I was raised in a lower middle class working family. My dad and grandfather farmed rented land and both worked additional jobs.

My grandfather's phrase, when we were eating a nice family meal was, "I wonder what the poor folks are doin' today". In case the humor is lost on you....WE were the poor folks.

Anyway, I was out in the heavily wooded acre behind my house this morning, removing the gas tank from my parts chassis. I had a tarp spread out on the ground. The dogs were hanging out with me...occasionally coming to me to give me a lick. There was a nice breeze taking the edge off of the June Texas heat. I even rolled up a big shop towel for a pillow and dozed off for a while.

When I awoke, my grandfather's phrase popped into my head.

He worked like a mule his whole life and never had many luxuries or much time off. I couldn't help but miss him as I lay there in my idle time, playing with a hobby car, and I had to grin because he would've loved to have been there with me and he almost certainly would've used his favorite phrase.

(the last photo is the two of us...1969)







(Message edited by rustyfords on June 16, 2018)

Don , he was there and will always be. You just have to free your mind of all the noise to feel the presence. Thank you for sharing.

Yes! Listen with your heart, and you will hear many wonderful things....

Wonderful story and fine appreciation of life. Thanks for sharing indeed.

Don,
My Granddad and later on my Dad would use the same expression after the blessing was said and we were sitting down to special meal. I think it had its roots in the Depression, as anyone who grew up in that era knew what tough times were and were thankful for what they now had.

A wonderful story. Thank you for sharing!
Randy

Thanks for the nice replies everyone.

This same grandfather told me the story of how his first car was an early Model T. I remember him talking about "tightening up the rods" after a long trip, and never fully understood what he meant until I started playing with T's myself.

When he and my grandmother got married, they drove a T from Brownsville, TX to San Antonio for their honeymoon. Today, the trip can be done in around 5 hours. Their trip took 2 days. The road was a sandy path that paralleled the railroad tracks. They camped in a tent each night next to the car. I wish I had some photos of their car and camp.

Couple sayings that I like from old days. "Poor folks have poor ways" My favorite was what my friend's grandfather said after a good meal." Mighty fine ,mighty good, mighty healthy" Could do a thread on sayings. Thanks for your memories.

Very nice post Don, thank you. My grandfather's favorite saying was "kapusta head" (cabbage head) in reference to me

My grandparents on both sides were all very much given to "old sayings", and particularly as I age, I realize how they enriched my life.

My mother's father used to say "Old sayings are like a short sermon." My father's mother also liked to say "Poor people have poor ways." (Usually referring to one of my grandpa's jury-rigged fixes - which were always quite ingenious nonetheless !) Thing is, it's only half of the quote - the other half is: "Rich people have mean ways." ; )