As we enter a new season of generally warmer temps and greener grass, we have a tendency to want to get away from home again - to jump in our vehicles, hit the road and put the pedal to the metal! Well, my avid reader in Morrison, Thelma Burkhalter, asked me about this old phrase which most of us have heard since we were knee high to grasshoppers.

This rhyming idiom became popular in the U.S. in the 1950s when V8 engines with super power were all the rage. When the gas pedal was pressed to the floor, the throttle was wide open and teenaged daredevils hit the lonely stretches of highway to drag race.

It came figuratively to mean to go at any task with all gusto, as fast as possible.  

I hope that my readers are all filled with vim and vigor and ready to make this spring a great one and create new memories regardless of your age.

I don’t feel as full of pep as I used to and am not likely to literally put the pedal to the metal as I was in 1974 when I decided to try out my 1969 Malibu SS to see how fast it would go on a long stretch of straight highway on Route 127 between Pikeville and Dunlap at a time when no one else was around. I think I hit 100, but I blew my 396 engine.

At least I am more level-headed than I was when I was young. Have a great week, y’all, and thanks for reading my column!

If you have a phrase you would like to see featured here, please text Stan at 931-212-3303 or email him at stan@stclair.net.