In high school I bought an old fixer upper pickup truck at an auction. I have fond memories of the old beater, despite the fact that it sat defunct more often than it ran. When it did run, the heater worked in fits and starts, the acceleration was horrible, due in part to the fact that the carburetor was on it's last leg, and the radio was stuck on the same talk radio station.
Over the five years I had the old red Mazda, I replaced the entire fuel system, planed the head and replaced the head gasket, and finally removed the entire engine in an attempt to fix a damaged crankshaft. I learned a great deal about automotive repair over the course of that truck's life. I also lost my cool a number of times. One afternoon in particular, I was replacing the fuel tank in the old clunker which, on paper, should have been a fairly quick process. I was in my grandfather's tool shed, squirming around on the dirt floor while manhandling the 50 pound tank around struts, fuel lines, and electrical conduit. From the colorful language spewing out of my gritted teeth, an onlooker would have though I was wrestling a cougar underneath the bed of the truck. Reaching an impasse, I shimmied out from under the chassis, threw down my pliers, kicked the truck, and stormed towards the door. My grandfather, who'd been observing the entire display of frustration, stopped me with a wise hand,
 |
| My Patience out of the Corner |
“Now Chris. Put your patience in the corner.”
I spun around, still in a pestilent fury. My emotions were still enraged at the obstinate vehicle, but my mind reeled as it tried to wrap itself around this bizarre phrase.
“What the hell does that mean, grandpa?!?”
As it turned out, the phrase was something my great grandfather, Lawrence, would say to grandpa when he was in a tempestuous fervor. When stopping and thinking about the incipience of the word, grandpa was as taken aback as I was.
“I don't know what it means, It's just something he always said to me. Put your patience in the corner.”
Whatever its history, the phrase served its purpose. It got me out of the emotional, illogical state I was in and got me back into that cerebral, analytical frame of mind in which I needed to be. I was still pissed at the truck, but at least now I could look at the problem objectively. I got back to work and soon had the tank installed.
The phrase has come back a number of times as I've worked on projects with my grandfather, though now it is as much a running joke as it is a true quip of wisdom. I still don't know where the term originated. Neither does the internet, or at least not Google. Whatever the reference, it is a phrase that will surely live with me, and probably be imparted onto my children in times of anxiety and vitriol.
I've long thought that the phrase would work well in a song, but I've never been sure of how to work it into the music. Then this came to me a few weeks ago. Call this song an homage to my Grandfather – Leonard Bernard Stephen Overberg - a man who's by all means fallible, but works hard and does his best with the life that's been given to him. One hell of a man.
Put your Patience in the Corner
Lennie Stevens is a friend of mine
Imparts his wisdom over dandelion wine
Hands like tree roots and a farmers tan
Lennie works hard. Lennie is a hell of a man
Born in the heartland, Midwestern drive
Lennie's spent his whole life working to survive
He trades his dollars for tractors and grain
When I ask him why, he just smiles
then he explains
Wherever you're going, wherever you've been
You've always gotta try your best but your always gonna sin
So when you stumble, when you lose your cool
Put your patience in the corner and it'll see you through
Lennie Stevens is a God fearing soul
puts on his suit coat and he sits in the front row
Folds up his hands as he pleads with the sky
If you ask him why he prays this will be his reply
Wherever you're going, wherever you've been
You might get dealt a hell of a hand, that you just cant win
So when you hate the world, you don't know what to do
Put your patience in the corner and it'll see you through
Wherever you're going, wherever you've been
You've always gotta try your best but your always gonna sin
So when you stumble, when you lose your cool
Put your patience in the corner and it'll see you through
What do you think Put your patience in the corner means? Share your explanation, and maybe together we'll figure it out.
No comments:
Post a Comment