Author Archives: Ethan Kasicki

More problems than Carter has pills – Proverb

Nationality: American
Age: 57
Occupation: High School Teacher
Residence: Park Ridge, Il
Language: English

The proverb from RK goes along these lines:

“_______ has more _______ than Carter has pills,” for example “That guy’s got more issues than Carter has pills.”

This proverb comes from RK’s father, who would use it pretty often back when RK was growing up. The proverb is used to describe a huge quantity, with knowledge of Carter’s enormous pill storage being deemed as common knowledge in the late ’70s and early ’80s. When asked why Carter had so many pills, RK said that he assumed it was about former president Jimmy Carter, who had a tumultuous term as president, dealing with many wide-scale issues. RK was young during his presidency, being the first one that he could remember, and he assumed that on top of the issues he was dealing with as president, an enormous drug addiction was part of them. However, recently, RK discovered that Carter’s Pills actually had nothing to do with Jimmy Carter and instead were about Carter’s Little Liver Pills, with people seeing so many ads for them that it seemed “he” had endless pills.

This proverb is absolutely a product of its time, with both Jimmy Carter and Carter’s Little Liver Pills being something that peaked in the American interest in the late ’70s. Today, this proverb would only make sense to other people who had grown up in this era. The fact that RK did not know about Carter’s liver pills makes the use of this proverb even more interesting as RK was a passive bearer of the proverb, accidentally conditioning himself to think that President Carter had a pill problem which had stuck in his subconscious until only a few weeks ago. This conditioning occurs when one interacts with a proverb, and its illusion of collective wisdom can be extremely destructive when taken in the wrong context, but thankfully, RK’s opinions on Jimmy Carter’s drug use aren’t particularly harmful to anyone. Should this proverb have instead made RK think about an entire cultural group, perhaps, even if by accident, it could have led to the perpetuation of harmful biases against certain people, especially as the proverb came from RK’s father, someone who’s opinion RK values. While this mix-up was humorous in this context, it also shows how powerful folk speech can be in influencing one’s core beliefs when they are at a young age.

Don’t Stop at O’Hares – Saying

Nationality: American
Age: 51
Occupation: Middle School Teacher
Residence: Park Ridge, Il
Language: Engligh

This saying was used by MK’s grandmother very often:

Whenever leaving MK’s grandmother’s house, she would say, “…Now go straight home and don’t stop at O’Hare’s unless you’re taking me with.”

This phrase was said by MK’s grandmother every single time they left her house, and MK remembers that she would lean against the door frame the same way every time and talk about how they should visit her again, ending with the same phrase without fail. This phrase means almost exactly as it is said, but essentially means that she hopes MK will get home quickly and safely, without stopping anywhere extra to distract her on the way back. The phrase mentions O’Hare’s, a bar she frequented in her younger days, not to be confused with the Chicago airport of the same name. It is one of MK’s most vivid memories of her grandmother, who she called Sittie. Sittie is Lebanese for grandma, and has been passed through several generations as MK’s family is part Lebanese.

This phrase represents Sittie’s personality and essence to MK, and highlights the type of person she is, even after she had gotten far too old to go back to O’Hare’s for a drink. This phrase is only for use within MK’s family, for those who knew Sittie, and allows Sittie a spot within the family, even after she passed away. Her memory as an effortlessly funny personality that could light up a room while simultaneously seeming a little grumpy culminated in this quip she would say every time MK left her house. Despite being far too old for it, all Sittie really wanted was a good drink at O’Hare’s, right up until the end. After Sittie passed, it also gained an extra meaning, not stopping at O’Hare’s meant Sittie could watch over one’s journey back home as long as they didn’t break her wish and get a drink. Her shift to the guardian of the family, but a petty guardian who still didn’t want to be left out, was a way to honor her life and importance to her family and let some humor back into a death that was devastating to the entire family, what Sittie would have wanted. Despite her no longer being alive, her words still tie the family together and offer protection to the next generation of MK’s family that Sittie never got to see grow up. Despite this, the phrase is still used from time to time, years and years after her death, as a show of familial ties.

Willie looking – Phrase

Nationality: American
Age: 51
Occupation: Middle School Teacher
Residence: Park Ridge, Il
Language: English

This phrase is used within MK’s family:

The phrase is used when someone is extremely lazy when looking for something that is often in plain sight, and can be both a verb (to Willie look), or an adjective (he’s a Willie looker). If someone can’t find their cellphone while it’s sitting in plain sight on the kitchen table, they would have “Willie looked” and be a “Willie looker.”

This phrase arose within MK’s family, but who came up with the term specifically is unknown. One of MK’s nephews, Willie, was a notoriously bad looker, habitually being found with only one sock on. When trying to find his other sock, he would ask others for help looking for it, only for the sock to be a couple feet off to the side in the middle of the floor. While this sock may have been in plain sight to most people, Willie possessed an uncanny ability to be blind to anything they needed to find at all times. MK and her family would call him the “worst looker”, but it slowly morphed into “Willie looker” and expanded to anyone who couldn’t find something that wasn’t even hidden, being seen as an insult to their pride.

This phrase is intrinsically linked to MK’s family and has become one of the most commonly used phrases in their lexicon. What makes this phrase important is how it became the bridge to many other folk expressions, like proverbs and folk gestures that would come as a result of someone Willie looking. Should someone have been caught Willie looking, one could expect at least one mini lecture, complete with a proverb or two about putting effort in before asking others to help you, and became an important symbol about growing up in MK’s household. While asking for help was ok, one could only ask for help with anything after really putting effort in and failing first. If one asked for help without trying first, you were seen as lazy and less deserving of the help of others. This lesson about independence was drilled into all of the children in MK’s extended family and stressed an important family value for those that were on the receiving end of a Willie Looker lecture.