On the Brighter Side

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By Words (By Golly)

Ordinary words just don’t satisfy in some situations. To provide the needed emphasis some folks add their own special words. My great grandfather would say “By the jumped up” and for even more emphasis he would say “By the jumped up humped up” before completing a statement. His wife would say “Well my oh.”

A fellow who once lived in this neighborhood prefaced his statements with “Ting, by golly,” and you guessed it, he remains “Old Ting” to this day.

An old friend, now deceased, would reply to the greeting “How are you today” with “Just right, just right.”

I have heard “and you, by golly, better believe it,” and “I’ll be there, God willing and the creek don’t rise.” To voice disappointment, I have heard a friend say “Well, shucky dern,” and “If that don’t beat all.”

I won’t mention the four letter expletive used all too frequently today that would have triggered a “wash your mouth out with soap” response in days past.

In our active farming years my rule was that there was acceptable “house talk” and there was “barn talk” and the latter was not allowed at my kitchen table. Also not allowed inside were those loud curses aimed at hogs who had found a hole in the fence and were running through the garden. Stock dogs would be summoned and given orders plus a string of four letter words until the piggies found that hole in the fence again to escape the nips and sticks that inspired them to “git.”

In conclusion, by the jumped up, you better by golly believe it, I’ll see you next week God willing and the creek don’t rise! Why, I wonder, do those by words have to be constructed with bad grammar? Ting, by golly, that’s all for this week.

Sending you a smile today.

– MG

Contributed by Marilyn Goodwin