Living with other people’s ideas

When I was a little girl I saw my grandmother only a few times a year. I was excited and pleased when she came to our house for a short vacation. I was so excited and pleased that I ran around whistling. Grandma did not think it was proper for a girl to whistle. At the same time that Grandma visited, our aunt also came. She had a rather humorous way of talking. One day the two ladies were sitting out on the lawn and I came whistling out of the house with a tray full of lemonade. Aunt Lyle was pleased but Grandma started a little ditty which she repeated several times. It went like this: “Whistling girls and crowing hens always come to some bad end.” We all laughed except Grandma. After that, I tried to behave.

Unfortunately, she died shortly after this occasion. I kept her poetry in my memory much longer than I did the delicious taste of her gooseberry pie.

We kept several kittens around the house. I loved those kittens and Grandpa loved to putter in his workshop. When I would lose track of them, the kittens were likely to be found asleep in some of his machinery. One sad day, Grandpa started his sander when one kitten was sound asleep in his favorite spot; naturally, that ended the life of the kitten. Grandpa admonished me, “When you love someone it’s your responsibility to show your love by taking good care of the loved one.” Grandpa’s statement stayed with me the rest of my life.

Those two phrases have stayed with me all my life.

However, Grandma made an impression on me to be ladylike but I learned that is a statement not always true. A happy occasion can be expressed with a whistle as well as with a song, and the memory that goes with it makes certain people in my past have special personalities for me. However, Grandma’s gooseberry pies showed her love, despite her occasional criticism.

These are just two examples of how someone can be influenced by funny or serious statements. I am going to try some other examples, and you can put the personality with the words or occasion:

I am leading a dog’s life.

She is as happy as a lark.

He is as studious as Einstein.

Two is company, three is a crowd.

She is as stubborn as a mule.

He has the memory of an elephant.

Their house is clean as a whistle.

She’s as useful as a columnist who cannot type her own material!

(Nevada and Vernon County are fortunate to have a newspaper that includes some foolishness along with real local and international news, the comics and excellent photography.)