Archives (continued)

Welcome to "Snippets"

Special Request

"Give a horse a stack of hay and he would take you over many __________."

Saying for the Week

Chin Ups

"THE DARKEST HOURS ARE JUST BEFORE DAWN"

Despite Oprah Winfrey's tremendous success as a talk show host, her early years were not so rosy. Born to parents out of wedlock, she spent the first six years of her life with her grandmother. Then at age six she moved in with her mother who soon discovered she couldn't afford to have Oprah with her. So Oprah was then shuffled off to go live with her father and stepmother. When she was nine years old, however, she was sent back to live with her mother. There she was sexually abused by various relatives and friends of her mother which resulted in her getting pregnant at age 14. Oprah, then living with her father again, lost the baby during her seventh month of pregnancy.

Just when Oprah was at her lowest point, her life took a turn for the better. She became involved in several activities in her high school and was very popular. At age 17 she got her first job in broadcasting and at age 19 she was hired to read the evening news at a local television station in Nashville, Tennessee. From there she went on to work for a local ABC affiliate in Baltimore, Maryland which eventually led to a spot on a morning show called "People Are Talking". After eight years of hosting that show, she was asked to host her own morning show, "AM Chicago", which was later changed to "The Oprah Winfrey Show". In 1986, her show was syndicated and now has over 10 million dedicated viewers.

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.

"Given a challenge, rise to the occasion."

Telling Tales

Note: The following tale is true!!! Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent (from embarrassment).

A Telling Tail

Mary Smith worked as a secretary in a bank and this particular day her office was moving to a different floor. Mary was in her fifties and very ladylike, so she usually wore dresses to work. However, on this day she was wearing pants because she had to help move boxes. After taking a trip to the ladiesroom, Mary raced back and forth across the new office carrying boxes.

Shortly after Mary returned from the restroom, the three other women in the office noticed that she had a trail of toilet paper sticking out of her pants in the back which would flap in the breeze of her scurrying . Not knowing how to approach the gentile Mary, they were mulling it over, when the head of the department quietly approached Mary with a twinkle in his eye and simply said "Sporting a tail are we?". To which Mary looked behind her and laughed good-heartedly as she ran to the ladiesroom.

Moral: Distance lends enchantment to the view.

Words of Wisdom

"Virtuous and wise he was but not severe; he still remembered that he once was young."
John Armstrong (1709-1779)

Thimbleful of Therapy

"Three may keep a secret if two are dead."
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

As a Matter of Fact

Many wise old sayings are repeated several times in literature, with the original thought written several centuries before the version that has become popular. One such example is the saying "Happy is the bride that the sun shines on". One reader wrote to us asking assistance on completing the saying and upon researching it we came upon three instances in which it was used. The first recorded writing of this sentiment appeared in 1648 in Herrick's "Hesperides". "Blest is the bride on whom the sun doth shine and thousands gladly wish you multiply as doth a fish."

The second version appears in F. Grose's "Provincial Glossary" on superstitions in which he writes "It is reckoned a good omen or a sign of future happiness if the sun shines on a couple coming out of the church after getting married". Finally in 1926 the version as we know it today appeared in P. Wentworth's "Black Cabinet XXXVI". "Happy's the bride that the sun shines on or so the proverb goes. But where there's real true love ... there's always sunshine in a manner of speaking".

(Source: "Oxford Concise Dictionary of Proverbs")

Sayings Sampler

"One man's junk is another man's treasure" is a popular saying of unknown origin that is very evident today. During warm weather it seems everywhere you look people are having yard sales. While one person is eager to get rid of his belongings that have become "junk", another person is waiting in the wings to scoop them up. Divorce is another example. With more than 50% of all marriages failing, one castoff spouse becomes another's newlywed.

This saying is not limited to meaning that one person takes possession of someone else's rejects. It can also mean that one person values something, while another doesn't. A good example of this is natural resources. Some people think nothing of wasting water, electricity, gas, etc., while others treasure them, not wanting to deplete the world's supply. Another example is kitchen scraps. Some people consider them garbage and toss them out with the trash, while others compost them and turn them into valuable nutrients for their gardens. Some people treasure credit cards as if they were gold, while others are madly ripping them up not wanting the temptation of overspending.

Sometimes one's man's junk turns out to be another man's real treasure, as evidenced by one man who collected tires during WWII. The U.S. government would then buy them from him and other collectors to use the rubber in the war effort. Many times people would even pay this fellow to haul their tires away. After the war when the government was no longer buying tires, the man kept on collecting them. Over a number of years he had amassed 20 million of them. Not having any particular plans for the tires, he was overwhelmed when a company offered to buy 12 million of them for $1 million!!

