If it weren't for my Dad, I wouldn't be the Queen of Penny Pinching that I am today. As I look back, I remember thinking "Sheesh, what a nag!" But I wouldn't trade "Walt's words of Wisdom" for a million bucks! As a tribute to my father, I will share his words of wisdom and other funny and interesting stories with you. Check back often, because there's a lot to tell!
In no particular order...
It wasn't uncommon for us to eat Oatmeal for dinner. It's inexpensive, nutritious and filling!
Extreme Penny-Pinching - When we would get in trouble, Dad would make us write a sentence like 50 or 100 times. The catch? We weren't allowed to waste writing paper, we had to do it in the margins of the newspaper.
When we were young, Dad would challenge us to speak on a subject of our choosing for 60 seconds without saying, uh, umm, or pausing. Try it sometime, it's not as easy as is sounds.
Amaze your friends! The next time you are out to eat and the waitress asks if you need anything else, just tell her "I've had an ample sufficiency, any more would be a superfluous redundancy"
My Dad & his friend liked to tease the hostess at the restaurant. When there was a waiting list, he would sign in as "Dr. Nickpopadopoulis" just so she would have to shout it out when their table was ready.
While holding your toothbrush in your right hand and the toothpaste tube in your left, unscrew the lid (while still holding your toothbrush), apply the toothpaste to the brush and then screw the lid back on. Try it sometime...it's easy.
Eat over your plate. This way if anything falls off your fork or out of your mouth, it will fall on the plate and not on the floor (or the table or your shirt).
Save 1/4 of everything you earn.
The longest word in the dictionary is Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.
The highest number is googol. (This is what it looks like:
One day, my Dad thought I oughtta get a job. He told me there was an opening at Dominick's (our local grocery store). He said that the position was for "picking the fly poop out of the pepper" and that if I practiced, I could probably get the job. He proceeded to sit me down at the kitchen table with a white napkin, a pile of pepper, a magnifying glass and a pair of tweezers.....
It was a sub-zero Chicago afternoon. My Dad was getting ready to go out the back door. My brother John noticed he was leaving and said "Dad, can I go with you?" My Dad replied "Sure, but it's really cold. Make sure you dress warmly". My brother went and put on his coat, scarf, hat, & boots and reported back to the kitchen. "I'm ready! Where are we going?" My Dad replied "to take out the garbage."......
Every so often, one of us kids would "borrow" something out of my Dad's "Bathroom Box" (where he kept his personal stash of toothpaste, eye drops, tweezers, scissors, etc.) in an effort to find out if someone had invaded his box, he would place a long strand of hair on top of the box. If the hair was disturbed, he would line us all up (all nine of us) and interrogate us until someone admitted it. Never wear a white shirt if you are having spaghetti for dinner....
The food bowls always started at my Dad's seat and were passed around the table counterclockwise until everyone had a serving...then we could eat.
Guess who I saw yesterday? Everyone I looked at.
I'll never forget what's-her-name
My Dad once walked 6 blocks round trip in thigh-high snow to get two bags of groceries. He couldn't set the bags down because the paper would get wet and then the groceries would fall out.
More to come soon......
My Dad was a real stickler when it came to spelling and vocabulary. Here are a few tools you can use to help improve both!
