Posts by Pat:
Remember Burma Shave signs?
To my Old-As-Dirt friends and relatives! (and for those who never saw any of the Burma Shave signs…
Those of us whose parents took us on road trips before the interstate system will appreciate this little bit of history. I used to love seeing these Burma Shave sayings. The company was sold in 1963 and the signs came down.
They were small red signs with white letters, aout 100 feet apart, each containing 1 line of a 4 line couplet and the obligatory 5th sign advertising Burma Shave, a popular shaving cream.
I’m sure that those signs actually saved lives. After all, we slowed down so we could read them! People laughed and then were likely to be more careful. It was a REAL “service” to America even though it was an advertisement. And, it was useful as well as fun.
PASSING SCHOOL ZONE TAKE IT SLOW LET OUR LITTLE SHAVERS GROW. Burma Shave
NO MATTER THE PRICE, NO MATTER HOW NEW THE BEST SAFETY DEVICE IN THE CAR IS YOU. Burma Shave
AROUND THE CURVE LICKETY-SPLIT BEAUTIFUL CAR WASN’T IT? Burma Shave
DON’T LOSE YOUR HEAD TO GAIN A MINUTE YOU NEED YOUR HEAD YOUR BRAINS ARE IN IT. Burma Shave
AT INTERSECTIONS LOOK EACH WAY A HARP SOUND NICE BUT IT’S HARD TO PLAY Burma Shave
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Do we sometimes get a little “heavy-handed” when reminding folks of the “right” thing to do? Burma Shave had it right, don’t you think?
Make them laugh. Make them look forward to the next message so they can laugh again! Sort of a “spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down” if you know what I mean.
Today is tomorrow’s yesterday…
What we do today will either enhance or diminish our future present moments. But most people put things off until tomorrow. We thoughtlessly forgo exercise and education, go into debt, and justify negative relationships. But at some point, it all catches up. Like an airplane off-course, the longer we wait to correct it the longer […]
So what’s my question?
A flower doesn’t stop being beautiful just because somebody walks by without noticing it. The flower just continues to be its glorious self: elegant, graceful, and magnificent. Mother Nature has provided us with these immeasurably valuable teachers that blossom despite their short lifespan, stars that continue to shine even if we fail to notice them, […]
What Jefferson Really Meant
When you talk with folks about happiness, they often quote Thomas Jefferson’s famous line from the Declaration of Independence about eveyone being entitled to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” We’ve been conditioned to believe that happiness is something for us to pursue. But that’s not what Jefferson really meant by the pursuit of […]
Need another reason?
A story from the famed basketball coach George Raveling resonates with me about an invaluable lesson from his grandmother who had raised him. “Why did the slave masters hide their money in books, George?” she asked him when he was a young boy. “I don’t know, grandma, he said. “Because they knew the slaves wouldn’t […]
The panther, the dog and the squirrel…
As we get older and find ourselves looking for a gate to open rather than climbing over the fence, we can at least say to ourselves, “I may be slower, but at least I am wise.” With that thought in mind, here’s an oldie but goodie for you! One day an old German Shepherd starts […]
The Two Oreo Principle
Who doesn’t love Oreos? After all, they are chocolate! Once they are in the house, we may just start eating a couple each day. You know, one of those tiny, seemingly inconsequential things that add up over time. So if we crunch the numbers…Two oreos a day for an entire year at 45+/- calories for […]
Be-Do-Have?
Most people believe that they must first have something (money, time, love) Before they can do what they want to do (travel the world, write a book, have a romantic relationship) Which will ultimately allow them to be something (happy, peaceful, motivated). Paradoxically, this have-do-be paradigm must be reversed to experience happiness, success, or anything […]
Here be dragons…
“Here be dragons” (hic sunt dracones in Latin) means dangerous or unexplored territories, in imitation of a medieval practice of putting illustrations of dragons, sea monsters and other mythological creatures on uncharted areas of maps where potential dangers were thought to exist. Though only on one historical map, this famous phrase may well have served […]