Author Archives: Edan Millstein

Up & Down

Main Piece: Up & Down

“What goes up must come down”

Background Information:

This is an age-old proverb and is very common because there are many situations that this proverb can be applied to. It can be applied in a literal sense and also a figurative one. There have been many songs and performances about this saying. 

Context of the Performance:

If you apply this proverb in a literal sense, it means that literally whatever goes up must come down. For example, if an airplane takes off it also must land at some point or if you throw something into the air, it will eventually come down due to gravity. However, this proverb is mainly applied in a figurative sense and when it is used in that fashion, it means that positive things in life do not always last forever and there are most likely going to be good times accompanied by bad times.

My Thoughts:

I have heard this proverb used in both its literal and figurative ways. I believe that it is more applicable in a figurative sense because it seems to hold more true in that way. There are often trade offs in life between good and bad things and if something seems too good to be true it usually is and I believe that this is the message that this proverb sends when performed.

Nobody for me but me

Main Piece: 

“There is nobody but me who is for me”

Background Information:

This is about how everybody is mainly for themselves. My mother grew up with this saying. 

Context of the Performance:

This piece essentially means that you have to think about yourself and stand up for yourself when necessary because nobody else will.

My Thoughts:

This reminds me of the saying “This is a dog eat dog world” meaning that everybody is only looking out for themselves. There is definitely truth to this saying, especially considering the individualist society and culture that is ripe with competition in the United States today. People generally do not do something good for others unless it benefits themselves.

Time Was

Main Piece: Time Was

“Time was, a dog could lie down and take a nap in the middle of the road.”

Background Information:

Back in the old days time seemed to move slowly because activities were less time regimented than it is today. There is more competition and more people in the world today and everyone is traveling more often and further than people used to even only a few decades ago.

Context of the Performance:

This alludes to how time has essentially stopped or that time is no longer. So much so that a dog could lay down in the middle of the street and take a long nap and would not be hit by a car because there would not be a car that came by at that time to hit it. 

My Thoughts:

I find this very telling about a certain time period because of the imagery that it evokes. Today, if a dog laid down in the middle of a road, no matter the road, it would more than likely be hit very quickly because there are many more cars on the road today and therefore much more congestion and traffic on roads where there used to not be.

Odds are good

Main Piece: The odds are good but the goods are odd

“Do you think I can find a boyfriend in Alaska?”

“The odds are good but the goods are odd!”

Background Information:

This is a joke that is fairly common in Alaska because there are more men that live in Alaska than there are women.

Context of the Performance:

To understand this joke, you have to understand that there are more men who live in Alaska than women. There is also a stereotype that you have to be somewhat odd to live in Alaska and that is why it is funny.

My Thoughts:

I first heard about this joke when I first worked in Alaska in 2016 and I thought it was funny. My dad was also familiar with this joke because he used to live and work in Alaska when he was younger. I believe that this is a great oral performance because you have to be aware of the population dynamics in Alaska to understand the joke.

Not good, but slow

Main Piece: Not good, but slow

“I may not be good, but I am slow”

Background Information:

When my dad was younger and was working construction in Alaska, one of his friends who worked the same job grew up in the Soviet Union where everybody was provided a job. Because of this, it did not matter how hard you worked on the job because the job was guaranteed. Because of this, if someone was a hard worker they would make everybody else look bad because you did not need to work hard to keep a job.

Context of the Performance:

This was a joke with some truth that you would say to your employer in the Soviet Union, according to my dad’s friend, because hard workers were not well liked due to the fact that they would make others look bad.

My Thoughts:

Without the context for this joke, it is not understandable. However, once the context is filled in it becomes understandable and funny. I find it very interesting that this mentality was apparently fairly common within the Soviet Union.