Winning Words 1/10/13
“Don’t anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen.  Keep in the sunlight.”  (Ben Franklin)  Trumpeter Louis Armstrong didn’t have much of a voice, but could he sing!  “Grab your coat and get your hat  Leave your worries on the doorstep  Life can be so sweet  On the sunny side of the street.”  I always felt sorry for Joe Btfsplk and people like him who choose to walk on the “other” side of the street.    ;-)  Jack

 FROM JENNI IN CALIFORNIA:  Joe Btsglk?////FROM JACK:  The correct spelling is Joe Btfsplk. He was a cartoon character who walked around with a dark rain cloud over him, symbolizing his bad luck.

 FROM TS IN INDIANA:  Who is this "Joe" who walked on the other side of the street?////FROM JACK:  Oh, that's right!  You're too young to remember Li'l Abner, Daisy Mae, Mammy and Pappy Yokum, Marryin' Sam, Moonbeam McSwine, Earthquake Mc'Goon and Joe Btfsplk.

 FROM MY LAWYER:  I see you're a Li'l Abner fan too!  He was a guy to distance yourself from.  Thanks for the memory.////FROM JACK:  Al Capp was a good cartoonist...clever...current...good artwork...funny.  Those were the days when the Comics were called, the Funnies.

 FROM WALMART REV:  Here's a little chorus from those earlier days at our church services in Kansas..."Smile awhile and give your face a rest. Raise your hand to the one you love the best, Then shake hands with those nearby And give to them a smile." ////FROM JACK:  I hadn't heard that one before.  Sing a few lines for me.  The one we sang was..."It is isn't any trouble just to S-M-I-L-E."

 FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY:  "Worrying doesn't help anyone but the Devil."  Something I heard when little.  I don't have a dark cloud over my head!  :-)////FROM JACK:  Sooo, you've never sung the song, "Look for the silver lining."

 FROM HAWKEYE GEORGE:  There used to be a program on Detroit WJR radio called, The Sunny Side of the Street. I used to listen to it when we lived in Ohio.////FROM JACK:  You're right.  The show was hosted by Bud Guest, Edgar A. Guest's son.  Bud used to live in our area, and I once got him to be a speaker for an event sponsored by our Historical Society.  Bud had a "sunny" personality, too.

   FROM SHARIN' SHARON:  Plants are good examples. They invariably seem to grow towards the light. I felt sorry for Joe Btfsplk but sometimes I felt like him too. If plants can always choose light, how come us people don't always choose light so consistently too? Maybe that's why Jesus said "Consider the lilies"
////FROM JACK:  Luther Burbank said, "Flowers always make people happier; they are sunshine for the soul."

 FROM JE IN MICHIGAN:  GREAT one one. I’m staying in the sunlight!!////FROM JACK:  The weather forecast for today....SUNNY, with a high of 44 degrees.  Joe Btfsplk weather, tomorrow.

 FROM GOOD DEBT JON:  Good winning words,  I'm in Chicago looking for sunlight today heading over for an interview just flew in to MDW////FROM JACK:  I've always liked Chicago.  I learned on Jeopardy that Chicago is an Indian word meaning, "Onion field."

 FROM BG IN MICHIGAN:  a perfect WW for me today.////FROM JACK:  You must like Louis Armstrong.  I like the words..."Just direct your feet to the sunnyside of the street."

 FROM JM IN MICHIGAN:  Oh my golly!  Someone actually remembers how to spell Joe's last name!  I loved that character with the raincloud over his head -- it reminded me that sometimes ya just gotta stand up straighter and move faster to get from under the cloud.////FROM JACK:  Cartoonist Al Capp was once  asked how to pronounce, btfsplk.  In answer, he demonstrated by closing his lips, leaving his tongue sticking out, and then blowing out air, which is generally called a "raspberry" or Bronx cheer.  "How else would you pronounce it?"

 FROM BLAZING OAKS:  OH MY GOLLY! HOW LONG SINCE ANYONE REMEMBERED JOE B____=?!  AND HIS CONSTANT UMBRELLA CLOUD ??!  IT DOES SEEM LIKE SOME FOLKS WALK UNDER A CLOUD OF BAD LUCK, DOESN'T IT?  OLD BEN HAD A LOT OF GOOD SAYINGS; I THINK HIS WORST WALK ON THE DARK SIDE HAD TO DO WITH THE DEATH OF HIS 4 YR OLD SON "FRANKY" OF SMALL POX...HE NEVER QUITE SEEMED TO GET OVER THAT. SUCH A BRIGHT, PRECOCIOUS, CHILD!  AND BEN WAS ONE OFTHE CHAMPIONS OF VACCINATION; HADN'T QUITE GOTTEN IT DONE FOR FRANKY, THO.
ANYWAY; IT DOES PAY TO WALK ON THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET. GOOD WW!! P.S. LOVED YESTERDAY'S GUMPTION BIT...HOW ABOUT "GROOVEY!"  HAVEN'T HEARD THAT IN AWHILE!////FROM JACK:  While Ben advised keeping in the sunlight, he also knew the truth of the song, "Into each life some rain must fall."