My dad used to say this when a soloist was preforming a song for longer than he thought was necessary. With a curious grin and a painful expression, he’d quietly say, “Turn the page, you fat-head.”
I’m not sure where this statement originated. Many of his quirky sayings came from the early radio days. “My get up and go – got up and left,” and George Burn’s famous closing, “Say Goodnight Gracy.”
We all have a tendency to sing songs that go on longer than necessary. They are the songs of our lives that typically contain the words alway and never:
- Money is always tight
- We never have enough time
- My job is alway stressful
- I never have enough help
- We’re always sick, tired, with an abundance of aches and pains
- We never feel respected, appreciated, or cared for
I’ve been watching a situation that needs to change. A few days ago as I was thinking about it, I realized that I was singing the same old song, “It never changes – this always happens – there’s nothing we can do…”
“I’m sick of this song,” I said out loud. I need to start singing a different one. The version that tells about the good, the potential, the possible (instead of impossible), sing of the new adventure that will be ahead when change finally comes.
Yesterday, I found myself singing that same old song… “I gotta change these words!” I said with great determination.
Today, as I began the old familiar stanza, I heard my dad’s quiet voice, “Turn the page you fat-head!”
With a curious grin I burst into laughter, “Thanks dad, I think I will!”
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