 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Archives (continued)
December 1, 2000 Welcome to "Snippets""Snippets", a free ezine devoted entirely to Wise Old Sayings, is written by Betsy and Tom Sullivan and published twice a month.Saying for the Week"When the pupil is ready, the teacher will come."Chinese Proverb
Chin Ups(Short inspirational biographies)"A HARD BEGINNING MAKETH A GOOD ENDING" The year was 1947, the place was Cincinnati, Ohio and the event was the birth of a baby boy. The boy was very anxious and easily frightened when he was young. He was afraid of monsters, cracks in his bedroom wall, clouds, trees and wind, among other things. He was picked on unmercilessly at school because he was skinny and by no means athletic. Often he was referred to as a "nerd" and labeled "the retard". In elementary school when his class of fifty students ran the mile, he and a mentally retarded boy came in last. All of his classmates cheered the other boy on to beat him. School bullies frequently knocked him over and held his face down in the water fountain. Once a classmate threw a lit cherry bomb at him. Another time he was made the laughing stock of the school when he vomited while dissecting a frog. The boy and his family moved around a lot, so just as he made a friend in one location, he would have to start all over again in another location. His parents argued a lot and he and his sisters would huddle together into the wee hours of the night listening to their fights. When he was 16 his parents finally separated. The family had just moved to a new location and he was devastated. He always hated school and frequently pretended to be sick so he wouldn't have to go. His grades were only mediocre and as a result he was rejected by his first two college choices. Who is this boy? His name is Steven Spielberg!!!
Missing Persons(Unknown authors)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 picture's worth a thousand words."
Telling Tales(Tales with a moral)Pinky the Pig
Way out in the country, down on the farm
Instead of enjoying her life in the country,
Pinky was tired from her litter of pigs.
She had splendid ideas of becoming a queen,
One day a voice came from out of the corn,
And then out of nowhere came a little pig fairy.
Pinky spoke right up without even a wink,
"A beautiful room made just for me,
Pinky then gulped and said at high pitch,
Moral: Be careful what you wish for.
Words of Wisdom(Longer Quotations)
"Time is the only coin of your life. It is the only coin you have and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you."
Thimbleful of Therapy(Humorous Sayings)
"If anything can go wrong, it will."
"Murphy was an optomist."
As a Matter of Fact(Facts about wise old sayings and their authors)Sir William Schwenk Gilbert, better known as W.S. Gilbert, gave us such wise old sayings as "Faint heart never won fair lady", "Let the punishment fit the crime" and "Things are seldom what they seem". Born in 1836 in London, he was the son of a retired naval surgeon. When he was two years old, he was kidnapped by Italian brigands in Italy, but was released after ransom money was paid. As an adult, he was a member of the militia, worked in a government bureau job and became a barrister. None of these professions suited him, however, and he turned to writing plays, one of which was "Trial by Jury" which mocked the law profession. In 1871 he teamed up with composer Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan and for twenty-five years they produced fourteen comic operas under the name Gilbert and Sullivan. They also teamed up with Richard D'Oyly Carte who formed The D'Oyly Carte Company to perform the Gilbert and Sullivan operas. Gilbert was master of paradox, sarcasm and the English language and loved to poke fun at the social establishment. Sullivan, on the other hand, took pride in composing oratorios and was resentful that his serious works were less popular than the comic operettas which he referred to as his "musical slummings". Their partnership finally broke up with a quarrel. In addition to his satirical operettas, Gilbert was also the author of the "Bab Ballads", "fairy comedies" and serious plays. In 1907 he was knighted by Edward VII. In 1911, at age 74, he died of heart failure while attempting to save a drowning woman whom he was teaching to swim.
