There are phrases that stick in our family vocabulary for decades. Some are from beloved media (books, movies, songs, etc.). Others we created ourselves. Most of the self created were unintentional but long lasting. Still today you’ll hear odd sayings slung about our house with love and caring. It’s our own family language, when we shout “Eat More Pizza!” as you leave you know you are near and dear to us.
Some we still use today without really being there for the origin of them. The title falls in that category. The “Peaches, Daddy, PEACHES!” came from my maternal grandmother who loved peaches. This story goes way back before I was born. Apparently my grandparents were traveling in Georgia and Pappaw foolishly drove past a peach stand. Seems that good fresh peaches were hard to get in Tennessee and Nannie wanted some while they were in Georgia. As the silly man drove past she went into a conniption! The most memorable part was the exclamation of “Peaches, Daddy, PEACHES!” Which is still said in our house when peaches are eaten. (a quick side note – do you peel your peaches or just wash and eat the skin? I’m doing a very unscientific survey on peach skin consumption.)
Over our almost 30 years of marriage Mike and I have developed a few of our own. One came from the movie Man on Fire . In this movie the typical action set up happens. A person the reluctant hero cares about is put in danger. This pisses off the reluctant hero who goes into full badass hero mode to save the person who holds their affection. Now when this plot device show up we announce in a deep Suthern Drawl “Not dat’s a man on fuh-eye-ur.” Needless to say this often leads to much badassery action on screen which we both love. So ‘ah man on fuh-eye-ur’ is someone you don’t wanna mess wit. Trust me.
Hulk Need Red Bull – this came from a blog that is now retired. However, you can read it here at The Incredible Hulk Diary That Is On The Internet I’m sure Hulk Blogger where ever he is, is now relieved to know Katie got away from Tom eventually! That was a popular blog in this house back in the day. We all loved to read Hulk’s life adventures. The phrase “Hulk Needs Red Bull” came about when we made a silly/stupid mistake. ‘Hulk not know why do that. Hulk need Red Bull to figure it out.” So it’s still occasionally heard about the house more muttered than proclaimed when silly errors are made.
Finally the “eat more pizza” farewell. This one gets used fairly often between Mike and me. It goes back to the second Terminator movie. This came from a moment when I should have proclaimed “Hulk Needs Red Bull” but I didn’t know about that one yet. Mike was leaving early in the morning. I was just getting up and still in a pre-coffee fog. He kissed me then said in his bad Ah-nold accent “Hasta la vista baby.” I thought he said “Eat more pizza” since I’d packed left over pizza in his lunch. Well, that misunderstanding made us both laugh and became our farewell. Just yesterday when I left for work as I was going out the door as after the kiss and good-byes there was a shouted “EAT MORE PIZZA!” just as shut the door and locked it. It’s a way of saying I love you be safe.
Actually these and other catch phrases are all about familial love. It’s acknowledging the personal journey we share together. It’s remembering our ties that even in our most “Hulk Need Red Bull” moment we’re there for each other. It celebrating the moments we enjoy sharing and celebrating that there is life we share together. When you get all our sayings – you’re part of the family, like it or not.
So until next time – eat more pizza!
Mary Louise Eklund 