Rip ‘Em – And Other Paternal Phrases

My Dad and Granddad, like most other Dads, had a plethora of special phrases that he used on us kids while we were growing up.  Here are a few that will hopefully make you smile:

Rip ‘Em
As you left the house in the morning for school, this phrase was meant to encourage you to do your best and get good grades in school. (eg RIP ‘EM today at school!)  If you did well on a particular assignment or project, that might also be a “rip ’em.”  (eg That math test sure was a rip ’em.)  It has to be said loudly with a certain tearing quality in the voice.

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Big News

So, it’s no secret that I try to keep my personal life out of the blog as much as possible. As I’ve said before, I prefer to make this blog about things (as I see them), rather than about myself and all my awesomeness.

…But…

There are certain events in a man’s life that completely change everything – that deserve to be blogged about – and this is one of them…

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I Just Can’t Leave a Dirty House

I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard my mother say:

I just can’t leave a dirty house.

Growing up, I never understood this phrase.  Sure you could!  I left my room dirty every morning (and it often miraculously cleaned itself after I was gone) and no one seemed to bat an eyelash.  No cleanliness god punished me for shirking my duty.  No strangers ever came in for a house tour and wanted to specifically walk into my room.  What was the big deal?

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Digging a Hole and Other Childhood Memories

Years ago, sometime in my life between the ages of 0 and 6, my siblings and I did some odd things to entertain ourselves during the dog days of summer.  During this time, we lived on a farm in a rural community and had plenty of world to explore and discover around us.

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