Sayings Sampler(Explanation of sayings and their usage today)"Every dog has his day" is a saying that first appeared in the works of John Heywood (c.1497-1580) and was used again in "Don Quixote" by Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616). It later appeared in a quote by George Borrow (1803-1881) "Youth will be served, every dog has his day, and mine has been a fine one". This adage can be applied in several ways. As in the quote, every person has their chance at youth. It can also refer to people's successes in life or the attention they are given. Many times the most popular kids in school peak in their teens whereas the "nerds" go on to become computer experts, heads of corporations or film directors. Some of the most famous people started out life as misfits and ended up as shining stars. Eleanor Roosevelt was shy and awkward, Thomas Edison and Louis Pasteur were thought by their teachers to be retarded and Mark Twain was thought to be spoiled. Even successful people have periods of unpopularity. Oprah couldn't get people interested in her film "Beloved", Jimmy Carter and George Bush both lost in running for a second term as President of the United States and the Ford Motor Company's Edsel automobile was a big flop. People also take turns at sharing the spotlight. Companies, such as F.W. Woolworth and Howard Johnson's, are popular for a time and then fade out. Sports teams share the limelight as different teams reach the top each year. Different actors are chosen each year to receive Oscars. This saying can also refer to normal everyday life. Some days everything seems to go our way and other days are best forgotten about. Talent Show(Reader Contributions)In each issue of "Snippets" we print contributions sent in by 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 features are:
"Take away someone's hope and you leave them with nothing."
"Every end has a new beginning."
Blankety Blanks(Fill in the blanks)"Lightening _______ strikes the same place _______."
The answer to last week's "Blankety Blank" is:
Discombobbles(Unscramble)"The worse than remedy sometimes the is disease."
The answer to last week's "Discombobble" is:
--------------------------- November 15, 2000 Welcome to "Snippets""Snippets", a free ezine devoted entirely to Wise Old Sayings, is written by Betsy and Tom Sullivan and published twice a month.Saying for the Week"There is nothing to fear but fear itself."Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945)
Chin Ups(Short inspirational biographies)"HE THAT CANNOT ENDURE THE BAD, WILL NOT LIVE TO SEE THE GOOD" Robert Fulton was born in 1765 on a farm in Pennsylvania. When he was six, however, his family was forced to sell the farm and most of their possessions. Two years later, just when they were getting back on their feet, Robert's father died and the family was once again nearly penniless. When Robert was fifteen, he was apprenticed to a silversmith who made jewelry. He detested being an apprentice and wanted instead to design his own work of art. So at this point he turned to drawing and painting with which he made a modest income. At age twenty-one, he became seriously ill, however, and was advised to go abroad to try to improve his health. So he went to London to study under the artist Benjamin West. It was there that he became fascinated with machines and started inventing some for himself. One of his inventions was a Nautilus diving boat which he tried to sell to the French. When it failed to destroy a British ship, the French lost interest. Fulton then tried to interest the British in his torpedoes, but these too failed, so the British also lost interest. Fulton then teamed up with Robert R. Livingston who had a monopoly on steamboating in New York. He designed a steamboat for Livingston, but its frame was too heavy and it immediately sank. Refusing to give up, he finally succeeded in designing a steamboat that could easily move through the water. The only trouble was that he was still in England and had to wait two years to get permission from the British government in order to bring it to the U.S. When Fulton first put his steamboat in the water in the U.S., Americans were so skeptical that they called it "Fulton's Folly". Despite the lack of public support, Fulton and Livingston didn't give up and eventually their steamboat company prospered. Having bravely endured all the hardships and disappointments in his life, Fulton finally succeeded.
Missing Persons(Unknown authors)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 dripping June sets all in tune."
Telling Tales(Tales with a moral)Animal Tracks Once upon a time a donkey and an elephant decided to race each other. They practiced for many months and each one tried to get as many spectators as possible to cheer them on at the race. On the appointed day the crowds watched them with eager anticipation as the race began. Everyone had taken time out of their busy schedules to attend the race, figuring it wouldn't hurt to spend a couple of hours at the track on a pleasant afternoon. At the end of the race, however, it was so close and so hard to tell who had won that they had to rely on a photo finish to declare the winner. The only trouble was the "photo" was all blurry. A group of "official" spectators attempted to guess and declared that the donkey had won. The donkey supporters cheered for joy. But then it was announced that there had been a mistake and the elephant had really won. At which time the elephant supporters cheered for joy. Finally the "official" officials stepped forward and had to admit publicly that the photo was unclear and they couldn't easily tell who had won. They would have to analyze the photo carefully which could take weeks. In the meantime the donkey and elephant would just have to keep running around the track until the results were clear enough to declare a winner. Naturally the spectators became tired and frustrated and gradually lost interest in the race and went back to their homes to resume their everyday lives. After a while the donkey became exhausted and the elephant developed sores on his feet. Neither one would give up, however, and to this day they can still be seen running around the track. Moral: What goes around, comes around.
