Heard on The Judges: and yet they live!

[Wilson Gray]

This one's primarily for Jon:

Mid-twenty-ish, black male speaker from Buffalo, NY:

"I didn't have no time, your honor! As it was, I was _ripping and
running_ and trying to do everything at the same time!"


This is the first time that I've heard "ripping and running" spoken in
perhaps seventy years and the first time that I've come across it at
all, since the publication of the book with that title in 1973.


Mid-seventy-ish, silver-haired, white male speaker:

"Well, your honor, it was back in 'aught-six. I was ..."

Judge:

I hope that that's *twenty*-aught-six! How old are you?!"


It wasn't made clear, but the speaker was undoubtedly just funning. I
really doubt that this man could possibly have been over a hundred
years old.

-Wilson
–––
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"––a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
–Mark Twain

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