Words- more of them

FURPHIES

The word is derived from the name of a horse drawn water tanker used in desert campaigns of the 1914-18 war.
To keep the horses and soldiers supplied as they moved about. Now, the soldier in charge of the tanker swapped news with a lot of soldiers as he moved around and the news soon spread that if you wanted to know what was going, you went to the FURPHY. All unofficial of course.

As time moved on the term was degraded to mean either a direct lie or a misunderstanding of the fact. It is not in the O.E.D so it must be aussie slang which I think has fallen from favor.

Moving on, some 80 years ago, I stood at the cast iron end of the tank and read beautifully raised words.

Thos FURPHY and sons

Good better best

Never let it rest

Till your good is better

And you’re better best

This was on my father’s farm.

Now this little homily seems to fit stroke, but there is a problem with the word best, it suggests an end and with stroke recovery, there is a process but is there an end? I doubt it.

In previous writings I have suggested recovery as an end, but with the caveats of speed time to get there, and of the degree of recovery achieved. If I wrote about that today I would emphasize more clearly that stroke recovery is an individual process with no defined end. Certainly applies to me.

Angus