Whatever Happened to Mama-isms? 2008

Recently I’ve read a book entitled Grits is Groceries  . . . . . and other facts of southern life, written by Darrell Huckaby – a Georgia author/educator. Mr. Huckaby mentioned mama-isms in his book and wondered when they went out of vogue. He thought it was about the same time the Andy Griffith Show started being shown in color.

Of course, all this jargon started me thinking about mama-isms or the things mamas used to say to their children. If one got in trouble in school, they were in deeper trouble when they got home.  Today it seems  parents refuse to believe their child could do wrong.  Last week I heard about a kindergarten-aged child being in big trouble!  What in the world is wrong with parenting?  In my day when my daddy threatened me his statement was “I’ll whoop you so hard I’ll just leave enough hide on ye to hold yore bones together.”  Now that was a threat.  I got a couple of his whoopings, too, and he didn’t use a hickory or belt, he used a withe, which is a limb considerably longer and larger than a hickory.

But back to mama’isms — mamas used to teach their young to say please and thank you.  Today youngsters either don’t know to say that or don’t remember to say it.  There were some old sayings along that line — such as “Being nice doesn’t’ cost a thing and it’s worth a fortune.”‘ Another one was, “Please and thank you will take you a lot further than a Cadillac and for a lot less money.”

And at the table — I’ve always blamed this for my weight problem.  My mother would say, “Eat all that — there are children starving to death in China.”  Now what in the name of common sense did starving children in China have to do with me eating?  Anyway, now I’m a plate cleaner and usually reach back for seconds, thus a lifetime of being overweight.

Yes Ma’am, No Ma’am were usually taught to all southern children; however, my mother wouldn’t allow me to say those things to her.  Why?  I never figured it out.  Maybe it was because she had lived out of the south for a time.  I wonder, too, if it was because she was older then I was born and she didn’t want to appear old. In fact, at the beauty shop last week I said something about being afraid I’d be referred to as an old lady and another customer quickly said, “Well, God forbid that anybody would call you an old lady.”  Now what do you suppose she meant by that?  But back to the yes ma’am thing — the only time I ever said that to Mother was when I was mad at her — so she got it a few times in my growing up years.  I did say it outside the home though because I thought it was the right thing to do — everybody else was saying it.  Today I seldom hear that term.

In the book I read, Mr. Huckaby said sometimes when he wanted his mother to take him some place that was in easy walking distance (like seven or eight miles), she would say “Walkin’ ain’t crowded.”  Well, walking sure wasn’t crowded when I had to walk from here to Geraldine — some two miles — when I went to school. Have you noticed the line of cars taking kids to school today? Talk about ways to save on gasoline

Children never left the house, but what mamas would say “Behave yourself.”   And sometimes we did!  Usually when I misbehaved, my folks knew about it forthwith.  But back then we didn’t have a telephone (most of the time) so it took a little longer for them to know it.  One time — and I don’t count this misbehaving — I was allowed to drive the old Model A car to church by myself.  Rather than stop at the church I went on by the church and up to the store where I turned around and went straight back to the church.  Well, when I got home from school the next day I caught it.  My daddy had heard about that in Geraldine that morning.  I knew exactly who told it because I only saw one old man!

But here I am chasing rabbits again — and back to mama-isms.  “Beauty is as beauty does” was one saying used often by my mother.  “You’re old enough that your wants won’t hurt you” was another one often used. I was never allowed whistle — Mother would say “Whistling girls and crowing hens always come to some bad ends.”

In other articles I’ve mentioned that one form of punishment my mother used was to fasten me up in the corn crib.  Well, there was a little black snake in there and sometimes I would see him and complain that I was afraid of him.  She always said, “Well he is as afraid of you as you are of him.” Today I beg for mercy when we see a snake — I don’t want them killed — perhaps that’s the reason.

This may be a papa-ism, but John said his daddy always told his boys. “If you get in trouble, you better be smart enough to get out — I ain’t helpin’ you  get out.”

I don’t know what mama-isms modern mothers are using to ensure their children grow up to be decent, respectable folks, but I hope they have the right formula.  Anyway it’s all country living.