Winning Words 6/4/12
“Experience is a hard teacher, because she gives the test first, the lessons afterwards.” (Vernon Law) We are in that time of the year when students are taking their final exams. Oh, how I hated finals! I tried to be the first done, even if that meant not doing my best work. If I were to live those early years over, I’d do some things differently. Are there some things that you might improve on? ;) Jack

FROM RI IN BOSTON: Your WW are a striking reversal of how we normally learn. You follow up with comments how we as individuals might improve, but I think mankind has fallen short..society collectively has proven to be a slow learner.////FROM JACK: I have several sayings posted near my computer. One says: "Act Old Later!" and the another reads: "Ancora Imparo (I am still learning.)."

FROM MV IN MICHIGAN: Yes Jack there are many things I would improve on. We read “The Road Less Travelled” in 9th grade and that poem has stayed with me forever. I think about it often as I reflect upon its application to my life. It also reminds me of the Yogi Berra-ism, “When I come to a fork in the road, I pick it up”. ////FROM JACK: "I woulda, coulda, shoulda!" Once, having made the choice, there are no do-overs, only new choices. For better or worse, that's life! I remember this poem...
He came to my desk with quivering lip;
The lesson was done.
“May I have a new sheet, dear teacher?
I’ve spoiled this one.”
So I took his sheet all spoiled and blotted,
And gave him a new one – all unspotted,
Then into his sad eyes smiled,
“Do better now, my child.”

I came to the Throne with quivering heart;
The old year was done.
“May I have a new year, dear Master?
I’ve spoiled this one.”
So He took my year, all spoiled and blotted,
And gave me a new one – all unspotted,’
Then into my sad heart smiled,
“Do better now, my child.”

FROM HONEST JOHN: I always had the need to be done first, too. I learned to use the extra time to double check my answers. It has been a good lesson for life.////FROM JACK: I shoulda listened to my chemistry teacher (Uncle Carl) who said, "You can do better." At least, I've remembered those words.////MORE HONESTY: I finally got that message thru to my daughter (took a while) and she ended up as a Summa Cum Laude at the Un of Mich....it is a key lesson in life. I think my woodworking hobby helped me to learn it...unfortunately, I still forget it at times and then comes "ouch"

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY: There are things I deeply regret but to do things differently, I'm not so sure. I have forgiveness for the things I didn't do my best on, and I'm quite happy with my life now. Perhaps I would have taken better care of my body while involved with all the sports I played.////FROM JACK: Sometimes we are better for the mistakes that we have made.

FROM MEDD-O-LANE: Isn't it amazing the longer we live the smarter we get until our memory starts playing games with us.////FROM JACK: I read somewhere that we never forget anything. Everything is stored somewhere in the recesses of the brain. In one of my four-drawer filing cabinets, I have a folder, marked: Moline. It's fun to look through it once in a while. My brain works the same way.

FROM PLAIN FOLKS CHESTER: I would have stuck with the piano.////FROM JACK: Phil Conners stuck with it in "Groundhog Day" and became an outstanding jazz pianist.

FROM CL IN MICHIGAN: O' so many things. If only we could get a do over.////FROM JACK: Reincarnation isn't one of our beliefs.

FROM SHARIN' SHARON: I grew up in a family that tried not to visit the doctor very much. No insurance and so forth. Consequently, I've had various illnesses and afflictions and don't take care of things fast enough so that they don't get too serious. I think if I were to change anything in my life, it would be to go to the doctor and dentist earlier.////FROM JACK: Visits to the doctor and to the dentist were rare in my life, too. In fact, I can't remember ever taking our dog to the vet.

FROM ME IN NEWPORT BEACH: Read more and improve my reading skills. My wife reads all of the time and I often joke that I do not know how to read. While I usually tested well, I was almost always the last one done with any tests because I was such a slow reader. Is the quote from Vernon Law the baseball player? ////FROM JACK: My problem was that I could read, but often could not comprehend. Now, when I read what I want to read, the comprehension is there. But I guess that education is not about reading what you want to read. I thought that baseball players were only capable of "Yogi-type" quotes, but I was wrong. Yes, this quote is by Vern Law, the former baseball pitcher.

FROM TAMPA SHIRL: I wish that I had more patience with the electronic stuff of our age. The grandchildren just seem punch everything and get everything to come up right. I don't seem to have the patience to read through all the instructions, and even if I do the results are not always satisfactory. Anyway, in the big scheme of life, that is all not important. Just now my 99 cent iphone has mysteriously gone on a vibrating tone instead of a ring. It is a challenge, sort of.////FROM JACK: I don't see my grandchildren reading any set of instructions. I read the instructions, but it seems as though some of the pages are missing. I can't even learn to "text."

FROM BLAZING OAKS: Makes me remember Will Rogers saying, "Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment!" Bill used to quote that fairly often to our kids...The key is to LEARN from experiences, as your WW points out. Good thought for today! Hopefully as octogenarians we are a little wiser for all of our "experiences"! :-)////FROM JACK: Is that why Tom Brokaw wrote a book and called it, "The Greatest Generation?"