Never say die, say damn

Has anyone heard this saying?

It was the motto of Texas Governor Jim Ferguson, the only US governor successfully impeached. I grew up hearing my father frequently quoting the opening sentence and sometimes the whole poem. I like the concept. What it means to me is that you don't quit (another 4 letter word and almost as evil as the word can't), you say damn and move forward as best you can.

For me quitting doesn't mean you never leave a particular circumstance. Sometimes the wisest course of action is to remove yourself from a situation either physically or emotionally. That's not quitting. Neither is "failing" (oh dear, another 4 letter word and evil, evil, evil). Failing is a concept I particularly detest. In our culture, failing is a bad thing. For me, how our society views failure ranks right up there with "I can't" and "I should". The feeling that you've somehow failed generally provokes extremely negative self-talk.

No, what I mean by quitting is quitting on yourself, thinking that you are not capable or not up to the task at hand or not believing in yourself.

Being a "can-do" girl, the poem appeals to me. In my world, obstacles are challenges and as my father would say "help put hair on your chest!". I know, what daughter wants to hear her father say that? He meant challenges help build character and show you what you're made of. Hey, he was a Maine Yankee and had lots of colorful sayings.

While I'm not interesting in putting hair on my chest, I'm certainly interested in knowing what I'm made of. Because there'll always be obstacles and challenges. Since I'm the only one who will accompany myself through this whole journey called life, I'm very interested in knowing myself. When I find myself in a challenging situation, I still sometimes quote the poem. It helps.

Here's the whole thing:

Never say "die", say "damn".
It isn't classic,
It may be profane.
But we mortals have need of it time and again;
And you'll find you'll recover from fate's hardest slam,
if you never say "die", say "damn".

Interesting footnote: After his impeachment, Governor Ferguson successfully ran the political campaigns of his wife Miriam who served two terms of Governor of Texas. And while the saying may have been his motto, the poem itself was published in 1922 and not attributed to Ferguson.

In health and never, never quitting on me,

Laura