THE WORDWRIGHT'S friend, Bob Tinsky has cranked out another story from his younger days. Again, I wish to thank Robert J. Tinsky for standing in for me during our rather busy schedule of working out priorities while Mrs. Wordwright (Jean Venrick) is recuperating from the stroke she experienced April 22. We are happy to report Jean is doing very well and is nearly finished with her therapy after about three and a half weeks (7 sessions).. One built-in therapy she worked out for herself Is playing the piano—it makes excellent therapy for her left hand; Jean says it sounds more like a beginner but we're glad to see such effort put forth to get back as close to normal as possible. THE WORDWRIGHT

CROSLEY AUTOMOBILES

� � � � � � � � � � � Does anyone who is reading this remember Crosley Automobiles?� I was the proud owner of a brand new Crosley that I purchased in 1948. (1948 was a banner year for Crosley automobiles with more sold that year than any other year).
� � � � � � � � � � � � � When I got out of the service in 1947 I bought a used 1936 Chevy.� It was well worn by the time I bought it and was constantly in the garage for repair.� I finally got tired of having my car in the garage so often so decided I could afford to buy a brand new wood paneled Crosley station wagon.� I think I paid about $600 or $700 for it.�
� � � � � � � � � � � � It was a nice little vehicle that weighed 1000 pounds and was only 48 inches wide. � In spite of it being such a small vehicle I could pile up to 12 college students in it, provided half of them sat on someone else’s lap.� I doubt that would be legal today.� I got excellent gas mileage—about 50 miles per gallon.� � It evidently, however, was not designed to drive in the hilly country of Cincinnati where I was attending college because the engine “gave up the ghost” when it was only two years old.� (Maybe I should not have tried to carry so many passengers at one time).
� � � � � � � � � � � � This automobile was invented by a man named Powel Crosley who was from Cincinnati (the same city where I got my little car).� Some of you may remember that he also produced Crosley radios and refrigerators.� The refrigerator had shelves in the doors and was known as “The Shelvador.” Mr. Powell was also the owner of a radio station and the Cincinnati Reds baseball team. (The name “Crosley” lives on today, The Venricks bought a new Crosley Washing Machine this summer., of course it is made by another manufacturer but “Crosley” is the brand name. The Wordwright)
� � � � � � � � � � � � Mr. Crosley produced his first automobile in 1939 and introduced at the Indianapolis Speedway.� He called it “the forgotten man’s car.” � The car originally sold for only $250. � Can you imagine getting any kind of an automobile for that small amount today?� A total of 5,757 of these cars were sold before World War II.
� � � � � � � � � � � � The Second World War stopped the production of these tiny vehicles but when the war ended in 1945 they again were manufactured and offered for sale.� By the end of 1948 there were 25,000 Crosleys on the road.� (Mine was one of that 25,000.)� Over 70,000 of these vehicles were produced by 1952 when production was discontinued.�
� � � � � � � � � � � � It is interesting to note that several famous persons owned a Crosley automobile—General Omar Bradley, Humphrey Bogart, Dwight Eisenhower, Geraldine Ferraro, Art Linkletter, Nelson Rockerfeller, Gloria Swanson, and Frank Lloyd Wright.
� � � � � � � � � � I should add that students at college liked to pick up the car by the rear end so I could not move it.� One of our professors also had a little Crosley and one day the students picked it up and put it on the porch that surrounded the Administration building of the college.� (I don’t think he was too happy about that prank).�
� � � � � � � � � � � � I kept my little Crosley until 1950 when I traded it in for a used 1947 Nash.� Anyone remember Nash automobiles?�

THANKS, BOB, for your story about your 1948 Crosley – I remember them too, as well as the Nash.
THE WORDWRIGHT

