Jack’s Winning Words 9/11/14
“Our dead are never dead to us until we have forgotten them.”  (George Eliot)  38-yr-old Heinrich Ackermann was one of the almost 3000 who died 13 years ago.  I don’t know who he was, but someone grieves his death.  With the passage of time, it’s easy to forget, but not if it involves a loved one.  We always remember.  “Our dead are never dead to us,” Eliot wrote.  We each have kinds of “9/11” reminders, don’t we?    ;-)  Jack

FROM MICHIZONA RAY:  As Mary and I have recently lost the presence of our friend, our little baby cat, her father, my brother, and now my mother...all since April, I have become even more convinced of our eternal bond of spirit with all of life through and in Jesus the Christ, and the creator of Life. In the "end", we are all a part of the Body, and we will experience how that is so, first hand. For now, the Spirit lives within us...for us to find in our inner most parts ("The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts." Proverbs 20:27). It is difficult to celebrate their return to our eternal home while we experience the loss of their presence here with us; but Jesus' promise is truly the only consolation. Hence, we can hope through the same faith in His promise while knowing that we are truly with Him while we are "here" or "there".====JACK:  One thing I like about Ash Wednesday is when the pastor places ashes on my forehead and says..."Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return."  A hymn reminds me that earthy life is transitory.
I’m But a Stranger Here   By: Thomas R. Taylor
I’m but a stranger here,  Heaven is my home;
 Earth is a desert drear,  Heaven is my home;
 Danger and sorrow stand  Round me on every hand;
 Heaven is my fatherland,  Heaven is my home.
What though the tempest rage,  Heaven is my home;
 Short is my pilgrimage,  Heaven is my home;
 And time’s wintry blast  Soon shall be over past;
 I shall reach home at last,  Heaven is my home.
Therefore I murmur not,  Heaven is my home;
 Whatever my earthly lot,  Heaven is my home;
 And I shall surely stand  There at my Lord’s right hand.
 Heaven is my fatherland,  Heaven is my home.

FROM TARMART REV:  I always remember 9/11 and the anniversary of . . . wondering if someone somewhere would want to use this occasion to add to the deceased number on this date? 0:-/ ====JACK:  Another date that lives in "infamy" is 12/7/41. 

FROM HONEST JOHN:  We are up on Mackinac Island...stopped at Mary Lou's parents graves on the way up.   They are not forgotten.   I am in the midst of writing a short history of my family.   They are not forgotten either.====JACK:  My uncle used to be responsible for the upkeep of a small cemetery across the street from the Moline Swimming Pool.  I would sometimes spend the day with him.  My dog and I would play among gravestones.  I wonder if that was disrespectful of the dead?

FROM BLAZING OAKS:  CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS (UK GAURDIAN) SAYS "A MELANCHOLY LESSON OF ADVANCING YEARS IS THE REALIZATION THAT YOU CAN'T MAKE OLD FRIENDS". HOW TRUE, AND THOSE WE'VE "LOST" ARE REMEMBERED AS LONG AS WE LIVE! AND OF  COURSE OUR BELOVED SPOUSES AND DEAR RELATIVES DO CONTINUE TO LIVE IN OUR THOUGHTS AND DAILY MEMORIES. GOOD QUOTE!   WE ARE BLESSED TO HAVE LIVED IN AN ERA WHEN GOOD PHOTOGRAPHS WERE PLENTIFUL; HOW WE CHERISH THOSE!  9/11 IS A REMINDER TO CHERISH THOSE WHO ARE STILL IN OUR LIVES!  TOMORROW IS NOT GUARANTEED TO ANY OF US...====JACK:  Every day is a new day, to do new things and to make new friends.  As the saying goes..."Win new friends, but keep the old.  The first as silver; the latter gold."