“Take it easy.” That phrase became common in the 1970s with the Eagles hit song of the same name. Jackson Browne co-wrote the lyrics in 1972 with Glenn Frey and put Winslow, Arizona, on the map. But what exactly does it mean to “take it easy”?
Lionel Ritchie told us he was “easy like Sunday morning” in the Commodores’ 1977 ballad. I don’t know about you, but Sunday mornings haven’t been easy for me. When we had three daughters at home, trying to get them out of bed and ready for church was a time challenge each week. And after the service — and during times when our business needed every dollar just to survive — the whole family pitched in to help clean our office. Our youngest daughter, Abby, was eager to help and would crawl underneath the work stations and move wires aside while I vacuumed. The system worked well — until I caught her hair in the vacuum rollers. That Sunday morning, particularly, was not easy.
“Easy as pie.” This phrase is used to describe the simpleness of a task. Obviously, the person who came up with this never attempted to bake a pie. Pie is not easy. Ice cream is easy. Unfold the carton. Scoop. Eat. It doesn’t get much easier — unless the carton was edible, which isn’t a bad idea.
“Easy on the eyes” is a phrase used to describe someone who is attractive. Now let’s be honest. If we saw someone strikingly beautiful, we would likely look twice or focus more, which certainly would not be easy on the eyes. Something bland or hardly noticeable would be easy on the eyes.
“Easy come, easy go.” This one I agree with, as most things in life that come along easily are also lost easily. The most meaningful things usually take a great deal of ongoing work, and then we hold them dearly.
Meanwhile, Jackson Browne may have been onto something about taking advantage of every moment when he wrote, “We may lose or we may win, but we will never be here again.”
Have a fantastic Friday, and “take it easy.”
Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital editions
shane@gctimesnews.com
641-332-2707