Founder's Message: They Say

While I was going through some old rubbish I came across a book that I had written about 15 years ago and then never did anything with. The title? THEY SAY. So I skimmed a few pages and thought that maybe my readers would get a kick out of some recognizable few THEY SAYS. How many people today have already said, "You know what they always say?" Did you ever wonder who THEY are? Here are some fun sayings. "Fun's fun. It's fun to be a fan. Getting there is half the fun." Here are some you'll recognize about parts of the body - "A closed mouth catches no flies. The hand is quicker than the eye. You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. One hand washes the other." How about articles of clothing? - "If the shoe fits, wear it. Clothes make the man. In your hat." And then there is Mother Nature's garden - "Money doesn't grow on trees. A rolling stone gathers no moss. Don't let grass grow under your feet. From little acorns spring giant oak trees. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." You know what they always say about men - "One man's pleasure is another man's poison. No man is an island unto himself. Man cannot live on bread alone." Laughing - "It only hurts when you laugh. Laugh and the world laughs with you, cry and you cry alone. Sex is the most fun you can have without laughing." The sky and the sea - "The sky's the limit. Every cloud has a silver lining. Still waters run deep. It's better to be a big fish in a little pond." Kissing - "If you kiss a toad you get a wart. If you kiss a frog you get a prince. If you kiss a prince you get arrested." Animals - "When the cat's away the mice will play. When you lay down with dogs you get up with fleas. He's the black sheep in the family. Curiosity killed the cat. That's a horse of a different color." And finally these clever ones are not famous yet - "Come over to the window and I'll help you out. Just when you thought you were winning the rat race, along come faster rats. I may be getting older, but I refuse to grow up. And finally, it used to be wine, women and song, now its beer, the old lady and TV." Roland Hopkins is founder of the NEREJ, Norwell, Mass.