The Importance of Keeping One’s Wits About You…

Dear Reader:

Grandmother Wilson always reminded me ( when I was nervous about a speech or presentation at school) to ” keep my wits about me. “

This old expression means to be ready to think quickly in a situation and react to things you are not expecting… like a question or remark within a gathering.

Today we associate the term ” witty” with cleverness and quickness of mind… a ” smart cookie.”

Nothing makes an otherwise dry speech come alive more than a witty humorous remark or response! And to date Abraham Lincoln reigns ” Top Dog of Wit” among the long linage of American Presidents. Nothing made Lincoln happier than to have a crowd laughing uproariously at a quick-witted remark he made… and the less words to accomplish it… the better.

One noted historian found a personal comment Lincoln said about the ability to create laughter as ” the joyful beautiful universal evergreen of life.”

**In response to the tiresome question repeatedly asked Lincoln about his height… his famous response ” Tall enough to reach the ground” never failed to bring applause and laughter.**

Lincoln’s ” biting ” wit was shared with everyone… including his own generals-here is a perfect example: Angered by General George B. McClellan’s refusal to attack General Lee in Richmond-he wrote the general a one sentence letter. ” If you don’t want to use the army, I should like to borrow it for awhile. Yours respectfully, A. Lincoln.

Once a temperance committee ( made up of several little old determined ladies) visited President Lincoln …asking him to fire General Ulysses Grant . Shocked Lincoln asked why? ” We heard he drinks too much” was the response.

” Well,” said Lincoln, ” I wish one of you of you would tell me what brand of whiskey Grant drinks. I would like to send a barrel of it to everyone of my other generals!” ( It was said that Lincoln’s laughter was heard long after the fussy little group was politely escorted out of the White House. )

A guest at another White House reception told Lincoln that in his home state people said the welfare of the nation depended on God and Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln slowly shook his head and knowingly smiled responding ” You are half-right.”

So until tomorrow… I laughed at this witty remark too by President Obama to Congress while still in office… wit can be appreciated wherever you sit…

President Obama was discussing the complexities of overlapping government agencies … using this witty example: ” The Interior Department is in charge of salmon in freshwater but the Commerce Department handles salmon when they are in saltwater. Then I hear it gets even more complicated once they’re smoked.” 😂

It looks like Rutledge and Lachlan have settled in at Camp Ridgecrest…and trying new experiences!

**Figured bright orange roses will lift my spirits during this gray overcast soak-drenched week of interval rain and clouds**

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

About Becky Dingle

I was born a Tarheel but ended up a Sandlapper. My grandparents were cotton farmers in Laurens, South Carolina and it was in my grandmother’s house that my love of storytelling began beside an old Franklin stove. When I graduated from Laurens High School, I attended Erskine College (Due West of what?) and would later get my Masters Degree in Education/Social Studies from Charleston Southern. I am presently an adjunct professor/clinical supervisor at CSU and have also taught at the College of Charleston. For 28 years I taught Social Studies through storytelling. My philosophy matched Rudyard Kipling’s quote: “If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” Today I still spread this message through workshops and presentations throughout the state. The secret of success in teaching social studies is always in the story. I want to keep learning and being surprised by life…it is the greatest teacher. Like Kermit said, “When you’re green you grow, when you’re ripe you rot.”

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