Jack’s Winning Words 10/27/14
“It ain’t over ‘til it’s over!”  (Yogi Berra)  After the Detroit Lions’ kicker missed the game-winning field goal, I abruptly left the room and went to my computer.  A minute or two later, daughter Jeanne yelled, “Dad you’d better turn in your Optimist pin!”  On a penalty there was a re-kick which was good.  There are times when even optimists give up too soon.  So, hang in there!  Life has its surprises.  The WW 2  poster advised: “Keep calm and carry on!”    ;-)  Jack

FROM HY YO SILVER:  Precisely my theme with the election.  It might be too late at night but you are welcome to join us on Nov 4th after 9 pm at the MGM Grand to (hopefully) celebrate our victory! ==JACK:  You are right in holding off on a celebration until "it's over."  I remember the Chicago Tribune headline announcing..."DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN!"  That was the year when I first voted.

FROM HONEST JOHN:  I wonder how many U of M fans are optimists right now?====JACK:  One of today's societal problems is that the success or failure of sports' teams is being used to define a university.  When the University of Chicago pulled out of the Big Ten in 1946, President Robert Maynard Hutchins said, "The need of a university is to focus on academics rather than on athletics."  Of course the Chicago Maroons weren't doing too well on the gridiron at that time, either.

FROM PEPPERMINT MARY:  even eternal optimists have an occasional limit:)====JACK:  Your song for the day?....Choose from among these:  Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'; Blue Skies; You'll Never Walk Alone.

FROM DAIRYLAND DONNA:  I turned the TV off as well. ;o)====JACK:  The Optimist Creed begins, "Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind..."  You and I have to work on that.

FROM RI IN BOSTON:  "Giving up too soon" is emblematic of our characteristic impatience.  I am dismayed when I read of suicides by persons who have just given up hope and don't know where to turn.  Would that we were all like Job, the upright man of the Old Testament, who carried on despite a list of calamities and lived on to prosper.====JACK:  Job and his buddies discussed the possibility of giving up, even criticizing the referee ("Curse God, and die.").  Job had the final word..."Though he slay me, yet will I trust him."  If there are saints in the Old Testament, Job is surely one of them.

FROM DP IN MINNESOTA:  How cool was that!====JACK:  Not cool at all!  I missed the exciting end of the game...and had to hear about it...Seeeeee Dad!

FROM BS IN ENGLAND:  The Detroit Lions won last evening at Wembley Stadium 22  21 against the Atlanta Falcons.  American football is very popular here, the stadium was full.====JACK:  Now, if the Premier Soccer League would just expand with a team in "the States."

FROM BLAZING OAKS:  HA! I THOUGHT OF YOU, WHEN I SAW THAT SCORE, A WIN BY ONE POINT. OF COURSE AS A BEAR FAN I'D TAKE THAT ANY DAY. BEING A BEAR FAN IS AKIN TO BEING A CUB FAN RIGHT NOW!  THE ILLINI ALSO WON AT THE END OF THE 4TH QUARTER. THAT WAS EXCITING!!  LIFE IS FULL OF SURPRISES...WE NEED TO REMEMBER TO NEVER COUNT A POSSIBILITY "OUT"!  WHICH REMINDS ME OF A QUOTE THAT I RECENTLY READ: "IF SOMETHING CANNOT GO ON FOREVER, IT WILL STOP." (Economist Herbert Stein in Fortune mag.) Made me smile...====JACK:  My favorite "season" was 1984 when the Detroit Tigers went wire to wire, winning the World Series, with never being behind in and of the standings.  The newspaper poster after the last game reads...Gr-r-reat!  I'm looking at it now, and it still makes me feel great.

FROM RS IN TEXAS:  Gotta love Yogi.  One of the best ones from him was "This game is 90% mental and the other half is physical."  Go figure.====JACK:  Did you know that Yogi's name was really Larry?

FROM GUSTIE MARLYS:  Clem ALWAYS left the game early to "avoid the rush" and many times he missed the winning touchdown!!  Ha!====JACK:  I've done that a few times, too.  Does that indicate a Type-A personality?