This is the very fork that Yogi took.

Yes, the above piece of wisdom about life’s choices was emitted by none other than Yogi Berra, everyone’s favorite sports hall-of-fame philosopher. Yogi was an all-star baseball catcher for the New York Yankees for many years.  He had several great seasons and one crowning achievement by being the catcher in the only perfect game ever pitched in the history of the World Series.

But many of us praise him even more fondly for his fractured philosophy and malapropisms. You see, Yogi isn’t one to go into a lot of detail when interviewed. If you ask him a question you’ll get a terse answer, and you’d better get ready because it is going to take some figuring out. Let’s take a look at some of the categories in which Yogi waxes eloquent:

The cinema: When asked how he liked a recently deceased actor’s part in a movie he had just watched, he responded: “He must have made that before he died.”

"Here's lookin at you, Yogi."

Regarding learning from experience:  “You can observe a lot just by watching.”

Yes, I observe what you mean, Yogi.

On the subject of dining:  “You’d better cut that pizza into 4 slices, I’m not hungry enough to eat 6 pieces.”

"This one-piece-of-pizza diet is awesome!"

On saying what you mean: When asked by someone for the time, he retorted: “Do you mean now?”

"Do you think he wants military time?"

Commenting on the lack of attendance during a recent Yankee slump, Yogi opined: “If fans don’t come out to the ball park, you can’t stop ’em.”

"We don't care about the game, we just want to hear Yogi talk."

On the sensation that you’ve done something once before: “It’s like déjà vu all over again.”  (Did you know that was Yogi’s?)

"I have the strangest feeling I've posted this picture before."

When queried about a popular night club spot in NYC, Yogi cuts right to the chase:  “Nobody goes there anymore, it’s too crowded.”

"Let's go home, this place is dead!"

His view on the social etiquette regarding funerals:  “You should always go to other people’s funerals; otherwise, they won’t come to yours.”

"Dang, Jimmy isn't here. I knew I should have gone to his wake last month."

When one interviewer finally confronted Yogi about all the skewed statements he was famous for, Yogi simply replied: “I didn’t really say all the things I said.”

Well, I could go on for another few pages reciting the funny quotations of the great Yogi Berra. In fact, I’m not going to end this blog. I think Yogi will agree with my doing that, for it is his eminence himself who once uttered one of the most succinct phrases in use today: “It ain’t over ’til it’s over!”

Yogi getting ready to coin another classic.