Winning Words 6/25/10
“Human life has always been lived on the edge of a precipice. If men had postponed the search for knowledge and beauty until they were secure, the search would never have begun.” (C.S. Lewis) Reasons can always be found for “playing it safe,” but I’m thankful for pioneers who weren’t afraid to take chances. The covered wagon people come to mind; also, the astronauts. Can you think of others? ;-) Jack

FROM GOOD DEBT JON: Yes, the precipice. Which reminds me, I am not afraid of heights--it's widths, ie; "I am fine in Denver, but nervous on my roof." FROM JACK: Not long ago and 86-yr-old retired steel worker started talking to me in the mall as I was sitting down (minding my own business). He told me about working on the beams of high rise buildings. He kept saying, "It's tough to grow old." I told him that I wouldn't want to have the job that was his. He probably wouldn't want mine, either.

FROM PRJS IN CANADA: We are up here in Stratford and yesterday we saw Kiss Me Kate and The Tempest (Christopher Plummer played Prospero). The latter show illustrates life lived on "the edge of a precipice." It also is a good illustration of the need for revenge and the need to forgive. They are not separate....they interact. FROM JACK: Glad to hear that your doing one of your favorite things. Speaking of "your favorite" things....how would you have liked to play in an 11+ hour set at Wimbledon? That would tested your ability of living on the edge.

FROM SH IN MICHIGAN: A person who is in our Movie night Bible study suggested we watch "Four Brothers" filmed in Detroit. Last Monday night we did watch it but only a couple of us plus our Pastor really wanted to have it included, the rest overwhelmingly felt it was too violent. I don't think any of us wanted to see the movie "for its thrill or anything" but we want to go beyond the limits of our boxes and search for the larger reality of the issues, particularly revenge, the movie deals with. We aren't "playing it safe", thanks to our Pastoral leadership and we are searching for truth and beauty but whoever thought all this stuff would come out from a group of people who have been studying together for so long?!!!!!!! FROM JACK: "To each his own," as far as that movie is concerned. BTW, the phrase itself, or at least a popular variant, can be traced back to ancient Greece, where it became a popular sentiment in the legal profession. In order for a society to work well together, there had to be a certain level of permissiveness and tolerance. This is the key principle behind the reluctance of lawmakers to legislate morality. What may be offensive or immoral to one group may be perfectly permissible in another, so the concept of "to each his own" discourages efforts to create artificial boundaries where personal freedoms are concerned.

FROM ML IN ILLINOIS: new parents...we just had our second grandchild this morning. arloa sunshine, 7 pounds 2 ounces, 20 and1/2 inches. born to pioneers emily and chris. we are so blessed. thank you god. FROM JACK: You're right! New parents are pioneers. It may not be covered wagon times, but the same "obstacles" wait around the bend. Those with the pioneering spirit press on, because there are "riches" on the other side of them thar mountains.

FROM CL IN MICHIGAN: How about those persons from Europe who left family and friends to come to a strange country where they spoke a strange lanquage. My ancestors came in 1838 and settled in Western New York. They without question took a chance but they were happy with the outcome FROM JACK: My wife's grandmother, as a teen-ager, left her mother in Sweden, knowing that she would probably never see her again....and she didn't!

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY: Medical "pioneers", space "pioneers", engineer pioneers, educational pioneers, dreamers, explorers, care-givers, but my biggest love...the earliest pioneers who bravely started out for places unknown. FROM JACK: There are so many to whom we owe debts of gratitude.

FROM MO IN ILLINOIS: The Underground R.R. safe houses people; the Civil Rights workers, many of whom laid their lives on the line, The first women Drs. (What a time THEY had!) the founders of "free" education for all, the immigrants whobraved the trip to the New World, come to mind immediately... FROM JACK: A friend of mine lived in a house located not far from ours here in Michigan. It was one of the stops for the Underground R.R. One day he showed me a bureau with a drawer that had a hinged back. The fleeing slave would get in the drawer and then exit into a secret hiding place. It really felt strange to look at the drawer and to think of the history that went with it.