Archives (continued)

Welcome to "Snippets"

Saying for the Week

Chin Ups

"PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT"

In 1999 Michael Jordan retired from the NBA as a superstar. When he first started playing basketball, however, he wasn't very good. His older brother, Larry, was much better than he was. Determined to improve, Jordan spent hours practicing. Nonetheless, despite all his practicing, when he got to high school, he didn't make the varsity team. He was so disappointed that he thought about quitting basketball altogether. But he didn't give up.

Still determined, Jordan kept on practicing every chance he got. As a result, he greatly improved and had hopes of being picked to play with the varsity team in the state tournament. Once again he was disappointed. But he still didn't give up and he kept practicing. Finally, in his junior year of high school he made the varsity team.

In his senior year Jordan practiced even harder, because he wanted to play basketball in college. He practiced so hard, in fact, that he started skipping classes and was suspended from school. After that, he practiced hard at schoolwork as well as basketball to make sure he would go to the school of his choice, University of North Carolina. Through perseverance, patience, persistence and a lot of practicing, Michael Jordan rose to the top.

Missing Persons

To help us update our directory, if you know the author of the following wise old saying, please send the author along with the saying to: wiseoldsayings@email.com.

"A rolling stone gathers no moss."

Telling Tales

Mistaken Identity

When Calvin Coolidge was Vice President, he and his wife were staying at a hotel when a fire alarm went off, at which point they went downstairs with all the other guests into the lobby. Assuming the crisis was over, the Coolidges began to go back upstairs. A fire marshall barked, "Who are you?" Coolidge replied, "I'm the Vice President." The fire marshall at first said, "OK, you can go." Then he had second thoughts and yelled to Coolidge, "Vice President of what?", to which Coolidge replied, "Vice President of the United States." To that, the fire marshall shouted out, "You come back down here. I thought you were a vice president of the hotel." So Coolidge and his wife obediently came down the stairs.

Moral: What goes up, must come down.

Words of Wisdom

"We may not see eye to eye, but we can always see heart to heart."
Sam Levinson

Thimbleful of Therapy

"Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday."
Unknown

As a Matter of Fact

John Heywood was a 16th century English writer (c. 1497-1580) who is best known for his "Book of Proverbs" (1546) which included such famous sayings as "All's well that ends well", "Every dog has its day", "Look before you leap", "Never look a gift horse in the mouth", "Rome wasn't built in a day" and "Better late than never" to mention a few. In his personal life, he was married to a niece of Sir Thomas More. He was a devout Catholic and both of his sons became Jesuit priests.

Professionally, he sang and acted in the court of King Henry VIII and was a great favorite of Queen Mary. He had been her music teacher when she was young. She was so fond of him, in fact, that she gave him an estate in Yorkshire which provided most of his income. Heywood also lived peacefully through the reign of Edward VI, but when Elizabeth I became queen, he felt unsafe and moved to France in 1564.

Heywood is a forerunner of true comedy and his position at court was as a high class jester. His characterizations were realistic and he dealt with contemporary characters, not unlike Chaucer. He had genuine love of learning and was a reformer of sorts, since some of his works were satires of religious abuses.

He was acclaimed in his productive years for plays, epigrams and ballads. Although most of these have been lost, one was referred to in Shakespeare's "Hamlet". Heywood was also celebrated for his proverbs which offer pathos, humor, poignancy and wit. In his plays one can see the influence of early French farces which played before English courts. In almost all of them virtue triumphs over vice and they were as he described them "new and merry interludes".

(Source: "British Authors Before 1800")

Sayings Sampler

"The darkest hours are just before dawn" is an old English Proverb that was a chapter heading in one of the Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. This philosophy contributed to the secret of Laura's happy childhood and the Ingall's undaunted perseverance to never give up.

Today this saying is especially helpful during turbulent teenage years when life seems hopeless one minute and wonderful the next. However, it is important to remember for all ages. There are countless stories of people who were at the bottom and wanted to end it all, only to discover that hope and better times were just around the corner.

Blankety Blanks

"An ________ a day keeps the _________ away."

The answer to last week's "Blankety Blank" is:
"Don't make a mountain out of a molehill."

Discombobbles

"The stuff sweat small don't."

The answer to last week's "Discombobble" is:
"Every cloud has a silver lining."

