Jack’s Winning Words 3/4/19
“Don’t let yourself forget what it was like to be sixteen.”  (Unknown)  Can you remember back to when you were 16?  What comes to mind?  Songs?  Foods?  People?  For me, 16 was probably the most significant year in my life  …but  that’s another story.  George Burns sang, “I wish I were 18 again.”  Has there been an “I wish age” in your life?  I’ve read that music and the smell and taste of certain foods can aid dementia patients in bringing back memories.   ;-)  Jack

FROM TAMPA SHIRL:  I just remember being busy all of the time and many good lifelong friends! ===JACK:  Yes, we grew up together during that time...and I remember that you were a busy-body (in the best sense of the phrase) at that time.

FROM EDUCATOR PAUL:  16??? On one condition... “If I knew then what I know now!” ===JACK:   Oooohh...I don't know if  your teen-age brain and emotions would have been able to handle that.  And, you are TODAY what you were THEN!

FROM LG IN CT:   And Frank Sinatra's "It Was A Very good Year"
When I was seventeen
It was a very good year
It was a very good year for small town girls
And soft summer nights
We'd hide from the lights
On the village green
When I was seventeen
When I was twenty-one
It was a very good year
It was a very good year for city girls
Who lived up the stair
With all that perfumed hair
And it came undone
When I was twenty-one
When I was thirty-five
It was a very good year
It was a very good year for blue-blooded girls
Of independent means
We'd ride in limousines
Their chauffeurs would drive
When I was thirty-five
But now the days are short
I'm in the autumn of the year
And now I think of my life as vintage wine
From fine old kegs
From the brim to the dregs
And it poured sweet and clear
It was a very good year
It was a massive good year
===JACK:  Isn't it interesting how songwriters are able, so often, to capture our feelings?

FROM HONEST JOHN:  For me the best age was four....could play all day....had a great family with me at home....old enough to join in a bit...could even learn .....no worries or concerns...could go to my Dad's feed store and on trips to relatives.===JACK:  For me...being 4 yrs old is a nice place to visit, but I'm not sure I'd like to live there.  I'm happy with the here and now...relatively..

FROM BB IN CHGO:  Inquiring minds want to know…did you meet Mary when you were 16?
I’m not sure there was anything much remarkable then for me.  I don’t look back and wish for 21 again either, or 30.  Perhaps I cannot remember enough anymore?===JACK:  I was 27, married at 29, and 60 years of marriage.  At 16, no girlfriends, no parties or days, just school, sports at the YMCA and work.

FROM BLAZING OAKS:  Ah! Our "Sweet Sixteen" birthdays were VERY special in our gang of girls! And "Crutch" C. got up his courage and kissed me goodnight on my sixteenth! (We'd been dating for awhile, but no nice girls allowed a kiss on the first few dates when I was growing up! Really innocent times compared to now! Every age has its perks and its challenges, but am very thankful to have been blessed with an adoring husband, and 4 great kids who grew to be good, productive citizens; not to mentions those "grands" and "greats"! I just read a good book.  "The older you get, the more you appreciate cancelled plans, early nights, thunderstorms and alcohol that's on

sale." I'm not much of a drinker, but definitely don't have to have big plans every day or night anymore, An early dinner with family & a couple of games, A recliner, good book or  interesting TV show, all warm and cozy, will do! :-)===JACK:  You weren't one of those "run-arounds", were you?  Are you now one of those "sit-at-homes"?   No, I think that we should give you a new moniker.
===OAKS:  I don't think anyone would describe me as a Sit-at-home; the comment I usually get is, "You're never home!" I'm going while the going is good...Know there will come a time when I can't...& that may not be a long way off, at my age!  It's frigid here today, and this week, so not  as
anxious to be out and about ! We just lost John's mother-in-law on Sunday morning (she had lived
with John and Jan over 20 years (blind and 92) & was in hospice care at home for a little more than
a week.) So will be busy, and have family coming in.===JACK:  ...and so it goes.  We live; we die; we await God's judgment...relying on His grace.  BTW, so you're now a senior run-around.  More power to you.

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY:  My teen years were wonderful!  I loved high school and life was so good!   But, you can’t do this to your faithful followers!  What happened when you turned 16??? ===JACK.  Bad:  I contracted polio and had to stay home for a year.  Good:  I don't think that I would have become a pastor, except for that experience.