Thursday, October 30, 2008

Jack’s Winning Words 10/30/08
“Silence is an opinion.”
(Gil Atkinson) You don’t have to give a vocal answer to every question put to you. Sometimes a look is enough. I was born when Silent Cal was president. There are several opinions as to how Coolidge got his nickname. One source says that he married a very talkative woman. ;-) Jack.

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY: I would answer, but it may be smarter for me to be silent.

FROM L.K. IN OH: Since I'm always talking, I do not seem to have many (perhaps) good opinions,ha!

FROM P.O. IN MI: Boo, hiss!

FROM MOLINER C.F.: Silence is golden. Let's get rich. JACK'S RESPONSE: SPEECH IS SILVER, SILENCE IS GOLDEN - "The value placed upon saying less, rather than more, as reflected in this proverb can be traced as far back as the early Egyptians, who recorded one such saying: 'Silence is more profitable than abundance of speech.' The current proverb was rendered for the first time in the Judaic Biblical commentaries called the 'Midrash' (c. 600), which gave the proverb as 'If speech is silvern, then silence is golden.'
One witty adaptation in Brian Aldiss's 'The Primal Urge' (1961) seems particularly appropriate to modern times: "Speech is silver; silence is golden; print is dynamite." MORE FROM C.F.: As Abe Lincoln said, "It is better to remain silent and reach your golden years than to speak and remove all the silver from your teeth."

FROM PR F.M. IN WI: I always appreciate your daily winning word . . . I don't always respond because I just digest . . . and 'silence is an opinion.'

FROM WATERFORD JAN: Did you really have to include that reason for Coolidge being Silent? That's too close to home (mine).

FROM EMT SINGS IN MI: That is what my husband's friends say if he is too quiet!

FROM J.D. IN MN: JACK, THAT WILL DO IT.

FROM MKH IN MI: I did read it, have you been talking to my husband?

FROM MOLINER CROC: " Silent Cal." Couldn`t get a word in edgewise , maybe.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Sometimes I feel really grateful that the Apostle Paul told women to be silent and, when really frustrated think "by golly, that's the thing to do" but--after a lifetime now of speaking my mind--it seems to make people who know me uncomfortable when I stop talking. How come some people can get by without sharing their thoughts? Silence or talking--change is the big thing to listen to.
Sharon