Winning Words 3/1/13
“Today you are you, that is truer than true.  There is no one alive who is youer than you.”  (Dr. Seuss)  Tomorrow is Theodor Geisel’s birth-day (1904).  I’ve read that his most popular book is “Green Eggs and Ham,” and I’ve never read it.  But I have read others.  Do you have a favorite?  The NEA uses Seuss’s birthday as the annual date for “Read Across America Day.”  Why not read a Seuss book tomorrow?    ;-)  Jack

 FROM ONE OF THE JANS:  Funny that I didn't like Dr Seuss as a child but now I appreciate and quote him Sam I am.////JACK:  I didn't like corn on the cob when I was a child, but now I enjoy it.

 FROM JM IN VIRGINIA:  When the kids were in kindergarten in Colorado Springs, they made Dr. Seuss hats which they wore all day and I think I recall someone in Dr. Seuss costume who appeared at a school assembly.  It was a big deal for the whole school.  Fun years!////JACK:  (Dr. Seuss) hats off to creative teachers who make learning enjoyable.  I had a few like that.

 FROM HONEST JOHN:  I used Hop On Pop to teach my little girl how to read.////JACK:  What a great gift...to give to another the enjoyment that comes from reading books..////JOHN:  Darn kids....they pass you up in everything....the little one I taught to read passed me by in academic achievements....the son is a much better athlete....they are both better gardeners....Todd is better at woodworking....on and on it goes....I might have a chance in debate but who knows....I would probably be drubbed there as well....But, I do know that they will get their comeuppance....their kids will pass them by....my Dad always said that our goals as parents should be to have our kids end up better in all ways than we are....maybe I have succeeded in that respect??? ////JACK:  My son has become a better ping pong player than I was, and my children  have exceeded me in other ways, too...their mother's influence and their own wiles.  PTL!

 FROM WALMART REV:  There is no one youer than you, Jack . . . thanks for your daily posts . . . always awaken gladly to them every morning!! Talk to you, Monday, the good Lord willing!////JACK:  Here's a suggestion...Why not go over to the book section of your store and pick out a Seuss book?  "Buy" it, bring it back to the coffee shop and see if it sparks any conversation.////REV:  I have to admit, outside of short stories, sermons and ever-day accounts found in biblical passages of scriptures, my habit of reading goes astray, Jack...I count on good folk like you to keep me informed and up-to-date of pertinent information like you share in your daily posts.////JACK:  There are many sermons hidden in the everyday world.

 FROM SHARIN' SHARON:  The Butter Battle Book was one that we read over and over in our house. ////JACK:  I like alliteration, but not butter.

 FROM PEPPERMINT MARY:  green eggs and ham is a classic.  there is a great audio version of it done in a jazzy drummy way.  maybe it can be googled.  i learned it many years ago while teaching.  don't know who performed it.  i think i'll search it later.////JACK:  Rhyming can be fun, especially when it's set to music. ////MARY:  you know it!  i have my song of the day.

FROM BLAZING OAKS:  I LOVE DR. SEUSS!!  BILL PREACHED A SERMON ON "THE SNEETCHES" WITH "STARS UPON THARS"; I ONCE DRESSED UP AS THE CAT IN THE HAT, AND GAVE A WEEKEND WOMEN'S RETREAT SEMINAR ON "THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO DR. SUESS" ...ALMOST ALL OF HIS STORIES HAVE A MORAL OR LESSON. IT WAS GREAT FUN.  HIS LATER BOOK, "YOU'RE ONLY OLD ONCE" IS APPROPRIATE FOR ALL  OF US OLD FOLKS.  I SAW IN THE SUNDAY PAPER THAT SEVERAL OF HIS BOOKS WERE ON THE FICTION BEST SELLER LIST THIS WEEK, INCLUDING "GREEN EGGS AND HAM" WHICH WE OFTEN QUOTED TO OUR G.KIDS AND GREAT-GRANDS. NOW I KNOW WHY; HIS BIRTHDAY!  YOU ARE ALWAYS UP-TO-DATE!!////JACK:  Our library is up-to-date also.  They're having a Dr. Seuss birthday party tomorrow for kids...and adults.

 FROM CZB IN COLORADO:  One fish, two fish. Red fish, blue fish. This one has a little car, that one has a funny star. My what a lot of fish there are!  My fav. Green eggs and ham is up there though!  You need to read it ;)////JACK:  I guess that German Lutherans, like Geisel, can be funny, once in awhile.

