Jack’s Winning Words 7/31/18
“Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth.”  (Buddha)  As I read this quote, I thought of a similar one…”The truth will out,” from Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice.  I remember being introduced to W.S. with that story in Jr Hi.  We often use his lines in our speaking without knowing it.  “We have seen better days…All’s well that ends well …Neither rhyme nor reason…and  What’s done is done.”  Try applying these to current events.   ;-)  Jack 

FROM BLAZING OAKS:  As Oscar Wilde predicated, "The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and
never simple!" And as historian Timothy Snyder says "To abandon facts is to abandon Freedom. If nothing is "true", then no one can criticize power, because there is no basis on which to do so!"  With the present Gov't's disregard for facts, that is a concern...Well, the sun and the moon WILL continue to rise. Cheers!===JACK:  Pontius Pilate would be right at home in our world with his question., What is truth?  Perhaps "truth" is when the good and gracious will of God is done.  Do you know the spiritual, "Soon and very soon" which sings about the end of the world.  One stanza has the words, "No more crying, then."  Another says, "No more dying, then."  I'd add a third, "No more lying, then."===OAKS:  YES, I'm very familiar with Soon and Very Soon. I used to direct our choir and Union Baptist choir (African American) singing that spiritual. They could really swing it. LOVE the "No more Lyin' then" addition!!===JACK:  I have some friends from a former congregation who would get up and dance in the aisle if "Soon and very soon" were being sung, and I'm sure that others might follow their example.  We need less inhibition in our churches.

FROM BB IN CHGO:  I loved today’s quote; thanks so much for sharing.===JACK:  Often, when I push "Send," I have the apprehension that this is not good enough.  Thanks for the validation, at least for today.

FROM TAMPA SHIRL:  We are living in an exciting time! Today President Trump will be in Tampa for a rally! Before that he will be at a high tech high school! I think of how lucky I have been to see so many of our presidents. President Carter was here in 1986 and George W Bush was here at Steinbrenner Field. President Kennedy was here in 1963 the Monday of the week that he was assassinated in Dallas. The only presidents that I have not seen in person are Reagan,Clinton, and Obama. Thank goodness for 📺===JACK:  Today, I drove on the Gerald R. Ford Freeway.  Does that count for anything?===SHIRL:  You keep jogging my memory! While working in Washington in the 50’s, one of my friends was interning for Gerald Ford and we went to his home which was a simple one and met his wife and little children! Life was simpler then!

FROM WALMART REV:  Probably have forgotten many of those times past that a very similar as today . . . some missed, some not!!===JACK:  Here are some Shakespearean idioms that may appeal to you...Heart of Gold...Pure as the driven snow...Green-eyed monster...For goodness sake.

FROM HUNGRY HOWIE:  The truth is currently under attack. It is important now to insist on not allowing the truth to lose this attack. That is how a society sinks to its worst instincts===JACK:  Each side is accusing the other of lying.  In Mein Kampf, Hitler wrote something like this: "Tell a lie so colossal that no one will believe it, but if you tell a little lie and repeat it often enough, sooner or later the people will come to believe it "  Scary!

FROM JT IN ST JOE:  My sixteen year old grand daughter is a Shakespeare fan.  She has been in several plays, and is in a Shakespeare club and can quote verses upon verses of Shakespeare.  Amazing!!===JACK:  I'm amazed at the number of day to day idioms that come from Shakespeare.