MOTHER'S SAYING -- AGEING ODDITY

Best wishes to mothers the world over with this repeat post, some current editing, I wrote here years ago.

My mother enjoyed language, words, and the double-play of meanings.  Prominent in my mother's time was Dorothy Parker who was quite adept with word humor as a later quote will attest.  Ms. Parker is described in Wikipedia as "an American poet, writer, critic and satirist based in New York; she was best known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th century urban foibles".

Phrases, Sayings, Idioms, and Ageing

Lying in bed one recent night thoughts of the world's financial precariousness caused me to wonder why so many corporate, financial and government leaders fail to accept and implement problem solving solutions provided them in ways to benefit their country's population multitudes and not primarily just the 1-2% obscenely wealthy as in the U.S.

Somehow, I evolved into thinking about how we receive information for ourselves or that we provide others and yet do not often apply what is in their as well as our own best self-interest in a balanced approach benefiting all.

I thought of my mother's youth occurring during horse and buggy days, the changes and necessary adaptations wrought in her world.  Autos, planes were invented.  Women's right to vote the year she became age 21 and cast her first ballot were some of the highlights in her time.

What else came to my mind was typical of what I've often experienced since my mother's death years ago.  The older I become, the more I think of her with increasing understanding, identification with some of her aging experiences.  One of her favored sayings will pop into my mind as did this one:

"You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink." 

My curiosity led me to this information from phrases.org.uk.  Interestingly, that Old English Homilie was recorded as early as 1175, the oldest English proverb that is still in regular use today.

"The proverb 'lead a horse to water' has been in continuous use since the 12th century.  John Heywood listed it in the influential glossary A Dialogue Conteinying the Nombr in Effect of all the Prouerbes in the Englishe Tongue:

'A man male well bring a horse to the water, But he can not make him drinke without he will.'

It also appeared in literature over the centuries in a variety of forms.  For example, in the play Narcissus, which was published in 1602, of unknown authorship, subtitled as A Twelfe Night merriment, played by youths of the parish at the College of Saint John the Baptist in Oxford:

Your parents have done what they coode, 

They can but bringe horse to the water brinke,

But horse may choose whether that horse will drinke.

It wasn't until the 20th century that 'lead a horse to water...' got a substantial rewrite, when Dorothy Parker reworked it from its proverbial form into the epigram 'you can lead a horticulture, but you can't make her think.'

I don't mean to offend the sensibilities of any reading this, but Parker has been considered to be quite a wit.

Noticing English wording and spelling in days of yore, I wonder how our language as we speak and write will evolve, perhaps looking antiquated to those encountering our current communications in future generations.

Aging observations Dorothy Parker is quoted as saying a few years before her death in an interview with Gloria Steinem with which my mother, I'm sure, and now I can agree.

"You know, the odd thing about being old is that you see something--something especially good or rotten or funny, and you think, 'Oh, I must show this to so-and-so, it's just his [or her] sort of thing.'  " She smiled, and walked slowly to the door.  "And what's odd--is there are so many gaps in the circle now--that so-and-so is gone."

 

MOTHER SAID...

"If wishes were horses, beggars would ride." This was one of many sayings my mother often quoted. When she said these words I knew whatever I was wishing for would likely not become a reality. Probably this saying had its origins in horse and buggy days, or even before that during the Victorian Age.

Mother was born into a nineteenth century agrarian society that was becoming industrialized as she became a young woman in the beginning of the twentieth century. My grandfather was a successful farmer whose well cared for animals, fowl, garden produce, fruit trees plus fields of corn and grains provided his family almost complete self-sufficiency. They had their own firewood forest, and fresh clear well water accessible by using a hand pump with a little elbow grease applied. Rain water collected could augment more ordinary household needs and watering the livestock.

A field near the house harbored a leafy green plant that my Grandmother introduced to me many years later. I learned there were leaves I could actually eat, that tasted good and I've enjoyed mint ever since.

Grandfather died many years before I was born, so my impressions of him are based solely on Mother’s stories. He maintained his farm land in a manner he described as being one indication of a good farmer -- someone who kept all his fences mended and the fence rows cleared of unsightly weeds. He proudly never expected his wife to perform outdoor farming duties since he believed she was fully occupied by household tasks and caring for the children.

During that time period the automobile was invented but few were seen on the road driving past my Mother’s home. The neighboring farmers who rotated gathering at each others farms to assist one another at harvest time shared a few stories about this new technology.

