A pithy phrase can nail me to the page.
Alliterations delight me.
Metaphors enlighten me.
Oxymorons slay me.
Imagery ignites my imagination.
And a good thought provoking quote sends me running for my personal Food for Thought notebook.
As a writer, communication instructor, and public speaker, words to me are like paints and paint brushes to Synthia St. James; lips, fingers, and trumpet to Miles; wood and chisel to sculptor Elizabeth Catlett. They are the tools of my trade.
Quotes have grabbed me ever since I read this sign in my Uncle John’s bathhouse at the age of five: “We don’t swim in your toilet, so please don’t pee in our pool.” Now that’s a keeper. Ever since, I have maintained a notebook of quotes. A good one can come in handy. This summer, I have been updating my Food for Thought quote book to include some favorite oldies.
Here are a few:
Meadisms (my Dad)
* You can please some of the people some of the time;
none of the people none of the time.
But you can’t please all of the people all of the time.
* You can’t squeeze blood out of a turnip.
* You can’t take it with you. (He’s and undertaker. Believe him.)
Marionisms (my Mom)
* Beauty is as beauty does.
* You can lead a horse to the water but you can’t make him drink.
* Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
YaYaisms (Me)
* You can’t afford the luxury of a cotton-candy brain.
* Hand it over to Goddess. She recycles.
* There’s no excuse for self-abuse.
* Don’t hand me no half-a$$ed paper and I won’t give you a half-a$$ed grade. (Advice my students have yet to heed.)
How about you? What are your favorite quotes? What are your favorite sayings from family members? Send them to me and I will include them in my blog.
In the meantime, if any one can figure out how to reword the bathouse quote into something I can use in the classroom, let me know.
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