Fighting Words

Most children never have to struggle to claim their father's verbal legacy.

After all, who would want to steal someone else's father's phraseology? Certainly his family are admirers but not to-the-death defenders of Daddy Ott's language contributions such as, Did they suck your brains out at school; Park away from other cars; and Don't buy it unless you need it, then don't buy it.

And at least part of the love Diana Sholley has for her late father is revealed with her remembrance of his warnings such as Empty barrels make the most noise; Take it easy, greazy, you got a long way to slide; and Everybody wants to hug the bear, but nobody likes it when the bear hugs back. She even seems to admire his way out of sharing some spending money with her when she was growing up: My name is crime and crime don't pay.

But Elisabeth Sifton, daughter of Reinhold Niebuhr, one of America's most influential theologians, finds herself in a media maelstrom. The fight is over her father's authorship of the words of comfort and hope beginning, "God Grant Me the ..." A Yale librarian claims he "misspoke." Sifton, author of The Serenity Prayer, — a tale of her father's life, work and current influence that begins with the idea that his words are often misattributed to others — has been forced to take up arms (or maybe just pen ... or keyboard) in defense of her dad.

Apparently, a dad's word may be law, but his jurisdiction is questionable