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August 13, 2000
Volume 1, Issue 16

Welcome to "Snippets"

Saying for the Week

Chin Ups

"OUT OF ADVERSITY COMES OPPORTUNITY"

When Charles Dickens was a boy, what he wanted more than anything was to get an education. Unfortunately, his father spent more than he made and ended up in debtor's prison. So Dickens, who was one of eight children, was sent at age twelve to work in a blacking factory. After only a few years of schooling he was forced to quit school and became an office boy for an attorney. Shunned by the woman he loved, he turned to writing stories about orphaned and abandoned children, horrible working conditions and extreme poverty. Although Dickens started out life in terrible conditions, ironically it was these experiences that made him famous.

Missing Persons

To help us update our directory, if you know the author of the following wise old saying, please send the author along with the saying to: wiseoldsayings@email.com.

"A fool and his money are quickly parted."

Telling Tales

The Hasty Squirrel

There was once a squirrel who was hunted by a hungry fox. The squirrel would tease the fox, however, each time the fox chased him in the yard. He did this by delaying and then climbing up the tree just before the fox lunged with his wide-open, hungry jaws. Time and time again, the squirrel toyed with the fox who became increasingly annoyed, but remained alert. During the process, the squirrel would repeat the cycle of dally and then quickly jump out of the fox's reach. One day, however, he lingered a little too long and had to jump onto the tree more rapidly. Unfortunately in doing so, he didn't grip the tree trunk in his claws and fell in a heap to the ground where the now laughing fox made a quick meal of him.

Moral: Hasty climbers have sudden falls.

Words of Wisdom

"Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art."
Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962)

Thimbleful of Therapy

"She was often wrong, but never in doubt."
Unknown

As a Matter of Fact

"Don't be led around by the nose" is a wise old saying of unknown origin that advises against allowing yourself to be dominated by or put under the submission of another. Often the image is of a husband dominated by a wife, but the opposite is equally possible. The expression comes from animal tending where a beast of burden is controlled by inserting a ring through its nose and attaching a line to it. Such a device makes the animal very docile and easily led. In the ancient Roman circus, wild animals were led around the arena using this method. In the Hebrew Scriptures in the book of Isaiah, chapter 37, verse 29, we see reference to it: "Because thy rage against me and thy tumult has come up to my ears, therefore will I put a hook in your nose and my bridle in thy lips and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest." Even today, bears are made to submit this way and oxen are commonly observed in this manner.

(Source: Heavens to Betsy & Other Curious Sayings by Charles Earle Funk, Harper & Row, 1955)

Sayings Sampler

"Little strokes fell great oaks" is a saying written by Ben Franklin. Taken literally, it means that even though each stroke of the ax is only a small dent in a big tree, many such strokes will eventually cause the tree to fall to the ground.

We see this phenomenon in the world today. One illustration is that clearing away one at a time the hundreds of obstacles of a major venture will eventually lead to the successful completion of it. For example, in the making of "Star Wars", George Lucas encountered a myriad of problems along the way. By chipping away at them one by one, he was able to accomplish a huge undertaking and entertain millions of people with the finished product.

In another vein, people acting together can make changes. Many people today, however, feel that they can't make a difference, because they are only one person. Over 100 million Americans fail to vote in presidential elections. But, that number alone has the power to collectively elect anyone they want since they are the majority. Individual signatures on a petition can collectively change laws. One act of kindness multiplied can make this a better world.

Blankety Blanks

"Don't make a ________ out of a ________.."

The answer to last week's "Blankety Blank" is:
"When in Rome, do as the Romans do."

Discombobbles

"Has lining a cloud every silver."

The answer to last week's "Discombobble" is:
"Variety is the spice of life."

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August 6, 2000
Volume 1, Issue 15

Welcome to "Snippets"

Saying for the Week

Chin Ups

"BE TRUE TO YOURSELF"

Robert Frost started life out in San Francisco, but when he was eleven, his father died of tuberculosis and the family moved to Massachusetts to live with his paternal grandfather. At sixteen he wrote his first poem and at age nineteen he sent one of his poems to a newspaper that printed it and paid him for it. Frost was an excellent student and was valedictorian of his senior class. His grandfather was so proud of him that he paid for him to go to Dartmouth College.

