In The Way to Wealth
It is said the eccentric and gifted John Randolph once jumped up from his seat in Congress and exclaimed: "Mr. Speaker, I have found the philosopher's stone: it is this, pay as you go."
This is one of the first great lessons in domestic economy, which every one, but especially every laboring man, should learn, that is, to live within his 'income—the farther within the better—and to adopt and practice the -rule, " pay as you go."
Adopt this system and " hard times" will not trouble you. Such times, if they come, may be the easiest, for they always depress the market, and make provisions and merchandise cheaper.
Keep to your business, and your business will keep you. Perseverance will remove mountains. Don't mind a dark day. However thick and dark the clouds, there is light above them. Look up and persevere.
Buy nothing useless. Never get in debt as long as you can work. Spend all your money if in want, then wait a week before trying your credit. When yon have earned a dollar, always lay by a quarter or a half.
Keep an account of every day's wages, of every idle day, and of every expenditure.
Read the rest of the story here: Book Link
Ben Franklin, The Way to Wealth, 1758
I'd really like to thank the HalfWay to Concord website dealing with Contra Costa County politics, event calendar, and community news; for bringing to life one of my many not so proud and infamous vices to life on the web. But I am proud of the job the editor of HalfWay To Concord has done and support his noble efforts online.
In what may be one of the oldest talked about weaknesses of the flesh, I tip my glass to the Concord website and thank the editor of Halfway to Concord for his birthday wishes to me.
And, just to let you folks know what we are talking about, here is the Drinker's Dictionary. Take a look down half way in the Cs.
The Drinker's Dictionary
Nothing more like a Fool than a drunken Man.
Poor Richard.
'Tis an old Remark, that Vice always endeavours to assume the Appearance of Virtue: Thus Covetousness calls itself Prudence; Prodigality would be thought Generosity; and so of others. This perhaps arises hence, that Mankind naturally and universally approve Virtue in their Hearts, and detest Vice; and therefore, whenever thro' Temptation they fall into a Practice of the latter, they would if possible conceal it from themselves as well as others, under some other Name than that which properly belongs to it.
But DRUNKENNESS is a very unfortunate Vice in this respect. It bears no kind of Similitude with any sort of Virtue, from which it might possibly borrow a Name; and is therefore reduc'd to the wretched Necessity of being express'd by distant round-about Phrases, and of perpetually varying those Phrases, as often as they come to be well understood to signify plainly that A MAN IS DRUNK.
Tho' every one may possibly recollect a Dozen at least of the Expressions us'd on this Occasion, yet I think no one who has not much frequented Taverns would imagine the number of them so great as it really is. It may therefore surprize as well as divert the sober Reader, to have the Sight of a new Piece, lately communicated to me, entitled
The DRINKERS DICTIONARY.
A
He is Addled,
He's casting up his Accounts,
He's Afflicted,
He's in his Airs.
B
He's Biggy,
Bewitch'd,
Block and Block,
Boozy,
Bowz'd,
Been at Barbadoes,
Piss'd in the Brook,
Drunk as a Wheel-Barrow,
Burdock'd,
Buskey,
Buzzey,
Has Stole a Manchet out of the Brewer's Basket,
His Head is full of Bees,
Has been in the Bibbing Plot,
Has drank more than he has bled,
He's Bungey,
As Drunk as a Beggar,
He sees the Bears,
He's kiss'd black Betty,
He's had a Thump over the Head with Sampson's Jawbone,
He's Bridgey.
