Choir Notes

Winning and Losing
From Music and the Spoken Word
Delivered By: Lloyd D. Newell • Program 4232

We live in a competitive world where everyone experiences something of winning and losing. Who has never tasted both sweet victories and bitter defeats? We've all had our moments. We tend to pay more attention to the winners, but how we respond to the disappointments and the successes says much of our character.

Graceful winning and courageous losing represent some of life's great moments. When we have been fortunate enough to win, do we gloat? Or do we reach out to encourage those who didn't? And when we lose, do we make excuses and become bitter? Or do we find occasion to congratulate those whose performance bested our own?

After losing a hard-fought competition, a young woman noticed the varied responses of her victorious opponents. Some demonstrated generosity of spirit, going out of their
way to wish her well in the future. Others–perhaps feeling uncomfortable and unsure what to say–ignored and avoided her. The young woman learned much from their different responses and determined to become the kind of winner who does not forget those who came up short.
Winning affords the opportunity to inspire others and continue to improve ourselves. Remarkably, however, we usually learn more from our losses than from our wins. We learn to focus on our personal best. We learn to work harder. We become more empathetic and come to realize that titles, trophies, and prizes do not define our worth. Often a loss redirects and refines character in a way that a win does not.

In a sense, either a victory or a defeat can be a success if it helps us realize that our effort and attitude are more important than the outcome. No one really loses who wholeheartedly tries. And no one really wins who fails to remember and encourage others.

Happy Halloween Eve

Have an Enchanting Day...

Pumpkin Figures

30,128
world record for the most jack-o-lanterns carved and lit in one place. (Boston: October 21, 2006)

2020
weight of world's largest pumpkin pie, in pounds

1810.5
weight of the largest pumpkin ever grown, in pounds


90
percentage of U.S. pumpkins that are grown in Illinois


86
percentage of Americans who use pumpkins to decorate for Halloween

Human Mirror

Wordless Wednesday

Halloween Costumes Idea

Meet the S'mores Family

Pumpkin Fudge

1 cup evaporated milk
3 cups sugar
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
4 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

In a large pan, combine milk, sugar. corn syrup, pumpkin, and salt. Cook over medium heat until boiling, stirring constantly. When mixture comes to a full boil, reduce heat and simmer until mixture come to the softball stage. Remove from heat. Beat in cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, butter, and vanilla. Cool and beat until mixture is thick and loses its gloss. Spoon into a 9 x 13-inch dish that is lined with buttered parchment. Cool until firm. Cut into 1-inch squares. Store in an airtight container in a cool area. Makes 4- dozen pieces.

Choir Notes

Getting Up and Getting Going
From Music and the Spoken Word
Delivered By: Lloyd D. Newell • Program 4231

What does it take to jump into something new and come out triumphant? Why do some embark into uncharted territory with ease while others flounder?

An answer may be found in studying the expedition of Lewis and Clark, who two centuries ago, with their Shoshone guide Sacajawea and 32 hearty men, set out to chart the vast wilderness of the new Louisiana Purchase. Though they never found what they were hoping for—a waterway to the Pacific—their mapping opened the door to a westward-growing nation. Near the end of the 8,000-mile journey, Captain Clark carved into a large pine tree a simple statement of the significance of their achievement: "Capt William Clark December 3rd 1805. By Land [from the United States] in 1804 & 1805.”[i]

Much of their heralded experience is recorded in countless journal entries describing unfamiliar flora and fauna, mountain vistas, raging rivers, and councils with Indian tribes. But more revealing about the experience are the daily entries that describe violent winds, rain flooding their camps, and horses that lost their footing on snow-covered trails. And still they pressed on. Lewis and Clark did not stage the expedition for today’s history books; they simply tackled the assignment before them—one day at a time.

It’s easy to forget that monumental accomplishments are made up of hundreds of mundane ones. True greatness comes in getting up and getting going every day. So when we face a new semester at school, a massive project, a career change, cleaning out the basement, or training for a marathon, we can apply what those explorers learned centuries ago. We can pit daily our determination, discipline, grit, and sense of duty against the debilitating emotions of fear, dread, confusion, and procrastination. That’s how Lewis and Clark crossed a continent. And that’s how we can cross ours.

i In "The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition,” entry dated Dec. 3, 1805,

"Lean Forward Into Your Life"

Every once in a while, make no plans. Have the nerve to walk out the door and let possibilities introduce themselves. Wander. Imagine. Stare. Be surprised; parades will find you.

Travel – in your armchair, with a book, on a boat, in a car, in your thoughts, on a bike, or any vehicle that will take you from the walls of your own knowing to someplace other. Other gestures, smells, words, tastes, views. Look upon the world through windows other than your own.

Learn to be good company for yourself. A bit of joy passes by because there was no one to go with. A party of one is some times the best time.

Dance by yourself, anywhere there is room in your house. There is something invigorating, even a bit magic, to music, to movement, and a touch of laughter. Go ahead; dance.

Enjoy participating in the unexpected. A little turn of whimsy is a gift: a quick cool rain shower on a hot dusty day. Enjoy flowers for no reason, visit and old friend, greet a stranger, tell a sweet little joke in line at the grocery store. (What did the snail say as he climbed on the back of the turtle? Wheeeeeeee!!!!!)

Play can happen anywhere. You are the toy. Laugh!

From the book "Lean Forward Into Your Life" by Mary Anne Radmacher

Seal a Plalsic Bag and Make it Air-Tight

Save a disposable plastic water bottle and lid.

Cut the neck and lid off the bottle.

Insert the plastic bag through the neck,
pull it tight, and screw the lid to seal.

The bottle is made to be air-tight, so the water will not leak, the secret lies in the lid and screw.

There, I Fixed It

Creative Solutions: fit and function, not form or elegance...

via Margo

Wordless Wednesday

Out of Your Gourd

The orange pumpkin is the most famous of the fall squashes, but if you want to decorate with a little more color and flair, consider these seasonal favorites...

Long Island Cheese Pumpkin:
pale peach;
shorter and wider with subtle ribbing
(great for baking)

Lil' Pump-Ke-Mon Pumpkin
white and orange striped;
flattened shape with slight ribbing

Cotton Candy Pumpkin
white with bright orange flesh;
medium sized with light ribbing
(perfect for a ghostly effect)

Red Warty Thing
reddish orange;
round and warty

Fairytale Pumpkin
deep orange (almost red)
coach-shaped and warbly ribbing

Kakai Pumpkin
dark green and orange;
smooth and round


Jarrahdale Pumpkin
bluish gray;
flattened
(great for baking and very unique for decorating)

Queensland Blue Pumpkin
dark bluish green;
buttercup shaped and deeply ribbed

Marina Di Chioggia Pumpkin
deep green;
heirloom pumpkin with knobby skin and lots of character

One Too Many Pumpkin:
ranging from peach to red with white marbling;
very slight ribbing
(named for the gin blossom of a bloodshot drunk)