Jack’s Winning Words 11/11/15

“I dream of giving birth to a child who will ask, ‘Mother, what was war?’”  (Eve Merriam)  In 1879, Civil War General W.T. Sherman gave a speech a few miles from where I live in which he said, “Many look upon war as all glory, but it is all hell.”  If there is glory, it is for those who were willing to put their lives at risk for what they saw as a just cause.  Veterans’ Day is not meant to honor war, but to honor those who had hoped to put an end to war.    ;-)  Jack

FROM NORM IN INDIANA:  That's very good Jack.====JACK:  A Civil War general should know what he's talking about when he talks about the hell of war.

FROM TL BACK IN MI: Beautiful message today, Jack.  Thank you.====JACK:  Eve loves the city and once wrote "The Inner City Mother Goose.  "Rockabye baby in the treetops" became "Hushabye baby on the top floor."  She's able to "see" things with different "eyes."

FROM RI IN BOSTON:  Ms. Merriam may have to keep dreaming on...war doesn't seem to be disappearing anytime soon.  Currently I read about college students who ask, "What was World War II about?"  Wars don't seem to be a quest for glory, rather a quest for power.  Somewhat akin to Eve Merriam's thinking, Charlotte Keyes wrote a curious article back in the hippie era, titled "What if someone gave a war and no one came."  Veterans Day deserves more serious recognition than we see in this country.  Men go off to war and do their duty, and those who live through it return home to a lot of indifference.  The men in government who make war wallow in comfort, while the men who suffered can't get the care and support they deserve.====JACK:  The frustration of a seemingly neverending war is seen in the lyrics of this Peter, Paul and Mary song.
Where have all the flowers gone?  Long time passing
Where have all the flowers gone?  Long time ago

Where have all the flowers gone?  Young girls have picked them everyone
Oh, when will they ever learn?  Oh, when will they ever learn?

Where have all the young girls gone?  Long time passing
Where have all the young girls gone?  Long time ago

Where have all the young girls gone?  Gone for husbands everyone
Oh, when will they ever learn?  Oh, when will they ever learn?

Where have all the husbands gone?  Long time passing
Where have all the husbands gone?  Long time ago

Where have all the husbands gone?  Gone for soldiers everyone
Oh, when will they ever learn?  Oh, when will they ever learn?

Where have all the soldiers gone?  Long time passing
Where have all the soldiers gone?  Long time ago

Where have all the soldiers gone?  Gone to graveyards, everyone
Oh, when will they ever learn?  Oh, when will they ever learn?

Where have all the graveyards gone?  Long time passing
Where have all the graveyards gone?  Long time ago

Where have all the graveyards gone?  Gone to flowers, everyone
Oh, when will they ever learn?  Oh, when will they ever learn?

Where have all the flowers gone?  Long time passing
Where have all the flowers gone?  Long time ago

Where have all the flowers gone?  Young girls have picked them everyone
Oh, when will they ever learn?  Oh, when will they ever learn?
====RI:  Thanks for the lyrics.  I've heard that music many times but never gave much attention to what was actually expressed in the song.  Seeing it printed out gives much more emphasis to the sad aspects of war.

FROM CG:  I re-posted, thank you.====JACK:  "Re-posting"  is a way of spreading the message that some have sacrificed, trying to make this a more peaceful world.

FROM PEPPERMINT MARY:  this is one of my favorite simon and garfunkel songs.
"last night i had the strangest dream i ever dreamed before...i dreamed the world had all agreed to put an end to war.
i dreamed i saw a mighty room...the room was filled with men...and the papers they were signing said they'd never fight again.
and when the papers all were signed and a million copies made...they all joined hands and bowed their heads and grateful prayers were prayed.
and the people in the streets below were dancing round and round...and guns and swords and uniforms were scattered on the ground.
last night i had the strangest dream i ever dreamed before...i dreamed the world had all agreed to put an end to war."
we must continue to dream and act with peaceful intention.
====MARY:  this is one of my favorite simon and garfunkel songs.
"last night i had the strangest dream i ever dreamed before...i dreamed the world had all agreed to put an end to war.
i dreamed i saw a mighty room...the room was filled with men...and the papers they were signing said they'd never fight again.
and when the papers all were signed and a million copies made...they all joined hands and bowed their heads and grateful prayers were prayed.
and the people in the streets below were dancing round and round...and guns and swords and uniforms were scattered on the ground.
last night i had the strangest dream i ever dreamed before...i dreamed the world had all agreed to put an end to war."
we must continue to dream and act with peaceful intention.
====JACK:  I once preached a sermon, "Wake Up to Reality!" based on Romans 11:13.  "Now is the time to awaken from your sleep.  Now is the time to put away the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light."  I like the music (and thoughts) of S & G. ====MARY:  good words from romans.  i have my song of the day!

