Things Daddy and 'nim taught me is not just a book. Rather it is the assembling of wisdom. Each of the wise sayin's or colloquialisms are filled with life lessons, stories, and questions for you to consider. What you will read are words that helped guide, shape and inspire me. Words that I began hearing as a young child. Words that stuck with me, challenged me, and held me accountable to myself and others.

I remember hearing both my dad and my mother making short statements that were laden with meaning. It was at the tender age of five that daddy made a statement and it stopped me in my tracks. It was filled with a brief description of how people show up. And, as it were, I had to ask myself was I one of the people.

It has always been a dream of mine to share the wisdom of my father, mother, and the elders who have been in my life with the world. The life lessons are as necessary today as they were in the past. So much of what is in this book is a part of what elders share in the hopes that their wisdom is given as a gift to the world and that someone is listening and living it out.