Journal (BRITTENY HANKS) :)

            Holding on is a good set of small stories about people’s lives. You see the stories of people and about the things they accomplished in their life so far. I find the book really interesting on the aspect that then persons story are very different. I really enjoy the fact that the author gets very personal with each person he comes in contact with and is willing to write story about anything from a hobo to a drag queen. The people that David Isay and Harvey Wang meet are different and that’s what they enjoy and you can tell that in the writing. One thing I don’t really care for in the book is how short each story truly is I feel like before I get into liking the character the story is already over. I just want the stories to be a little bit longer.

         Two profiles that stood out to me was Harold C. Cotton and Tommie Bass. Tommie Bas was a “folk doctor”, He knew a lot about education. His dad was a doctor. Harold C. Cotton was a store clerk for hats. He worked for a man and then he died and then he worked for the man who bought the shop, then he passed away and then the store was his. Both men worked and did things with things that they loved. I looked up what folk medication really was and it said “Folk medicine has existed for as long as human beings have existed. In an effort to cope with an environment that was often dangerous, humans, and their ancestors, began to develop ways of lessening pain and treating physical and mental problems. At first, many of the ways of treating these problems undoubtedly came through trial and error, using various plants and other methods derived from observation of how animals reacted to and treated illnesses and injuries.” As I started thinking the civil rights were going on when Mr. Cotton owned the shop it was a serious time. It was hard for people to have a business as an African American man.

        Mr. Bass said, “We don’t claim to be a doctor. Don’t have no doctor license, never dud study it. I’m just an herbiest… Men, I am not a doctor not even a son of a doctor. All I know is how herbs has done for us over the years.” By Mr. Bass saying that shows that he only does it because he enjoys helping the people around him. Mr. Cotton  said, “If you’re satisfied, I’m satisfied.” And that’s all he ever said. And from then never did have one bit of trouble in her ‘bout people sittin’ next to one another. No trouble at all.”  Both men had different stories but still had amazing lifes.

 

 

http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/folk_medicine.aspx

 

http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement