Jack’s Winning Words 3/12/21 

“You’re only here for a short visit.  Don’t worry; don’t hurry.  And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.”  (Walter Hagen)  I’ve been told that pro-golfer Hagen once owned the house in which I live.  I don’t know about that, but I do know how much the beauty of flowers enhances this world.  Among Special Days, March 12, has been designated as “Plant a Flower Day.”  If you were to go out and plant a flower, which one would it be?  I like Jack in the Pulpit.  ;-) Jack

FROM LBP:  I planted a couple dozen new bulbs last fall that I’m interested to see spring up. I’d have to check the packaging for the specifics, but they looked pretty and are said to be deer resistant ===JACK:  Take a look.  Is your thumb green?

FROM CR:  Jack in the Pulpit, for you for sure!  I have always loved Forget Me Nots.  I've seen snowdrops and purple crocuses already this season.===JACK:  I have yet to see anything poking through the ground yet.

FROM NORM'S BLOG:  It is really a shame that so many do not realize and heed the advice that Hagen was giving in that quote until they are in their senior years (me included). When we are younger we tend to get all wrapped up in our ideas that a “successful” life entails being focused upon success in our jobs and earning more and more money, so that we can buy more and more things. Eventually we realize that things are not really that important and that our relationships are what really matters. Unfortunately, many men tend to realize that after it is too late to enjoy some of life’s best moments – moments and memories of our children growing up that we miss because, “daddy had to work and couldn’t be here”. ===JACK:  i often wonder abour Walter walking through my house...and how lon

he lived here.  He was a good golfer for his time but a kind of philosopher, too.

FROM HONEST JOHN:  He was Head Pro for a while at Red Run in Royal Oak. ===JACK:  I did not know that.  Of course, there's lots that I do not know.  I once used some golf clubs with Hagen's dignature of them.  It didn't improve my game.

FROM QUILTING CAROL:  I truly don’t know who chose this day as “Plant a Flower Day” as I would believe in the upper half of the US it is too cold yet to plant anything outside.  We still have plenty of snow on the ground – melting quickly – but still pretty cold dirt.  If I could plant it would be Black Eyed Susans.===JACK:  "black-eyed Susan," a sigh of spouse abuse!  You can p[l;ant a flower inside, if you want to.===QC:  HA!  I have loved Black-eyed Susan’s since I was a little girl.  No spousal abuse in my family nor here. 😊  We are enjoying Bob’s amaryllis plants that are blooming inside – one pot at a time.

FROM DAZ IN COLORADO:  If we're going to plant flowers on March 12 we better do it inside in Westminster Colorado. The forecast is for 2 feet of snow this weekend. ====JACK:  I'll bet daughter, Linda, liviong in "Hot"lanta could go out and plant a flower.

FROM SHALOM JAN:  OOO!  A bit of "tongue in the cheek" -- eh, Jack?!  If my ashes are scattered in the garden of a church where I did campus ministry in the 1990's, the minister of music there said he would plant "Jan in the Pulpit" flowers.

y favorites of the wildflowers are violets.  Daffodils are my cultivated heralds of spring.===JACK:  You musty have had some good experience in that garden with memories that linger.  The song, In the Garden, describes Mary's Easter memories.  The song has gotten a bad rap because people don't see it that way...and they tend to place themselves in the garden with Jesus.  Let Mary have her memory! ===JAN:  For sure. She text a picture of a cherry tree in bloom a couple weeks ago. Our iris and daffodils are starting  to come up but they're  hardy. 

FROM HOMELESS:  You can't turn back the clock, but you can wind it up again.  Just heard this on the TV, and I thought it was fun.===JACK:  Not only was it, "fun", it is a truism olife.  We CAN start over again.  The cloxk just needs the effort to wind it up. 

FROM RS IN TEXAS:  From what I've read about "The Haig", he lived life to the fullest....made money and spent it all on a lavish and partying lifestyle. While Arnold Palmer is given most of the credit for taking golf ....and the professional golf tournament prize money....to a new level, Hagen had that distinction in his day.  Fancy dress was a trademark of his and he was the first professional to command appearance money at tournaments. I know when he retired from competitive golf he lived in the Detroit area, so maybe that was your house.  If I were to plan a flower it would be one of two....a Rose of Sharon for color from the Spring until late Fall.....or, if I was thinking of golf....and the Masters....an Azalea bush.  They flower for just a short time, but when they do they are spectacular.  Hope things are warming up a little bit up your way.  We have a few things starting to bud out here....Spring and new life ....and Easter...a wonderful time of the year.

===JACK:  I usually don't print all of long responses, but I'm making an exception with you.  Thanks for confirming Hagen's life in Michigan.  Maybe I should put a plaque on my house.

FROM BBIN CHGO:  Jack in the pulpit made me laugh.  This Jack in the pulpit made me gasp!===JACK:  The 2nd "Javk" showed up blank, so I gasped at not knowing what made you gasp.