Archive for the ‘proverbs’ Tag
Why is it that most married men after a time pray for, “silence”. I can honesty say that I’ve never heard a woman demanding “silence” unless it’s to give them a way to interrupt my conversation. Standup comics have made it a part of their monologues on a number of occasions so maybe it’s just a male thing. I’ve always whined about my need for peace and quiet but never realized I was not alone in that. Today I offer up the thoughts of many so-called famous people on how they feel about “silence”.
- He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction. Proverbs 13:3
- Silence is the most perfect expression of scorn. George Bernard Shaw
- Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt. Abraham Lincoln
- Speech is silver, silence is golden. French proverb
- If a word be worth one shekel, silence is worth two. Hebrew proverb
- Silence is also speech. Yiddish proverb
- Silence is the ultimate weapon of power. Charles de Gaulle
- Keep quiet and people will think you are a philosopher. Latin proverb
- He has the gift of quiet. John le Carre
- He is not a fool who knows when to hold his tongue. Abraham Lincoln
🤫🤫🤫
WITH ALL DUE RESPECT
SHUT THE HELL UP
Do you consider yourself a truthful person? As a young person I thought I was always truthful but as I aged, I discovered just how wrong I was. There have been many times that I used exaggeration to make a point clearer and more interesting but in fact that is actually being somewhat untruthful. I think I can safely say that everyone at one time or another plays fast and loose with the truth for any number of reasons. Here is a collection of comments and quotations about the truth that make a great deal of sense.
- “The trouble with stretching the truth is that it’s apt to snap back.” Anonymous
- “Truth is such a rare thing; it is delightful to tell it.” Emily Dickinson
- “The man who speaks the truth is always at ease.” Persian Proverb
- “If you speak the truth have a foot in the stirrup.” Turkish Proverb
- “Truth is the anvil which has worn out many a hammer.” Anonymous
- “Everyone loves the truth, but not everyone tells it.” Yiddish Proverb
- “Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened.” Winston Churchill
- “Craft must have clothes, but truth lives to go naked.” Thomas Fuller
- “Truth is heavy; few therefore can bear it.” Hebrew Proverb
- “Seldom any splendid story is wholly true.” Anonymous
And finally, a quote from one of my favorite people: Mark Twain
“When in doubt, tell the truth.“
And here’s one of my own:
“Always tell the truth and do the right thing regardless of the consequences.”
THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE
I was wondering to myself if the response to this posting will be affected by the unusual title. I guess I’ll have my answer sometime tomorrow, but nothing would really surprise me. It’s just my sneaky way of beginning a post on religion. I’m not a big fan as you would already know if you’ve read this blog in the past. I have a friend or two that are true believers, and this is my subtle way of expressing my thoughts on the subject. Many religious folks enjoy using their religions sacred writings to make their points with me, but I find that a bit ludicrous. To take those documents as the literal word of some god is frightening in its naivete. Here are a few blurbs from various religions to help me make my point once again.
- According to the Bible If your wife defends your life in a fight by grabbing your attackers genitals, you should cut off your wife’s hand and have no pity on her.
- If robbers came to your house while you were having guests, it’s better to offer up your two virgin daughters to the robbers than for your guests to come to any harm.
- The proper way to seal a deal in the Bible is to exchange sandals.
- More than 60% of Americans think the story of Noah’s Ark is literal truth.
- It is better to dwell alone in the desert than at home with a nagging and complaining wife. (Proverbs 21:19)
- More than 46% of Americans believe God created humans in their present form, at one time, within the last 10,000 years.
- God has commanded Mormons to avoid coffee and tea.
- On the eve of Yom Kippur, some observant Jews swing live chickens over their head three times to atone for their sins. It’s called kaparos.
- If you want to sleep with your brother’s wife, it’s better to masturbate – or better yet, to pull out early and ejaculate on the ground, in order to avoid getting her pregnant.
- Men should not shave any parts of their head and beards.
- May the Lord bless everyone who beats your children against the rocks. (Psalm 137:9)
- Mormons believe that the Garden of Eden was located in northern Missouri.
GOD IS GREAT, GOD IS GOOD! YEAH GOD !!!
(Sarcasm Off)
I’m a lover of quotations as you all know. Some are poignant and other are a bit to smarmy and silly. They’re all good if you take them at face value. Just don’t read too much into them or your in trouble. I’ve collected many that are funny and those are my favorites regardless of who supplied them. These following sayings are from all sorts of people, some well known but most are not. Here they are . . .
