Silly Sayings,What Do They Tell Us?

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My father lived to his 95th year.I have never quite forgiven him for leaving this earth so soon. I wasn't ready for him to go. My dad loved to talk about the old days; tell silly stories about things that really happened; and recount historical moments he lived through.

Dad shouldn't have lived nearly that long. He was born a "blue" baby- a baby with a congenital heart defect. I should mention that he was born in Ohio- miserably damp and cold in winter; miserably hot and muggy in the summer. But it was good farm land and that is why the family was there. He conquered Infantile Paralysis (Polio), Pneumonia and lived through two heart attacks and arthritis. So, you see, he held the "grim reaper" at bay for a long, long time.

I loved to listen and talk with him. We could sit and "chew the fat" for hours. He left me with a treasure trove of stories and sayings. I began to write them down as I remembered them. It seemed to me that there was value in silly sayings, old wives' tales, and urban legends. All of these sayings and stories have originated from a thread of truth.They give our language color and richness. They tie the years together and we learn speech patterns that we wouldn't learn in school. Every generation adds their own language twists and the list grows.

When it was time for me to be born, one of these "silly sayings" caused my mother to change the name she and my father had chosen for a girl. While driving to the hospital, a traffic light turned red and dad hit the brakes exclaiming: "Whoa Nancy!" My mother declared,"If it's a girl, we're naming her Barbara. We're not naming her after a horse!"

We here at WA are in the business of words and language. Language changes over time- meanings change -new words are introduced- other words are dropped. The wise writer will learn new words and phrases, "brush up" on older sayings that "pepper" our language, and use with great care.

I'm hopelessly tied to books-printed books. When I was in school, there were no such things as computers, tablets, smart phones, etc. We looked up words in a Dictionary, and we looked up information about subjects in an Encyclopedia. Today, we just turn to the computer and other devices to find our information.

We're all sitting at a computer everyday, writing. We're only a click away from a word or an information search.We must remember to double check our spelling and our facts. Use the grammar check in Site Content and Word Press.

If we are going to produce excellent content we must put some "sweat equity" into it. Re-read the content and look for misspellings, bad grammar and poor or no punctuation. Every once in awhile I see someone send a message asking "Why hasn't Google indexed or ranked my content? I've been here (so many months) and written so many blogs and still I'm not indexed." Well, maybe the problem is in your Website. Go back and check it over. Re-read. Re-write. There is no "quick and easy" way to write a "top-notch" blog.

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Recent Comments

15

A lot of truth in this post, it's sometimes the little overlooked things that make such a difference.

You are so correct.

Well, you certainly don't have a problem with writing! I thought your post was well-thought-out and well-written. Keep it up!

Well said!

A well written and well thought out post, Barbara.

Your father was clearly a survivor and you obviously had a great relationship with him. I enjoy something similar with my daughter and my mother lived to 102, so hope for me there!

Thanks for sharing.

102?!
How remarkable!

Yes, at 100 she got the letter from the Queen and everything.

At 102, she just decided she'd been around long enough and passed away quietly in her sleep. Didn't really die of anything in particular.

How's the recovery going, Scarlett?

That is an amazing blessing.
Please explain “ she got the letter from the Queen”
Elaine

Thank you for asking. Sadly slowly.
Elaine

Glad to hear the recovery is progressing but sorry to hear it's slowly. I hope it speeds up.

Australia is a member of the British Commonwealth (as is Canada). Individual citizens receive a signed congratulatory letter from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth when they turn 100.

We thank you much !

Love you girls.

Right back at ya!!!

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