If you can’t convince them, confuse them. (Harry S. Truman)
I was raised on gravy and proverbs. My mother could no more serve a meal without the ubiquitous gravy than she could have a conversation without at least one, and probably several proverbial sayings thrown in. Whether from the Bible or not, they always carried the weighty importance of a Biblical Pronouncement, and it was only in later years that I learned a lot of them weren’t actually scriptural. Even my sister, an inveterate eye roller and cynic, didn’t look askance at Mama’s proverbs, and spouts them to this day. And for me, they have become a way of life, and are an invisible folk-wisdom-script underlying a lot of my thinking and values.
Beggars can’t be choosers. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Better late than never. Birds of a feather flock together. Cleanliness is next to godliness. Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched. Pride goeth before a fall. Good things come to them who wait. Actions speak louder than words. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Sign of the times . . . the writing on the wall . . . nothing new under the sun . . . go the extra mile . . . honesty is the best policy . . . no time like the present . . .
And on and on. We thought if it didn’t come from the Bible (and many of ’em didn’t), then the source must have at least been Shakespeare. And that doesn’t even begin to speak to all the old mountain sayings and superstitions that peppered our speech. It’s a wonder we can put two words together without some adage floating forth.
So on this day, watch out for those wolves in sheep’s clothing and that forbidden fruit. Stick to the straight and narrow and keep mindful that a leopard can’t change his spots.
And laughter is (always) the best medicine.