"IF A BULLFROG HAD WINGS , , , "

" . . . he wouldn't bump his tail on the ground !"   

Or, so a wise man  often told me as I was growing up.  (And, have you noticed that a "wise man" differs greatly from a  "wise guy" ?)  The 'wise man' in this case was my dad, Frank.  And that was just one  among many of the wise aphorisms he  passed on to his sons.  After his death, I complied a list of "Frank-ism's" to share with  our extended family.

    Theses are among the more memorable of his 'sayings':

  . "You aren't going to learn any younger son." [When we would protest that we  didn't know how to do a task.]

  ."The world doesnot revolve around you."

  ."Don't wish your time away son."

  ."Boy, you ask more questions that a Philadelphia lawyer."

    But the one above seems to have more applicability these days and  not just in our family where it has been passed on to the next generations.

My daughter who began painting whimsical chicks as a way to raise funds for cancer research and patients sent me the  above 'frog' as a Father's  Day gift.  As she explained it in her 'Chicks4aCause' page, dad's wise words live on:

One of my brothers remembered that mom expressed a similar sentiment: " 'if' is  the biggest little word in the English language."

   Several years ago, a client provided yet another similar sentiment while describing how his life might have been different "if". . .  "If 'if's' and but's were candy and nuts, we'd all have a Merry Christmas."

   Someone claimed that  "if" expresses "forlorn regret" and another that it speaks of  unrealistic wish for better circumstances,  connections ,wealth,  wanting things different  and more advantageous.  I think Rudyard Kipling, one-time Poet Laureate of England, pointed to a loftier understanding, an ideal of dignity in a world of contentiousness.  His poem is a bit lengthy to include here but it is worth a read. "If" one overcomes several life challenges with dignity, then " you'll be a Man,  my son  !"  More inclusive understandings would say something like "you'll be a mature Adult, my friend".

  

     Sounds like a "Frank-ism" to me .

        Satchel