God willing, this Sunday will be Terry’s and my 51st wedding anniversary. I thank God for this wonderful woman whom I dearly love! She has been and continues to be a huge blessing to me, our children, our grandchildren and lots of people, many of whom she has never even met!
We were married on my 23rd birthday. Remembering our anniversary is not a problem. Agreeing on which event we should celebrate on January 29 is a challenge. I say anniversary. Terry says birthday. Although both a bit strong-willed, we usually come up with a workable solution!
Both of us are also chronologically mature enough to recall words and phrases used in our childhood but mostly absent from the vocabulary of our children and grandchildren. Here are some that came to my attention not long ago:
- Heavens to Murgatroyd! (Spell check didn’t even recognize the word!)
- Let’s get in the old Jalopy and go to town.
- Don’t touch that dial!
- Be sure to make a carbon copy!
- You sound like a broken record!
- Put on your best bib and tucker!
- Straighten up and fly right!
- Heavens to Betsy! Gee Whillikers! Jumping Jehoshaphat! Holy Moley!
- Oh, my aching back!
- Kilroy was here, but he’s long gone!
- Pshaw! The milkman did it!
- Go ahead! It’s your nickel!
- Knee high to a grasshopper.
- Well, Fiddlesticks! Don’t take any wooden nickels!
There are more of these lost words and expressions than Carter has little liver pills! Those of us past the midpoint of the chronological arc remember at least some of these words and phrases that once strutted their hour upon the earthly stage and now are heard no more, except in our collective memory. It’s one of the profound realities of aging experienced by every generation.
We were in like Flynn and living the life of Riley, and even a regular guy couldn’t accuse us of being a knucklehead, a nincompoop or a pill. Not for all the tea in China! Gone are the days of beehives, pageboys, spats, knickers, fedoras, poodle skirts, saddle shoes, and pedal pushers. Shucks, I don’t even remember some of those things.
Well, I hope you’re Hunky Dory after you read this article. See ya’ later, alligator! After while, crocodile! God bless your day!