Some thoughtful souls are connecting the haves with the have-nots and recycling castoff items. The Cristina Foundation matches up people who are getting rid of their old computers with organizations that need them. "Floppies for Kiddies" is a program that accepts donations of used 3 1/2" disks, refurbishes them and gives them to schools and non-profits that can't afford to buy new ones. The Lions Club has a program where they collect people's old eyeglasses and sends them overseas to needy people who are too poor to buy glasses. Kidney Cars, run by the National Kidney Foundation, tows people's old cars away for free and either sells them at auction or to salvage dealers. Wouldn't it be wonderful if everyone's junk could become someone else's treasure!

Talent Show

Each week we will print a contribution sent in by one of our readers. Anyone who wants to share their talent is welcome to send us their creation to show in "Snippets". If you have a wise new saying, a fable, an inspirational story or a fact about a wise old saying that you would like to share, please send it to: wiseoldsayings@email.com.

This week's feature is a rewrite of an Aesop fable in limerick form by Janet S. Krueger. To see more of Janet's work visit her webpage at http://sites.netscape.net/jannieluusa/home where she displays one of her light-hearted published and unpublished writings each month, plus clever graphics.

The Mice in Council

The mice all decided a bell
'Round the neck of the cat would be swell,
'Til one of the old ones
Said, "Which of you bold ones
Will collar Miss Tabby, pray tell?"

Moral: Implementation beats oration

Blankety Blanks

"Those who live in _______ houses shouldn't throw _______."

The answer to last week's "Blankety Blank" is:
"You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink."

Discombobbles

"Good no is news news."

The answer to last week's "Discombobble" is:
"A man's house is his castle."

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September 10, 2000
Volume 1, Issue 20

Welcome to "Snippets"

Saying for the Week

Chin Ups

"NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE TO THE WILLING MIND"

When Samuel Morse was forty-one he became intrigued with the French telegraph system while traveling in Europe. So when he returned to the States, he started working on an idea he had for an electric telegraph system. He realized he had a long climb ahead of him, however. He had to make most of his supplies, get people to become interested in his invention and raise money to support himself while working on it.

After several years of trying to develop his idea, he ended up penniless with no one interested in his invention. He had tried to get Congress to take a look at his telegraph, but they weren't interested. Then he approached France and England to no avail. He even placed an announcement in the paper to attract the public by inviting them to a demonstration. But that ended in disappointment after fishermen unknowingly cut the cable he was to use in his demonstration. To add insult to injury, the public turned on him, calling him a liar and a fraud.

Morse refused to give up, however, because he believed in his invention. As a result, he kept pestering Congress until they finally agreed to take a look at his telegraph. Right before the demonstration, however, he discovered that one of his partners had tried to cheat the government by not properly insulating the wires that were buried under the ground. They quickly escaped disaster, however, by stringing the wires from tall poles above the ground. Finally, after twelve years of trying to get someone to take an interest in his invention, Morse, at age fifty-three, sold the American people on his telegraph. Because of Samuel Morse's dogged determination to bring his telegraph to the world, he changed people's lives forever.

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.

"Keep a stiff upper lip."

Telling Tales

Check Point

Boston's Mayor Kevin White had been in office only about ninety days in April 1968 when Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. The black community was saddened and angry and many young blacks took to the streets. Mayor White resisted the temptation to meet the sporadic outbursts with armed police force. Rather, he listened to his aide, Barney Frank, who counseled him against using force. Frank felt that force would only increase the violence. Instead, the city held its police force in check and allowed ministers, youth workers and leaders from the black community to quell the disturbances and calm down the crowds. Consequently, the Boston riots were relatively minor with no one killed, 21 injured and $50,000 in damages. This compared with Washington D.C. where 11 were killed, 1113 injured and $24 million in damages. Likewise, Chicago saw 9 killed, 500 injured and $11 million in damages.

Moral: Never cut what can be untied.

Words of Wisdom

"Advice is like snow, the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon and the deeper it sinks into the mind."
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)

Thimbleful of Therapy

"People ask you for criticism, but they only want praise."
Somerset Maugham (1874-1965)

As a Matter of Fact

The saying "bury the hatchet" means that people in a disagreement should stop fighting and make peace. It comes from a Native American ritual in which warring tribes would literally bury a hatchet (or tomahawk) when peace was agreed upon. This burying was symbolic of ending the hostilities.

