F ³: Twitter Gold

 

Twitter is again circling the drain and folks are scrambling to find other social media options. People love to bash Twitter and it has always had it flaws. But what it does well, it does extemely well. I continue to feel a sense of loss as the current owner destroys it.

For all the easily found toxicity one hears about, Twitter also contains deep veins of humanity, compassion, and wit. This week a simple question was posed by KC Davis, author of How to Keep House While Drowning.

What is a random piece of micro-advice your parents gave you? Not advice on big or significant things, but nevertheless something you’ll never forget. 

My mom used to say “One dog is a pet. Two dogs is dogs.”

My response:

Never send a note to a boy that you wouldn’t want to see printed on the first page of the newspaper.

(If you know, you know.)

Here is a sample of responses to her question. You can read more beginning here.

• Not my mom but a friend’s mom told her this when she was worrying about leaving her abusive husband and it’s stuck with me: “Marriage is like pancakes. There ain’t no shame in throwing out the first one”

• My grandfather: “Never give an adult advice unless they ask for advice”. My mother: “Sugar is poison”. My grandmother: “Never spell a person’s name wrong, or use pet names unless invited to do so”. The above advice have served me well.

• Follow this advice from my mother to this day: “When in doubt about what to do, and it’s not a life or death decision, do the next best thing. That might be washing a load of clothes or taking a nap.” The nap part really stuck. It’s my go-to “preamble” to problem-solving. 

• My grandma used to tell me to help people if I could, and if I couldn’t help them, bake them cookies.

• When my dad was dying, he told us “there’s never a reason to eat a burger without bacon and cheese” and “never mow the lawn after the World Series starts”. Advice for life.

• “Always invest in things between you and the ground: tires, shoes, mattresses” - - My ex boyfriend’s dad. I hope he’s doing well.

• My mom has always been big on "we're all doing the best that we can." My lighter favorite is "always stop at lemonade stands."

*****

Many years ago I read or heard somewhere that you should “never eat at a place called Mom’s or play cards with a man named Doc.” I regret to say that it was probably because of this that I never ate at Ma’s Kettle in Savage, which has recently closed. From what I hear that old advice was off the mark in their case and I missed out on some good eats.

Now it’s your turn. What is a random piece of micro-advice your parents gave you? Not advice on big or significant things, but nevertheless something you’ll never forget. It doesn’t necessarily have to be good advice, just memorable.

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