These Have Stuck (Part 1)

Certain sentences, some said to me and others said in my presence, have stuck with me verbatim throughout the years. Here's a sampling:

"I'll be on my last legs by then." --My father in 1965, when we were talking about the year 2000. Happily, he lived until December 2011.

"That's just my face in repose." --My mother, after I asked her what was wrong.

"You look nice, but you should be wearing off-black stockings." --A very frank colleague, commenting on my choice of hosiery prior to a meeting with a prospective client.

"I can't believe you're 19." --My childhood neighbor and lifelong friend, expressing horror at my advanced age. She was 16 at the time; she is now going on 61.

"How's the rest of your family?" --My husband, after a 4 year-old neighborhood girl told us her mother was dead (we knew she was alive and well).

"That's OK, I have 4-wheel drive." --A hard-of-hearing (and absent-minded) friend, about to leave his regular bar on a snowy night, after the manager told him not to forget to tip the bartender.

"I was so mad I was fumigating." --A dear friend, in a characteristically charming malaprop moment.

It was fun to pull these from my memory bank---give it a try!