Words of Wisdom(Longer Quotations)
"You can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time."
Thimbleful of Therapy(Humorous Sayings)
"I have a new philosophy. I'm only going to dread one day at a time."
As a Matter of Fact(Facts about wise old sayings and their authors)
"Don't have too many irons in the fire" is a saying of unknown origin but is believed to date back to the 1600's. Nowadays it means we shouldn't take on more than we can handle. It's original meaning, however, came straight from the blacksmith's shop where a blacksmith had to find a delicate balance of having enough irons in the forge to keep him busy without putting in too many. If there were too few irons in the fire, the blacksmith would have to wait for some to heat up and couldn't stay constantly busy. If he had too many, he couldn't keep up with them and he would be labeled inefficient. Having just the right amount of irons in the fire was the sign of a good blacksmith and allowed the smithy to keep up a steady pace of work. (Source: Heavens to Betsy by Charles Earle Funk, Harper & Row, New York, 1955)
Sayings Sampler(Explanation of sayings and their usage today)"You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar" is a wise old saying adapted from Ben Franklin's quote, "A spoonful of honey will catch more flies than a gallon of vinegar". Certainly in a marriage it is better to have an understanding, encouraging spouse rather than a nagging one. Even in business, there have been studies done that show an employee is a better worker if he is praised rather than criticized. In addition, workers who have a positive attitude are more likely to move up in the ranks than those workers who are always complaining. "Constructive criticism" is a phrase that has been coined to turn negative criticism into a positive force for change. What it really means is that a criticism is honey-coated rather than spiked with vinegar. It is human nature to react negatively when being yelled at and to act positively when being praised. It is also human nature to forget this important axiom!
Talent Show(Reader Contributions)In each issue of "Snippets" we print contributions sent in by 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 true tale by Quentin D'Souza. To view more of Quentin's writing and pick up some frugal teaching tips, visit "The Frugal Teacher" at www.thecanadianteacher.com/frugal/ Speaking From The Heart Ana was a student who left her name written in my heart. She was from Poland and arrived in Canada in May and started school as soon as she could, even though there was less than a month left in the school year before summer vacation. She was going to be 12 years old when she came into my English class of recently arrived grade six and seven students. At the time Ana was one of the few Polish students that attended our school and of those students only one could interpret to English what Ana wanted to say. We could imagine how she felt, all alone in the middle of so many kids (at this time we had about 600 students in the school). At recess she rarely wanted to play; she preferred staying in class and she would show me books with pictures, so I would tell her how to say the words in English. As soon as she learned a new expression she never forgot it. We communicated with a mixture of words, actions and drawings that Ana made to make me understand her questions. You could see clearly that she felt a desire to learn and communicate like the other kids. Once, she came down the stairs during a recess that I had to leave the classroom, when we met the principal. Ana didn't miss the chance to communicate with him. "Mr. Principal no recess please!" He smiled and said, "We are going to have to vote on that, but I think you are going to lose." At the end of June, together with the other class, we went on a trip to High Park. Ana came to sit beside me. The other teacher asked her a question that she did not understand. In our language, a mixture of signals and words, I explained to her the question and she ended up understanding it. The other teacher commented, "How is it that you did not understand my question and understood your teacher?" Ana responded more with actions than with words, "You talk with your mouth and my teacher talks with his heart." This was the best compliment that I have received in my teaching career. The next year, with 11 months in Canada, Ana won the speech contest that had initially taken place in our school and went on to compete among many students of other schools. Ana brought us second place. Her speech was entitled "It is Difficult to be a New Canadian". Ana won, speaking in simple language which came from her heart. Moral: Teachers can make a difference in the life of a child.