(Source: "The Whole Ball of Wax" by Laurence Urdang, Perigee Books, New York, 1988)

Sayings Sampler

"Children are a poor man's riches" is an old English proverb that might have had different meaning back then. Children on a farm meant more farm hands and thus more profit for the farm. It also could have referred to the fact that many successful children turn around and help out their parents financially.

A much deeper meaning, however, is that children can enrich our lives if we let them. They don't have to be superstars or straight "A" students to make us proud of them. Instead of gaining our own self-esteem from their accomplishments, we should be remembering our own childhood days, especially the awkward teen years, and take joy in helping them through the troubled times as we watch them make mistakes, learn and grow.

Blankety Blanks

"You can lead a _______ to water, but you can't make him _______."

The answer to last week's "Blankety Blank" is:
"If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."

Discombobbles

"His a castle house is man's."

The answer to last week's "Discombobble" is:
"Two heads are better than one."

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September 3, 2000
Volume 1, Issue 19

Welcome to "Snippets"

Saying for the Week

Chin Ups

"HAVE THE COURAGE OF YOUR CONVICTIONS"

Theodore Roosevelt was a man of his convictions who didn't shy away from difficult situations or decisions. Despite much criticism, he helped plan and personally participated in the Spanish American War of 1898 in which the United States took Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Phillipines away from European control and strengthened the Monroe Doctrine of U.S. supremacy in the western Hemisphere.

Later, despite criticism from members of his own Republican Party, Roosevelt took positions against the coal, railroad and meatpacking producers dominating America at that time. He was responsible for America building the Panama Canal despite complaints of American imperialism from Columbia which had owned Panama before the U.S. decision to build and despite complaints from many in Congress who also feared U.S. expansionism.

Early in his administration, he had invited black leader, Booker T. Washington, to dine at the White House despite a hue and cry from Southerners and others unsympathetic to blacks. Later in his administration, having developed a reputation as a strong leader and a fair man, Roosevelt was instrumental as a mediator between Russia and Japan in their 1904 war and he mediated other territorial conflicts including that between France and Germany in 1906.

During his time as president, Roosevelt had kept the United States on a middle path which was criticized by extreme elements of both parties. He was neither a supporter of monopoly nor anarchy and his decisions very often made him unpopular with both right and left wings of American politics. Despite an abundance of criticism, Theodore Roosevelt was able to follow through with his convictions, because he believed in himself.

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.

"When in Rome, do as the Romans do."

Telling Tales

Bubble Trouble

Once upon a time in a kingdom far away a huge, beautiful bubble drifted into the town square. The townspeople gathered around it in awe and the children playfully poked at it as they would with any bubble. Everyone was having a grand old time until the king appeared.

Suspiciously the king announced that the bubble was trouble. The townspeople responded that the bubble wasn't trouble, it was just a bubble. To prove their point, they showed the king how they could poke it just like any other bubble. The king still insisted that the bubble was trouble, however. As a result, when he poked the bubble, he was immediately swept into it and became trapped inside.

Moral: If you don't want trouble, don't go looking for it.

Words of Wisdom

"Kind words are short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless."
Mother Teresa (1910-1997)

Thimbleful of Therapy

"If you want to be criticized, marry."
Irish Proverb

As a Matter of Fact

William Shakespeare, playwright and poet, lived from 1564-1616. He has given us such wise old sayings as "All the world's a stage", "There's small choice in rotten apples" and "Come what may, time and hour run through the roughest day". Shakespeare's knowledge of human behavior and his use of poetry and drama to present profound truths is unequalled in literature.

There is some controversy, however, as to whether all of the plays and poems attributed to him were actually written by him. But this much is known about his life. He was born in England at Stratford-on-Avon, probably third of eight children, and attended a local grammar school there. At age eighteen he married Anne Hathaway and she bore him three children. About 1590 he moved to London and became successful as an actor, playwright and poet. He is believed to have written 38 plays and 154 sonnets.

Shakespeare wrote little after 1608 and spent much time in Stratford where he remained a leading citizen until his death in 1616. Only half of his plays had been published at the time. Fortunately, two of his colleagues, John Heminge and Henry Condell, gathered up the rest of his works shortly after his death and published them.

Sayings Sampler

"Don't bite off more than you can chew" is a familiar saying of unknown origin. Taken literally, it means don't take too big a bite of food or you might not be able to chew it and perhaps even choke. It has come to mean, however, don't take on more than you can handle.

This wise old saying is certainly apropos in the fast-paced world of today. It is especially tempting to take on things that in themselves seem simple enough or don't take much time to do, but combined with other such items may be too much to handle as a whole. It can also refer to the undertaking of a project that is just too big to handle alone.

