Winning Words 7/27/09
“Approach a goat from the back, a horse from the front, and a stupid person from no direction whatsoever.” (Yiddish Folk Saying) The point of this proverb is pretty self evident, but through the years I’ve tried to avoid using the word, stupid. Roget’s Thesaurus has helped me come up with the word, credulous. BTW, I’ll be offline for a couple of days, and not planning to do anything stupid. ;-) Jack

FROM S.H. IN MICHIGAN: I wonder, does this WW mean a goat is somewhat predictable, a horse is somewhat predictable, but a credulous person is totally unpredictable and any interaction with her/him is bound to turn out badly? Actually, I prefer not thinking of a "stupid person" but a person who has some elements within her/him of stupidity. At the press conference, was it that President Obama indicated the policeman did something stupid. I wonder how come we jump from a person's stupid behavior to categorizing the whole person as stupid? That's a pretty heavy onus on all of us when we do that. FROM JACK: When I heard him say "acted stupidly," I winced, because I knew that the words would be inflamatory and understood in different ways by different prople. This morning there was an interesting segment on how crows can recognize differences in people, but how people have a difficult time recognizing differences in crows. Crows, people, goats and horses are predictable and unpredictable at the same time.

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY: In our family, stupid is a swear word. We never let the kids use it at all and still don't. And the kids had a wonderful example of what NOT to do from our very own President.....how "foolish" he was! Credulous, though is a good word....much better. But I stick with my Grandma Sorenson..."If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything!" REPLY FROM JACK: When I was younger, I used the word, stupid. It's a valid word, in some instances, but now that I'm older, I try to avoid it....except when I make stupid decisions. MORE FROM JUDY: When growing up, anything "not nice" was not said. And my parents
especially didn't like us to judge people by their looks or actions. I could tell you many many stories of the people my dad brought home. Stupid was one bad words.

FROM JACK: Frank and Nancy Sinatra once sang a song: Something Stupid.
so why do i feel like i'm livin' a lie
something in your eyes
is tellin' me to stop and think twice
and i just can't decide
so don't say you love me unless you mean it
'cause i might do something stupid
like believe it, like believe it
i might do something stupid
like believe it, like believe it
i might do something stupid

FROM CJL IN OHIO: I didn't know anyone "planned" doing something stupid... REPLY FROM JACK: Oh yes, I have planned several stupid things in my lifetime....like the time I bought a bar of Fels-Naptha soap, planning to soap my neighbor's screens on Halloween. Stupid. I did it, and have regretted it to this day. She was a nice lady, too.

FROM MOLINER C.F.: Stupid seems to have become a popular word lately. Too bad it was used so stupidly. FROM JACK: Maybe you have to be stoop-ed to tie your shoes.

FROM S.G. IN TAMPA: I feel the same way about stupid. We have just returned from an incredulous trip to Mt. Rushmore, Yellowstone, the Tetons, and Vail. I hope that you enjoy your days off. Thanks again for your Winning Words. REPLY FROM JACK: Hey, we grew up in the same city. But I didn't learn to let go of the
"stupid" word until later in life. Mary and I traveled to South Dakota after our wedding. The day we came to Mt. Rushmore, the monument was obscured by fog, so we never did see it. We did buy a postcard. We saw it in later years with our children.