Winning Words 10/19/11
“I must speak the truth, and nothing but the truth.” (Cervantes) I have a whole list of common sayings, like this one, which originated with “Don Quixote’s” author. “Those who play with cats must expect to be scratched,” is one of them. I almost found that out when I pulled Laser’s (my grand-cat) tail last week. BTW, I wonder if Cervantes was a Lutheran? He and Martin Luther were contemporaries. ;-) Jack

MORE SAYINGS BY CERVANTES:
"Forewarned is forearmed."
"Honesty is the best policy."
"Tomorrow will be a new day."
"I shall be as secret as the grave."
"Time ripens all things."
"The pot calls the kettle black."
"Many count their chickens before they are hatched."
"Can we ever have too much of a good thing?"
"To give the devil his due."

FROM EEC IN MICHIGAN: You should have explained why you pulled Laser's tail!////FROM JACK: I wanted to leave that to the reader's imagination. Why would an adult pull a cat's tail?

FROM JS IN MICHIGAN: "Relatively speaking, of course"////FROM JACK: I just read in the Free Press that people tell the most fibs to close relatives. I wonder if that is true?

FROM CWR IN B'MORE: Luther was a Catholic.........cheers....////FROM JACK: Since the pope ousted him, I guess Martin was just a Christian. But, how about Miguel?

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY: "Don Quixote" is one of my favorites. I haven't studied Cervantes but perhaps I will find out more about him. Never heard that quote from him either. Cats do need extra care. We had only one..."Sunshine": a completely white cat given to Kimberly on her 5th birthday by her aunt. We won't have another one. Both grandsons are allergic.////FROM JACK: It's interesting to me that I know more about D.Q. than I do about the author. I checked Cervantes out, because I saw that his birthday was Oct 9, 1547.

FROM ANON: I think this WW is truthful as long as we realize that our idea of truth may be trumped by someone else's idea of truth. The wonderful relief of it all is that our consciences are at least unburdened when we speak up but we are not solely responsible for what happens after that, God is. Thanks be to God!!!!!

FROM PRMR IN DETROIT: Thanks for the Winning Words. Keep them coming! I got a laugh out of the attached.////FROM JACK: I got a real laugh, too, and I intend to use it as Winning Words next week.

FROM PLAIN FOLKS CHESTER: I'm sure Cervantes was a Lutheran. After all Don Quixote slayed the wine bags.////FROM JACK: If he were Lutheran, Cervantes would prefer beer. I read that Spain has only 2 really bad beers. Unfortunately, 90% of the bars seem to serve them.

FROM TAMPA SHIRL: You do live dangerously, daring to pull a cat's tail.////FROM JACK: It was for his own good, but you should have seen the way he showed his teeth and snarled at me. I quickly let go and moved to Plan B.

FROM BLAZING OAKS: "The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?!" Where's the fun in that??!! Cervantes certainly did originate a lot of common truths, or sayings. I wasn't aware of that! As one of Bill's favorite hymns by James Russell Lowell states, "Truth forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on the throne..." BUT Once To Every Man and Nation, Comes the Moment To Decide!" One benefit of always telling the truth is that you don't have to remember what you said. Reminds me of the teacher who asked his student, "Geo. Washington not only cut down the cherry tree, but when asked, he told his father the truth, that he did it. Do you know why he wasn't punished? The student replied, "Because he still had the axe in his hand?" oh well...Here's to TRYING to always be truthful. OLE!////FROM JACK: Mrs Walter Tillberg once told me that you should always tell the truth, with no exceptions. I argued that some fibs and "white lies" were OK. Maybe that's how I got started with having an interest in Situational Ethics.////MORE BO: Situational ethics is fascinating, I agree....

FROM CWR IN B'MORE: Luther was a Catholic.........cheers....////FROM JACK: Since the pope ousted him, I guess Martin was just a Christian. But, how about Miguel?////CWR AGAIN: Luther rejected his own Excommunication. Even after he Married a Nun ,Katherine von Bora. Being a former Lawyer and Legal Scholar, he also rejected the Authority of the Pope and on his Deathbed proclaimed " I was born a Catholic and I now die a Catholic."I don't remember anything about Miguel de Cervantes.////FROM JACK: Since Excommunication is by act of the Church, Luther's rejection is simply in his own mind. Since Cervantes was born on St. Michael's Day, he was given the name of Miguel. He studied under the Jesuits and had a friend who was an admirer of Erasmus. He must have known about Luther, and, as a rebel, might have been sympathetic to what Luther was doing and saying. This is MORE that you probably wanted to know.

FROM IKE AT THE MIC: I thought you might find it interesting that the word "scratch" has more than one meaning, because I've heard that "It takes "scratch" to see a Dermatologist"..////FROM JACK: I will have to look it up....how scratch came to be a word for ,omey.