Daddy Do-Funnys Wisdom Jingles | Page 2

said:
"Dey's mighty few facts de same behind an' befo', not to say inside an'
outside, and a man can go roun' an' roun' de blackberry bush an' not git
nowhar. 'Spe'unce is a thorny bramble, an' yer 'bleeged to go _th'ough_
it, to _draw blood_, an', I tell yer, _de blood is de life_!"
Although this tribute brought grunts of approval from the gray heads,
Daddy was soon off at a tangent in playful fancy, hitting off a foible or
"celebrating truth and justice" in one of the unconscious epigrams
which it is sought herein to preserve, even when having occasionally to
hammer them into shape, for, while Daddy was almost unerring in
rhyme, his rhythm, never at fault in delivery, was strictly a
temperamental matter, not adequately renderable in cold print.
But more than as philosopher, satirist or seer was the old man
distinguished as a social factor on the place. Wherever his chair was set,
there were the children gathered together, both black and white, eager
listeners to his quaint pictorial recitals, even seeming to cherish the
"Wisdoms" which fell from his tongue, as is not a common way with
children, who seem instinctively to spurn the obviously didactic.
But Daddy's moralizing, besides its saving grace of imagery, was
generally sequential and convincing; while his repartee, to use a word
which seems almost a misfit in this rural setting, had a way of hitting
the mark and striking fire, as when, in reply to the question from a
forth-putting youngster on one occasion, "Where do you keep all your
wisdoms, Daddy?" he snapped:
"In my ole toof holes, dat's whar! Wisdoms don't ripen good tel yo'
toofs is ready to drap out. Ev'rybody knows dat Gord A'mighty ain't

nuver is set but one live Wisdom-toof in a man's mouf--an' dat comes
late an' goes early."
And then he added with a mischievous smile:
"You-all smarty undergrowth, you ain't chawed life yit. You jes
'speramintin' wid yo' milk-toofs.
"Now's yo' havin' time, chillen, but _to have an' to lose, dat's life_!
"Study wisdom now an' minch on it good wid yo yo'ng baby toofs an'
hol' fas' to it, so's it'll meller down ripe, time de caverns opens for it.
"But look out! I knows a lot o' ole vacant wisdom caves for rent behin'
dis crepe myrtle hedge--so, I say, watch and pray! Pray for insight an'
outsight! An' even so, dey's some wisdoms so fine you can't see 'em tel
you nearin' Home an' livin' on de far side o' life!"
Daddy lived alone in a tiny vine-clad cabin and there were times when
he seemed frail and to need care, and the doctor said he was rheumatic.
This, however, he denied, declining companionship while he insisted
that the sharp pains which occasionally twisted his brow were only
growing pains which he was glad to endure as not having got his
growth in his first childhood, he was "'bleeged to wrastle wid it in de
second," and, "of course," he added, "it comes harder when a man's
bones is set."
On days when his pains were bad, he would propel himself around in a
roller-chair, which he called his chariot; and although evidently
suffering, he was never heard to complain. Once, when he seemed
almost helpless, some one asked him how he had got into the chair, and
was quickly silenced by his ready answer, "Gord lifted me in!"
Now, to Daddy clothes were clothes. In dress as in manners, he knew
no obligation of precedent; and as to fashion, the word made him
chuckle.
When his pains were unusually severe and it was difficult for him to

get into his own garments, he did not hesitate to clothe himself in one
of the flowing wrappers which his old wife, Judy, long since dead, had
worn.
And thus it happened that while on some days an aged man might have
been seen hobbling about, working among his plants, on others there
appeared to be an old woman propelling herself around in a rolling
chair; and seeing her, his neighbors, with perhaps a chuckle, would
remark, "I see Daddy Do-funny is laid up ag'in!"
Another peculiar habit of the old man was the way in which he took his
bath--a dangerous process, one would think, for a rheumatic, but
harmless, no doubt, to growing pains. Seeing the rain coming, he would
exclaim: "Gord sendeth de rain! He's offerin' me a bath--just or unjust!"
Then donning his "bath-slip," an old wool wrapper of Judy's and
getting into his roller-chair, he would wheel out and sit calmly in the
shower, often closing his eyes and lifting his face as he exclaimed:
"Bless Gord for de sweet drops! Bless Gord for de rain!" and when he
had had bath enough, he would