STONED

Tuesday morning found me gnashing my teeth. Ok, my gums then since I do not have that many teeth left. I could not connect to the Internet. I called the Customer Care people just to make sure that my account is in order and no "upgrading" is going on. My suspicion fell on my router and I nearly bought another router. I decided to wait.

While waiting I listened to some old rock songs. A few were from The Rolling Stones. I did not think of thick lips and randy old men but I thought of proverbs. Rolling stones gather no moss came to mind. Mick Jagger gathering up Kate Moss followed briefly. As we have learned, the proverb means that wandering souls (the rolling stones) will not acquire any wealth (the moss, I presume). Now, is moss such a valuable thing to the English? Wealth-wise, their proverbs made sense so far. Consider "Penny wise, pound foolish" or "Do not kill the goose that lays the golden eggs". Those are good advice for materially inclined people. But moss? The only moss that I know that brought in money was Stirling Moss. Kate Moss did not do badly either. I guess I have to wait for some scholars to share with us their research on this moss thing.

While waiting for that to happen, I peeked at some proverbs from various countries. It was an interesting peek. I shall share some with you:

One's own simple bread is much better than someone else's pilaf. (Azerbaijan)
Words are like spears: Once they leave your lips they can never come back.(Benin)
By trying often, the monkey learns to jump from the tree.(Cameroon)
A single bag of money is stronger than two bags of truth.(Denmark)
The barking of a dog does not disturb the man on a camel.(Egypt)
With enough "ifs" we could put Paris into a bottle.(France)
Flatterers, like cats, lick and then scratch.(Germany)
A prudent man does not make the goat his gardener.(Hungary)
The cobra will bite you whether you call it cobra or Mr. Cobra.(India)
You can't see the whole sky through a bamboo tube.(Japan)
All cassavahs have the same skins but not all taste the same.(Kenya)
His brain hangs at the top of his fez.(Lebanon)
It's not enough to know how to ride -- you must also know how to fall.(Mexico)

If you are curious to read more, go here.