FROM SHARIN' SHARON:  thank you. We need to keep in mind that war is a last resort after all diplomacy and humane peaceful means to reconciliation have failed. It must be that war is not honorable but the people who fight to restore justice and peace are. It's good to take some time to remember them with respect and thankfulness.====JACK:  Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem, Recessional, which has become famous (in part) for this line..."God spare us, lest we forget."

FROM TARMART REV:  Good and timely word, Sir!! I salute you for your post this morning!!  ====JACK: I've read that the "salute" originated with the medieval knights who raised their hand to lift their visor and show their face...I respect you!

FROM BB IN ILLINOIS AND DP IN MINNESOTA:  Amen and Amen====JACK:  I'm looking for a third, and then we can have the liturgical threefold Amen.  A Sunday School Supt in one of my congegations would close the children's worship by asking everyone to join in singing "the Triple Amen."

FROM BLAZING OAKS:  What a noble dream! Love Eve Merriam, and your WW for Veteran's day, and love the songs recited in your and Peppermint MARY'S blog. My husband was in the navy during WW2,  when  people thought there'd never be another armed conflict because nuclear weapons had been discovered and would put an end to civilization....War is indeed HELL!! ====JACK:  The irony is that some people have made "best" friends because of military contacts.  A "best" friend lost his eye, as an 18-yr-old German, during a battle in Italy.

FROM FACEBOOK LIZ:  Salute.====JACK:  I've at weddings where someone will raise a glass toward the bride and groom and say, "Salute!"  meaning, I give respect and best wishes to you."

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY:  Wouldn't that be ideal.  Today we honor those who worked to keep us free!  Did you know we had a large battleground in Michigan?  It was the Raisin River Battlefield.  It was made a National Park just recently.====JACK:  One of the lesser known wars involving the USA was the War of 1812.  I did not know of the nearby battlefield from that war...and the many American lives that were lost there.

FROM CHESTER THE GOOD:  Today is a double whammy for me. It is also the anniversary of my separation from the Marine Corps. Semper Fi!====JACK:  I thought that there could be no separation..."Once a Marine, always a Marine."  You are probably referring to your separation from active duty.

FROM A McC: Veteran Day Memories....  Mac read three books about Lincoln last November.  When Mac, died on April 11, I decided to read his Lincoln books.  I am on the third of five such books he owned.  Lincoln and Mac were great men; good,loyal ,brave, patriotic and smart.  1950
I can remember Mac saying this could be the last war when he was called back to Korea in his junior year at Manhattan College, a Christian Brothers School.  When he returned to school 2 years later, the Christian Brother who was in charge of tuition told Mac his tuition would remain $12 per credit.  Mac told him he was on the G.I. bill.  The Brother said "That does not matter.  You were at war."
Thank you for your winning words.====JACK:  I have that Lincoln set in paperback.  Lincoln and Douglas had some pretty good debates...nothing like what we have to endure in our day and age.  When I was in college and seminary, many of many classmates were on the GI Bill.

FROM CS IN MICHIGAN:  Thank you for this Veterans Day message. I forwarded it to my brother who was a marine in the Vietnam war and to al's brother who was also in the Vietnam war. ====JACK:  When I was in grade school, every November 11, at 11 am, every student would stand by their desk, for a few minutes to give thanks for the end of World War 1 (called, the war to end all wars), which took place at 11 am on November 11, 1918.

FROM INDY GENIE:  Agreed. My mother, who lost her first husband in World War II, in later years wore a pendant that read "War is not healthy for children and other living things."====JACK:  I didn't know (or have forgotten) that you mother had been a war widow.  I see now how her "life experiences" shaped her into the person she was.  What a great role model for her children and for the people who were privileged to know her.....

FROM FM IN WISCONSIN:  A great word, John!====JACK:  Both Eve and the General had the same idea, only expressed in different ways.