Jack’s Winning Words 10/9/13
“People who are never completely unforgotten never completely die.”  (Ashleigh Brilliant)  A.B. is famous for his one-liners, “Pot Shots.”  I’m a fan of B. and have 5 of his “Pot Shots” books.  Today’s quote is from one.   I realize the different theological opinions concerning eternal life, but think of some of the people you know, who have died, and still remain alive in your mind.  Is that a sort of “life after death?”    ;-)  Jack

 FROM PH IN MINNESOTA:  yes, we want our loved ones to live on for a long time in our memories.  ====JACK:  In the makeup of humans, memory plays an important part.  Is the recollection of the dead an essential, or is it one of life's luxuries?====PH:  don't we tend to forget the bad ones and remember the good ones?   isn't that  why we have "the good old days"??    this is a gift from our sometimes faulty memories....====JACK:  You can order "The Good Old Days" magazine for $17.95 a year.  There should be a place in your pension for that  amount.

 FROM TARMART REV:  Have a few myself...remembrance of the experience in knowing them is still very much current in my memory today...it's those I've forgotten "and what was that he said I liked so well" that still disappoints me when I try to recall. Remembering to write it down and storing it in a systematic fashion has paid off over the years for me.====JACK:  "Who do you remember?" might be an interesting conversation starter as you talk with people at Target and WalMart today.====REV:  "The Living Dead!" ... seems like a timely and popular topic of late ... when is Halloween?!  On a serious note . . . many fond memories of those earlier years of church events as youth rallies, summer camps, and Bible college . . . and with these came pastors, evangelists and teachers who invested in my life, but who have also now gone on beyond this life on earth . . . so appreciative of the many relationships I've encountered along my earthly journey . . . and just as special was ours through the WB experiences. ====JACK:  Zombies?  I haven't thought of that?  And, as Bob Hope used to sing, "Thanks for the memories..."

 FROM HONEST JOHN:  That's a memory after the death of another person.   Who is now not living. ====JACK:  Your Swedish "matter-of-fact-ness" is showing..====JOHN:  To a Norwegian is to be dead before one dies...how about that for my "Swedishness?"====JACK:  What "ism" is this, philosophically? ====JOHN:  Triumphalism====JACK:  I see it as realism.

 FROM MICHIZONA RAY:  Yes indeed! Our memory is a wonderful gift.....when we remember fondly! ====JACK:  I wonder...Will there be memory in "heaven?"  If so, just the good ones?====RAY:  Maybe....I have often thought about the phrase, "...your sins will be remembered no more". They have been blotted out and forgotten. Maybe we'll learn or experience this ourselves!====JACK:  I guess "No More Tears" is more than the name of a shampoo.

 FROM EMT SINGS IN TRAVERSE CITY:  I am also a fan of A.B. and have a couple of his books.  I am now in T.C. and getting your WW is a touch of the familiar in our new life!  Thanks!====JACK:  Some Jewish surnames have to do with precious things.  Brilliant is along this line, as are...Gold, Silver, Pearl, Ruby, etc.  Can you think of others?

 FROM MY LAWYER:  At every synagogue at sabbath services and periodically at memorial services year-round, the name of every person who died on the weekly anniversary of that particular service is published in the service brochure and, in Temple Israel's case, the name of every person who has a family member in attendance at that service is read aloud.  I like your rettorical question:  "Is that sort of life after death?"  Yes, I think it is.  While I think of my parents almost daily, at the anniversaries of their deaths, if I'm in Temple, others in attendance will hear their names mentioned and, hopefully, rekindle nice memories.  Similarly, when I hear the necrology list, I recall, mostly pleasurably, nice things about the people mentioned that I knew.====JACK:  Isn't it interesting...the things that trigger memories...words, events, resemblances, aromas?  Memory is such a great gift.  I remember when you brought your father to an Optimist Club meeting.  And now, you're bringing your grandson.