Posted by Bill Venrick at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Since April 22 a lot of things have taken a backseat since my wife suffered a stroke. Not all has been bad news, and in an attempt to continue my assigned duty to write on "good news" instead of the bad news that bears down on us every day, I want to assure you the good news of my wife's stroke is "we are doing fine." First, of course, Jean (Mrs. Venrick) is taking her prescribed medicine faithfully and also receiving therapy twice a week as well as "doing her prescribed therapy" faithfully daily. Jean is responding very well to therapy and is still regarded as a "high level" patient; in fact, she has even begun another unassigned therapy of "playing the piano" even though, to her, her left hand sounds a bit like "a beginner" she is improving daily. So, while we are attempting to do "first things first" for a few weeks I beg your indulgence as I lean on a few friends to fill in for me occasionally on THE WORDWRIGHT page. Today's essay comes from the preacher who married us 56 years ago, BOB TINSKY, as we have known him. Bob is retired, from fifty-years "in the ministry" and he lives in Illinois

GREET ONE ANOTHER WITH A HOLY KISS?
OR A HEARTY HANDSHAKE
By Robert J. Tinsky
�
� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � In I Corinthians 6:16 we are told that we should “greet one another with a holy kiss”.� In the commentary on this verse in the NIV Study Bible we learn that “Justin Martyr (A. D. 150) tells us that the holy kiss was a regular part of the worship service in his day.� It is still a practice in some churches.”� I have noticed that in some countries it still is customary to greet people with a kiss on both cheeks
�
� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � While there are a few churches that insist on taking Paul’s suggestion literally, the majority of Christians feel that this was a cultural way of greeting and have substituted handshaking as the traditional form of greeting
� � � � � � � � � � � � � � �
� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � We know from the Bible that the practice of greeting with a kiss goes way back in antiquity.� In Genesis 30 we learn that when Jacob first saw Rachel, who seven years later became his bride, he kissed her.� In that same chapter, however, we are told that when Rachel’s father, Laban, met Jacob for the first time he embraced him and kissed him.� I doubt that these were the romantic kinds of kisses that we are more familiar with today.� They probably were more like our modern “pecks on the cheek.”
�
� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � I will let theologians who are more astute than I am argue about whether we should take the command to “greet one another with a kiss” literally or figuratively.� What I am wondering is how we ever came up with the idea of greeting each other with a handshake.� I guess I am not the only person who has been curious as to origin of this custom since I found several sites on the internet that endeavored to answer this question.� From what I discovered there does not seem to be any one definitive answer to this question.� Here are some of the possible answers to the question of how we first began the custom of greeting with a handshake that I have discovered:
�
� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 1. One answer is that in its oldest form it signified the handing of power from a god to an early ruler. This answer came from a person named Miranda who answers trivia questions via the internet.� � Let me quote from her answer.� She says that “a ritual in Babylonia which began around 1800 B. C. required that the king grasp the hands of a statue every year during the New Year’s festival, transferring authority for another year.� � The ceremony was so popular that when the Assyrians defeated and occupied Babylonia, the subsequent Assyrian kings adopted the ritual in case they offended the gods.” Miranda further states that this is reflected in the Egyptian verb “to give”, the hieroglyph for which is an extended hand.� � I am not sure, however, how this custom led to greeting people by shaking hands.
�
� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 2. Another more common answer to the question of how we came up with the idea of greeting with a handshake is that when a man met a stranger he would react by reaching for his dagger.� The stranger would also reach for his dagger and they would very carefully walk around each other.� When they finally came to the conclusion that neither one intended any harm to the other they would put their daggers back and then extend their hands as a sign of goodwill.
�
� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 3. Still another explanation that is similar to the previous one is that the handshake evolved from the custom of “pat down” to check a person to see if he was carrying any hidden weapons.� This may have led to a hearty handshaking to shake out any hidden weapons the other person may have concealed somewhere on his person.
�
� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 4. Margaret Visser in her book The Way We Are gives us an interesting explanation as to why handshaking has become customary in our more modern times.� She says that there was a time when English men would greet women with a kiss on the mouth.� This evidently was not popular with all the women (and probably not very popular with the men who were attached to those women).� Handshaking became a more socially acceptable form of greeting for both men and women.� At least it kept men and women at an arm’s length.� � �
�
� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � Handshaking can be a lot more than a simple form of greeting.� If you have been on this planet for many years you can remember when deals were sealed with a simple handshake.� It was a way of saying, “We are agreed on the terms of this contract and I am giving you my word that I will keep my part of the bargain.”� � Wouldn’t it be great if everyone was honest enough that contracts could again be sealed with a simple handshake?
�
� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � I am told that some business executives judge the quality of prospective employees by the way they shake hands.� According to one article I found on the internet “it must be firm but not too firm; it must be held for exactly the right amount of time but no longer, it must be accompanied by direct eye contact; and for bonus sincerity points, you should add your left hand to make a ‘hand sandwich.’� You may also be judged on the angle of your hand and the number and intensity of shakes.”
�
� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � I find it rather sad that there are some who want to do away with the practice of greeting with a handshake.� I can understand their reasons.� We don’t know how many germs are transmitted by a simple handshake.� When I have a bad cold I refrain from shaking hands because I don’t want to pass on my illness.� I prefer that others who have similar illnesses be courteous enough to do the same when greeting me.� �
�
� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � So there you have it.� We may not be sure how the custom of greeting by shaking hands got started but we know it is “The American way.”� If you want, however, to take literally Paul’s advice to “greet one another with a holy kiss” just remember this: Be sure it is a “holy kiss.”�
�
� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � One other thought.� If you are turned off by the idea of shaking hands you might try greeting those you meet in the one of the ways that people in some other cultures do. One other somewhat popular way of greeting a friend in our culture is by giving a big hug.� I kind of like that but think we need to use some discretion with this form of greeting.� In some cultures people greet each other by rubbing noses or bowing.� There are even some people who greet each other by sticking out their tongues.� (I don’t recommend this latter practice in our culture).� #####

