Leona's granny swears by the medicinal powers of goldenrod, a yellow perennial plant. In fact, as Leona tells us, she believes that it's the only medicine she ever needs. Granny has reached the ripe old age of ninety-nine and is of the firm belief that the cup of goldenrod she drinks every morning with a nutmeg floating around in it is largely responsible for her longevity.

Even so, a succession of doctors have warned Granny about the dangers of taking goldenrod. One of them, Dr. Bates, used to tell her that goldenrod tea would raise her blood pressure and damage her heart. Unfortunately for him, he passed away that very summer.

Granny's next doctor candidly told her that goldenrod tea would give her brain fever. However, he died on his fiftieth birthday—during his party, in fact. There seems to be a pattern here, with Granny ironically outliving those doctors who thought they knew what was best for their health.

The name of the latest doctor to pass away is added to a large, and ever-growing scrapbook in which Granny keeps the obituaries of all the doctors she's outlived. Over the years, she's even gone to their funerals, laying—what else?—goldenrod upon their graves.