Anatomy Of A Slogan

I've blogged before on how I'm a big fan of youth wrestling. Though my boys have long since retired from the sport (they hated it anyway), I still occasionally attend a match. When there, I'm always on the look-out for a new inspirational slogan on the back of a t-shirt or sweatsuit. I used to collect these to try to inspire my boys to greatness. Hea, it was worth a shot.

Anyway, here is a new one that I spotted on a shirt last Saturday:

Today I will do what you won't,
So tomorrow I can do what you can't.

These slogans often have an "in-your-face" aspect designed to intimidate a future opponent. In this case, the upshot is that the wrestler who puts in an extra hour of running or practice will be able to go the extra mile to win a match and place high in a tournament. And it's true. I saw more than one wrestler lose out on a chance to compete in the state championship because they ran out of gas in overtime. A little extra conditioning probably made the difference.

As with many of these inspirational slogans, however, they aren't just for wrestlers. They're for life. They're for whatever you strive to become. I thought of how it relates to dieters. Today I will forgo that pizza so tomorrow I can pull up my trousers without sucking in my belly. Today I will do arm strength exercises so tomorrow I can open that jar. Etcetera.

A couple weeks ago I visited my grandmother who is 95. She still lives in her own house, getting around with the help of a walker and a cane. Some time ago the doctor gave her stretching exercises to do. And I've heard she does them. While she was there talking to me, half lying and half sitting on the sofa, she reached down and pulled one of her legs up to her chest to where it almost touched her chin.

Now I saw a similar maneuver in a Jane Fonda workout video. Or maybe I recall Leslie Caron or Audrey Hepburn looking similarly spry in one of those old movies. But I didn't expect my nonagenarian grandma to strike such a pose.

My sister had visited my grandmother around Christmas and had noticed that same flexibility. "Isn't that something? I hope I inherited some of her genes," my sister said in awe.

Well, I hope it's the genes. I hope it's not something that I will need to do today so I can be spry tomorrow. Cause I don't think I can even bend that way today.