 FROM EMT SINGS IN MICHIGAN:  When I retired I received the most wonderful Seuss book "Oh, The Places You'll Go" with all my co-workers signing and writing in it. A real treasure!  I think I will reread it tomorrow. Thanks for reminding me!////JACK:  What a great gift!  I don't own a Seuss book (I got other stuff when I retired), but my kids have ones that we gave them.

 FROM DR J AT BGSU:  love Dr. Seuss! Your words inspired me to google Seuss to refresh my memory of his many many contributions!////JACK:  Google is my friend, too.  Creative people, like Seuss, fascinate me. ////DR J:  Creative people fascinate me too. Did you read Steve Jobs' biography? Really interesting! ////JACK:  No, I have not read the book, but I've read extensively about it, and I've read enough to know that creative people are complex people, even beyond the ordinary.  Nature or nurture?////DR J:  both I think.. nature and nurture. I think his brain was wired differently/uniquely, but his environment and growing up when he did & where he did unleashed his gifts and talents. He was complex for sure... and broken in many ways. But brilliant and transformative nevertheless.////JACK:  Aren't we all?

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY:  Oh the memories you brought up with the Dr. Seuss quote!  I taught my daughter to read with two books:  "Ten Apples Up on Top" and "Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now!".  Andy learned with "There's a Wocket in My Pocket" and "Horton Hears a Who".  But I loved "What was I Scared of" and "Yertle the Turtle".  We also did a Bible Study using Dr. Seuss' books.  It was fantastic!  (We can still recite "Marvin K. Mooney", "Wocket in My Pocket" and "Ten Apples Up on Top" together (and sometimes do)!////JACK:  I suppose you know that there's a book..."The Gospel According to Dr. Seuss?"

 FROM WATERFORD JAN:  What a great response to a great author.  One of my favorite Seuss lines is "From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere!"  Seuss' funny books need to be taken seriously when you consider how many children have learned to read or learned to love reading because of them.////JACK:  Yes, there's a story behind the words...just like with the Bible.

FROM GUSTIE MARLYS:  That is Craig's favorite Dr. Seuss book too.  We gave it to him as a joke a few years back at Christmas time.////JACK:  Why not suggest to him that he read it tomorrow in honor of Seuss's birthday?

 FROM CS IN WISCONSIN:  All Dr. Seuss books are fun to read.  Have read “Green Eggs and Ham” to our children and grandchildren and other kids too.  We had quite a collection of them when the kids were little.  I believe some of them still exist in their homes.  Happy March 1st…spring can’t be too far away! ////JACK:  I wonder...Did Seuss ever write about the changing seasons?

 FROM HR IN MICHIGAN:  Did you know that a first edition of The Cat in the Hat is valued at about $1,500.  Amazing. Look in your basement you may have a fortune.////JACK:  In my basement I have a 1909 baseball Major League Rule Book.  I wonder if it's worth more than The Cat in the Hat?

 FROM PLAIN FOLKS CHESTER:  Dr. S submitted his first work to 28 publishers before he got published. The said his stuff was too silly. Now THAT'S a positive attitude. Never give up!////JACK:  It takes someone with persistence to submit one more writing...after 27 rejection letters.

 FROM SAINT JAMES IN MICHIGAN:  You must read Green Eggs and Ham!  We read that book to our kids all the time . it is Great ////JACK:  When hardboiled eggs are left in the water too long, the yolk has green around the edges.  I've eaten that kind of green.

 FROM SBP IN FLORIDA:  Winning Words are darts “to-the-heart- of –the matter”  and the range of references stimulate thought provoking recall and research.////JACK:  "Darts to the heart" is a good way to describe Winning Words.  I reach more people every day with my "words" than I ever did on a Sunday with my preaching...and I get more feedback, too.

 FROM LG IN MICHIGAN:  Dr. Seymour Gretchko, of blessed memory,  always read Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss to every West Bloomfield High School graduating class at commencement exercises.  This has become one of my favorites!////JACK:  Yes, I remember that, but I'll have to go and reread the story.  (pause)  "Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!.....
So...
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!"

 FROM BS IN ENGLAND:  I have read Green Eggs and Ham, many, many, times.  Three year olds love it!
You should try it sometime and then make green eggs and ham--------not so appetizing!////JACK:  You've lived both in the USA and England.  What was the most different about the food eaten in both countries?