NP Re: Real American Root Beer

[Michael Baum]

On Sun, 18 Jul 1999 12:03:44 -0700, s~Z wrote:

>Jill Adams wrote:
>> Anyone ever had sassafrass tea?
>
>My grandfather, an old German shaman, used to reappear at the farmhouse
>after sunset with a can of sassafras roots. My Wiccan grandmother would
>fire up the gas stove and put on a large pot of water, then simmer the
>concoction for hours filling the house with the smell of earthy root
>beer. He kept a tin of black salve under the kitchen sink and collected
>arrowheads in a bucket in the shed. He died the night my eldest was
>born.

It _is_ good, but unfortunately for the lore of natural goodliness, at least one of the components is a carcinogen, or so I've read.

maab