Too preoccupied with his desire to write poetry, however, he couldn't concentrate on his studies and dropped out. Then Frost tried being a factory worker, newspaper reporter and teacher, but one after another quit each job. What he really wanted to do was write poetry. At this point his grandfather lost faith in him, calling him "lazy". Later, when he was married with children, he decided to go back to college and chose Harvard this time. After his son died and his mother became ill, however, he once again quit school.

Next he tried farming. In order to write poetry when it was quiet, he did his farm chores and writing at night and slept during the day, which caused his neighbors to think he was crazy. At this stage he wasn't happy with his writing and tore up most of his attempts. Then his mother died. Fortunately, his wife had great faith in him and his poetry and continued to encourage him to write. But he was so dreamy with poetry that he ran into debt and had to teach English for extra money.

After ten years of farming, he moved his family to England. Many American magazines had rejected his poems, but he decided to try one more time and submitted thirty of his best poems to an English publisher. To his surprise they agreed to publish a book of his poems. Slowly he started to get known, both in England and the United States, and finally at age 38, he became famous.

Even though he never graduated from college, he was asked to teach at several colleges. He had an unconventional style of teaching and didn't believe in giving assignments and tests, but rather encouraged his students to test themselves. Despite criticism from other teachers, family, neighbors, employers, publishers and many of his fellow countrymen, Robert Frost remained true to himself his whole life and his poems are his gift to all of us.

Missing Persons

To help us update our directory, if you know the author of the following wise old saying, please send the author along with the saying to: wiseoldsayings@email.com.

"Time heals all wounds."

Telling Tales

Row, Row, Row Your Boat.

A young man decided to row across the sound to visit a young woman friend. He began at 5am and arrived at 8am. So exhausting was the row, that the young man lied down and fell asleep on a rock on the beach. Meanwhile his rowboat was lifted by the tide. He awoke to see that it had drifted out into the sound. Not wanting to soak his clothes, the young man stripped down and swam out after the boat.

When he rowed back to shore, he decided to lie down on the rock again to dry off before putting on his clothes. Again he fell asleep and again the boat drifted back out into the sound, this time with his clothes onboard. The lad awoke to the sound of the voices of his young lady and her girlfriend coming down to the beach to meet him. So he quickly hid under the dock.

After a while the young women grew impatient waiting for him and they left the beach in a huff. The fellow stealthily crept back into the water and swam out to find the rowboat and rowed home. On his next visit to the young woman, the fellow went by land!

Moral: Masterly retreat is in itself a victory.

Words of Wisdom

"Most people spend more time and energy going around problems than in trying to solve them."
Henry Ford (1863-1947)

Thimbleful of Therapy

"Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again."
Unknown

As a Matter of Fact

Many of the wise old sayings in our directory were authored by Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790). His sayings appeared in his publication "Poor Richard's Almanack". Most of these sayings came from earlier sources, in Franklin's words "the wisdom of many ages and nations". A collection of proverbs made in the early 18th century by Ray and Palmer was the probable source from which Franklin borrowed his sayings. It is thought nonetheless that Franklin, using his generous wit, added his own touch to many of the sayings.

(Source: Paul Leicester Ford's publication of "Poor Richard's Almanack", Peter Pauper Press, Mount Vernon, NY)

Sayings Sampler

"Where there's a will there's a way" is of unknown origin, but means that if people really want something bad enough, they will overcome all obstacles to arrive at their goal. It encourages people to be imaginative, inspires them to never give up and allows them to conquer those areas that they might think are hopeless.

One example of this saying is a woman who appeared on an episode of "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood" many years ago. She was painting a portrait of Mr. Rogers as she explained how she got started in painting. When she was young, she was very poor and couldn't afford any paintbrushes. Her will to paint led her to improvise by tightly rolling up small pieces of newspaper to form a point and using them in place of brushes.

Later in life when she was well off and could afford to buy paintbrushes, she still used the rolled-up newspaper to paint small details on her portraits. Not only did she overcome her obstacle, she also invented a method that was easier for her to use than anything she could have bought in a store.

Blankety Blanks

"When in ______ do as the Romans ______."

The answer to last week's "Blankety Blank" is:
"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."

Discombobbles

"Of spice the variety life is."

The answer to last week's "Discombobble" is:
"Blood is thicker than water."

