I was trying to get out of a brain-funk today and thought a nice bike ride would do the job. Well, as soon as I got across the Brooklyn Bridge, en route to the East Village to drop off some camera film, my front tire tube burst….pshhshhheewwww! I considered it all too representative of the funk that my mind’s been in lately, but the rest of my being would have it. I’m not usually one to wallow. So, after some wandering in Tribeca, I found a bike shop and got the tube replaced very quickly. Then all the fun began…riding in crazy Manhattan traffic in the sun. I love it!
I got the film dropped off and headed back downtown towards the Brooklyn Bridge again. Until I came across the signs pointing me block-by-block exactly how to get to the bike path for the Manhattan Bridge…a bridge that I have not yet conquered in bike. So I rocked it and I loved it. It’s funny riding next to the subway trains! And there’s nothing like the second half of a bridge…where it’s all downhill. I am now invigorated and consider today the first day of my summer…and the rest of my life, goddammit!
Anyway, as I was riding the bridge, for some reason I started wondering what the phrase “Here’s mud in your eye” means and its origins. Why would one want mud wished upon (or up-in) their eyes?! Talk amongst yourselves…and please let me know if you find out what gives…or even if you just have a half-baked theory about it.
Have a rockin’ weekend, ya’ll! I will
5 responses so far ↓
Crystal // May 31, 2008 at 1:50 am |
You made me curious about ‘here’s mud in your eye’ – here’s something I found – seems that it comes from a story in the Bible. This is copied from a children’s sermon.
Jesus was walking with his disciples when they saw a man who had been blind since birth. The disciples thought that man was blind because he or his parents had sinned, but Jesus told them, “It is not because of his sins or his parents’ sins. This happened so that the power of God could be seen in his life.” Then Jesus knelt down, spit on the ground, and stirred up some mud. He took the mud and put it on the blind man’s eyes. He told him, “Now, go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam.” The man went and washed the mud from his eyes and when he came back, he could see!
Now, you would think that everyone would think that it was wonderful that the blind man could see, but the Pharisees weren’t. Do you know why? It was because Jesus healed the blind man on the Sabbath. The Pharisees thought that was a sin to do anything on the Sabbath — even if it was to help someone in need. You see, they were more concerned with keeping their religious laws than they were with helping people. When the pharisees asked the man how he had been healed, he told them that Jesus had healed him. They became angry and said to him, “God should get the glory for this — we know this man Jesus is a sinner.”
“I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I do know this: I was blind, and now I can see!”
I don’t know what problems you may be facing in your life, but I know that if Jesus can heal a blind man with a little bit of mud, he can help you with anything you might be facing.
lwknar // May 31, 2008 at 4:37 am |
maybe that’s why i never heard the phrase. cuz the only jesus stories i know involve fish, wine or sand.
sounds to be like a rockin day though. thought there would be something on here about the new old new ear candy, mudcrutch…what up newms?
Dave // May 31, 2008 at 2:01 pm |
Another origin theory comes from horse racing, where the winning jockey would boast ‘here’s mud in your eye’ as he passed the other riders.
But I think Crystal’s closer to the mark, since the phrase is mostly used as a toast, i.e. ‘here’s a cure for what ails you!’
newmradio // May 31, 2008 at 5:37 pm |
Thanks, you guys! Now I know…and knowing is half the battle.
That is super-interesting, the Jesusy one. I guess I should always blog about things I don’t understand, and I will soon understand. (kinda like get mud on my computer monitor, or something).
Cheers!
mo // June 1, 2008 at 3:23 pm |
I heard (Googled) that “here’s mud in your eye” is a toast that originated during WWI. They used to say it because, in the trenches, it was better to get mud in your eye than a bullet, shrapnel, or whatever other nasty things that could get into your eye while one was lurking around in said trenches.