Dad Sayings

Been thinking about my Dad, and some of the many 'sayings' he had.  He didn't lecture with them... more like he subtly taught with them.  As sentences, they were simple and to the point, which no doubt contributes to their effectiveness as teaching agents.  Many will be familiar to people of my generation, such as:

"If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

"There's no such thing as a free lunch."

"Buyer beware."

"When the going gets tough, the tough get going."

"A fool and his money are soon parted." 

I probably muttered silently to myself on more than one occasion upon hearing these, even  innocuously offered as they were.  But they stuck.  And they taught me real lessons about life, and about human nature.  And while everyone of them is still true today, because human nature does not change, I am stunned by their disappearance from the American lexicon, and their demise as inheritable wisdom.  The greatest gift we pay forward to the next generation is not material or monetary in nature, it is the accumulated wisdom of the ages.  Wisdom equips us to engage the world.

Consider:

How much of the Housing Crisis could have been prevented by listening to my Dad say, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."?  Or for that matter, "A fool and his money are soon parted."

How many politicians would be patently unelectable if "There's no such thing as a free lunch" were the standard grid through which the electorate filtered political speak? 

What would Food Assistance Program enrollment figures look like if people confidently embraced, deep down, that "When the going gets tough, the tough get going", secure in the knowledge that they can in fact manage their own destiny?

Maybe we need to believe more in ourselves, our own abilities and gifts, heed more of the wisdom collected in the lives of our family members and close friends, and through that process rely less on sweet sounding promises offered from the lips of strangers.

My Dad passed away in 2000.  But the lessons he learned from his life - and it was not an easy life, are his bequest to me. I count them amongst my greatest treasure.

Thanks Dad!