Blog, SoCS

SoCS – The Paw Paw Patch

Maggie

Day 321

Linda tempts us with bonus points again this week:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “where.” Start your post with the word “where” and write whatever comes to you. Bonus points if you end your post with “where” too. Enjoy!

Where oh where is poor little Maggie
Where oh where is poor little Maggie
Where on where is poor little Maggie
Way down yonder in the paw-paw patch

The Paw-paw patch is an Appalachian folk song we sang as a family any time we took a long trip. The following verses are about finding the person in the paw-paw patch and seeing them picking up paw-paws and putting them in their pockets.

It was also featured in the Bare Necessities song in “Jungle Book”.

Paw-paw fruit comes from a tree native to North America and common in the Appalachians. The fruit is a soft custard-like fruit that does not last long and it therefore uncommon to find in any grocery stores. It might be available at some farmer’s markets but it has a very short shelf life.

The unfortunate thing about the tree is that it requires insects for pollination and as a result, the flowers emit a scent similar to that of rotting meat.

Everything has its pros and cons though, don’t you think? The pro is that early tests show the paw-paw may have cancer-fighting properties.

All I know is my two-year-old granddaughter now sings the song and it goes on forever because everyone she knows gets lost in the paw-paw patch.

It seems the paw-paw can be slightly poisonous to some people.

If you are ever looking for poor little Maggie, just come looking. You’ll know where.

Head over to Linda’s blog to see where the other participants took this prompt. Check out the rules and give it a shot!

16 thoughts on “SoCS – The Paw Paw Patch”

  2. Oh, thank you for introducing me to the Paw-Paw fruit. But alas, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to taste them, especially with me being on the other side of the world! Great take on the prompt. 🙂

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  4. I remember the song from my childhood, but I don’t recall ever eating the fruit. IT’s good to pass on these traditions. I like knowing that people encourage children to be entertained by the world around us and by their imagination.

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    1. Dan, I wonder if the song was featured in some film. I might need to research. Our granddaughter is only two, so any name in her current frame of reference is up for inclusion. It is delightful to see those traditions repeated.

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  5. I remember singing that song as a child but have no idea where I learned it. Thank you for so much information about the Paw Paw fruit. It reminds me of how roses have thorns. ‘ll keep an eye out for it at farmer’s markets but will be careful about the slight risk of poison. We finally figured out the mushroom compounds in Quorn vegan patties were making my husband sick, though they had no such effect on me, so maybe I can eat paw paw fruit.

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    1. I read some people can get contact dermatitis from handling the fruit. I am anxious to try it again. It has been a long time and I do not remember any adverse reaction.

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