We all heard the old sayings and rules to live by while growing up. In fact, we heard them over and over again. We heard this stuff from Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, aunts, uncles, the neighbors, maybe even the old family dog back when it was higher on the pecking order than we were. Well, maybe not the dog, but one such old saying was that someone or some thing’s bark was worse than it’s bite. What?
And what about “you can run, but you can’t hide”. Not true. That old legend needs to say “you can run, but you can’t hide for long”. I once ran away from home…. about 20 feet out into the yard and straight up to the very top of the old fir tree. I sat there completely hidden while Dad called for me. I sat there until it was almost dark. I began to get uncomfortable. I eventually came down because the top of a tree isn’t a good place to spend the night. I was young enough to be afraid of the dark anyway. The old rule didn’t cover what to do after dark.
You have all heard that the early bird gets the worm. Make that “the early bird gets the work”. A friend insists she got up early again and again, finding only work…she fed the cows, fed the chickens, fed the pigs, but she never did get that worm. She eventually learned the truth about the worm. Now she gets up early to get destructive worms out of the garden, out of the flower beds and out of the orchard. Whew!
Then, we used to hear, “If you are with someone when they are doing something bad, you are just as guilty as they are”. Now that one was a good one. Children who heard it and parents who said it took responsibility for not only themselves but to separate themselves from others who were making poor choices and exhibiting bad behavior. Generations of children grew up to be more responsible because of that old saying.
But what about “You can’t judge a book by its cover? Is that true? It’s time to do some myth busting on old rules and sayings to see if they are true or false. We challenge you to find a book with an appealing cover, read it, and report on the results. Did an appealing cover result in appealing contents? Did the artwork on the book jacket give an indication of the story line? Did a book with a totally unappealing cover turn out to be the best you have ever read?
We all heard “look me in the eye when I talk to you”. Take a look at John Elder Robinson’s Look Me in The Eye: My Life With Asperger’s to learn why this isn't always possible.
