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Sayings From Grandpa

Grandpa Jesse would often have certain sayings that he would tell to his grandchildren (and others). This is going to describe some of them. If you have others, please let me know. This is likely to be an expanding list as I remember other sayings and others also contribute.

If you want to get a job done, ask a busy man: I recall him saying this expression at different times. It seems like he would say this at times when he had more on his plate than he wanted, and he felt busy. He wasn't complaining, per se, but informing the recipient that he was a busy person, and now he is doing another task for another person.
What would you like, some fried rabbit tracks?: I remember Grandpa saying this after he ascertained that you were hungry but hadn't yet expressed what you wanted to eat.
A paid vacation: I remember Grandpa often using the phrase "paid vacation" when others would use the phrase "military service". His logic was that the person who was serving in the army, or other branch, did not have to do their normal job (farm or factory work), all of their clothes were provided, all of their meals were provided, their housing, transportation, and everything else. And beyond all of that, they also got paid. Sometimes he would add some of these details, sometimes not.
Why don't all of these people stay home?: In the summers, I tended to spend a fair amount of time at Grandpa's, both when we lived next door but also when I lived in Fargo (as I would come down for weeks). He would like to drive to town to get one or two things. Often if I was staying with him, his list often included chocolate milk (and he would call me a chocoholic) and also something else was something that we both liked, either a frozen cake from Sara Lee or Pepperidge Farm. Since one has to at some point get on US 10 to get to town, we were often faced with long lines of traffic coming from the south. This was before I-94 was completed, which later pulled a lot of traffic off of US 10. This part was not done until about 1978 or so. (I was a student at St. John's University, and it was completed west of it, but not east). So, as Grandpa saw all the traffic going NW on US 10, he would say, "Why don't all of these people stay home?".
Uncivilized people just rip open an envelope: Cousin Ed told me that one time he was at Grandpa’s house, and Grandpa was looking for his letter opener. He was upset because Sylvia (Ed's mom) had been there earlier and had cleaned up the place. But for Jesse, that meant rearranging things and not putting them back where he knew they were. Then Grandpa told Ed, "Uncivilized people just rip open an envelope."
The light must have turned green in Elk River.: Going into town, unless one went out of the way, one had to get onto US 10. The traffic was often busy on the road, even though it was a four-lane road. Some times there would a long string of cars heading north when we were trying to get on. Grandpa would then say something like "The light must have turned green in Elk River", although it was 25-30 miles south of us.
Some people love work.: I recall Grampa saying something like this several times, but one occasion stands out more clearly. We were replacing a fence post somewhere down the lane. If I recall correct, it was Ken, Lou, Grandpa and myself. I think we took turns working on digging the hole. (Note that only one person at a time can work on this.) We then inserted our new wooden fence post into the hole. One person worked on holding the post erect while another added dirt into the hole, and another used the large metal bar to help tamp down the dirt. At some point during the process, one person spent more time watching than actually contributing. At this point, I really do not recall who this was (and it doesn't matter). However, Grandpa said something like "Some people love work. They could watch it all day." I am fairly certain that I also recall him using this on himself while he watched me doing some work in his garden and he was sitting and "supervising".
What do you do when you see one headlight coming towards you?: My cousin Ed recently reminded me of a story that our common grandfather had told both of us. Neither of us remembered all of the details, but here is the gist of it. He said that when he was younger, he talked with others about what to do at night when they saw only one headlight coming toward them on a two-lane road (such as a county road). One person suggested that under such and such circumstances (such as think it is a motorcycle), then be sure to stay to the right of the light. However, under these other circumstances (unknown at this point), then be sure you head to the left. Later, one of the friends listening to them had an auto accident and a different friend among those who listened to this story went to visit him. The friend asked the one who was in the hospital, "What happened?" The one in bed told how he was driving the night before and he saw two lights coming toward him and he didn't know if he should go to the right of the right light or to the left of the left light, so he split the difference and went between them. (The story may have just been told about a story that he heard on the radio, but the gist is the same either way.)

Published initially on 2026-02-21, but additions are added as they are recalled.

If you find any errors in the text, please let me know. Thanks. Contact me with errors or comments using hibbardac@gmail.com. [Back to the top] [About the author, Al]

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