Betty's Common Sense Heritage From Our Ancestors

Was her higher education degree, didn't cost a dime, and was more needful than matriculation.

My sister, Betty, and I were born in west Texas just in time for the Great Depression and the infamous Dust Bowl ... she in January of 1929 and I in Dec. 1930. Many people, back then, did not even finish grade school and only about 3 to 4 % had a college degree, but Common Sense was not uncommon to our ancestors. 

Betty, who just went to heaven, often quoted scripture as well as common sayings we heard people use in our childhood. In those days, before WWII, and dating back to the pioneers, nearly everybody was a farmer or serviced farmers. Back then people were as intelligent as people today, but not nearly as sophisticated or educated. So to teach their children right and wrong and life's lessons everyone needed to learn, they quoted scriptures and developed phrases, analogies, adages, and axioms to communicate truths or what they believed was true. A few weeks before Betty passed away, I asked her to write down a few of those old expressions she could remember. I thought I might use them in a blog post. I expected maybe six or eight. But she was not a 6 or 8 kind of woman. After about a month, just before she died, she handed me a bundle of pages with 125 of those old truisms written out by hand. Betty neither had a computer nor wanted one. She had all of these aphorisms in her memory.  Many of them have roots in the teachings of scripture. Some were born out of experience. Here are all of them I could type on a letter sized page. They were Betty's higher education degree. RB

A rotten apple spoils the whole bushel. Every rose has its thorns. Eyes as sharp as an eagles. Money burns a hole in his pocket. Saving for a rainy day. Think before you leap. He's got a tiger by the tail. Haste makes waste. She sees everything through rose colored glasses. Don't count your chickens before they hatch. Don't judge a person till you've walked a mile in their shoes. Honest as the day is long. Give her an inch and she'll take a mile. She's worth her weight in gold. The early bird gets the worm. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. He's as rough as a cob. Tough as cow hide. She's free as a bird. He hit the ground running. Waste not want not. Cleanliness is next to Godliness.  Don't dig a ditch for someone else, you may fall in it. What goes around comes around. You don't appreciate the water til the well goes dry. Getting too big for your britches. An hour late and a dollar short. You can't get blood out of a turnip. There's no fool like an old fool. Spare the rod, spoil the child. Stupid is as stupid does. He's got ants in his pants. She's sharp as a tack. Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. Make hay while the sun shines. A man's name is his bond. Stubborn as a mule. Kicks like a donkey. Slow as a turtle, Fast as a rabbit. Graceful as a swan. Happy as a lark. Curious as a cat. Eats like a pig. Swims like a fish. Cunning as a fox. Crooked as a snake. Quiet as a mouse. Memory like an elephant. Strong as an ox. Cocky as a rooster. Struts like a peacock. Cozy as a bug in a rug. Wise as an owl. Hard as a rock. You can catch more flies with sugar than vinegar. A stitch in time saves nine. Busy as a bee. Thin as a rail.  Green as a gourd. Stable as the Rock of Gibraltar. Limp as a wet noodle. Mad as a wet hen.  Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Don't put your foot in your mouth. If you lay down with dogs you will get up with fleas. I'll be there if the creeks don't rise. Smart as a whip. Birds of a feather flock together. Gag at a gnat and swallow a camel. Easy come easy go. Burning his candle at both ends. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. A woman can throw more out the back door with a tea-spoon than a man can bring in the front door with a shovel. Life is a three ring circus. I'll buy that when my ship comes in. A penny saved is a penny earned. I've been run through the wringer. Weak as a kitten. His bark is worse than his bite. It always looks greener on the other side of the fence. Straight as an arrow. Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me. I trust him about as far as I can throw an elephant. I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream. That sure sounds fishy. All's well that ends well.

Thanks Sis, you always did go the extra mile.