I can still hear my father talking to me

My dad used to say, "If you don't quit that I'll knock a knot on your head."This was usually said in jest or I thought in jest but I was careful to behave in such a way that this would not happen. Sometimes when he was miffed he would threaten to stomp a mud hole in my "dairy air" and then make me walk it out. I still don't know how that would happen but it never sounded like I wanted to experience it. I think it meant that he was unhappy with whatever I was doing and wanted me to quit. Or he was dissatisfied with my actions and was seeking a correction in my direction.

It worked.

At times when my dad did not like what I was doing and wanted me to stop he would threaten me with this saying, "If you don't straighten up I will show you how the boar ate the grindstone."

I have never seen a boar eating a grindstone as it would be too hard to chew. It would also knock out some teeth.

It is my belief that he meant this is good natured fun because it was impossible to do. He never said it with vitriol. I did not push my luck.

Sometimes when my brother and I were not on task or we were working half-heartedly at a task he would sternly say, "You guys quit 'brigglebuttin'" around and get to work."

I cannot define "brigglebuttin'" but he meant that we were up to no good and wasting time. When we did finish a job and did it well he would say, "That ought to hold it 'till the cows come home."

The cows usually came home each evening to be fed and to be milked. But the saying meant to be longer than that.

Dad would often say that "He's as stubborn as a mule." Mules worked hard and were dependable but they were often stubborn. Being stubborn as a mule was not a compliment.

There were times when he did not agree with a charge or what someone wanted him to pay so he would say with gravel in his voice,"Why don't you charge it to the dust and let the rain settle it."

That meant he wasn't going to pay.

His mind worked somewhat differently than mine. That means that we would approach a question or problem using differing tactics. We often came to the same resolution but by traveling different roads and in different vehicles.

Often when a problem arose that caused him consternation he would screw up his face and his smooth forehead would become corduroy and he would conclude, "You cain't get the water cleared up 'til you get the hogs out of the creek."

What he meant to say was you can't solve a problem until you find the cause then you must remove the cause.

Sounds more colorful the way he said it.

Larry Vandeventer.

Go to my website -- Larryvandeventer.com -- and purchase my books.I grew up North of Calvertville and Graduated from Worthington High School and Indiana State.Contact me at Goosecrick@aol.com or 317-839-7656.