills, NY
Performance Date: April 21
Primary Language: English

“This was a funny little variation of the Mary Had A Little Lamb rhyme that was ummm… taught to me by ummm…someone…. ummm…when I was a kid… in school…. it went kind of like… Mary had a little lamb/ little lamb/ little lamb/ Mary had a little lamb her fleece was white as snow/ Mary brought the lamb to school/ lamb to school/ lamb to school/ Mary brought the lamb to school her teacher hated it/ School was canceled for a week/ for a week/ for a week/ School was canceled for a week just as Mary had planned.”

This was an interesting one because instead of a change in the lyrics of Mary Had A Little Lamb it was adding more verses to the song already. Almost as if it were adding to the cannon of Mary Had A Little Lamb. From the original song all we know about Mary was that she owned a lamb that had a very white fleece. Now we know that not only does she go to school like most kids, but she hates it and uses her lamb to get out of going to school like most children.

This seems like a modern update on the song especially for young kids beginning to feel the angst against going to school in general. It seems like it’s a part of the many ‘I hate school’ anthems.

Honey and Ginger

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Queens, New York
Performance Date: April 19
Primary Language: English

“So my mom…told me this it was a… I mean she did this whenever I got sick…ummmm…usually I mean…mostly in the throat… where she would get honey and like a spoon dip it in like…get a scoop of honey and also… ummm… like ummm cut a piece of ginger… off… out of the honey and… would put it on the spoon… and I would kind of down the honey and the ginger… and I mean it burned my throat but… maybe the burn was good I’ve never seen any scientific research for this but it usually did make me feel better”

This folk medicine seems to be less based in any kind of magic and more in some sort of fact, my guess for how this came to be is that many people drink tea with honey or ginger when they are sick with anything in the throat. This seems like that taken to an umpteenth level going hard and downing a spoonful of just honey and ginger which, to some, might be the center of the healing powers of the tea. Eating these raw healing ingredients might hurt at first but later—because they are raw—will probably heal you.

Step on a Crack

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Queens, New York
Performance Date: April 20
Primary Language: English

“A lot of people said that if I… stepped on a crack, I would break my mother’s back… it was mainly a lot of people at school though… I ummm…actually believed it though hahaha… I was terrified of cracks throughout most of my childhood and almost started crying once because I actually did step on a crack”

This seems to be a common one throughout many school children throughout the world that if you step on a crack that you will break your mother’s back. There doesn’t seem to be much of that throughout other cultures besides American culture. Also it never permeates adult culture as well. We always see children who always believe in this never adults. Some versions of this myth are only during a game of hopscotch as to create an incentive to win—a pretty large and threatening incentive if you ask me—while some, like that of the informant is used as a way of life.

For more information on this superstition see: http://www.smartalecksguide.com/2011/09/are-there-dark-origins-behind-step-on.html

Ziti Recipe

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Forest Hills, New York
Performance Date: April 23
Primary Language: English
This informant comes from a Middle Class, New York Italian family. He learned the recipe from his father, he has never bothered to ask his father were he learned the recipe from but here is how he describes it.
“we melt mozzarella and Polly O’ String cheese and onions and garlic
it’s like a layer cake made of pasta… one layer of pasta,then meat, then cheese then sauce…
shove it in the oven… we are a very white family”
This dish really follows no real traditions, it seems to be made whenever. The informant has made the dish by himself but usually makes it with his father. It seems to be a recipe passed down from his family.
I believe that this dish is a combination of both of the informant’s cultures. It’s a very traditional Italian dish of layered ziti but with American bought items. His phrasing of how he must use Polly O’ String Cheese as supposed to any other brand of string cheese. A string cheese found in many New York supermarkets and convince stores. It’s a homogenous blend of both of the informant’s cultures, combining both cultures from his family’s past in Italy and his family’s current situation in Queens.

The Ghost of Queens

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Queens, New York
Performance Date: April 24
Primary Language: English
” There’s this urban legend in my house… It’s a very old house, built in the nineteen fifties or something… That my house is cursed…. because an old Jewish woman who lived in it died and in my room too!”
The informant’s house is very old, he seems to appreciate the urban legend as the house still has its old fashioned furnishings and has a very nineteen fifties design to it in general. The informant was told this legend by his family who were probably told about this through the Realestate agent or the person selling the home. This type of urban legend makes the residence seem quirky. It’s a bit of a gamble to tell a family moving into a home about a terrifying urban legend involving a ghost. Tt could either scare them away if they are scared of ghosts or draw them in more if they actually believe in ghosts.