Winning Words 1/6/10
“If only there were a longer time between epiphany and epitaph.” (David Glaser) I got a daily calendar of The Year’s Best Bumper Stickers as a Christmas present. I think the sticker from a couple of days ago explains what Glaser is saying today…Old Too Soon---Smart Too Late. Some of you may know the Dutch version of this. ;-) Jack

FROM L IN ILLINOIS: Are we a little too hard on ourselves? Life is a learning curve that doesn't end till we do. I am going to try to enjoy the learning process a little more, and not beat myself up for not "knowing it all." FROM JACK: My goal is not to "know it all," but simply to enjoy learning some things that I didn't know before.

FROM PRJM IN MICHIGAN: Thank you for acknowledging "epiphany" today. It is my youngest grandson's 6th birthday anniversary and, before that even, has been one of my favorite church festivals. Lots of my European members over the years have spoken of December 6 and January 6 being the highlights of their childhood celebrations, while Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were for worship and family gatherings around special foods -- seafood on the Eve because they were often still fasting during Advent, and other meat specialties to break the fast on Christmas Day. Since this day commemorates the visit of the wise men, it would be nice if our society could have an epiphany about Epiphany! FROM JACK: In this case, the Greeks might have it right.

FROM RI IN BOSTON: We all want more time. Do we just want to take, or do we have something to give? FROM JACK: Ah, there's the rub. How do we give of our time? MORE FROM RI: I'll bet your bumper-sticker calendar brings a bright moment every day. Bumper stickers are witty, where opinion and humor collide. FROM JACK: Today's bumper-sticker reads: "BLAH, BLAH, BLAH." Take it for what it's worth.

FROM ML IN ILLINOIS: it takes most of our lifetime to learn to accept with grace the matters of the human state before we leave it. i believe i'm being prepared for the "mystery". FROM JACK: ....you and Iris...and me, too.

FROM MOLINER MH: Your last couple of ww reminded me of a passage from Gibran on Time. " Know that yesterday is but today's memory and tomorrow is today's dream"....."Let today embrace the past with remembrance and the future with longing." I just rediscovered the Prophet and find a lot of similarity to some of your ww. You might want to take a look. FROM JACK: In fact, I just pulled "The Prophet" from my book shelf. How about this writing about Time? "Whenever you pass by the field where you have laid your ancestors look well thereupon, and you shall see yourselves and your children dancing hand in hand. Verily, you often make merry without knowing."

FROM MOLINER CF: As a result of our conversation yesterday, I am going to start an enigma farm. They are easy to raise and maybe I can make a difference. They are quite like mushrooms in their requirements so I am going to start in my abandoned darkroom and see what develops. If I am successful, I may franchise it. Since you were the inspiration, I am going to name it FREEDom Farm. FROM JACK: How about DumbFreed Farm?

FROM MO IN ILLINOIS: Boy, I'll second that! I'll bet your new book is entertaining! I just saw one that made me laugh...It said, "Diapers and politicians should be changed frequently, and for the same reasons..." There are a lot of good ones out there, if you pay attention. I sure appreciate the work you do to bring the quote each day FROM JACK: My calendar is the daily tear-off kind. One of the bumper stickers asks: "What would Scooby do?" BTW, not using diapers is a worse alternative.

FROM EMT SINGS IN MICHIGAN: How true, how true!