Winning Words 3/7/11
“When there’s snow on the ground, I like to pretend that I’m walking on clouds.” (Takayuki Ikkaku) I’ve heard of people who can walk over hot coals and not be burned. Some say that it has to do with mind control. I think that physics could play a part. Be that as it may, there’s something to be said for using the mind to turn snow into clouds, to turn a negative into a positive. ;-) Jack

FROM SH IN MICHIGAN: What a cool thought!!!!!! Just spending a minute here reflecting on how much I cut down on my walking around the community on the snow this last winter trying to be careful and not fall down on it. Don't really know whether it would have been wiser to not be so defensive about it or not. Enjoying Ikkaku's ability to soar in his mind and make walking on snow a transforming experience, something out of the ordinary. Thanks for the pleasant start to the week again. FROM JACK: The mind is a terrible thing to waste. Let's use it today to think positive thoughts. Think spring!

FROM PRPH IN MINNESOTA: if you lived in MN this winter, you would really have to stretch your mind to make snow into clouds! but its a nice thought just the same... FROM JACK: Did you have to pretend that there was snow when you spent part of the winter Arizona?

FROM ILLINOIS LIZ: Am I the only Midwesterner who appreciates a good winter? They use a special coal that is not hot on the surface, I read somewhere, sometime... FROM JACK: Maybe your appreciation is just imagination. Special coal, or not, fire walking is not for me. I prefer clouds.

FROM CS IN WISCONSIN: We are walking on more “clouds” today…. FROM JACK: Four of the last Februarys here have been among the top ten "cloudiest" since records have been kept.

FROM GUSTIE MARLYS: Until you hit a patch of ice and go down! FROM JACK: A couple of my friends have gone out and purchased strap-on spikes for their shoes. You ought to try them.

FROM NK IN THE U.P.: On March 1....I was so excited, I could go out and not wear BOOTS. I wore SHOES !
I have it circled on the calendar.....since then the Snow Machine is working night and day. The weather for ASH WEDNESDAY.....is deep snow and Cold. Thanks for your daily messages..I so appreciate them and pass them on to my daughters. FROM JACK: Church attendance was down somewhat on Sunday, probably because of the 2" of snow. Maybe you can wear shoes on Ash Wednesday....snow--shoes.

FROM WATERFORD JAN: I tried walking on snow and pretending that it was clouds, but it didn't work. Now I'm in Florida for the month of March and the only thing I'm worried about burning is my skin, so I'm using SPF 30. FROM JACK: For excitement, when you're walking on the Florida sand, pretend that you're walking on hot coals.

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY: I personally love snow and winter. Now, with the knee replacement, I am much more careful of how I step on the "clouds". I still love it though. (I did have a fall but it was because my boots are too big....I have a AA foot in a medium sized boot and my foot slipped in my boot...down I went.) But I landed in one BIG cloud of snow and was just fine. FROM JACK: This is unrelated, but this week I read that the bite of a black widow spider is far more deadly than that of a rattlesnake. In olden days the spiders would often spin their webs across the holes of outhouses. People had to be very careful before they sat down....and that's the truth!

FROM CJL IN OHIO: Isn't that what we tried to do in the parish? and now? It makes for life rather than simply existing. FROM JACK: Sometimes it's called, "Walking on eggs."