We all have βfamily talkβ that outsiders donβt get. Β A much-used phrase in our family is, βI donβt like what I wanted.” was first uttered by my little niece, Chelsea. Β She had a quarter and spent the morning begging her mother to walk her to a nearby store to put the quarter in a vending machine for a prize. Β As soon as her afternoon nap was over, off they walked for her prize. Β Upon popping her quarter in, a capsule with a lizard dropped in her hand. Β She hated it and smashed it to the ground.
βChelsea, Β youβve been wanting a prize all morning. Β Why did you throw it down?β
βI donβt like what I wanted!β
That line comes in so handy. Β You can use it referring to a car, a man, a job, or the new shoes that cramp your toes. Thank you, Chelsea.
My cousinβs husband provided another great phrase. Β When he was frustrated with her, heβd pronounce, βDonβt go crazy, Sue!β Β We use that one on each other at least once at every family gathering.
“It couldn’t be helped.” This one never fails to rile Mother. She used it often, usually after a big goof-up. It entered “family talk” after Mother made a ghastly mess hemming my brotherβs new suit pants. Itβs best to read that story in its entirety. https://nutsrok.wordpress.com/2014/10/08/it-couldnt-be-helped/
Another is βYouβre gonna have to buy the coffee.β Β My dad worked with a gifted liar. Β The manβs reputation was so well-established that anyone who repeated one of his stories had to buy the next round of coffee. Β On one occasion he came rushing by and one of the fellows called out, βSam, stop and tell us a big one.β
β I canβt,β he replied. Β A man just fell in Smokestack 9 and I have to call an ambulance.β Β They rushed behind him to discover it was all a lie. He was just headed to the cafeteria.
βI just spent my last two bucks on toilet paper and didnβt even get to dookey!β Β This one originated with my husband Bud. Β We awoke in the night to hear water spewing from a pipe under the bathroom sink. Β Sadly, over an inch of water was standing in the house. Β It was awful. Β We jumped into action, but floors and baseboards were ruined. Β It was obvious weβd be disfurnished for days till life was back to normal. Β After the initial water was syphoned and carpets removed we sat exhausted on bare concrete floors. Β Bud sadly pondered the mess and remarked, βI spent my last two bucks on toilet tissue and didnβt even get to dookey.β Β Since then, that phrase describes utter disappointment.
βYou should have done it already.β Β My niece, Haley, kept straddling the new mailbox her father was trying to install, ignoring her fatheβs orders to stay off it. Β Finally exasperated, he warned her. Β βIf you donβt stay off that mailbox, Iβm going to have to paddle you.β Β That would have been a first.
She looked him straight in the eye, with all the wisdom of a four-year-old and said, βYou should have done it already.β
βThe headβs as dangerous as the rest of it.β said my sister as she warned us all away from the severed head of a rattlesnake. Very very people have been injured by the body and rattlers, for sure.
“You try to raise your kids right….. .” This is one of Mother’s favorites. When she met her mother-in-law for the first time, Mamaw gave her a chilly welcome. “You try to raise your kids right and then when the get old enough to help you out, they go off and get married.” Needless to say, it foretold a weak friendship. Since then, when Mother jokes about neglect by any of us, she dusts this phrase off.
“I didn’t want to be in the damn play, anyhow!” A young relative as coerced by his teacher to be in a school play by his teacher.
“Johnny, you have to be in the play. Your mama and daddy are coming. Your grandma’s coming. Everybody else is in the play.”
Finally, Johnny reluctantly agreed to a one-line part. All he had to say was, “Hark, I hear a pistol shot!”
“When his time came, he called out, “Hark! I hear a shistol pot!” He made a couple more attempts with no better luck.
Disgusted, he stomped his foot and proclaimed, “I didn’t want to be in the damned play, anyway!” Β This comes in handy when weβve had enough.
Mamaw was partial to her two-year-old grandson, referring to him often as βMaβs little man.βΒ His three-year-old sister was sick of coming in last. Planting her fists on her little hips, she waggled her butt and mimicked, βMaβs little man! Β Maβs little man! Β All me ever hear. Β Maβs little man!β

Mamaw early 1950s Β She loved Maβs little man.
”
Like this:
Like Loading...