Reminders of the “Good Old Days”
Tuesday, April 9th, 2013[Updated June 30 2013]
Soon after their move to San Luis Obispo in 1989, my parents, Lise and Henry Marx, presented Jan and me with a gift they’d been working on for several years: a collection of German proverbs they had learned from their parents and grandparents.
I remember continually hearing these sayings from my earliest childhood until their final days. Each time one was uttered there was a moment of satisfaction—the speaker pleased to have found a way to make familiar sense out of some new experience and the hearer gratified to grasp the connection. Growing up as a first generation American, I reacted to these old-world pieties with boredom and embarrassment.
By the time Jan and I and our children had finally settled and bought a house in our middle forties and Lise and Henry had reached their middle eighties, we all welcomed the opportunity to live in close proximity. As a partially reformed rebel and parent of teenagers I was also ready to join Jan in affirming the value of family and cultural heritage. That combined with the fact that we both spoke German allowed us to appreciate the wry wit and wisdom of the old folks’ oft-repeated slogans. But it was a great surprise when they gave us a notebook with their own collection of over two hundred family aphorisms as a “Weinukah” or Chrisnukah present. Some were as familiar as the furniture in their living room but many others I discovered for the first time.
The book has resided inside a little shrine holding their pictures and ashes. Now we converse through translation.
Gluecklich ist Wer vergisst Was nicht mehr Zu aendern ist |
Happy is he Who doesn’t see What no longer Changed can be |
Eine Schwalbe macht noch keinen Sommer | One swallow doesn’t make it Summer |
Stille Wasser gruenden tief | Still waters run deep |
Das schlag dir aus dem Kopf | Just smack that out of your head |
Das beruehren der Figueren Mit den Pfoten ist verboten |
Keep your grimy paws away From the figure on display |
Zu lieben und geliebt zu werden Das ist das groesste Glueck auf Erden |
To love someone and be loved in return There’s found the happiness for which we yearn |
Einem boesen Hund gibt man zwei knochen | The nasty dog gets two bones |
Der Gescheitere gibt nach | The wiser one gives way |
Ohne Fleiss kein Preis | No pain no gain |
Eile mit Weile | Haste makes waste |
Nach uns die Sintflut | After us the deluge |
Nur net brumme S’wird scho’kumme |
No use to gripe When your time’s ripe |
Spare in der Zeit So hast du in der Not |
Put by in time Don’t cry in need |
Wer nicht hoeren will muss fuelen | If you wont hear, you’ll have to feel |
Vorsicht is besser wie Nachsicht | Careful’s better than full of care |
Kleine Kinder kleine Sorgen Grosse Kinder grosse Sorgen |
Little children little cares Grown up children grown up cares |
Ich habe meine Kinder das Reden gelehrt Und sie haben mich das Schweigen gelehrt |
I taught my children to speak And they taught me to keep quiet |
Uebung macht den Meister | Practice makes perfect |
Wer arbeit Kennt und sicht nicht drueckt Der ist verrueckt |
Whoever knows work and doesn’t run ‘s a crazy one |
Wie gesagt so getan | No sooner said than done |
Es ist auf den Hund gekommen | It’s gone to the dogs |
Ein Verhaengnis kommt selten allein | A disaster rarely arrives alone |
Wes’ das Herz voll ist des’ laeuft der Mind ueber |
One whose heart’s full Runs over at the mouth |
Vater werden ist nicht schwer Vater sein dagegen mehr |
To become a father isn’t hard But to be a father isn’t easy |
So was sagt man nicht So was tut man blos |
That’s something we would never say We’d just do it anyway |
Gute Goeckel werde’ net fett | Good cocks don’t get fat |
S’isch dumm gange’ | It went all cockeyed |
Und wenn Dich schon der Erste hat dann hat Dich bald die ganze Stadt |
Once the first guy has his way soon the whole town gets to play |
Tue Recht und scheue niemand | Do right and let no one know |
Wenn das Woertchen “Wenn” nicht waer dann waer mein Vater Millionaer |
If the word “if” wasn’t there My father’d be a millionaire |
Alter schuetzt vor Torheit nicht | Age wont guard against folly |
Lerne leiden ohne zu klagen | Learn to suffer silently |
Die Liebe des Mannes geht durch den Magen | The way to the man’s love is through his stomach |
Zur liebe kann man niemand zwingen | No one can be forced to love |
Der Weg sur Hoelle is mit guten Vorsaetzen gepflastert | The way to hell is paved with good intentions |
Schoenheit vergeht Weisheit besteht |
Beauty subsides Wisdom abides |
Es wird nicht so heiss gegessen wie es gekocht wird | It wont be as hot eaten as cooking |
Das Leben ist ‘ne Huehnerleiter man kommt vor lauter Dreck nicht weiter |
Life is just a henhouse ladder You cant surmount the fecal matter |
Voegel die am Morgen singen Holt am Abend die Katze |
Birds that sing in the morning Attract the cat at night |
Es ist dafuer gesorgt dass die Baueme nicht in den Himmel wachsen | It’s been arranged that the trees don’t grow into the heavens |
Man soll den Tag nicht vor dem Abend loben | Dont praise the day before it’s over |
Reden ist Silber Schweigen ist Gold |
Speech is silver Silence is gold |
Spinne am Abend erquickened und labend Spinne am Morgen bringt Kummer und Sorgen |
A spider in the night brings joy and delight A spider on the morrow brings trouble and sorrow |
Wer nichts wagt gewinnt nichts | Nothing ventured nothing gained (more…) |