Grandma’s words of wisdom

My German-born grandmother often recited old German sayings when
trying to make her point. She never really debated us, she just
listened and then used a saying that would make us try to figure
out what we she had to say.
My German-born grandmother often recited old German sayings when trying to make her point. She never really debated us, she just listened and then used a saying that would make us try to figure out what we she had to say.

It was very effective.

My favorite of her sayings is this: Es wird nicht so heiss gegessen wie gekocht.

Translated, it means: It’s never eaten as hot as it’s cooked.

Think about it.

It’s such a good saying that it’s actually hard to put into words what it means. It’s a cross between “Time heals all wounds” and “Perception is nine-tenths of reality.”

It applies to everything.

My grandmother often used this saying when someone tried to convince her she should go to church. After all, the strict German Catholics I knew believed you could go to Hell if you skipped Mass.

She wouldn’t argue, she’d just say, “Es wird nicht so heiss gegessen wie gekocht.”

You can’t reparte against that.

The family would go to Mass and she’d stay home to make a great meal and an even better dessert. In her mind, bringing the family together was as good in God’s eyes as her standing and sitting and kneeling for an hour.

God might not be happy you skipped out on church, but you weren’t going to Hell.

With the national political scene moving toward the November election, try using this saying sometimes. There will be ample opportunity.

John Kerry supporters will say, or imply, George Bush could have stopped the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. And Bush supporters will say Saddam Hussein would be in power today if Kerry were president.

Behind the rhetoric, there will be some truth, much like the way food has some heat but not to the degree it did when it was getting cooked.

Apply my grandma’s saying to local politics, too.

Wal-Mart opponents cooked up the idea that the Supercenter will kill off local businesses with unfair, immoral and illegal competitive practices. However, the room temperature truth is that Wal-Mart plays by the rules for the most part and will not get shoppers like me out of Nob Hill and Kachy Produce grocery stores.

Over at Bonfante Gardens, some worry that if the park fails, there will be used car lots and liquor stores where circus trees and greenhouses once stood. But the ready-to-serve reality is, my guess, the park will either stay afloat or be converted in a way that keeps the existing horticulture intact.

At Gilroy High School, many people are taking the side of fired English teacher Kristen Porter, who was escorted out of her classroom less than 12 hours after questioning district policy at a school board meeting (something she also did inside her classroom with students). They are ready to re-coin GHS, Gestapo High School.

Whether the school’s handling of the situation was appropriate is entirely open to debate, but to use the word Gestapo to describe a security escort is like re-heating your coffee in a 600-degree pizza oven. The microwaved reaction to Porter’s firing should be something along the lines of Gilroy Unified School District Trustee Tom Bundros’ – look into the process of how firings are determined.

For all the politicians, staff and officials managing these and other issues, my grandmother had another saying they may relate to: Mit arbeit versaut man sich den ganzen tag, “With work, you ruin your whole day.”