The Passing of an Old Friend
My parents told me about Mr. Common Sense early in my life and told me I would do well to call on him when making decisions. It seems he was always around  in my early years but less and less as time passed by.  Today I  read his obituary. Please join me in a moment of silence in  remembrance, for Common Sense had served us all so well for so many  generations.
 
Obituary
Common Sense 

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has  been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was  since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.  He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as  knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the  worm, life isn't always fair , and maybe it was my fault. 

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies  (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies  (adults, not children are in charge).

His health began to  deteriorate rapidly when well intentioned but overbearing  regulations were set in place. Teens suspended from  school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for  reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition. 

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for  doing the job they themselves failed to do in disciplining their  unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required  to get parental consent to administer Aspirin, sun lotion or a  Band-Aid to a student, but could not  inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have  an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten  Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and  criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense  took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in  your own home and the burglar can sue you for assault. 

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman  failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot.  She  spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge  settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his  parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter,  Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by three  stepbrothers; I Know my Rights, Someone Else is to Blame, and I'm a  Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few  realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on.   If not, join the majority and do nothing.

 

Atlanta School Board
The Atlanta School Board, feeling left out by the fuss over "Ebonics," has decided to designate Southern slang, or "Hickphonics," as alanguage to be taught in all Southern schools.  Here are excerpts from theHickphonics/English dictionary:

HEIDI -- noun.  Greeting.

HIRE YEW - Complete sentence.  Remainder of greeting.
Usage: "Heidi. Hire yew."

BARD -- verb. Past tense of the infinitive "to borrow."
Usage: "My brother bard my pickup truck."

JAWJUH -- noun. A state just north of Florida.  Capital is Hot-lanta.
Usage: "My brother from Jawjuh bard my pickup truck."

MUNTS -- noun. A calendar division.
Usage: "My brother from Jawjuh bard my pickup truck, and I ain't herd from him in munts."

IGNERT -- adjective. Not smart. See "Arkansas native."
Usage: "Them N-C-TWO-A boys sure are ignert!"

RANCH -- noun. A tool used for tight'nin' bolts.
Usage: "I think I left my ranch in the back of that pickup truck my brother from Jawjuh bard a few munts ago."

ALL -- noun. A petroleum-based lubricant. 
Usage: "I sure hope my brother from Jawjuh puts all in my pickup truck."

FAR -- noun. A conflagration.
Usage: "If my brother from Jawjuh don't change the all in my pickup truck, that things gonna catch far."

BAHS -- noun. A supervisor.
Usage: "If you don't stop reading these Southern words and git back to work (or studying), your bahs is gonna far you!"

TAR -- noun. A rubber wheel.
Usage: "Gee, I hope that brother of mine from Jawjuh don't git a flat tar in my pickup truck."

TIRE -- noun. A tall monument.
Usage: "Lord willin' and the creek don't rise, I sure do hope to see that Eiffel Tire in Paris sometime."

RETARD -- Verb. To stop working.
Usage: "My grampaw retard at age 65."

TARRED -- adverb. Exhausted.
Usage: "I just flew in from Hot-lanta, and boy my arms are tarred."

FAT -- noun, verb.  1. a battle or combat.  2. to engage in battle or combat.

ARE -- pronoun.  Possessive case of we used as a predicate adjective.

RATS -- noun. Entitled power or privilege.
Usage: "We Southerners are willin' to fat for are rats."

FARN -- adjective. Not local.
Usage: "I cuddint unnerstand a wurd he sed... must be from some farn country."

DID -- adjective. Not alive.
Usage: "He's did, Jim."

EAR -- noun. A colorless, odorless gas (unless you are in LA).
Usage: "He cain't breath ... give 'im some ear!"

BOB WAR -- noun. A sharp, twisted cable.
Usage: "Boy, stay away from that bob war fence."

JEW HERE -- Noun and verb contraction. 
Usage: "Jew here that my brother from Jawjuh got a job with that bob war fence cump'ny?"

HAZE -- a contraction.
Usage: "Is Bubba smart?" "Nah... haze ignert." 

SEED -- verb, past tense.

VIEW -- contraction: verb and pronoun.
Usage: "I ain't never seed New York City... view?" 

HEAVY DEW -- phrase. A request for action.
Usage: "Kin I heavy dew me a favor?" 

GUMMIT -- noun. A bureaucratic institution.
Usage: "Them gummit boys shore are ignert."