Points2Ponder

  "Papa-- the things you said--that finally make sense!"

            Points2Ponder

                       By Alan P. Scaglone

 

I dreamt about my father the other night.

Joe Scag looked good and was still spreading his idiomatic expressions that I grew up with.
Statements like “Always Park Under the Light!”
And then there’s “Never take a deal when it’s first offered to you!”
And let’s not forget “Never buy a car at night!”
But his most famous saying was… “Hold whatcha got!”
Excuse me?
“Hold whatcha got!”
Now what does that mean?

Points2Ponder  What’s the craziest thing any older person ever told you? When did you figure out what it meant? When did you realize that is was good advice?”

In the dream… Papa was listening to me talk about some decisions I was pondering…
He looked at me, smiled that “Joe Scag” smile, with his twinkling blue eyes, and he said…
“Hold whatcha got!”
And I woke up and knew—I had to hold what I had!
That was my father’s advice to not rush to change anything, not make a fast decision, not jump to something new…
He would advise to just keep things as they are for a while UNTIL you are sure that it NEEDS to be changed…
Until you are—Hold whatcha got!
I have to admit—what I used to roll my eyes at—yes, I used to roll my eyes—didn’t you?
Come on… think about all of those silly statements you heard growing up.
Did any of them make sense?

At least, at the time—they just didn’t!

Why can’t I buy a car at night?
Why should I always park under the light?
Why can’t I take a deal the first time it’s offered?
It all seemed so silly… until I became a parent!
Then, all of a sudden, my old man suddenly seemed a little smarter!
I found out why you park under a light.
Because you can see around your car BEFORE you get to your car—it’s for safety!
And I now know why you don’t buy a car at night.
Because you can’t see the dent on the trunk where the car has been hit or the tires that are balding on the inside of the wheel.
And I really know why you don’t accept a deal when it’s first offered.
Apparently, any deal that cannot sit overnight has a shady element that is NOT in YOUR favor! You do NOT need it that badly that you can’t wait one day!
These are all things I learned from my father—after I became a father!

Just ask yourself—what funny sayings did you grow up with—that never made sense BACK then, but NOW? They are crystal clear!

 I have to wonder what MY kids will remember about my Alanisms, “Papa’s Proverbs” is what we call them.

And when will they suddenly get it—maybe, just maybe—I knew what I was talking about!
Just hope I live long enough to see it even IF they never admit it!
One thing my father said that did NOT pan out—
Whenever we saw a roach in the house—hey? We live in Florida—you’re going to see an occasional roach—get over it!
Anyway… Papa would say “Get the roach medicine!”
Meaning—go get the Raid roach spray that KILLS the roaches, NOT makes them all better!
Honestly—it took the wives of his three sons to enlighten each of us separately—
“Medicine is used to heal—it does NOT kill!”
Why did it take each of us to learn this from our wives?
Because we all yelled, at some point, after seeing a roach…
“Get the roach medicine—I need to kill this roach!”
Hey Papa—I never doubted you on that one!

 I’m Just… Reflecting on -- Life!

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