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July 30, 2000
Volume 1, Issue 14

Welcome to "Snippets"

Saying for the Week

Chin Ups

"ONE THING LEADS TO ANOTHER"

Mark Twain was born as Samuel Clemens in 1835. He was born premature and was a sickly child as an infant. As a boy, he skipped school every chance he could and many people felt he was spoiled. When Samuel was only eleven, his father died and left the family practically penniless. So he dropped out of school and became a printer's apprentice. Then at age eighteen he left home to travel around the country. Several newspapers printed his letters, but rarely paid him anything.

In his early twenties, Samuel fulfilled a dream and became a steamboat captain, which is where his pen name came from. "Mark Twain" meant "by the mark two fathams" (ie. water just deep enough for the steamboat to travel). After trying his hand at gold mining to no avail, he became a newspaper reporter and then a storyteller. He loved to travel and drew his characters from all the people he came in contact with. So after countless jobs, Samuel finally found his calling, that of lecturer and writer under the name Mark Twain. His final glory was that he received a doctorate from Oxford University even though he had dropped out of school at age eleven!!

Missing Persons

To help us update our directory, if you know the author of the following wise old saying, please send the author along with the saying to: wiseoldsayings@email.com.

"Laughter is the best medicine."

Telling Tales

The Prince and His Choice

Once there was a young prince who would someday inherit his father's kingdom. In preparation, the king wanted his son to choose a wife who would reign someday as queen with his son as king.

The prince met and courted three maidens of the kingdom. The first was a proud, confident maiden who understood books and politics and who came from a successful family with great standing in the kingdom. The second was a strong and adventurous young woman who had mastered weaponry and gymnastics and could live in the wilds and whose father had been a mighty lord whose name was feared and respected throughout the kingdom. The third maiden had no physical prowess nor was she very learned in academic ways, but she was loved by all who knew her, rich and poor, lords and peasants, young and old, for she was very kind. And this was the maiden the prince chose as his wife and his father, the king, blessed his choice.

Moral: A loving heart is the truest wisdom.

Words of Wisdom

"The wisdom of the wise and the experience of the ages are perpetuated by quotations."
Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881)

Thimbleful of Therapy

"Everything is funny, as long as it is happening to someone else."
Will Rogers (1879-1935 )

As a Matter of Fact

"Keep a stiff upper lip" is a wise old saying which means have courage or stoicism in the face of adversity. It probably refers to the need to consciously tighten one's lip to keep it from quivering in a fearful or sad situation. Although possibly a common adage for some time, this saying was first seen in print in the story called "down Easters" written in 1833 by John Neal: "What's the use of boohooin'? ... Keep a stiff upper lip; no bones broke - don't I know". A few years later it appeared again in the work of the same name by Phoebe Cary: "And though hard be the task, Keep a stiff upper lip".

(Source: "Heavens to Betsy", by Charles Earle Funk, Harper & Row, 1955)

Sayings Sampler

"Give credit where credit is due" is a popular saying that is attributed to M. Floy in 1834. As children we were all taught not to plagiarize. Instead we were encouraged to give credit to an author when quoting someone's work rather than taking credit for it ourselves. In banking, this adage means when someone makes a deposit, give them credit for it in their bank account.

These days many people deserve credit for their good deeds instead of always being criticized or at the very least going unnoticed or unappreciated. Instead of expecting teens to be perfect by getting straight A's and being super athletes, we should give them credit for just being good kids and for staying away from drugs or alcohol. Teachers should be given credit for taking on the difficult task of trying to educate our children in sometimes less than ideal circumstances. Even those of us who criticize big business should give credit to those companies that give back to their communities, either in money or service or by helping the environment. Volunteers should be given credit for sacrificing their time to help others, whether they be sports coaches, scout leaders, religious lay people, environmentalists or members of charitable organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity or Big Brother/Big Sister.

In this era of perfection and intense competition, when the newspapers and news shows are full of negative stories and critical reporting, we must not forget that there are still a lot of good things happening in the world that may not make headlines and we must "give credit where credit is due".

Blankety Blanks

"All _______ and no _______ makes Jack a dull boy."

The answer to last week's "Blankety Blank" is:
"Don't have too many irons in the fire."

Discombobbles

"Thicker blood water is than."

The answer to last week's "Discombobble" is:
"If the shoe fits, wear it."