Jack’s Winning Words 1/26/16
“Das letzte hemd hat leider keine taschen…”  (German Carnival Song)  Translation: “The last shirt, unfortunately, has no pockets.”  The last shirt, mentioned in the song, is a burial shroud, a cloth used to wrap a corpse.  E-Bay has one for $15 (and it has no pockets).  The song’s message is: “You can’t take it with you.”  You may recall the warning: “Don’t pile up treasures on earth where they can disappear…but keep “your treasure” in heaven where it is safe.”   ;-)  Jack

FROM HM:  Until this morning I did not know this song. It seems to originate from a 1967 Hans Albers movie.  Since then it became a "sailor" and carnival song. Karneval is the fifth season in Germany. It begins 11.November and ends on Ash Wednesday. It has many roots in regional history...The song basically invites to live now. In heaven you will not need money. It assumes you will be fine there.====JACK:  I've learned something new...about the German preparation for Lent.  I didn't realize that it was so long.  On the day before Ash Wednesday we usually eat pancakes.  It's interesting to find out about different customs.

FROM TRIHARDER:  There is an old, ignorant, anti-semitic belief that Jews are buried standing up so that their money will not fall out of their pockets. I met a young lady when I went up to orientation at the University of Michigan who actually believed it was true -- Not out of anti-semitism, but out of ignorance.====JACK:  Much bigotry has its root in ignorant stereotypes.  It's so sad that more and more people in this country have adopted bigotry as a badge of honor.====TH:  It has been growing since the election of Obama. Anti "pc".  And Donald Trump has brought it entirely out of the closet. ====JACK:  I've seen the momentum building.  At first, I thought that it was entertainment that would fade with time.  Now, I'm not so sure.

FROM HONEST JOHN:  Travelers Cheques....good anywhere!!!!====JACK:  Is there still such a thing as a Traveler's Cheque?

FROM LS:  good morning.  as most mornings, your messages speak directly to me. This morning I am getting ready to attend the funeral of my mother in law.  This is a gentle reminder to me, for my life that remains here on earth by the grace of God to be the best I can be each and every moment.
Thank you for your work.====JACK:  Each day, before I send out Winning Words, I ask God to bless the words and the people (like you) who receive them.  Thanks for the validation.

FROM HAPPY TRAILS IN NOVA SCOTIA:  my favourite HBS prof, General Doriot, invited all of his current students to attend the AGM of American Research & Development Co., an early and successful venture capital company of which he was chair. There were some brief presentations by CEOs of companies in which AR&D provided startup capital. One was working on the development of asbestos-based semiconductors that could operate directly in super-hot temperatures. He told the audience that “with our semiconductors they will be able to build a radio you can take with you.” ====JACK:  In the 1927 movie, The Jazz Singer, Al Jolson popularized the saying, "You ain't heard nothin' yet!"  The General talked about portable radios; today we talk about self-driving cars.   What's next?  Al's saying comes to mind...and so does the saying, "The last shirt has no pockets."

FROM TARMART REV:  Yes, sir!! One can only take people along with them--my investment for a lifetime!!====JACK:   There are no hitch-hikers on the road to heaven.  God's friends each are promised a ride in a golden chariot, just like Zeke's.

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY:  We won't have any needs where we are going!   Most of us have everything we need to live a good life.  Maybe not all we want, after all we are all greedy...but we have what we need.  It's important for us to help make sure others have what they need to live. ====JACK:  Jesus said, "I was hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick and in prison, and you met my needs (or didn't meet them)."

FROM GEORGE:  There is also a slightly different saying in German:  "Das Totenhemd hat keine Taschen", which is more direct.  Very True!!====JACK:  No pockets in the last shirt has a real message.  I heard of someone buried in a casket shaped like a beer can.

FROM BLAZING OAKS:  As you've implied, and my husband used to remind our parishioners, "You'll never see a Moving Truck or U HAUL VAN following the funeral limousine to the cemetery...we leave it all behind when we cross over. I remember one woman in our church who had a terminal diagnosis, asking us, "Who will love and enjoy all my antique collections, now?!" Good question!  I also remember Dr. Norman V.Peale taking a distraught and disgruntled businessman parishioner to a place "where no one is unhappy, complaining, worried about the stock market, etc.etc"  and of course the place was a big beautiful cemetery... He got the point!====JACK:  We've started giving away stuff to children and grandchildren (things that they've shown an attachment to).  It's not being done in a wholesale way, so that they take it in the wrong way.  You probably gave away stuff when you recently downsized.