Month: April 2020

Oats

Posted on by Robert Eck

Oats: “a cereal crop, or its grains, used for making cookies or a food called oatmeal, or for feeding animals.”  (Collins English dictionary.)  Once considered a wild weed, oats have been around for centuries, becoming a source of nourishment, as well as of amusement, frequently referenced in sayings, movies and songs.

Oats entered the human diet as far back as 1000 b.c. and remains a popular breakfast cereal to start the day (Oat, wikipedia,) Nourishment may be scanty, but oats contain more soluble fiber than any other grain, and when mixed with water develops a thick, viscous substance which moves slowly through the body’s digestive system, removing harmful cholesterol along the way.  Hooray!  Let’s hear it for oats.       

As a kid, I sang a song — a fun little ditty, which made no sense to me:  

— “Mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey.  A kiddley divey too, wouldn’t you.”  (“Mairzy Doats,” written and recorded in 1943, reaching number one on the pop charts in 1944. (Mairzy Doats, Wikipedia)  Of course, as I grew older, I realized that the lines were much simpler, but not as much fun, if one did not run the words together:

— “Mares eat oats, and does eat oats, and little lambs eat ivy.  A kid will eat ivy too, Wouldn’t you?” 

At least three “Oats” maxims have become commonplace in the American language:  

— “Sow you’re Oats,” meaning: to have many amorous relationships, particularly when young.  (Merriam-Webster Dictionary.)  As I grew older and bolder, the phrase “Sow Your Oats,” intrigued my interest, though wishing so did not quite reach the level of sowing so.   

—“Feel your oats,”  meaning “feeling lively and energetic.” (dictionary.com)  By that definition, I felt my oats on many occasions, as is the case for most young people.      

— “Off one’s oats,” meaning: “Disinclined to eat, having little appetite (dictionary.com)  As far back as I can remember, I never experienced a loss of appetite, so I was always “on” my oats, but no one ever says that.  

Oats took on an expansive forum.  The old western movies were popularly known as oat operas, or more commonly as “oaters.”  People spent many a leisure hour watching TV “oaters,” featured favorite cowboys and bandits — sowing or feeling their oats.  

On Growing Old

Posted on by Robert Eck

As we grow older, our gait may slow, our muscles may weaken, our hair may gray — if any remains.  Our thoughts reflect on our life lived.  Fortunately, memory accentuates the good and suppresses the bad.  If one has been fortunate to recall a happy childhood, a loving marriage, or a successful career, then growing old becomes the next step in having lived a good life.  But if one’s life is speckled with unhappy periods, then growing old comes too soon and some needed balance must be added to the equation. Humor helps!    

My father often quipped about growing old:  “You know when you’re getting old when . . . :

— “Your back goes out more than you do.”

— “You and your teeth don’t sleep together.”

— “Everything hurts — and what doesn’t hurt, doesn’t work.”

Growing old, however, does provide some definite advantages.  Frequently, younger people allow the gray beard to step ahead in the restroom line —a place oldster’s rarely risk passing up; or to take the open seat on a crowded bus or train.  Most folks believe that an older head contains wisdom, but only if that older head can remember past experiences, for growing older often compromises the resiliency of one’s memory.  

Literature offers some wise reflections on the subject, a sampling:   

— “No wise man ever wished to be younger.”  Jonathon Swift (1667—1745), an English author, most famous for Gulliver’s Traveler’s (1726.)

— “Growing old —  it’s not nice, but its interesting.”  August Strindberg (1849—1029), a Swedish playwright

— “Youth is a gift of nature, but age is a work of art.”  Stanislaw Jerzy lec (1909—1966), a Polish aphorist and poet. 

— “Never have I enjoyed youth so throughly as I have in my old age.”  Philosopher, George Santayana (1863-1952.)

I conclude with two more quotes from the most famous wag of all:

— “Do not regret growing older.  It is a privilege denied to many.”  Anon (unknown)

— “There is many a good tune played on an old fiddle.”  Anon (unknown)