Winning Words 8/2/10
“Nothing of me is original. I am the combined effort of everybody I’ve ever known.” (Chuck Palahniuk) I accidently came across some quotes by this guy last week. He grew up in a trailer park and was raised by his grandparents. He worked in a homeless shelter and was also a hospice escort. He belonged to The Cacophony Society. His writing is the result of who he was. So are we. ;-) Jack

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY: I may be the combined effort of everybody around me, but I am a special one-of-a-kind unique individual to the One who made me. FROM JACK: I was expecting someone to give an answer like that, and I'm not surprised that it was you. MORE FROM JUDY: I'm not surprised you weren't surprised.

FROM RI IN BOSTON: That quote is an interesting concept that we generally fail to consider. From the day we come into this world we are affected by so many persons around us. For me most of the influences were positive...I'm thankful that there were less negatives. Quite a few individuals stand out as the primary contributors in my life, and while I can't thank every one of them personally, I am deeply grateful for the guidance they gave me. FROM JACK: That is true. I also think back to a reading of H's autobiography. Is there such a thing as being even more true?

FROM PRJS IN MICHIGAN: So you were a Tabula Rasa at birth! FROM JACK: The nurture versus nature debate goes on and on and on. After reading about Palahniuk, I can see why he writes as he does. I see why he comes down on the nurture side. Whether he believes it or not, I believe that he was born with a soul.

FROM JK IN MICHIGAN: Jack these are really deep words borne out of a life not so often lived. Thank You for sharing FROM JACK: One of the reasons for sending out WWs is to get people to explore ideas, using the mind.

FROM BBC IN ILLINOIS: I've only read a couple of his novels. They are great, very realistic and very creepy. FROM JACK: "Creepy" is an interesting word. Perhaps the negative connotation of the word goes back to "the snake" in Genesis, a creepy thing associated with evil. I might be inclined to read his popular book, "Fight Club," or "Postcards from the Future." MORE FROM BBC: I just looked at Chuck's bio, interesting guy. The book I was remembering is called Lullaby. I don't know if I would recommend it though I enjoyed it a great deal. FROM JACK: His Cacophony Society tells something about him, too. Here's something else about him. He stopped being a hospice escort when he got attached to one of the patients and that patient died. That's not creepy; it shows his senstive side.

FROM SH IN MICHIGAN: I also believe each person is original, what I think are the combined efforts are to "see", we and others often don't see ourselves truthfully, we constantly need help from others and we constantly need to help others so that the truth of the originality inside shines out throughout the community. And finally the community can be glad for all the different stories of us living our lives together. There's always someone, out there, waiting to come in who can relate to any one of us as we are and have
been in the part we are playing in God's Kingdom which is not like anyone else's part but still intimately connected. That's my opinion anyway. FROM JACK: Chuck might have a problem with your view, but at least the two of you could have an interesting discussion.

FROM CWR VISITING IN MICHIGAN: ...."reared", not "raised" FROM JACK: Now, I'll have to go and check out the difference between the two words. While I'm at it, I'll compare two others: nurtured and bred. (PAUSE) "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." MORE FROM CWR: ...when I was living in Charleston, South Carolina, I had an apartment in an old Civil War era house near the Battery, from which the Rebels fired on
Ft. Sumpter. The house was owned by Elmina Eason, an older English Professor from the College of Charleston. At the end of the day I would sit on the front porch and have a cocktail with old Miss Eason.
One evening when we were talking about our heritage, I said to her that I "was born and RAISED in Baltimore, Maryland." She bristled and said "Reared , it's Reared". "Flowers, vegetables are Raised, crops are Raised .....people are Reared"", as are "cattle" Reared. I guess that I just believed her. I really admired her. She integrated her English class at the College of Charleston. This was 1962, when RACISM was the Religion of the South and Miss Eason said "no" and invited "Negroes" to enroll in her English class at the College. She was a little old white skinned, white haired lady who was born in Charleston, but taught college in New York, her whole career, but when she returned "home" to Charleston to retire, she was invited by the College of Charleston to teach an English Class. She agreed, but only if the class was open to racial integretion. The College agreed and so she held the first racially integrated clas in Charleston, South Carolina. That's why I
believe it's "Reared".

FROM MOLINER CF: So it goes that the self-made man is the work of a rank amatuer. FROM JACK: I guess that our reaction to others is part of the combination, too.

FROM HAWKEYE GS: did you ever watch "You Are What You Were When"? It's about how the decade you grew up in influenced your life. FROM JACK: Your response encouraged me to "look it up." I found that it was a business training video by Morris Massey...which encouraged me to look up other stuff about him. One of his presentations that intrigued me was, "Dancing with the Bogeyman," a 3-step way of dealing with our fears. BTW, the three major development times in life, according to Massey, are ages birth to 7 (like sponges, especially learning from parents); 8 to 13 (copying people and trying on new ideas, like trying on clothes); and 13 to 21 (when we are influenced by peers and the media).

FROM CJL IN OHIO: Modern science has proven the truth of CP's statement. FROM JACK: So, you still read Popular Science magazines? I suppose you read Popular Mechanics, too. Who has made the most impact on your life...if there is one person? MORE FROM CJL: I suppose two women - My mother, Edith and my wife, Ilene. I still live with them.

FROM MO IN ILLINOIS: I think it was Will Rogers who said, "I am a part of every man I've ever met" ? Or was it Mark Twain/ Anyway, a lot of truth in this sentiment. I'd shop on the internet for accuracy, but I have to run to play golf in my Monday night league!!

FROM PRJM IN MICHIGAN: Is there a book or a magazine article or something about/by this Chuck Palahniuk? (The name sounds like an Inuit name). This quote is a "tickler" that makes me want to read more. FROM JACK: The local library has some of his books.