Sometimes out of a sense of guilt or inadequacy we take on too much and then resent the fact that we have so much to do. Time management experts tell us to learn to say "no". One wise woman noted that we are only as busy as we let ourselves be. With millions of people on depression medication, it would indeed appear that many of us are biting off more than we can chew!

Blankety Blanks

"If you can't stand the _______, get out of the ________."

The answer to last week's "Blankety Blank" is:
"Absence makes the heart grow fonder."

Discombobbles

"Better one heads than are two."

The answer to last week's "Discombobble" is:
"Can't see the forest for the trees."

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August 27, 2000
Volume 1, Issue 18

Welcome to "Snippets"

Saying for the Week

Chin Ups

"TAKE LIFE AS IT COMES"

At age 10, Jack London was selling newspapers, going to school, working on an ice wagon and setting up pins in a bowling alley. After only completing the eighth grade, he dropped out of school to work at a cannery. With the help of a friend, he then bought a boat and became an oyster pirate and later a fisherman and sailor. Next he became a railroad hobo, but was arrested for vagrancy and went to jail for a month.

At age 19 London went back to high school and graduated. After attending Berkeley for only six months, he dropped out and studied on his own. Next he went to Alaska searching for gold, which gave him stories to write about and helped to launch his career as a writer. By the time of his death at age 40, he had become a best-selling author, his life experiences having been the fodder for his writing.

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.

"Monkey see, monkey do."

Telling Tales

Oh Nuts!

There was once a kindly bear who was big, but gentle in his ways. His pace was slow which led his neighbor the squirrel, who was fast, to criticize him. The squirrel would run around the woods all day gathering nuts while the bear slowly picked and ate berries. The bear seemed lazy to the squirrel, but he always provided for his cubs and had a good word for all his neighbors. The squirrel, on the other hand, rarely spoke to anyone because he was too busy running around frantically gathering food. Even though he had already gathered plenty of nuts for the winter, the squirrel scurried around gathering more. One day he had a heart attack and died. The slow lumbering bear, however, lived to be a ripe old age.

Moral: Slow but steady wins the race.

Words of Wisdom

"The test of a first rate mind is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in the mind at the same time."
F. Scott Fitzgerald(1896-1940)

Thimbleful of Therapy

"No husband has ever been shot doing the dishes."
Unknown

As a Matter of Fact

"Don't be left holding the bag" is a wise old saying that means don't take the blame for something gone wrong that was not solely your fault. The adage may have come from an American con artist scam called the "drop game" featured in the movie "The Sting" starring Robert Redford and Paul Newman. In this scam, a sucker is left holding a (hand)bag full of worthless paper.

It goes something like this: First the con man shows a sucker a handbag full of money that he found. He quickly puts it back in his pocket and tells the "mark" that he hasn't got time to find its owner to collect the certain reward, pretending that he's got to catch a train out of town. He offers the bag to the sap for, say $50.00. The fool, thinking that he'll pocket the bag full of cash, agrees and hands over $50.00. The con man pulls a switch and gives the dupe an identical bag full of worthless paper and then hurries off to catch his train before the unsuspecting sucker realizes that he's been taken.

(Source: "The Whole Ball of Wax" by Laurence Urdang, Perigee Books, New York, 1988)

Sayings Sampler

"Save for a rainy day" is the moral of one of Aesop's fables. We see evidences of it here and there today. For example, some people stock up with canned goods so they will be ready for a natural disaster, such as a hurricane or snowstorm. Also some parents put half of their kids' toys in the attic and bring them out on a rainy day.

As far as saving money for a rainy day, it doesn't seem to be put into practice as much today even though unexpected expenses are as certain to occur as rain. Many people are maxing out on their credit cards and spending as fast as the money comes in. Some people are trying to save, however. The increasing use of 401K payroll deductions by individuals matched by their employers is evidence that some working people are saving more. Certainly the level of the stock market is evidence of this.

One way to save for a rainy day is to have a separate budget for unexpected expenses. This not only allows you to have the money handy for emergencies, such as house or car repairs, but also psychologically hurts less if you already have the money set aside than if you have to use money that you were counting on for something more fun.

Blankety Blanks

"_______ makes the _______ grow fonder."

The answer to last week's "Blankety Blank" is:
"An apple a day keeps the doctor away."

Discombobbles

"The for see forest trees can't the."

The answer to last week's "Discombobble" is:
"Don't sweat the small stuff."