I remember Earl Wilson . . .
The purpose of this posting is to introduce Earl Wilson to the multitudes of people that were not around to enjoy his contributions to our society through his varied writings, and in a small way to bring him back, even if only for a brief time to a brief few.
From Wikipedia: Earl Wilson (May 3, 1907 in Rockford, Ohio—January 16, 1987 in Yonkers, New York) was an American journalist, gossip columnist and author, perhaps best known for his nationally syndicated column, It Happened Last Night. Wilson’s column originated from the New York Post and ran from 1942 until 1983. For a biographical sketch of the famous columnist, click here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Wilson_%28columnist%29.
I read Earl Wilson’s column faithfully over a period of many years, and I still remember many of the quotations attributed to him. For a comprehensive listing of those quotes, click here: http://creativequotations.com/one/2506.htm.
Earl sometimes referred to his Earl’s Pearls as Oil’s Poils—Brooklynese, perhaps, for the term. An internet search for that expression was fruitless, as was my memory of Wilson’s treatment of Thirty days hath September . . .
The following web site has 73 variations of Thirty days hath September—http://www.leapyearday.com/30Days.htm, but it does not include the one I remember best—the one I have parroted frequently over the years—this one:
Thirty days hath Septober,
April, June and Octember,
All the rest eat peanut butter,
Except grandma
And she drives a Cadillac.
Did I mention that I read Earl Wilson’s columns over a period of many years? Well, I did, and I still remember many of the quotations attributed to him. As a starter for those not familiar with Wilson’s wit, here’s a sampling of his quotes:
An exhaustive study of police records shows that no woman has ever shot her husband while he was doing the dishes.
Poise: the ability to be ill at ease inconspicuously.
Benjamin Franklin may have discovered electricity, but it was the man who invented the meter who made the money.
Snow and adolescence are the only problems that disappear if you ignore them long enough.
This would be a much better world if more married couples were as deeply in love as they are in debt.
Saying Gesundheit doesn’t really help the common cold, but its about as good as anything the doctors have come up with.
Success is simply a matter of luck—ask any failure.
Somebody figured it out—we have 35 million laws trying to enforce Ten Commandments.
Always remember, money isn’t everything, but also remember to make a lot of it before talking such fool nonsense.
Spend enough time on the quotations site, and I promise you that you’ll garner enough one-liners to dominate almost any cocktail party, reunion, pajama party or any other gathering—the younger people there will have never heard of Earl Wilson, and the older people there will have forgotten both him and his prodigious output of Earl’s Pearls.
Trust me on my analysis of people at cocktail parties, reunions, pajama parties and any other gathering—I was a younger person for a considerable length of time, and I’ve been an older person for an even longer length of time—I know whereof I speak and therefore have earned the right to advise—so trust me!