C
He's Cat,
Cagrin'd,
Capable,
Cramp'd,
Cherubimical,
Cherry Merry,
Wamble Crop'd,
Crack'd,
Concern'd,
Half Way to Concord,
Has taken a Chirriping-Glass,
Got Corns in his Head,
A Cup to much,
Coguy,
Copey,
He's heat his Copper,
He's Crocus,
Catch'd,
He cuts his Capers,
He's been in the Cellar,
He's in his Cups,
Non Compos,
Cock'd,
Curv'd,
Cut,
Chipper,
Chickery,
Loaded his Cart,
He's been too free with the Creature,
Sir Richard has taken off his Considering Cap,
He's Chap-fallen,
D
He's Disguiz'd,
He's got a Dish,
Kill'd his Dog,
Took his Drops,
It is a Dark Day with him,
He's a Dead Man,
Has Dipp'd his Bill,
He's Dagg'd,
He's seen the Devil,
E
He's Prince Eugene,
Enter'd,
Wet both Eyes,
Cock Ey'd,
Got the Pole Evil,
Got a brass Eye,
Made an Example,
He's Eat a Toad & half for Breakfast.
In his Element,
F
He's Fishey,
Fox'd,
Fuddled,
Sore Footed,
Frozen,
Well in for't,
Owes no Man a Farthing,
Fears no Man,
Crump Footed,
Been to France,
Flush'd,
Froze his Mouth,
Fetter'd,
Been to a Funeral,
His Flag is out,
Fuzl'd,
Spoke with his Friend,
Been at an Indian Feast.
G
He's Glad,
Groatable,
Gold-headed,
Glaiz'd,
Generous,
Booz'd the Gage,
As Dizzy as a Goose,
Been before George,
Got the Gout,
Had a Kick in the Guts,
Been with Sir John Goa,
Been at Geneva,
Globular,
Got the Glanders.
H
Half and Half,
Hardy,
Top Heavy,
Got by the Head,
Hiddey,
Got on his little Hat,
Hammerish,
Loose in the Hilts,
Knows not the way Home,
Got the Hornson,
Haunted with Evil Spirits,
Has Taken Hippocrates grand Elixir,
I
He's Intoxicated
J
Jolly,
Jagg'd,
Jambled,
Going to Jerusalem,
Jocular,
Been to Jerico,
Juicy.
K
He's a King,
Clips the King's English,
Seen the French King,
The King is his Cousin,
Got Kib'd Heels,
Knapt,
Het his Kettle.
L
He's in Liquor,
Lordly,
He makes Indentures with his Leggs,
Well to Live,
Light,
Lappy,
Limber,
M
He sees two Moons,
Merry,
Middling,
Moon-Ey'd,
Muddled,
Seen a Flock of Moons,
Maudlin,
Mountous,
Muddy,
Rais'd his Monuments,
Mellow,
N
He's eat the Cocoa Nut,
Nimptopsical,
Got the Night Mare,
O
He's Oil'd,
Eat Opium,
Smelt of an Onion,
Oxycrocium,
Overset,
P
He drank till he gave up his Half-Penny,
Pidgeon Ey'd,
Pungey,
Priddy,
As good conditioned as a Puppy,
Has scalt his Head Pan,
Been among the Philistines,
In his Prosperity,
He's been among the Philippians,
He's contending with Pharaoh,
Wasted his Paunch,
He's Polite,
Eat a Pudding Bagg,
Q
He's Quarrelsome,
R
He's Rocky,
Raddled,
Rich,
Religious,
Lost his Rudder,
Ragged,
Rais'd,
Been too free with Sir Richard,
Like a Rat in Trouble.
S
He's Stitch'd,
Seafaring,
In the Sudds,
Strong,
Been in the Sun,
As Drunk as David's Sow,
Swampt,
His Skin is full,
He's Steady,
He's Stiff,
He's burnt his Shoulder,
He's got his Top Gallant Sails out,
Seen the yellow Star,
As Stiff as a Ring-bolt,
Half Seas over,
His Shoe pinches him,
Staggerish,
It is Star-light with him,
He carries too much Sail,
Stew'd
Stubb'd,
Soak'd,
Soft,
Been too free with Sir John Strawberry,
He's right before the Wind with all his Studding Sails out,
Has Sold his Senses.
