Jack’s Winning Words 2/9/16
"A little dab’ll do ya!”  (Brylcreem ad)  Dabbin’ is a hip hop dance popular with teens.  You lean your face into the crook of your elbow and make a sound, like a sneeze.  Dab is also a word denoting something that’s small, but important…like a seed, like a kind word or deed.  There’s a book for teens, “Little Things Matter,” which points out the importance of what seem to be little things… a dab of extra study time, choice of friends, the use of spare time.    ;-)  Jack

FROM CS IN MICHIGAN:  I grew up in a large family in a small home in the 1960’s.  With 3 older brothers, it seemed there was no end to the teasing and shenanigans!  Mornings before school where always a dog eat dog experience based on survival of the fittest!  You had to move pretty quickly to get a spot in the bathroom, breakfast and a decent bagged school lunch, all this before literally running out the door and down the street to catch the bus.  Taunting was just part of the morning routine.  The brothers were basically too cool for the likes of me and I spent an entire childhood trying to live up to their level and acceptance.  Of course, all these years later, I now know that I was always accepted – just deserving of the place I held in the sibling lineup! (2nd from dead last!)
One typical morning, I was woken with the usual yelling in my ear out of a dead sleep that it was, indeed, ‘TIME TO GET UP!”  I jumped out of bed and immediately raced for the bathroom so as not to fall too far behind in the morning routine festivities – I truly believe that to this day, this is the reason I move so quickly through everything I do – the fear of not reaching the finish or being left behind….Seeing NO ONE in the bathroom at either one of the double sinks (haleluhah!!) I grabbed the toothpaste, squeezed a mighty dab out onto the toothbrush and plunged it into my mouth vigorously scrubbing away and smug in my morning fortunes of beating everyone else to the punch!  Within milliseconds, my brain began to register – “warning, warning” as my mouth became entangled in the oiliest, grossest, goopiest “toothpaste” I have ever tasted in my life…..By now, 2 brothers had gathered in the bathroom as I picked up the tube of toothpaste and read the label.  BRYLCREEM it screamed!  BRYLCREEM!!  I had just filled my mouth with the greasiest men’s hair product known to man!   Now I knew why they advertised “a little dab will do ya”!!  I retched my way through the next miserable 5 minutes, with brothers 1,2 and 3, sisters and Mom all either laughing uproariously or looking on in shock.  It took several brushings with actual toothpaste to even BEGIN to remove the sticky stuff and I tasted it for at least 3 days afterwards.  Of course, the worse part was the relentless and now well-deserved ribbing I received (for years afterwards, actually!) from the “bros” and then the humiliation they subjected me too at the hands of everyone at our school.  “BRYLCREEM -  a little dab will do ya   BRYLCREEM  - you’ll look so debonair
BRYLCREEM – the gals will all pursue ya  They’ll love to get their fingers through your hair!”
Wow – this was so much fun!!====JACK:  WOW.  What fun to read about your "growing up experience.  Isn't it interesting how the mention of a word like "Brylcreem" can be like a key to open a memory bank.  It was really a good day when God thought up memory as a gift for his people.

FROM TARMART REV:  if added--"you'll look so debonair!!"====JACK:  You don't need Brycreem, to look debonair.

FROM EDUCATOR PAUL:  Hmmmm...Jack Freed...hip hop maven!====JACK:  I can't decide which video of Dabbin' I like best...the one by Migos or the one by Skippa Da Flippa.  I saw Jim Leyland do a version of it at Michigan's Signing of the Stars.

FROM BLAZING OAKS:  Let's hope a little dab of common sense and intelligence will prevail in N.H. today. George Orwell wrote:"Political Language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind."  And Edward R. Murrow (we old folks remember him well) warned "A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves."  Think it has come to pass.?  A  little dab will do ya, for sure!!====JACK:  It might be interesting to se how many of your Bible Study group have ever hears of "Dabbin'", without giving them a clue ahead of time.  This could lead to a discussion about how the churches of their youth might have looked upon dancing as a sin, which could lead to a discussion about dancing as a part of worship in biblical days...and now.  Do you remember seeing church dancing in the movie, The Blues Brothers?  If not, you can YouTube it.  ====OAKS:  I'd never heard of 'dabbin", but then I'm not very hip! I'll see if any of our group has, but doubtful!  We had a dance team at Elliott when Bill and I pastored...H.S. girls who I think added a lot to our music, although our church pianist initially told me that her father would turn over in his grave, if he knew we were dancing in the sanctuary. She got over it...Our black congregation (now gone) also had liturgical dancers and I enjoyed them a lot! I didn't see the Blues Bros. movie, but my grandson and his buddy were big hits emulating them doing Kareoke for severall years ! He just turned 40 this week !