Can I Quote You OnThat

     One time the family was gathering at Uncle Jesse's farm outside of Oakland, Il and Uncle J. spotted mother's older sister walking through the gate and he said: "Here comes Norie prancin' like a pissant."  Now Aunt Nora was a tiny person who had a quick way of moving  and she talked the same way.  I looked up pissant and it is a bug that acts highly excitable. 
      I thought about that recently when I asked cousin Jim, how he was doing.  He said: "Well, I'm still wearing blue underwear and using white toilet paper!" (I have no idea what this means)  Jim lives in Terre Houte, In.  and I asked Maureen, who lives in Kokomo, if she had heard that quote before and she said no it is not a quote used all over Indiana but she related an expression used in her office is if something goes wrong, they say "throw a little dirt on it". I guess that's what a dad would say to his son if he fell or got a bump and a 'little dirt' will make it feel better and so in their office it's become the byword for 'bumps in business' too.
   Isn't it interesting how quotes or sayings become part of the language.  Every year the dictionary adds new words that are now part of our lives.  And sometimes it's part of your family.  Our daughter Leah  some times had a hard time getting the right words out.  For example, she couldn't say 'uncle', it came out, 'yakki'.  So, Judy's husband, became Yakki Bill and even in their older years long after Leah had died, Vern and Bill greeted each other that way.  And at Vern's funeral, I heard Bill say, "Godbye, Yakki Vern."
    Leah called hamburger, hanglebear and that name stuck in our family.  Once she visited Vern's brother Elmer in Colorado Springs and she had gone to Church with his wife, Valene, who was Mormon.  We asked her how she liked going to Church with her and she said: "It was okay, it was kind of long and I think I'd rather be a Cathlick than a Moron."  She added, "I think I said that wrong," and we assured her we understood what she meant.
    All of this came to mind when I was visiting with young friend, Angela and she was relating a story about her four year old talking about people having opinions.  In Gabe's mind, people don't have opinions but penguins as in 'everyone's entitled to there own penguin'.   Angela said she now uses Gabe's saying when she is talking with her staff.  And they understand what she's talking about.
  So today if someone comes at you like a pissant, tell them you don't care about their penquin, and that your Yakki told you to tell them to throw a little dirt on it.