There are two words that attorneys dread hearing — frivolous and insolvent.

Insolvent is when a person’s liabilities exceed his assets. A frivolous lawsuit is one filed with the intention of harassing, annoying or disturbing a party. Or, the attorney knows there is no chance of the lawsuit succeeding if pursued in court.

I learned about these two terms many years ago when I was in high school. You see, I was raised up with three attorneys near my Perdido home, Lenoir Thompson and his sisters, Mary Thompson White and Rueben McKinley. You might say it is a little strange that three of these residents living on Ammons, McKinley, Carr and Thompson Road chose the legal profession as their jobs in life.

Incidentally, Mary was alleged to have married Atmore’s own popular college and professional football star, Tarzan White. I remember when she and her daughter would escort one of my friends and me at Christmastime to find Christmas trees in the deep woods near their homes.

That area was a popular destination for Christmas tree (Cedar trees) seekers. She could also shoot the eyes out of rabbits 50 feet away. And members of the Poarch Creek community will remember the prominent role Lanoir played when he associated himself with Hugh Rozelle, helping gain national recognition for the Creeks.

And, speaking of Rozelle, I became friends with him during my college days. He gave me a part time summer job teaching night classes at a local business school, which was very helpful with my financial needs at that time. I heard him say on occasion, “shoot, we cannot sue this man – he has become insolvent. We surely don’t want to file a frivolous lawsuit.”

Some lawyers today, not all, but some do not look at it the way Hugh did. I read where many many lawsuits are filed against parties that have become insolvent knowing no money or assets are available. One of the reasons behind Hugh’s success was his personable nature. He would attend country singings, church services and other community spirited activities. This kept his name out in front, folks remembered him and used him when in need of legal services.

By the way, I understand there are many ways to gain insolvency, but you need to get a head start to satisfy the time requirement. Many involve insolvency in IRS situations. And some do it to simply frustrate attorneys. But remember attorneys are not dumb; in fact, they are extremely professional and helpful. But some find ways to distort this theory. It is good that we have good professional attorneys in Atmore.

Two or three years ago, I wrote a column on “old time sayings” heard as a kid and are seldom heard these days. Well I had a nice conversation with a man recently who reminded me of that column. In fact, he suggested that I add a couple of old sayings that he heard as a kid.

He said I always liked that old saying, “according to Hoyle.” He was fond of this verse because he was an avid card player and always took heed in advice from the English statesman Fred Hoyle who wrote numerous books on winning at cards.

“Accidentally, on purpose, ask a silly question and you will get a silly answer,” were two other of his favorites sayings.

I remember hearing some of my elementary school classmates use the term “bus left.” When a student missed his bus and was late getting to classes other students would say he was bus left.

He is “slow as lassis” was a term meaning he gets about as slowly as molasses flows. This was especially true for those who were described as lazy. We could use this term in today’s society could we not?

“Dumb as a stump” was often heard in our childhood classrooms. Those who did not pay attention in classes or failed to finish their papers on time fell into this category.

“Closing the barn door after the horse escaped” meant had he applied more attention he could have prevented the event from happening.

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” means some see this person in different perceptions. She may think she is beautiful, but others may say, “ugliness begins with her.” Then again we should look at her heart, not her beauty. This, I believe is a very “hurtful” saying. You should never criticize or make fun of one’s looks.

Another old time saying is “we ran off our preacher.” This is also a hurtful old saying. Many good preachers are forced to leave their congregations because of the wishes of some in control. What a shame to have church leaders who rein such tight control.

Other sayings include “bite the dust,” “you bit off more than you can chew,” “break new ground” (a term used mostly by farmers), ”caught between a rock and a hard place” (this is even more true today), ”Do I look like a turnip that fell off the turnip truck?” and, finally, “keep the cows out of the bitter weeds.”

I am sure you can add many more old sayings-some that, perhaps, have special meaning to you.

Gosh, we have two excellent soloists in our church Teresa Brown and Shannon Dorch Doremus. It is so refreshing to listen to traditional non-contemporary melodic songs rendered by these two ladies. Each time they sing the melody ascends loud and clear creating an atmosphere of sincere tranquility.

This week’s Facebook posters are Phil Wilson, Donnie Powell, Jettie and Gordon Everette and Beth Smith.

More next week.