Menusha Mondays are Here: Mind your p's and q's!

Its a beautiful Monday morning. The sun is bright, the air is warm and everybody is back from vacation; including the boss. That brings me to the Monday Manusha for the day. A coworker said "mind your p's and q's and hence; I had to know where that came from. We actually yahooed this one instead of googling. We got a very quick answer...so I share it with you.

Here it goes: Nautical Terminology: Mind Your P's and Q's
There are few of us who at one time or another have not been admonished to "mind our P's and Q's," or in other words, to behave our best.  Oddly enough, "mind your P's and Q's" had nautical beginnings as a method of keeping books on the waterfront.

In the days of sail when Sailors were paid a pittance, seamen drank their ale in taverns whose keepers were willing to extend credit until payday.  Since many salts were illiterate, keepers kept a tally of pints and quarts consumed by each Sailor on a chalkboard behind the bar.  Next to each person's name, a mark was made under "P" for pint or "Q" for quart whenever a seaman ordered another draught.

On payday, each seaman was liable for each mark next to his name, so he was forced to "mind his P's and Q's" or he would get into financial trouble.  To ensure an accurate count by unscrupulous keepers, Sailors had to keep their wits and remain somewhat sober.  Sobriety usually ensured good behavior, hence the meaning of "mind your P's and Q's."

Speaking of minding yours, I saw this great article on another blog called Law and Argument. I watched some movie this weekend or saw some TV show that mentioned myspace. Since practically the whole world is on it by now, if you didnt know; now you know. Which takes me to another point. Did you ever notice while driving down the interstate or stopping at an intersection just how many times you saw cameras? They're everywhere now! Sure, you might tense up briefly when you spot a patrol car with a radar gun on you or a cruiser just lingering behind you for a long time; but one might be more terrified if he realized the new police wont have cars. In fact, your ticket is in the mail. In fact, your entire life is probably tied into that camera and its facial recognition database.... talk about an identity theft just waiting to happen. Sure I see you, you see me and its Monday! Smile for the camera. I know, some of you are saying, if you dont do anything wrong, you want be worried about who's watching....I think history would disagree with you. The numbers might also oppose your nonchalant response.


Nonetheless, there's nothing like a good weekend to make a Monday worth its dread and hardship. There typically are always problems Mondays and/or Fridays. Remember the last time you really needed a doctor or perscription. Wasnt it late on a Friday? Anyway, you know what I mean. Go enjoy your week, the end of you weekend and the beginning of another trip to the next weekend. Maxi Frog signing off!