Jack’s Winning Words 11/14/17
“Ya either get faith or ya get unbelief, and there ain’t no middle ground.”  (Bob Dylan)  How do you remember Bob Dylan?  Folksinger, rocker, crooner or sage?  Critics have called him “arrogant” and “smug,” particularly during his “faith phase,” when Christian conversion took over his life.  For me, “Blowin’ in the Wind” will be his signature song.  Inspirational!   I have learned, through the years, to let God be the judge.  I will only have opinions.    ;-)  Jack

FROM HONEST JOHN:  "Blowin in the Wind" is a rest song....love it====JACK:  What do you mean by "a rest song"?====JOHN:  Meant to say "great"

FROM TARMART REV:  Good advice-- "I will only have opinions?!"====JACK:  Opinion is derived from the word, opine...meaning, thinking.  It's good to put on your thinking cap once in a while.  Did a school teacher ever say top you..."Put on your thinking cap."?

FROM TRIHARDER:  I'm pretty sure  "Blowin' in the Wind" was before his conversion. ====JACK:  Without looking it up, I think that you're right.  "Conversion" is a word most often used in a religious context, but we can be converted in other ways, as well.

FROM MY ATTORNEY:  Dylan's song, "Like A Rolling Stone", was voted No. 1 of the 500 greatest songs ever recorded!!!  Rolling Stone Magazine.  He had a lot of good ones.  Bryna and I just saw him at the Fox.  Disappointing, to say the least.  He didn't sing any of his signature hits and never said one word between songs.  After each song, the lights went out, and when they came back on he was at a different location on the stage and then sang another song.  When the show was over, he and his band just walked off the stage.  Zero personality.====JACK:  The job of an entertainer is to entertain.  For fans to walk away disappointed says that the entertainer needs to re-evaluate his work.  ====MA:  Doctors practice medicine, but good doctors also have a good bedside manner. ====JACK:   I'm sure that you've heard of psychosomatic medicine.

FROM BLAZING OAKS:  Dylan seemed to become much more introverted after he quit drinking in 1994; He surprised most of us when he won he Nobel Prize, but considering the bulk of his work, you can see why he was considered. Like most celebrities, it's complicated!  He seems to think deeply on what gives life meaning, and his songs pose some good questions! "How many roads must a man walk down, before you can call him a man?" Indeed!  There will always be doubts to resolve, regarding Faith...that's how we grow.====JACK:  "Conversion" ought to involve more than just words.  As the poet put it..."I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day."

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY:  He will always be a rocker to me.  Love the song too!====JACK:  Dylan as a folk singer is the Dylan I like.

FROM TAMPA SHIRL:  I don't remember anything about bob Dylan but I was into folk songs like the Weavers and Pete Seeger. That all seems like a long time ago! We went to the Magic Kingdom on this beautiful day. Christmas was in the air====JACK:  The message of The Big Bands was not the same as the protest singers of the 60's.