T
He's Top'd,
Tongue-ty'd,
Tann'd,
Tipium Grove,
Double Tongu'd,
Topsy Turvey,
Tipsey,
Has Swallow'd a Tavern Token,
He's Thaw'd,
He's in a Trance,
He's Trammel'd,
V
He makes Virginia Fence,
Valiant,
Got the Indian Vapours,
W
The Malt is above the Water,
He's Wise,
He's Wet,
He's been to the Salt Water,
He's Water-soaken,
He's very Weary,
Out of the Way.
The Phrases in this Dictionary are not (like most of our Terms of Art) borrow'd from Foreign Languages, neither are they collected from the Writings of the Learned in our own, but gather'd wholly from the modern Tavern-Conversation of Tiplers. I do not doubt but that there are many more in use; and I was even tempted to add a new one my self under the Letter B, to wit, Brutify'd: But upon Consideration, I fear'd being guilty of Injustice to the Brute Creation, if I represented Drunkenness as a beastly Vice, since, 'tis well-known, that the Brutes are in general a very sober sort of People.
The Pennsylvania Gazette, January 13, 1736/7
I Tip My Glass to Thee
Signed Ben Franklin
Republicanism is the value system that built the United States of America
Since the early days of our country and the American Revolution, the idea of liberty and rights as central values, where the people are more important than the political powers in force, was the foundation for republicanism, and really summarizes what the founding fathers fought for from the beginning.
However, there seems to be a forgetfulness on the part of most people today to stand up for what is right, and to gloss over how in the name of "doing the people's work" politicians, political leaders, and our elected officials seem to forget who they report to.
The California Brown Act has been circumvented in more ways than one today. It is quite apparent from local issues that information is being discussed behind closed doors, out of the eyes and ears of the people. This is not good.
Our elected officials that fall into this trap, of allowing themselves to discuss issues before they are officially placed on the table, can open themselves up to so many things that might seem good on the surface, but underneath are fraught with unforeseen land mines. When discussing issues behind closed doors, they can easily be swayed to accept a plan by a developer offering the world, when in fact the developer only has their own best interest at heart and probably has not considered all the unintended consequences from the "Peoples" standpoint. The elected officials that choose to discuss business this way are not hearing all the pros and cons of a proposal when meeting in a way that circumvents the Brown Act.
Typically, elected officials are not held to task on these issues. Even some of the City Attorneys are guilty of not holding to the intent of the law, and look for ways around having to follow the law.
The Brown Act
The Brown Act, originally a 686 word statute that has grown substantially over the years, was enacted in response to mounting public concerns over informal, undisclosed meetings held by local elected officials which were not in compliance with requirements for advance public notice; instead, they were skirting laws by holding secret 'workshops' and 'study sessions'. The Brown Act solely applies to California city and county government agencies, boards, and councils, whereas the comparable Bagley-Keane Act mandates open meetings for State government agencies. Source Wikipedia: Brown Act.
The Law
"In enacting this chapter, the Legislature finds and declares that the public commissions, boards and councils and the other public agencies in this State exist to aid in the conduct of the people's business. It is the intent of the law that their actions be taken openly and that their deliberations be conducted openly.
"The people of this State do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them. The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created."
Listen up folks, pay attention to what is going on in your community today.
Ben Franklin
I would like to say thank you to all the birthday well-wishers for my 301 years of age.
I Don't Feel Like A Day Over 71
This thing called the Internet is great. This is right up my alley and for Mrs. Silence Dogood. She would have really taken to this new media outlet.
I see that people have not changed at all. Politics is still as contentious as ever. Anyways, don't be silent. Stand up for what is right. Don't be fooled by leaders that say one thing but do another. People will not change and because of this it is your responsibility and civic duty as a citizen to reject corruption in public life. This must start at the local level and extend out to the national level. It is imperative for the health of our country and local communities, that citizens take a more active stance and insist on public accountability.
Don't be fooled by public officials that would belittle citizens for questioning what is going on. Don't be fooled by those that bring accolades upon themselves. They think they are wise, but they are fools. Pride is not a virtue.
If you would like to get a hold of me, feel free to send me an email. The link for my email address is located on the side bar area.
Sincerely,
Ben Franklin