- The devils boots don’t creak. Scottish Proverb
- Losing weight is a triumph of mind over platter. Anon
- Nothing is more dangerous than a friend without discretion; even a prudent enemy is preferable. Jean de la Fontaine
- It is easier to know how to do than it is to do. Chinese Proverb
- When dealing with people remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures of emotion, creatures bristling with prejudice, and motivated by pride and vanity. Dale Carnegie
- Speak well of your enemies, sir, you made them. Oren Arnold
- God is a father; luck, a stepfather. Yiddish Proverb
- A graceful taunt is worth a thousand insults. Louis Nizer
- My lawyer was hurt – the ambulance backed up suddenly. Anon
- A leader is best when people barely know he exists. When his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will all say, “We did it ourselves.” Lao-tzu
HAVE A BEAUTIFUL FALL DAY
I thought I would get this semi-political post on its way before the drumbeat of Christmas and New Year’s drowns out almost everything until January. I’ve consistently had very few nice things to say about the government and its politicians. I once leaned to the political right but in truth it’s gotten to the point where you really can’t tell the political parties apart. Most people would rather be known as Independents rather than Republican or Democrat. As I’m a fan of the English language I decided that maybe I should make an attempt to soften my rhetoric a little. So, in the future my new term for these people will be “fools”, who are being “foolish”, and accomplishing nothing but “foolishness”.
Dictionary Definition
fool’ish
Resulting from poor showing a lack of sense; ill considered; unwise: a foolish action, a foolish speech.
Lacking forethought or caution. Trifling, insignificant, or paltry.
It sounds pretty tame to me and maybe it’s too tame. I’m afraid that at times I won’t be able to control my anger and an F-bomb or two may make an appearance. Oh well, I’m only human and “to err is human, to forgive divine” after all. I’m still working hard on reaching the “divine” stage. Every expert or intellectual feels a certain responsibility to make some grand quote on the term “foolish” and one or two are actually worth repeating. Here are few I’ve found but I make no guarantees as to their worth.
- “A foolish man tells a woman to stop talking, but a wise man tells her that her mouth is extremely beautiful when her lips are closed.”
- “You may fool all the people some of the time, you can even fool some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.” Abraham Lincoln
- “You can educate a fool, but you cannot make him think “. The Talmad
And my all-time favorite:
- “He who is born a fool is never cured.” Proverbs
- “Any fool can make a rule, and any fool will mind.” Henry David Thoreau
- “When in doubt, make a fool of yourself. There is a microscopically thin line between being brilliantly creative and acting like the most gigantic idiot on earth. So what the hell, leap.” Cynthia Heimel
- “By the time the fool has learned the game, the players have dispersed.” African Proverb
- “A fool may be known by six things: anger, without cause; speech, without profit; change, without progress; inquiry, without object; putting trust in a stranger, and mistaking foes for friends.” Arabian Proverb
IT IS BETTER TO KEEP YOUR MOUTH CLOSED AND LET PEOPLE THINK YOU A FOOL
THAN TO OPEN IT AND REMOVE ALL DOUBT

As I’ve stated many times in the past I just love talking to kids. The only thing you can be absolutely sure of in those conversations is receiving unedited answers which are what they perceive to be the truth. They are almost always funny and and direct, an ability that most adults have lost due to decades of political correct indoctrination. I try to enjoy conversing with kids before they age enough to become guarded, jaded, and uninteresting, much like their parents.
I’ve posted before with kid’s thoughts on Christmas, Love and Marriage, and other subjects. The information contained in this post was collected by a first grade teacher who took a collection of well-known proverbs and split them into two parts. Each child in her class was supplied with the first half of a proverb, and then asked to complete it. Their insight as always makes me smile. Here we go.
Better to be safe than . . . . Punch a 5th grader.
Strike while the . . . . Bug is close.
It’s always darkest before . . . . Daylight Savings Time.
Never underestimate the power of . . . . Termites.
You can lead a horse to water but . . . . how?
Don’t bite the hand that . . . . looks dirty.
No news is . . . . impossible.
A miss is as good as a . . . . Mr.
You can’t teach an old dog new . . . . math.
If you lie down with dogs, you . . . . stink in the morning.
Love all, trust . . . . me.
The pen is mightier than the . . . . pigs.
An idle mind is . . . . the best way to relax.
Where there’s smoke there’s . . . . Pollution.
Happy the bride who . . . . gets all the presents.
A penny saved is . . . . not much.
Two’s company, three’s . . . . the Musketeers.
Don’t put off till tomorrow what . . . . you put on to go to bed.
Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and . . . . you have to blow your nose.
None are so blind as . . . . Helen Keller.
Children should be seen and not . . . . spanked or grounded.
If at first you don’t succeed . . . . get new batteries.
You get out of something what you . . . . see pictured on the box.
When the blind leadeth the blind . . . . get out of the way.
It’s unfortunate that almost all of us lose the ability to be frank and honest as we age. I spent a career trying to be frank and honest and I paid a heavy price for it at times. I consistently attempted to follow my late father’s #1 rule. It’s nothing from the Bible or any other religious organization, just a plain and simple statement to help set the course for my life. ‘”ALWAYS DO THE RIGHT THING, REGARDLESS OF THE CONSEQUENCES”. It’s not an easy thing to do because most people claim to want honesty from everyone until they get it, then it can get ugly. Kids are pure and uncontaminated by the ugliness of the human condition and it does the heart good for those of us already contaminated to remember those days.