Blankety Blanks(Fill in the blanks)"Friendship is one _______ in two _______."
The answer to last week's "Blankety Blank" is:
Discombobbles(Unscramble)"And young blossoms they the will praise."
The answer to last week's "Discombobble" is:
------------------------
November 1, 2000 Welcome to "Snippets""Snippets", a free ezine devoted entirely to Wise Old Sayings, is written by Betsy and Tom Sullivan and published twice a month.Saying for the Week"All's well that ends well."John Heywood (c.1497-1580)
Chin Ups(Short inspirational biographies)"STICK TO YOUR GUNS" Florence Nightingale was born into a wealthy British family in 1820 and named after her birthplace, Florence, Italy. She grew up in England and was taught at home with her sister. Florence was very bright and attractive and led a very active and privileged life, but in her teens she started to feel her life was empty and meaningless. She always wanted to help the sick and was very affected by the poverty of many people. Her family wanted her to marry a man who was in love with her, but Florence couldn't decide whether to marry to please her parents or dedicate her life to helping people. After seven years of agonizing over her decision, she finally decided not to marry and to work in a hospital instead. Her family was furious and forbade her to do hospital work, where conditions were horrible and nurses were mostly from working class families. Despite her family's objections and although battling depression herself, she went to Germany to learn nursing. The study was rigorous and the living conditions poor, but she managed to last three months before she returned home to her family. She then nursed sick relatives for a year, but once again, despite her family's objections, she returned to nursing. This time as superintendent of an institute of sick gentlewomen. Then the Crimean War broke out and Florence was asked by the British government to go to Turkey with a group of nurses to attend to the British soldiers. When they arrived, they were met with squalid conditions, lack of supplies and hundreds of wounded soldiers. Undaunted, Florence quickly set about obtaining supplies, cleaning and painting the wards and setting up a laundry to clean the bedding. Despite the objections of the army doctors who considered her a nuisance, she managed to get her way. She not only nursed the soldiers, she also talked with them, wrote letters for them and sat with them while they died. She brought in more nourishing food, set up reading and writing rooms and brought teachers, books and games over from England. When the war ended, many people back in England were on hand to give her a hero's welcome, but she preferred instead to quietly slip into the country under an assumed name. Even though she was exhausted when she got home, Florence went right to work reforming the army medical service, persuading politicians to take up her cause. Ironically Florence spent the last fifty years of her life as an invalid and yet she never stopped working. She wrote a book about hospital design and nursing. She believed that hospital conditions should be clean and orderly and the care should include taking into consideration the patient's feelings. As a result of her writings, nursing schools popped up all over England. Florence was also influential in improving the medical conditions in India and helping the conditions of the poor in England. In addition, she wrote volumes about her thoughts on religion and philosophy. Having outlived her family, she died at age ninety. Because Florence Nightingale wasn't afraid to get out there and fight for change, despite opposition from her family and the military, she revolutionized the nursing profession.
Missing Persons(Unknown authors)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 trouble shared is a trouble halved."
