Author Archives: Troy Furniss

I’m tough! I’m gonna get up!

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: 4/24/2017
Primary Language: English

Informant: My informant, S. G., is 19 and was born and raised in Southern California. Sawyer lives in Chino Hills and has two mothers who both work as P.E. teachers for high school and middle schools. She has one older sister and one younger brother with the family having ties to its Swedish heritage.

Folklore: As a child growing up, Sawyer was taught a saying by her two mothers that goes, “I’m tough! I’m gonna get up! And keep going!” Her parents taught her to repeat this every time she experienced a difficult obstacle in her life where she felt she couldn’t overcome the challenge. Sawyer grew up learning the phrase since she was young by her mom who was taught the same saying when she was growing up.

Analysis: I have never heard this saying before, but I do like the positive message that it teaches. A short, strong saying like this helps enforce confidence in young children and help them to get the courage to tackle problems that might seem unconquerable. I really like the message and it’s something I might use in the future to teach my kids.

Annunciation Phrase

Nationality: American/Swedish
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/26/17
Primary Language: English

Informant: My informant, S. G., is 19 and was born and raised in Southern California. S.G. lives in Chino Hills and has two mothers who both work as P.E. teachers for high school and middle schools. She has one older sister and one younger brother with the family having ties to its Swedish heritage.

Folklore: “How no brown cow, green green grass.” This piece of folklore is a nonsense phrase meant to be practiced by young children to learn proper annunciation when speaking. Sawyer and her siblings were all taught this phrase growing up from their parents and were meant to repeat it at least once a day. S.G. claims she was forced to practice the phrase until she reached 6th grade.

Analysis: There is no actual proof that this phrase will actually correct a child’s annunciation, but I suppose there is no harm in practicing anyway. S.G. and both her siblings all pronounce their words perfectly so there is no proof to say it doesn’t work.

Hawaiian Rocks

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: 4/20/2017
Primary Language: English

Informant: My informant, D.L., is 20 and was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. D.L. mother works as an admissions director for his high school. He has one older brother who also attends USC. Both of D.L. parents are full Chinese, but have completely adopted the Hawaiian culture. D.L. spends most of his free time at the beach and considers himself more Hawaiian than Chinese.

Folklore: “There is a rule in Hawaii that you’re not supposed to take rocks from the beach. The rocks on the beach are said to be the home of the Goddess of Fire, Pele. It is said that if you were to remove the rocks from the island you will suffer Pele’s curse which says that any visitor who takes rock or sand away from the Hawaii islands will suffer bad luck until the native Hawaiian elements are returned.” D.L. was told this story from his brother when he was little to scare him and make sure he wouldn’t take the rocks. Now, D.L. is skeptical that the myth is true but still is superstitious about doing. Whenever he sees tourists taking rocks or sand from the beach he does get angry because he feels like they’re disrupting the flow of the beach.

Analysis: The warning is well known in Hawaii, but it is a modern legend and some people attribute it to an irritated park ranger who was sick of people carting off rocks from the beach. Still others think tour guides made up the curse to discourage tourists from bringing dirt and sand onto the buses. Either way, each year hundreds of visitors send packages back to Hawaii full of rocks, sand, and other natural materials in an effort to relieve their consciences and change their luck. For me, I try not to read into stories like these, but never try to chance my luck.

Chamomile Tea

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: 4/26/2017
Primary Language: English

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: “My grandma use to use this formula on my hair when I was younger to get it smooth and softer. She would boil water and make chamomile tea when I was taking a shower. After it cooled down she would place the tea in a large cup. At the end of your shower she would gradually poor the tea on my hair and let it soak in for 15 minutes. The tea was meant to enrich hair color and radiance and prevent dandruff.” G.L. was taught this from her grandma when she was really young but stopped doing it when she got older. G.L. cannot remember if the process worked when she was young, but she tried to do it once in high school and didn’t feel like it had much effect on her hair. Although, she did say the tea did make her hair smell pleasant for following couple of weeks.

Analysis: I can’t say that I’m too knowledgeable in homemade formulas for women’s hair, but I have never heard of this formula before. I did grow up with a twin sister and she told me she has never heard of doing this either. I think it’s interesting to see how this formula got started because it seems so random, but there are stories on the internet that say this formula works

Education Proverb

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: 4/26/2017
Primary Language: English

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: “One day you may lose your friends, you may lose your money, you may lose your home… but the one thing no one can take away from you is your education.” G.L. was told this saying from her mom multiple times when growing up. Whenever G.L. was having trouble in school or her parents felt that she wasn’t giving it her full effort, they would tell her this to try and push her back on the right track. Her parents are firm believers in the importance of education, and have always made sure to emphasize how important this was to G.L. and her brother when they were growing up. G.L. says that at times she felt way too overwhelmed to focus on school, but she knew that her parents were right to keep pushing her.

Analysis: My parents are also strong advocates in education and my mom told me that her dad would say this phrase to her when she was growing up. Her dad was a grocery store owner in Vermont and struggled to get by, but he did everything he could to get all of his kids through college so they could go on to have a more prosperous life than he gave them. Sometimes I might take my education for granted but in the long run I do value the importance education can have on your life