Never argue facts

We have a family aphorism: “Never argue facts.” My father used to say this when discussions at our dinner table would get heated. He would jump up from the table and grab the World Almanac, a volume of the encyclopedia, the bible, or some other handy reference source.

We could discuss anything or argue about anything, but not “facts.”

If he were alive today I know he would love computers and search engines. I hope he is looking down at us somehow and laughing when we say, “Never argue facts” and turn to the laptop, click on Google to settle an argument or find some interesting tidbit of information.

This weekend, my son Davis (my father’s namesake) and our two grandsons came by to help us with some important measurements around here. During lunch Davis told us about a book he’s reading about misquoting Jesus. He couldn’t remember the author’s name so we turned to the laptop by the table and quickly found the title and author: Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why by Bart D. Ehrman.

That, of course, stimulated a further lively discussion.

Here are my grand guys – Victor, Spencer with me. Before you say anything about the boys’ hairdos, look at my unruly locks. It looks as if I didn’t comb my hair that day either.
The boys had “cute” hairdos several years ago.

Hair today, gone tomorrow. Note the black and white photos below – my father, Davis, in the style of his childhood, and then in the 1950s when he didn’t have enough hair to style at all.