The Truth in Old Adages
“A stitch in time saves nine”, says an old saying. When I was a youngster my mother and her family elevated this short, six-word sentence to the level of a religious proverb. As Grandpa Frank (I had a Grandpa Frank and a Grandpa Abe but their wives were Grandma and Granny, go figure) collected the necessary accouterments to change the oil in his pick-up he would answer our question why by saying, “Well, ya know a stitch in time saves nine.” When Grandma would clean up spilled milk from the kitchen table she would murmur under her breath, “A stitch in time saves nine.” Queried by us as to the nature of her sewing my mother would say, “A stitch in time saves nine.” Eventually, even my father began to use this euphemism and would explain that he was repairing the bathtub because, “A stitch in time saves nine.” Though I understood each of these activities I could not see how “stitching” could save them all. At the ripe old age of nine, I finally realized sewing was clearly stitching, but the use of this phrase to describe the activities of the rest of the family continued to confuse me. Eventually, I would come to understand the nature of the phrase and its application to our family’s life.
. . .
Some common words found in the essay are:
Grandpa Abe, Kool-aid Grandmas, Grandma Granny, Grandpa Frank, Billy Grandmas, Bay Freeway, Pontiac GTO, Frank Billy, , Frank Getting, stitch saves, saves nine, stitch saves nine, grandpa frank, ice cream, true meaning saying, grandpa abe, frank grandpa, kitchen table, play clothes, nine finally, grandpa frank grandpa, activity table,
Approximate Word count = 1282
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
 |
