Chewing Sticks

Our granddaughter, Shelby, FaceTimed me today. It is always great to hear from grandchildren. Better to see them in person, but it is a real joy when they choose to call one of their grandparents.

She is a sophomore in college studying forensic science, and she works for campus security. I have not seen her in action, but I can imagine this petite blond armed with pepper spray on her rounds writing parking tickets or doing crowd control at the university football games. Every time she calls, we talk about some of her exciting experiences in classes, security training, or work.

Another thing that we always discuss is plants. This girl is passionate about plants, and her Papa is very proud of that. She walks around the plant department at local stores collecting small pieces of plants that have broken off and fallen to the floor, and she propagates these throw-away pieces.

Today, Shelby asked me if I knew anything about Neem oil. She had bought a bottle because she was having a problem with mildew on her plants and on her soil.  After using it she was anxious to tell me about her success with the product.

This was good news for this old farmer because I have a problem in the winter with leaf mildew on my 40-year-old bonsai. I looked on the website and one of my local big boxes has it in stock, so I will be purchasing some soon.

My response to Shelby about asking me what I knew about Neem oil was longer than she bargained for. Nearly forty years ago I was helping local villagers in western Burkina Faso have more wood for hut construction, firewood, and other building needs. The land had been ravaged long ago of available firewood because of the desertification of the Sahel where we lived.

The three kinds of trees that we propagated for distribution to villagers were Gmelina, Eucalyptus, and Neem. Neem trees grew well in our arid climate, but the goats loved to eat them, so they had to be protected to survive.

I did not know much about neem oil until my visit with Shelby, but I knew that the Neem tree had some unusual qualities. Villagers in West Africa have traditionally chewed on twigs from the Neem tree. They use the twigs or stems like a toothbrush. Upon arriving in West Africa, I did not think too much about seeing people chewing on tree twigs because as a boy I would frequently pull a long piece of grass and chew on it. Now some of you will think I am weird, but some of you know exactly what I am talking about. I found out later in life that my favorite type of grass to chew on is called Dallas grass.

After a couple years of watching people chew on Neem twigs, I finally discovered that the Neem tree actually has prophylactic qualities for the prevention and treatment of malaria. It is also good for the treatment of other diseases.

I did not know all these good qualities of the Neem tree until I lived in West Africa, but I started out early in life as a six-year-old chewing my own kind of stick. My friend, Theron Powell, and I would cut twigs from just about any kind of tree or shrub that we could reach, and then chew on the stick until it was frayed. Then we would dip our sticks in a mixture of Hershey’s cocoa and sugar that my mother mixed up for us. That was some kind of tasty snack!

If you are wondering if I ever chewed on a Neem twig or stem—Yes! And my childhood chewing sticks were much tastier than the Neem chewing sticks.