THANKS, BOB, now we know everything we always wanted to know about
HUGS & KISSES in church, yeah.

THE WORDWRIGHT� � � � � � � � � � � � � � �

Posted by Bill Venrick at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Guest Essayist: Harry T. Spence

Sometimes when I peruse the many bits and pieces of communication that comes my way I cannot get over the feeling, “This is too good to keep to myself...” and if you are a regular reader of THE WORDWRIGHT you know I have occasionally re-published essays written by my repertory of friends who are writers and fellow-members of the American Amateur Press Association*. The AAPA is a world-wide organization of people who love to write, or "pump out" printing with a foot-treadle letterpress printing machine or have joined the marvel of desktop publishing converts, made possible by the computer and an inexpensive printer that has 4 little bottles of ink which converge in the innards of that electric machine and produce 4-color print-outs (in one pass through the machine) that make the mimeograph of the past ooh and ahh with jealousy. Some members also publish Electronic or E-Journals. Harry T. Spence of Norwood, Massachusetts has been featured in this spot before and once again Harry has “rung my bell” with this essay.

Sometime during 2007, a news item popped up somewhere having to do with a group of British biologists(?) who were attempting to induce the Parliament to pass legislation to protect the category of animals known as apes. Their contention (the biologists) was that the age was the same as a human insofar as DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is concerned and therefore deserved all the rights afforded to humans. Upon seeing this, I immediately wrote it off as another group of screwball British scientists.

The matter reminded me of the scientific infatuation with dolphins which occurred about twenty years ago. They were reputed to have a communication system and were at least as intelligent as humans. I thought Rush Limbaugh put that into perspective when he asked, “How many hospitals have they built?”

I guess I never will understand the positions taken by certain persons, whether they be fears about global warming/freezing or the intelligence of animals. I have always had a pet: dogs for the most part; cats over the last several years. They are wonderful companions, lovable and loyal; I wouldn't hurt one for the world. But, their intelligence is limited, since their brains are very small.

Humans, on the other hand, have huge brains and are extremely intelligent by comparison with the animals. If you doubt that: Just look around!

Look around and what do you see: teenagers, walking along, talking on their cell phones; a car passes, its driver listening to a GPS device telling him he has reached his destination; you see houses of every imaginable description; you stop at an eating establishment to favor almost any ethnic food you happen to desire at the moment; you go home to watch your Boston Red Sox playing the New York Yankees on High-definition color TV; you have ridden to the third floor in an elevator. I could go on and on, but I'm sure you get the point.

Just think! Whether you are a creationist or a Darwinist, you recognize that early man had very little in the way of necessaries. He may have lived in a cave; wore animal skins to protect him from the cold or the sun, as the case may be. He ate after he hunted for his food. Did he have regular eating hours? Highly unlikely.

