GRAVETTE — This is a good day to measure the strength of the sunshine. Does it seem strong and able to grow grass or weak enough to pass for a cup of green tea? Yes, I know about green tea, my close relative thinks it is a necessary health product and encourages me, a strong, healthy man, to drink it. Can’t go the stuff, but I hope she enjoys hers! Back to the strength of the sun, it sure is puny today.

March will come in like a lion or a lamb and go out just opposite. It is a proven fact, or so my Pappy said. I have seen some come in and I believe he was exactly right. Seems like they do, and when the out is like a lion it is pretty nasty. I’ve seen dirt storms, tornadoes, flash floods, snow storms and some ninety mile per hour winds come along the last few days of March. I don’t know whatto call this one, seeing as how it is just blah!

The old sayings, adages they are called, are not figments of imaginations that got caught up in some ink and paper, they are passed from one century to another because they are true and tell the truth, mostly. A bird in the hand, you know the rest, and haste makes waste are basic. I have to qualify truth because of one or two that slipped in a long time ago. Things like step on a crack which we all know is just nonsense and probably made up by some English lad who was mad at his mother and went out to stomp around.

There are many sayings that came from the cowboys in our west, our uncultured west. The west of big ranches and good men. Oh, I know there were outlaws, they are famous and the good fellers aren’t, but good outnumbered the bad 100 to 1! The fellers were friendly and gracious with what they had,always invited passer-bys in for grub and watered their horses. ‘Sticky fingers will kill you’ sorta explains itself, don’t it? ‘Lead poison’ is easy to figure out when trying to discern the cause of death.

One of the things my Sainted Mother hated was for someone to tell her “Whoa” when she was pouring coffee. I think of her every time one of the members of the Round Table says that to a waitress. I have never seen one of them that resembled a mule.

My close relative has her own set of rules around the house. You had better not say you don’t like something, anything, and curl up a lip at her table. You don’t want to say, “What kind?” when offered pie in her kitchen. If you like pie at all, just eat whatever is given. She will ask your preference if there is more than one. I have seen some blood almost drawn from smart mouthed offspring when they were 16 or 17, daring to say the wrong things.

It is my opinion, and everyone has one, the best adage and the best advice in this day and age is, “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch!” There were no credit cards or charge accounts when that little saw came into being, but it sure stands strong today. I hope everyone who reads this understands exactly what that means and we all need to think on it and live a little closer to the bone. That means cinch your belt so tight that your backbone is against the buckle. America hasn’t had to since the Thirties, but we sure could again.

Wait on the sunshine, it is coming!

-Bill

Bill is the pen name used by the Gravette author of this weekly column.

Opinion, Pages 4 on 03/10/2010