One story that elicited their laughter was about the wealthy city lady accustomed to having an auto with driver. She came to visit farm relatives she wanted to impress. During her visit she spoke of how simple driving a horse and buggy was compared to handling a car. Goaded to demonstrate her equestrian skills she impulsively accepted the challenge. The horse and buggy were presented. She climbed into the buggy seat, picked up the reins and said to the horse, “Commence!” The farmers made their point when she seemed perplexed, then frustrated when the horse did not move the buggy forward despite her repeated increasingly louder commands. Merely saying the word "commence" to each other elicited laughter for years after from those who knew the story.

Another true tale centered on the farmer friends good-natured teasing of my grandfather, who was perceived as being progressive. He was asked, “So, Floyd, when are you going to get an automobile?” He replied, he didn’t think he’d bother because he thought he’d “wait for one of those airplanes.” The Wright Brothers had recently achieved their first successful but limited plane lift above the ground.

A few years later my 80+ paternal great grandmother startled relatives by taking a short flight in a biplane, considered to be quite daring then for anyone. She would have been considered quite old which made her risk-taking all the more astounding.

Mother shared stories intended to provide a language learning lesson for me like this one. She was a young girl, walking along the country road toward home one sticky humid summer afternoon. There was considerable distance yet to go in the hot sun before she reached the cool shade of her house’s dooryard trees. A neighbor farmer coming up the road with his horse and wagon, called to her, “Do you want a ride?” She responded, “I don’t care.” He retorted, “Well, if you don’t care, then I don’t either” passing her by. Just as my mother learned after her experience, I’ve used great caution saying “I don’t care” once I heard her story.

One of Mother’s lingering grammar lessons flashes through my mind every time I hear the misuse she frequently corrected when just the two of us talked. Any time I ended a sentence with “at” -- such as “Where’s he at?” -- I would be told “Just before the at.” Once she explained how useless “at” was, then spoke the words, I agreed that “Where is he?” sounded much better. I long ago ceased tacking an "at" on to sentence endings.

Ending “where is…” inquiries with “at” occurs in much casual conversation, When I hear TV news personages using the errant phrasing/sentence I can’t seem to avoid correcting the television speaker in my mind. Each time I chuckle to myself enjoying loving memories of my mother.

Mother's Day & Saying

Four months have passed since ending my blog as the year 2009 concluded. Hardly a day since then has gone by that my mind hasn't been prompted by a multitude of sources with thoughts of topics tempting me to write. I enjoyed the time away, especially the first two months of 2010, then was doubly glad to have the succeeding months away when unexpectedly a succession of possible health issues crimped my style. Subsequently figuring my own Income tax again this year kept me busy as did continuing my part time work. I have now formed a much better idea of how much time I want to expend here and to what degree I want to impose expectations for myself. So it is that I resume blogging having been most recently stimulated by thoughts of my mother on this special day.

My mother enjoyed language, words, and the double-play of meanings. The author, Dorothy Parker, prominent in my mother's time was quite adept with word humor as a later quote will attest.

Best wishes to mothers the world over.

Phrases, Sayings and Idioms

Lying in bed one recent night thoughts of the world's financial precariousness caused me to wonder why so many corporate, financial and government leaders fail to accept and implement problem solving solutions provided them in ways to benefit their country's population multitudes. Somehow I evolved into thinking about how we receive information for ourselves or that we provide others and yet do not apply what is in their or our own best self-interest. What came to mind was typical of what I've often experienced since my mothers death years ago. One of her sayings will pop into my mind as did this one:

"You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink."

My curiosity led me to this information from phrases.org.uk Interestingly that Old English Homilie was recorded as early as 1175, the oldest English proverb that is still in regular use today.

"The proverb 'lead a horse to water' has been in continuous use since the 12th century. John Heywood listed it in the influential glossary A Dialogue Conteinyng the Nomber in Effect of all the Prouerbes in the Englishe Tongue:

'A man maie well bring a horse to the water, But he can not make him drinke without he will.'

It also appeared in literature over the centuries in a variety of forms. For example, in the play Narcissus, which was published in 1602, of unknown authorship, subtitled as A Twelfe Night merriment, played by youths of the parish at the College of Saint John the Baptist in Oxford:

Your parents have done what they coode,
They can but bringe horse to the water brinke,
But horse may choose whether that horse will drinke.

It wasn't until the 20th century that 'lead a horse to water...' got a substantial rewrite, when Dorothy Parker reworked it from its proverbial form into the epigram 'you can lead a horticulture, but you can't make her think'."

I don't mean to offend the sensibilities of any mothers reading this but Parker was quite a wit.