Winning Words 1/29/13
“I am not a has-been.  I am a will-be.”  (Lauren Bacall)  If you remember Bacall and Bogie, you’re probably a geezer or older than dirt.  Did you know that LB is still in the movies?  She’s no has-been.  Some visionaries claim that Detroit is a “will-be.”  I’ve seen it happen with people, after others had given up on them.  It can happen with cities, too  A positive “will-be” attitude can be the difference.  “Has-beens” can change.    ;-)  Jack

 FROM WALMART REV:  I enjoy being amazed at people who take the 'has been' or status quo and step it up a notch or two: restaurants, churches, businesses and even professional wrestling!////JACK:  There's a difference between a has-been and a never-was, a will-be and a wanna-be.. ////REV:  I've had a few of those "has-been and a never-was and will-be and a wanna-be's in my life. They helped narrow the field from the "has-been to the will-be" somewhere in my mid-forties. Reality set in!! ////JACK:  How about the hymn, Just as I am?  Does that negate the will-be?

 FROM DS IN MICHIGAN:  I remember them and am no geezer or older than dirt. What am I? ////JACK:  How about...Pretty chipper for your age?

 FROM TAMPA SHIRL:  Never say never.////JACK:  I'm reminded of EAP's words...."Is there - is there balm in Gilead? - tell me - tell me, I implore!'  Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'"

 FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY:  Okay, I don't consider myself older than dirt, but perhaps I am.  I do remember them!  :-)   By the very nature of our faith, we are not has-beens....we are children of God and He don't make junk.////JACK:  Somebody who remembers Chic Sale is pretty old.  And, BTW, God sometimes rescues someone from "the junk pile" and remakes them into something new and useful.

 FROM PLAIN FOLKS CHESTER:  Or is Detroit a "Wannabe?"////JACK:  Wannabe a star?  What's wrong with wanting to be better than you are?  As Frankie sings:  Would you like to swing on a star  Carry moonbeams home in a jar  And all the monkeys aren't in the zoo  Every day you meet quite a few  So you see it's all up to you  You can be better than you are  You could be swingin' on a star

 FROM MW IN ILLINOIS:  WELL!! I remember Bogey & Bacall very well and will be 75 in March,but I  don't feel OLDER THAN DIRT!!////JACK:  75 years ago, a new car cost $445; a 5-room apt rented for $35 a month; Prime rib was 27 cents a pound; a 60 hour work week earned you $19.80. 

 FROM BLAZING OAKS:  Excellent quote. You might be a has-been in certain things or activities, but a will-be in new ones! There are always new challenges and things to try!////JACK:  I know I've recently referred to this hymn in another context, but this part seems to fit as a response to you.  "New occasions teach new duties, time makes ancient good uncouth,  They must upward still and onward, who would keep abreast of truth."