Of Stiff Neck And Hiccup

How do you get rid of stiff neck? In Mongolia they have this funny custom: If you suffer from one, then find a handsome man, tail him incognito, and, in his shadow, do a namaste. A namaste is an Indian gesture of greeting, where one (politely) bows with hands held at chest level, both palms pressed against each other. Grasshopper told me about this. She said her Mongolian roommate shared it to her. According to the Genghis girl, it has always worked for her. Strange.

Here's the problem: When do we say the man is handsome? Time and again, everyone has agreed that the adjective is relative. So, you have to believe that the one you are tailing is handsome. Funny. That means, if you have stiff neck and are trying to find relief via the Mongolian way, you have to lower your standards. Now, here's another question: Does this mean a male stiff-neck sufferer has to do the namaste behind a pretty woman? Or, should it always be a handsome man? I forgot to verify.

As adults, of course, we know that that practice is far-fetched to the point of being superstitious as similar practices that we used to believe in as children. We didn’t make these all up. Our parents and other people were accustomed to such practices. We saw it all. In the town where I grew up, we had so many of these. We would fix a saliva-moistened small piece of paper on the mid-forehead of someone, children or adult, who had hiccup. We used to refer to it as the bizarre Hindu-inspired fashion. Children who suffered from same convulsive gasp would be teased to make them wail. Alternately, these poor children would be surprised bluntly to put them in near shock and make them forget about the gasping spree. Sometimes, these tricks would really work to make the hiccup go. Strange. The only thing that has always worked for me is breathing in a paper bag or plastic bag.

Another thing: In my town, whenever one has hiccup, people will tease him that he must have stolen an egg.