Telling Tales(Tales with a moral)A Dastardly Deed Paul Porcupine had a problem. He loved frosted cake and his mother, Clara, had made a nice yellow cake with chocolate frosting, but it was for the church bazaar. Paul looked at the beautifully frosted cake in the kitchen and knew it would be taken up to the church when his mother got home from shopping. He then spied the can of frosting sitting on the counter and saw that it still had some frosting left in it. Returning to the kitchen several times that morning so he could view the cake, slowly an idea formed in his mind. He removed the cake from the cake tray, cut out a generous wedge of cake and ate it quickly over the sink. The crumbs, which fell, were swept down the drain by the water from the faucet. Next Paul took a pair of scissors and cut out a wedge-shaped piece of cardboard from an empty cereal box that was sitting on the counter. Skillfully he inserted the cardboard wedge into the gap in the cake. Then with a butter knife, he scooped up some frosting from the container and iced over the cardboard, blending it with the rest of the cake. He stood back and smiled at his masterpiece. The cake was to be raffled off and some other family would find the cardboard, but not knowing whose cake it was, they would never suspect him. When Clara came home from shopping, she took the cake and put it in a box to be carried up to the church for the bazaar. At the church, Mrs. Beaver placed Clara's cake on a table with the other cakes, all of which were to be raffled off that afternoon. When Paul's sister, Suzy, went to the bazaar later that day, she headed straight for the cake table. She saw that her mother's cake hadn't been raffled off yet, so she bought a raffle ticket. Much to her surprise her number was picked. Suzy immediately picked her mother's cake and proudly carried it home. Clara was very pleased and promised the cake would be dessert after supper. So when the Porcupines were all done eating, Clara brought out the cake. Not knowing that Suzy had brought the cake home, Paul did a nervous double take. Clara cut out a piece of cake and gave it to Father Porcupine. Next, she sliced a piece for Suzy. Then on the third slice, she hit the cardboard and lifted it out of the cake. After the initial shock, everyone but Paul broke out into laughter. Paul turned beet red and flourished a guilty smile. Clara, noticing Paul's discomfort, kiddingly prodded him to confess what he had done. Moral: Everyone gets their just deserts.
Words of Wisdom(Longer Quotations)
"When the pain of remaining the same exceeds the pain of change, you will change."
Thimbleful of Therapy(Humorous Sayings)
"Life is a big headache on a noisy street."
As a Matter of Fact(Facts about wise old sayings and their authors)
"Mind your p's and q's" is a saying that has come to mean "mind your own business" or "be careful what you say". However, its original meaning was probably quite different. There is some disagreement about its origin with basically two major theories. The first is that schoolchildren were taught to be careful how they wrote the letters "p" and "q" making sure the tails of each were going in the proper direction. It is not known in what country this was started. The other theory is that "p" stands for "pints" and "q" for "quarts". There are differing opinions here also. Both agree that the setting is in pubs in old England, but they disagree in terms of reference. One version is that when customers became unruly, the bartender would shout at them to settle down and mind their pints (p's) and quarts (q's). The other version is that when customers ran up a tab in a pub, the bartender would warn them when they were coming close to their credit limit by telling them to mind their pints and quarts.
Sayings Sampler(Explanation of sayings and their usage today)"Just because something is common sense doesn't mean it is common practice" is a wise old saying of unknown origin that is certainly still true today. - It makes sense that people shouldn't smoke because is has a direct link to lung cancer and yet many of us still smoke. - It makes sense to spend less than we earn and yet many of us have huge credit card debt. - It makes sense to floss our teeth every day because dentists say that is the best way to fight gum disease and yet many of us don't take the time out every day to do it. - It makes sense to eat at least five fruits and vegetables every day because the American Cancer Society says it is effective in preventing cancer and yet many of us don't eat that many. - It makes sense to exercise to stay healthy and to live longer and yet many of us are too tired or too busy to make it a part of our daily routine. - It makes sense to exercise our right to vote and yet many of us don't bother. - It makes sense to drive slowly because it saves gas and is safer and yet most of us rush around like crazy. - It makes sense to buy fuel-efficient cars to save energy and money and yet many of us drive gas-guzzling SUV's. - It makes sense to use special flourescent lightbulbs because they last for years, are energy-efficient and are cheaper in the long run than regular incandescent lightbulbs and yet most of us still use regular lightbulbs.
Talent Show(Reader Contributions)In each issue of "Snippets" we print contributions sent in by 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 features are:
"Worry gains you nothing but wasted time and effort."
"Brains are like mouths: when empty they blather, when full they digest."
Blankety Blanks(Fill in the blanks)"Beware the _______ bearing _______."
The answer to last week's "Blankety Blank" is:
Discombobbles(Unscramble)"Is comfort a fear crust in feast better in a than."
The answer to last week's "Discombobble" is: ...Previous page - Next page...
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Copyright (C) 2001, Ben Sullivan |  |
 |
 |
 |