Winning Words 10/29/12
“Even Betty Crocker burns a cake now and then.”  (Bill Caudill)  Interestingly, this wackiest of baseball pitchers was the first client of agent Scott Boras.  A more recent client is Prince Fielder.  Today the Detroit Tigers and their fans are thinking of the season that might have been.  The late Ernie Harwell said it best, “Sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose.”  It’s a life lesson.  You bake another cake.    ;-)  Jack

 FROM RI IN BOSTON:  Regrets to you Detroit...we're disappointed too.  Bostonians know the feeling all too well.  Congratulations on a great baseball year.////FROM JACK:  Maybe the next cake will have to have different ingrediants.

 ROM KF IN MICHIGAN:  Thanks - that made Mark feel better!////FROM JACK:  I had a newly married sister-in-law who made her first pimpkin pie and invited guests over to taste it.  Unfortunately, she didn't read the label and put the pumpkin right out of the can into the crust.  Her second pie tasted much better than the first.  For the Tigers...next year will be better!

 FROM BBC IN ILLINOIS:  Cake….and pray it’s out of the oven before the guest of honor shows up. ////FROM JACK:  So...there will be cake when the Lord returns?  Angel Food, with strawberries and whipped cream is my favorite.////BBC:  Actually the frosting of choice in our home was cream cheese…but always white.  BTW, the disappointment when those angel food’s fall…is immense but we do run to the store, buy another dozen eggs and start over.  It has happened on more than one occasion and the winning words today will help me translate that into other areas of life.

 FROM SHARIN' SHARON:  My husband hogs the TV so he can watch all the sports. I have no real interest so I'm either reading beside him or doing something in the kitchen. Don't know why I like your WW this morning, but I certainly do.////FROM JACK:  While you're in the kitchen, bake a cake!

 FROM CL IN MICHIGAN:  If I knew you were coming I'd baked a cake.////FROM JACK:  Those words could be made into a song.

 FROM YOOPER FLICKA:  THOSE POOR TIGERS......I DID NOT APPROVE OF THE TYPE OF ALL OF SOME OF THE "TRICKS" OF THEIR WESTERN PLAYER..////FROM JACK:  ...tricks, like hitting home runs.  They hitt many, and we didn't hit enough.  Uff da!

 FROM FM IN WISCONSIN:  My sympathy to you and the many Detroit fans.    You had a great team in 2012, but were beaten by another great team, who were on a hot streak.   Having cheered for Prince for several years, I regret that he didn’t have a World Series up to his ability.   But, as you say, we all burn a cake, or preach a poor sermon now and then!////FROM JACK:  I remember a bishop who didn't approve of "trial" sermons.  "Anyone can preach one good sermon on purpose, or by accident."  There are congregations who have received a burned cake, because of a good trial sermon.

 FROM (SAINT) JUDY:  Detroit will be fine as we know how to suffer losses.  Our "cake" has flattened out a number of times with a number of our beloved teams.  We will "Bake" again!////FROM JACK:  The perfect year was 1984, when the Tigers were never behind in the standings, nor in the World Series.  No sweat, and a piece of cake!////JUDY:  Ah yes, that was wonderful. But I liked the 1968 win better!  More exciting I guess as I was graduating from high school!  Bill Freehan and Mickey Lolich (both I met.  Bill at the State Fair, and Mickey at Eastland Hudsons).  How exciting!////JACK:  Did you wear bobby socks, a pleated skirt and scream when you met them?

 FROM BM IN MICHIGAN:  I was at the game last night and subjected to two “losses”:  (1) The pathetic Tigers & (2) The horrible weather.  I’m not sure which was worse.  I can count on better weather one day, but I’m not so sure about the Tigers.////FROM JACK:  Think of it this way.  If they had won, you would have to experience worse weather tonight.  The winds of Sandy would certainly make for some interesting fly balls.  BTW, I would remind you..."Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind..."  You know the rest..

 FROM PLAIN FOLKS CHESTER:  A burnt cake is for the birds. Literally.////FROM JACK:  In our backyard, the chipmunks and squirrels would see it as dessert.

FROM WATERFORD JAN:  Did you live in this area when Harry Heilman did the Tigers' broadcasts?
As a youngster I could hear the Tigers' Sunday games played on the radio in our backyard, weather permitting, and always in the house if it rained in Grand Rapids.  After gas rationing ended in 1945 we drove to Detroit, marveled at the Davison Freeway, and saw the Tigers play the Philadelphia Athletics in a double-header.  Yes, it was a long time ago!  I later enjoyed listening to Ernie Harwell.////FROM JACK:  We didn't move to Detroit until long after Heilman.  Ray Lane, Ernie's one-time partner, was a member of my church.

 FROM TAMPA SHIRL:  That is so true.  It is also true for elections.  I just early voted, and it is a challenge.  Besides the regular ballot we had 12 amendments to study and vote for or against.  I don't know what is happening in the rest of the country, but the Democrats were offering free food from food trucks this weekend in the  parking lot.  Have you ever heard of that before?////FROM JACK:  I remember when some churches would offer food to the hungry, but first they had to listen to a sermon.  I wonder if Jesus would do that?  I've read that Tampa does have a "homeless" problem, and I can imagine that lack of food is also a problem.////SHIRL:  We do have more of a homeless problem since St. Petersburg outlawed panhandling over there.  We have lots of food pantries in all of the churches plus the government programs. There is also a big drug problem, too, like in several cities.////SHIRL:  It is a big problem.  On my first job with Catholic Social Service in Peoria in 1949, I learned that in a hurry.  In those days, there were social institutions run by the churches.  Even in my mother's generation, orphans were sent to the orphanage in Annawan, and some young boys went to the CCC.  I remember all of that and, of course, there were the Okies who left the dust bowl and went to California.  Probably families used to be more prominent in helping.  More jobs would be the answer.  We have two young men and one young woman in our neigborhood who have been laid off, but their spouse's have jobs.////JACK:  The global economy means that jobs Americans used to rely on are now being done more cheaply by workers in other parts of the world.  And, technology allows more work to be done by fewer and fewer people.  It's sort of like a modern "Industrial Revolution."

 FROM BLAZING OAKS:  THAT IS A COMFORT! THINGS CAN GO SOUTH FOR ANYONE AT SOME TIME...THE TIGERS HAD A MISERABLE  TIME IN THE SERIES, BUT NEXT YEAR... AS A CUB FAN THAT IS A YEARLY MANTRA!!  I REMEMBER HAVING SEVERAL JAPANESE EDUCATORS FROM ASHIKAGA, JAPAN, FOR  DINNER, AND TURNING THE OVEN OFF ON MY CASSEROLE (RICE, BEEF AND PORK) WHILE  WE TOOK THEM FOR A BOAT RIDE AROUJND THE LAKE, ONLY TO FIND WHEN I RETURNED THAT I HAD TURNED THE OVEN UP TO THE MAXIMUM INSTEAD OF OFF!!  IT WAS HARD TO SALVAGE A PORTION NOT BURNED FOR EVERONE, BUT WITH NUMEROUS "SIDES", JAN'S HELP, AND A SENSE OF HUMOR, WE MANAGED TO HAVE  A LIVELY AND ENJOYABLE MEAL. IMAGINE THEY ALL HAD A GOOD LAUGH WHEN THEH RETURNED TO THEIR HOTEL...:-)  SALVAGE WHAT YOU CAN WHEN YOU BURN THE CAKE!////FROM JACK:  Your maiden name fits you well!