Winning Words 7/27/11
“Never give up on anybody.” (Hubert Humphrey) Never isn’t a hard word for God, but it sure is for us. How far do you go? In context, HH is speaking about how gov’t treats children, elderly, needy and sick. “Concern for the unfortunate is not socialism.” When he was in the hospital, dying, he got out of his bed and went from room to room cheering up the other patients. He was that kind of a person. ;-) Jack

FROM JS IN MICHIGAN: I'm about ready to give up on the Tea Party....they seem to despise the rest of us!!//// FROM JACK: Hubert was called the "Happy Warrior," because he smiled in the face of opposition and did not give up on his fight for the disadvantaged. I can remember, from my past, the names of true statesmen on both sides of the aisle. I who the current generation will remember?

FROM HAWKEYE GEORGE: In my book, my dad taught me "A quitter never wins, and a winner never quits." Grantland Rice.////FROM JACK: I agree with that quote, but I must confess that I sometimes leave the room when the Tigers or the Wolverines are losing badly. BTW, I think that the quote is from Napoleon Hill, one of the early "personal success" writers/speakers. Regardless...it was good advice from your dad.

FROM EMT SINGS IN MICHIGAN: He was from MN!////FROM JACK: Yes, he earned his political fame in Minnesota. But, I think that it's interesting that he was born in South Dakota, in a room above his father's drug store. Eventually he came to Minnesota, because of his attendance at the Univ of Minn. Rah, Rah, Rah for Ski-U-Ma!

FROM JH IN OHIO: HH was one of my favorites... and I agree politically too!////FROM JACK: One of the things I liked about Hubert was that his ideals seemed more humanistic than political. I don't think that "political correctness" was in his vocabulary.

FROM BLAZING OAKS: "When the going gets tough, the tough get going"...I think I picked that up when I visited The Crystal Cathedral (in happier times). Most of us have the picture of a huge Crane or Heron with a Frog's head in his beak, and the frogs "hands" wrapped tightly around the bird's neck, with the saying, "Never, Never, NEVER give up!" My bro-in-law had it on the wall of his nursing home room. The world is full of stories about redeemed lives, because someone kept on believing in them. Guideposts magazine is a good source for that. I've experience a few myself, and give God the glory!! Hubert Humphrey was certainly an icon for compassion!!////FROM JACK: When the Crystal Cathedral Ministry was going through bankruptcy, I read an article which said that they were using the Schuller quote, "When the going gets tough," in letters to their contributors...to hang in there. The going is certainly tough for that ministry. It's hard to see the frog's head.

FROM PLAIN FOLKS CHESTER: "Never give up on anybody" including yourself.////FROM JACK: It's that old, old story of "The Little Train That Could."

FROM DC IN MICHIGAN: I thought I would tell you of my encounter with him. Char Jonson, my roommate and one who worked in Ren Anderson's office at G.A. and I worked there too. She was from Illinois and I was from Wisconsin. Hubert came into the office to meet with Ren, and he wanted to talk to us too. So we shook his hand and said a few words. I didn't tell him I was from Wisconsin and she was from Illinois, but we figured we could never vote for him, so he just kind of wasted his time with us. But later on, we actually both voted for him, but it didn't do any good anyway He was at Gustavus for some kind of Democratic meeting, and Ren was working for him. Ren was head of the communications department, or something like that. Char was the daughter of a Pastor Rudolph Jonson who was at Augustana Church in Chicago when she went to high school, but then later was in Cambridge. So Dick and I visited there several times when Dick was at seminary. Mrs. Jonson was related somehow to Mrs. E. E. Ryden--the one who is now about 77 years old.////FROM JACK: Thanks for the first-hand HH story. It sounds just like him. If you and Char and I voted for him, how come he lost the election?

FROM WATERFORD ANNE: Concern for the needy is not socialism. The line is between encouragement, support and self reliance. These are not simple issues. One must do the right thing.////FROM JACK: The "s" word is still being used today in the political arena. Even might have a tough time being elected, not that he would want to. He doesn't need more power.

FROM INDY GENIE: My mother loved HH!////FROM JACK: Hubert's gone. Who do you "love?"