Little Egypt Heritage Articles Stories of Southern Illinois (c) Bill Oliver 30 November 2003 Vol 2 Issue: #43 ISBN: pending Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen of Little Egypt, In opening, I have another example to the question: Are you doing the "write" thing? :) A day doesn't go by but what I am reminded that the "write" time is always with us. My life partner has for years maintained a part of her small notebook for things said by our children and grandchildren. And, this week as I think about a very brave young lady, struggling to breathe, "sitting" in a hospital bed at the University of Michigan's Hospital in Ann Arbor, I remember some of the sayings she made as a very young lady. And, I dedicate tonight's article to her with so very much love. My memory is going "south". I was sure that Art Linkletter used to say that "Children say the darndest things!" Web researching says that it was a show hosted by Bill Cosby. Well, whomever said it, he was never wrong in that department. During the aftermath of a short "Tid-Bit" article I published on the e-mail lists that I administrate, I received one response which did my story at a minimum, "one better". My story went: Our youngest grandchild is a five year old granddaughter who has begun her school career. She is so eager to learn to read and write that she really bugs me to use the ‘spare' computer to write. Anyway, the other day her Mother found ‘writing' on the garage siding. When asked why there were marker marks on the garage, our very precocious grand answered, "Well ... I ran out of paper." Marilyn, the respondent, wrote: [When our great granddaughter was about three years old] ..."she and her mom were living with our daughter, her grandma, for awhile. Grandma went to the child's room one day and found a pencil drawing on the wall. The following conversation ensued. "Did you draw on the wall?" "Yes." "Why did you do that?" "Well, I asked myself if I wanted to draw on the wall and I told myself ‘Yes', so I did." Well, further research on Art Linkletter vindicates my memory. The phrase "Kids say the darndest things." is attributed to him. Bill Cosby did have a TV show titled "Kids say the darndest things." Art Linkletter is the author of "Old Age is Not for Sissies" and "Kids Say the Darndest Things". I don't know what he said in the first book mentioned, but I'm going to agree with him anyway. Further Mr Linkletter is quoted as saying, "The two best [interview subjects] are children under 10 and people over 70," Linkletter explained. "For the same reason: they say the first thing that comes to their mind. The children don't know what they're saying and the old folks don't care."* He is also attributed to saying, "And keep a sense of humor," he advised. "It doesn't mean you have to tell jokes. If you can't think of anything else, when you're my age, take off your clothes and walk in front of a mirror. I guarantee you'll get a laugh."* At three years old, our daughter would stomp her foot on the floor and so emphatically tell her brothers to "keep out of my constersation!" Or, that her doll, "Snuggles", needed four blankets, because she had the "flus". Or, she would ask, "Do you always put your coffee in a furnance?" We guess that the microwave must have furnished the energy to heat coffee. Actually, in this case it was a matter of "sound" adjustment, for she meant "thermos" and not "furnace". Children can be so very intense in their activities. At such times and when her brothers would tease and torment her, she would announce, "Don't nervous me; I'm writing!" Everyone has their favorite entertainment shows. The boys had theirs ... HopAlong Cassidy and Buck Rogers. She would say to us, "I want to watch TV. How about ‘Truth or Quences'?" Chocolate chips for cookies were an ever a favorite to snack on. Her question: "Can I have another helpful of that?" They became such a favorite that "Mom" would hide them. One of the hiding places was the washing machine. Now what child would ever come near a washing machine ... after all that was "work". The washing machine only worked for a short while. Not quite three, she announced that she could sing "Yankee Doodle". [Be sure to keep the timing when you read this.] "Yisten," she said, "Yankee Doodle, hmmmm, hmmmmm, hmmmmm. .... Yankee Doodle, that's the part I know!" Daddy's have their "little girls" who know exactly which strings to pull to get what they want. Once I announced that I had to go to the store. And, to a Daddy's great delight came the reply ... "Wherever you go, I go!" When she was no more than seven, she exhibited some rare insight: "My stomach hurts, but I'll just forget it, ‘cause I know you love me." We sure do, Sarie, we sure do .... e-la-di-e-das-di ha-wi nv-wa-do-hi-ya nv-wa-to-hi-ya-da. (May you walk in peace and harmony) Wado, Bill -=- PostScript: This article is posted a week later than it was written. At the time I had no e-mail access to post it. In addition, November 30 was the date my Father was born in Marion, Illinois. The year was 1910. Other sites worth visiting: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/SOIL http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/ILMASSAC http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/state/BillsArticles/LittleEgypt/intro.html