Missed another day, did too much yesterday.
I've had a response to my request for examples of folklore lost to us for easy reference. One friend cited an expression she has used that no one seems to recognize any more. "Shit brindle brown" I use it, too, without brown. Self-explanatory. But it's not folklore, not like Aesop's Fables or Hollywood movies; it's just fallen out of use.
As for that, it would be wise for us elders to stop using expressions that date us. My first lesson in this came from a friend when we were at college. She said that in order to sound younger than you are, you have to forget the names of erstwhile stars. Her example was "Who's Warner Baxter?" Today, I guess you have to ask "Who's Cary Grant?" Is he still a legend, and alive because of old movies? BTW, my favourite is Notorious. Did you know that Hitchcock got around the Hayes Office ruling limiting the length of a kiss on screen (to 14 seconds) by having Ingrid Bergman and Grant in an embrace while he's on the phone? They embrace while he listens to his caller but the embracing and nuzzling go on between 14-second kisses. It's very hot.
Who's Rock Hudson?
But I digress.
The same vigilance about dating yourself must continue with your customary expressions, often taken from current commercials. What happens if the commercial is no longer current? No one knows what you're talking about, you old fuddy-duddy (related to another old expression with historic significance). I used to cite a former Certs ad when I met someone I hadn't seen for a few years. You know how you try to match your memory of someone from your past with the person in front of you now. As you reconcile the two images you say,"You haven't changed a bit!" Well, she has, but remember - you probably don't remember - the Certs commercial that says: "It's two, two, two Certs in one." I don't say that any more because no one knows what I'm talking about.
Marshall MCluhan once said, "The price of eternal vigilance is indifference." I disagree, and I actually had the opportunity to tell him so (that's another story). Because the price of eternal vigilance is eternal vigilance. You can't ever let up.
"Don't give a inch." Was that Ken Kesey?
Who?