Favorite sayings by non-Gumnicks

Shaker saying, 1880:
Do all the good you can….

Polish proverb:
The child who is loved has many names.

As you wish... from the movie Princess Bride

The excerpt below explains the meaning:

Grandpa:	[narrating] Nothing gave Buttercup as much pleasure as ordering Westley around.
Buttercup:	Farm boy, polish my horse’s saddle. I want to see my face shining in it by morning.
Westley:	As you wish.
Grandpa:	[narrating ]“As you wish” was all he ever said to her.
Buttercup:	Farm boy, fill these with water—please.
Westley:	As you wish.
Grandpa:	[narrating] That day, she was amazed to discover that when he was saying “As you wish,” what he meant was “I love you.” And even more amazing was the day she realized she truly loved him back.
Buttercup:	Farm boy…fetch me that pitcher. It’s right over her head, so he has to stand next to her.
Westley:	As you wish.

Cut to them kissing.

So, when Anne asks Bob to do any menial task, this is his reply.

Often wrong but never in doubt.

Lost, but making record time.

These are both things that Mom uses to describe Dad, but I don't know the origin of either and am too lazy to look them up on the Internet.  

If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.

It seems to me that this was drummed into us as kids, and it still strikes me as a useful principle. Here’s a challenge: Can anyone figure out the original source? —Ed

I think it's probably somewhere in the Bible... -Anne

I don’t think it’s the Bible, so it must be Shakespeare or Benjamin Franklin. —Ed

"What fresh hell is this?" --Dorothy Parker, who would say this any time the phone rang.

I think Mom told me that Auntie used to say this under similar circumstances. At any rate, you have to admit, it's a damn good quote under just about any circumstances, and is one of my favorites.  

I first encountered this saying years ago in a biography of Dorothy Parker and it continues to be one of my favorite sayings. I heard Kelsey Grammar say it as Frasier on that sorely missed show. --Mom (via Beth)

You're a very fine swan indeed.

Written by Frank Loesser, sung by Danny Kaye in the song, The Ugly Duckling. Mom likes this one, which struck me recently when I thought about Mom's reaction to Jane passing her Boards. We had a little trophy made for her that said, A Very Fine Swan Indeed....  

All other things to their destruction draw, Only our love hath no decay; This no tomorrow hath, nor yesterday.... --John Donne

As far as I know, the story goes.... Dad gave Mom a box as a gift that had "only our love hath no decay" inscribed on it. It promptly broke, which only helped to prove the whole point of the gift anyway. Since that time this has been the Gumnick mantra whenever something breaks (which is often when there are Gumnicks around).