Winning Words 5/2/12
“Nothing’s better than the wind to your back, the sun in front of you and your friends beside you.” (Aaron Douglas Trimble) Someone once gave me a woven band and said that it was a friendship bracelet. Before Facebook, I suppose people could count their friends by the number of bracelets on their wrist. More important are friends who are willing to stand by you in difficult times. Nothing’s better! ;-) Jack

FROM HONEST JOHN: You just described a terrible situation for a tennis player in a doubles match....wind behind you blows the service throw all over....sun in front of you keeps you from seeing....and never play doubles with a friend.....////FROM JACK: How about playing doubles with your twin? Bob and Mike Bryan have had the World's Cup #1 ranking longer than any pair in history. The wind at my back made my serve "awesome."

FROM PEPPERMINT MARY: ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..................////FROM JACK: Is that the sound of your yawn as you roll out of bed?

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY: A very true statement! Friends are such a blessing! Especially friends who love us despite our faults.////FROM JACK: "I've got your back" is an interesting phrase. It can mean: "I''ll always be there for you, looking out for you, helping you out if you're in trouble. The 'back' part refers to I'll watch your back, as in, if someone came after you, from behind where you wouldn't see them, I would have your back, would be watching out and help you to not get hurt."

FROM ILLINOIS LIZ: I am blessed! (& so r my friends bc I'm that kind of friend, too.)////FROM JACK: To have a friend, you gotta be a friend.

FROM BLAZING OAKS: My granddaughters made those woven friendship bracelets when they were young. It was a big craze at the time! RL Stevenson once said, "A friend is a gift you give yourself." Loyal friendship is invaluable in our lives! Was it Will Rogers who said he'd rather have 1,000 friends than a $1,000.00, because if he ever needed it, each friend could surely be counted on for a buck! Loved the comment on your blog about how horrible this scenario was for tennis. :-) My twin and I played doubles for MHS and Augie, as well as singles on the team. My mother won the C,Mauritz Johnson City Tennis Championship when she was 40, against Marlowe Tillberg, then a Jr. at Augie!! Jan and I played into our sixties, and my brother at 78 still plays doubles in the Moline Men's League. So yes, this WW is not ideal for Tennis! But otherwise...good one! ////FROM JACK: I suppose that you and your family members have/had "blazing" serves.