Winning Words 8/18/11
“How easy it is to think that the good old days were only good.” (Herb Chilstrom) I just finished reading HC’s autobiography. Since I can remember the “old days” that he describes, I can appreciate his reminder that the good old days weren’t always so good. I try not to use nostalgia as an escape mechanism when it comes to looking at the political and religious world as it is today. Today “is what it is.” ;-) Jack

FROM SH IN MICHIGAN: You are so right. This week, at our intergenerational vacation Bible school, the adults sat in their classroom, talking a bit about how it used to be that kids were raised by the whole community. If a kid was doing something wrong and any adult saw it, you can bet that adult would admonish the kid. However, I can remember as a young adult how, from our perspective, we all wanted to "get out of town" and away from where everyone knew our business. We all wanted to "go away" somewhere and have more room to just be ourselves, that the community seemed to be just too confining. Another great WW speaking truth.////FROM JACK: Thomas Wolfe wrote: "You Can't Go Home Again," and the title of his novel is true...except, we can go home again with our memories. Here's an interesting thought...Each day, we're making new memories.

FROM LP IN MICHIGAN: Went to a child-birth refresher class last weekend. She asked me to describe my first child-birth. My husband filled in those more difficult moments that I guess I had forgotten.////FROM JACK: Thankfully, memory can be selective.

FROM PH IN MINNESOTA: however, the mind seems to tell our memory to forget the bad stuff from the past and to remember only the good. is this a blessing or not?////FROM JACK: Good or bad is subjective...like Bad Friday can turn into Good Friday. Events are what the mind chooses to make them.

FROM MF IN MICHIGAN: I think it's totally appropriate to use nostalgia as an escape mechanism. You lived in and survived those old days that weren't always so good, to me that's a success to be recalled and give encouragement to have an optomistic attitude about todays challenges.////FROM JACK: Yes, nostalgia is good in order to recall and benefit from the lessons learned. I guess sometimes we also need places to escape to...like the past.

FROM PLAIN FOLKS CHESTER: Yeh, right. Remember the bad old days? What a hoot! Remembering the bad stuff gets in the way of hope.////FROM JACK: In "those days" we were anxious to move on to new and better things.

FROM BLAZING OAKS: The Good Ol' Days do seem more care-free and less chaotic than our world today. Partly because there weren't constant wars all over the globe (or at least we didn't dwell on it at that time!) But would we trade our wonderful modern conveniences, medical care and countless improvements in our daily lives? Probably not! Katie Couric says in her book (The Best Advice I Ever Had): that Old fashioned qualities like character, honor and integrity --no matter how old you are--never go out of style. The more things change, the more they remain the same???! we hope so, in that case!////FROM JACK: The Great Depression, WW 2, and polio (to me) were scarier than anything in today's world. Racial prejudice was taken for granted. Just some comments to put it into perspective.....

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY: How true! There were a lot of problems in the good old days. People's bad memories fade which isn't a bad thing sometimes. But to claim things were "hunkie doorie" is wrong too. We should try to look to the future with hope even when all seems hopeless. "Better days are coming."////FROM JACK: Hunky-Dory? I haven't heard that since the good-old-days. My step-father used to say: "forget about yesterday, plan a little bit for tomoorow, and live like (heck) today." He changed it to heck when pastors were present.////MORE FROM THE OUTHOUSE: I guess I should have spell-checked my words....but I wasn't sure hunky dory was even in the dictionary! :-) My husband has all kinds of weird old sayings which are famous around here. How about...the horse is dead, put away the bat? I like you step-father's saying...it's right on the mark, especially now-a-days when we don't know what tomorrow will bring (did we ever know?)

FROM CJL IN OHIO: Remembering the mix keeps our vision in perspective!////FROM JACK: This is somewhat off the subject, but, in a way, it can apply. I learned, in seminary, this description of the Bible and the importance of both the Old and the New Testaments. "The new is in the old concealed, and the old is in the new revealed." The mix is important!

FROM HAPPY TRAILS IN NOVa SCOTIA: Today, I was sitting next to our former CAA (AAA) rescue truck driver waiting for our barber. The driver/mechanic/repair shop owner was chatting with the person on the other side about his vehicle’s ailments, and said “Lots of people say they don’t build them like they used to; in cars, I’m glad they don’t.”////FROM JACK: I agree. Our 2000 Impala looks like new. In the "olden days" a car that old would be rusted out by now...and it wouldn't have the built-in conveniences (heated seats), either.