But, he had something that the animals didn't have: He had a big brain. He could convey his thoughts to others through some type of language communication. He was never idle; he always moved about; he used his intelligence to make his life better as well as the lives of his family and neighbors. He continued through the years to make all kinds of improvements in his life.

Think ahead to what he was able to accomplish because of this huge brain. He created languages. He learned to make shelter, grow food, weave cloth. He learned what fire could do for him and learned to use fire for his convenience.

Need I go into the inventiveness of this universal wonder? Whether you enjoy all the labor saving entertaining conveniences he created, you must understand the absolute genius of these things! Is there anything that this phenom (native processor) cannot do? Time affords him opportunity to discover new things even today, I, as a black-art* printer from my earliest years, am still in open-mouthed wonder when I produce a process-color picture on my printer in about three minutes!

Is there any limit to his inventiveness! My own intelligence tells me: NO! Man will continue to baffle us with things not even thought of today. In my lifetime, Lindbergh flew to Europe in a monoplane, one year after my birth. In 1969, men walked on the moon! I was 43 years old! My father projected movies on a screen. When he watched the same movies on a TV set, he was at a loss for words. He died before the advent of color TV. How many times have I mused when watching “Gone With the Wind,” on my HDTV, Pa would absolutely collapse at seeing such a thing in our living room! So, are the animals really just as smart, just as inventive, just the same as Humans? I would have to say very Loudly; Not on your tintype!

THE WORDWRIGHT SAYS, “Thanks, Harry T. Spence, for your essay!”

*LINKS of interest: blackart - http://www.lancasterlyrics.com/
AAPA - http://aapainfo.org:80/

Posted by Bill Venrick at 2:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

“I THINK I HAD A STROKE”

Tuesday night, April 22, my wife went to bed with feelings that professionals would view as a precursor of a stroke. Who doesn't have a funny feeling sometimes? Several years ago I awoke with a pain in my jaw like I had been struck in the face by a big fist. My dreams are wild but never have I been awakened with such pain after a dream. I have awoke from a deep sleep to find my forefingers in either hand drawn back in a “cocked” position demanding I straighten it; and upon trying to do so I experienced a real discomfort but unless I forced the finger to straighten I felt something worse might occur. Feelings, real or otherwise, are nearly endless in the life of those who have torn off pages of the calendar representing more than 70 or 80 years. Going back to my painful jaw it was later discovered my jawbone had somehow become dislocated during the night and I was quite slow in seeking out the solution to that problem.

The next morning, after my wife retired for that night, April 22, I heard some ominous sounds that created sufficient alarm in me to hurry to the bathroom only to find my wife barely sitting on a stool next to the toilet and as I enabled her to sit on the commode she looked up at me and said, “I think I had a stroke.” Those were six alarming words I was not prepared for, but since that experience my wife has recounted strokes as being common experiences in her mother's family. Jean, my wife, was not surprised. This past February 29 she had also received news that our last blood studies revealed she is now a Type Two Diabetic.

At the time of this writing, twelve days later, much is becoming better and we are hopeful the scheduled physical therapy will restore normal use to Jean's left arm (hand) and leg (foot). We are grateful her voice or face was not affected and the physical therapist has told us only about six weeks of therapy will be needed. In my wife's recent daily reading, she also read that diabetics are twice as likely to either have a stroke or heart attack as “normal” healthy people. “Thanks a lot!”

Other words create alarm in many lives: cancer, malignant and terminal are just three for starters. There ought to be sufficient alarms before us every day but most of us obviously cling to a residue of the invincibility from our youth that seldom do we face up to the reality of the brevity of life. You would think a look into the mirror as we take care of our daily needs would be sufficient evidence that we are changing. My wife and I graduated in a high school class of 239 but during the last 58 years 96 names are identified as “Deceased” in that original list. A surprise? No, not really, but the brevity of life and the certainty of death should foster a healthy (there's a unique word) respect for whatever days might be left for us to enjoy this place in which we are merely “pilgrims”. Through the faith we have in our Lord we find assurance and comfort for whatever happens to us here and buoys up our faith for that trip beyond the grave – if such is not the case in your life perhaps you ought to work out a check-list for your spiritual values.

THE WORDWRIGHT

Posted by Bill Venrick at 4:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)