shadows and spears

a bit of my stand-up routine: when I was growing up, my father was rarely amused or entertained by my shenanigans. When i announced with pride and indignation that i was going to run away from home - he told me I should walk away from home- i'd get farther before getting tired, and it would look more dignified. I don't really have a stand-up act, but my family does have a history of liquid cold medicine abuse..."shadows and spears, that is what there are, you must beware shadows and spears" - that is the motto on our family crest, no one knows what it means, and we are pretty sure it doesn't mean anything and that it was both said and transcribed in a codeine influenced haze; however, we do hold out hope that maybe its meaning will be revealed to us as our epiphanic rescue in a moment of Apocryphal cataclysm - what else do we have?