Dad's Aphorisms
My father leans on aphorisms to express his opinions.
We were at the beach last week when one of his grandkids lamented that they had applied for a job that was going to require hard work.
Dad piped up: ”You can’t learn to swim without getting your head wet.”
It was such a great line, a wonderful way to make a point that was direct while not seeming too harsh.
Once I heard that phrase I started noticing that he used a slew of aphorisms or fantastic phrases. Here are some of the highlights:
”You can’t soar with the eagles, if you’re up hooting with the owls.”
”If you can’t find something, it’s usually where you left it.”
”If you play with the bull, you get the horns.”
”Never get separated from your skis.”
One more he dropped was really more of a social observation but it hit hard:
“People pay more attention to you when you have a cane.”
I love how those phrases are both memorable and economical.
They say so much with so little.
I don’t know if the Greatest Generation used more aphorisms than we do.
But I think it’s fair to assume they didn’t talk about themselves as much, at least not in a self referential way. Obviously, there was no social media to tempt them.
I have a friend whose father passed recently at 92.
He said that his dad “lived his life largely without commenting on it.”
I love that line.
It seems harder to imagine that happening today.
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BRIEF OBSERVATIONS
SUBSTACK: I’m seeing more and more of the people I follow on X and LinkedIn move to Substack. It’s creating an interesting network effect of community.
THE COST OF AN $8 SPRING: An $8 spring came lose in my car and it meant that the hood couldn’t close properly, rendering the automobile useless. Amasing how small things can cause big things to fail.
CONNECTING ON LINKEDIN: If you are a young person and you want a model example of how to reach out and connect with people on social media this is a good place to start.
LEANING TREES: My two favorite trees are near where my parents live. They grew leaning over because of the winter winds. Great example of being adaptive and resilient.
SKETCHING: My brother spends as much time as possible sketching, which is something he loves but also something that explains his career as a graphic designer.
Please reach out if you have any thoughts about today’s newsletter. I enjoy hearing from readers. Send me a message if you want to talk or meet up if you are in NYC.
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