Winning Words 7/17/12
“What’s life without a little adventure?”  (Ron Drwonkowski)  An adventure is an exciting undertaking with an uncertain outcome…like the first roller coaster ride…like leaving home for the first time…like getting married.  RD has often used this phrase in encouraging his daughter to try new things.  Think about an adventure that you had in your lifetime.  I remember a summer spent working in Saskatchewan.    ;-)  Jack

FROM HONEST JOHN:  Was that a summer while you were in sem?////FROM JACK:  I was in college at the time and went to the small prairie town of Kelliher, Sask, to serve as a student pastor.  The conditions were primitive, compared to what I was used to...but I learned much from that adventure.

FROM PASTY PAT:  Too many to count --- and hopefully many more to come!////FROM JACK:  Next might be a "mission" trip to Cedar Point.

FROM PLAIN FOLKS CHESTER:  Getting married.////FROM JACK:  Today's quote was by a father, RD, who gave this advice to his daughter who was getting married.  In some marriage situations, the experience is like riding a roller coaster.  For others, it's like being forever in the Tunnel of Love.

FROM BLAZING OAKS:  ABSOLUTELY WE NEED A LITTLE ADVENTURE TO SPICE UP OUR LIVES, AND WHAT WONDERFUL MEMORIES THEY ENTAIL! MY TRIPS TO BELGIUM, GERMANY AND THE PASSION PLAY GIVEN EVERY TEN YEARS, TO THE HOLY LAND AND TURKEY, TO CONGO, AFRICA, TO HAITI, TO ENGLAND, FRANCE AND WALES, TO NEPAL AND INDIA, AND 3 WEEKS IN JAPAN DURING CHERRY BLOSSOM SEASON, NOT TO MENTION ALL THE FASCINATING PLACES WE HAVE IN AMERICA!I HOPE THERE ARE STILL A FEW ADVENTURES LEFT TO EXPERIENCE, EVEN AT MY ADVANCED AGE! THE ADVENTURES OF HAVING GRANDCHILDREN AND GREAT-GRANDS ARE PRICELESS! ////FROM JACK:  Go back further in your mind.  I remember my first date.  We went to a movie and rode there on the bus  Now, that was an adventure.

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY:  Oh what wonderful memories were stirred up by these Winning Words.  It's hard to even pick one as we have had dozens or even hundreds of fun adventures.  Perhaps the most "exciting" adventure was going white water rafting with Pastor Lindamood.  There had been a storm so the water was very high; much too high for novice rafters, but we went anyway.  I never prayed so hard out loud in a raft full of people.  But, it's a memory we wouldn't trade for anything.  Walking down to the Southern most point in the USA, South Point, Big Island, Hawaii was another.  Hiking through Acadia National Park, visiting the Badlands, etc etc.  A lot of exciting, beautiful memories!  We are blessed!////FROM JACK:  How about the adventure of raising children?

FROM PRFM IN WISCONSIN:  Sunday we drove down to our son’s home in Mt. Prospect, and along the toll road we passed Six Flags, with their many roller coasters.    My wife said, “Why don’t we stop and take a ride on one of the roller coasters?”    I looked at her and said, “I’d wouldn’t ride one when I was a kid . . . why now?”   To which she replied, “At our age we could use some excitement!”   So, I can think of adventure that I have avoided . . . it is more difficult for me to remember adventure in my lifetime.    Yesterday in our local paper there was an article on tethered air balloon rides in Waterford, WI.    She asked me if I’d be interested in going out and trying that.    NO! was my reply, and now today you come along with your business of adventure in life . . . by Ron Drwonkowski, who ever he is or was!////FROM JACK:  You shouldda gone on that roller coaster.  If you had listened to your wife, you'd have added an adventure to your memory bank...and the sound of the Six Flags younguns pointing and saying, "Look at those spunky old coots."  The tethered balloon would have been "a piece of cake" after that.  BTW, Ron D is the editor of The Detroit Free Press, and he was giving her some advice on her wedding day.

 FROM TAMPA SHIRL:  I understand the wisdom of today's winning words, but I still love to travel and to see new worlds and to meet new people,  Meeting new people is easy these day, whether at home or on the road.  We have just returned from a week in Northern California, the wine country, the tech valley, Stanford, San Jose, Carmel, a week in Maui which is beautiful, and a week in Fort Worth, TX where it was hot. But what else is new?  I count my blessings every day.////FROM JACK:  Well, you've had some adventurous times, and that's not an overstatement.  I flew to Minnesota for a 3-day visit with my son and his family.  Does that count as an adventure?

FROM RS NEAR ORLANDO:  Wow, I know a guy who went to Saskatchewan.  I can hardly spell it.  You lead a magic life Jack, but you came back, so it wasn't that big a deal??  I almost went there.  Several of my buddies in the army were farm boys and mechanics.  And hard workers I might add.  We were going to pool our money and buy equipment and hire ourselves out to farmers to  harvest their crops, starting in  Texas and going north to Saskatchewan.  It sounded romantic at the time, and a lot of work, but we would have become entrepreneurs. Ya, we would have, but no one had any money to go to the bank and say, SEE, we have a stash; believe in us and we:ll pay our debts on time and in full.  That's as close as I got to Saskatchewan.  Maybe I'll dream about it tonight.////FROM JACK:  I had a crazy dream this week.  It was so funny that I woke up laughing.