Sunday, May 24, 2009

This Blog's Closing Words

In historian David McCullough's readable, informing and inspiring 1776 he quotes these words of George Washington with which I close JinC:

Perseverance and spirit have done wonders in all ages.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your perseverance to uncover the truth and the spirit with which you have done so have made your blog such a treasure.

Best wishes in your work, in a long and happy life with your wife, children, and grandchildren.

Thank you again for your many kind words.
cks

Anonymous said...

John, you will be deeply missed by me as I search out the most honest and reliable opinion and news on the internet. Your Churchill Series has been inspirational as well as your shining character which comes through in each and every post I have had the privilege to read. I will sincerely miss you and hope that your next endeavors will bring you peace and contentment.

Anonymous said...

John: You gave your editors one final test. Please check spelling on Washington's quote.
You will be missed.
Tarheel Hawkeye

JWM said...

Dear cks,

Thanks for your nice words.

I hope you check back in at this thread in a few days.

I want to say a few things to you about your London trip and a few things I hope you'll consider doing there which, when you come back to the States, might provide information and perspective you could use for posting at LM or writing in some other venue.

If I don't post to you here by Thursday, please comment here giving me a reminder.

To Anon @ 9:53,

Thank you for a comment I greatly appreciate even as I tell myself I'm not nearly as good a person as you describe.

I was interested to see your use of "endeavor."

It was a word Churchill used very often in his writings, speeches and everyday speech.

He used it as both noun and verb.

You may know President Kennedy from his youth on was a great admirer of Churchill.

He read his books and studied his statecraft & leadership,including of course his speeches.

Kennedy too used "endeavor" often as both a noun and a verb.

In Kennedy's time the word was used more frequently than it is today.

It was common to hear a teacher in a middle or high school say to a student: "You must endeavor ...."

In the 50s and 60s you would often see a letter using the word: "I shall endeavor to secure arrangements of the kind you request."

But you rarely see today a letter or email using the word.

In any case, I know you'll endeavor to make all your endeavors successful.

I wish you good luck as you do that.

Dear TH,

Thank you, Editor.

It's fixed now.

And thank you for so much else including your recent response to KC in which you "entered the lists."

I thought it was perfect.

Thank you all three.

Best,

John

Anonymous said...

John,
You have always been a voice of reason and courage when the mob around you foamed wildly at the mouth. I always felt comforted knowing that there were men like you out there fighting for truth, justice and simple human dignity. Thanks and best wishes for whatever you do in the future.

Anonymous said...

I will miss this blog. I have laughed a lot and learned a lot.

Now if only school were so interesting!

-AC

RedMountain said...

What? No final RedMountain is still a Troll post?
Despite our many differences of opinion, I will also miss reading your work, John. Best of luck in the future and I hope we have an opportunity to exchange a few more pot-shots down the road on other blogs.

JWM said...

To Anon @ 12:13,

Thank you. I appreciate your generous words even as I know I don't really deserve them.

On my end I wish you well in all you do & good health.

To AC,

You were there at the beginning and now here you are at the end. Along the way you've added tremendously to this blog.

Thank you and all the best.

To RM,

What? No final RedMountain troll post?

Seriously, I was surprised and, I must confess, appreciative of your comment.

Yes, perhaps we will meet again somewhere on the wide, wide Net.

But if we do, I hope it's not to exchange pot-shots but for me to say: "Well, thank you RM for saying I was right about everything all along."

Closing with a smile and best wishes,

John

Anonymous said...

John: I will now have to find other ways to spend my lunch hour. I will have to search long and hard to find a blog such as yours and a man such as you. I agree completely with Ms. Foster who obviously admires and respects you as much as I. Best Wishes Always to an honorable man of principle and conviction. I will miss not only you, but Hawkeye, cks, ex-pros, danvers and the many, many thoughtful and civil commentors you have attracted to your blog. My best wishes to them as well. Steve in New Mexico

Ex-prosecutor said...

My last name begins with a letter in the middle of the alphabet. One of the results of this is that, regardless of whether the teacher called on students beginning at the front or back of the alphabet, I always was one of the last to be called on.

That was good when I was ill-prepared, if prepared at all, which was most of the time. But it was bad when, on rare occasions, I had an intelligent or thoughtful insight.ause someone usually would beat me to it.

So, being a late-comer to these comments, I see that other readers have expressed, far more eloquently than can I, my feelings about you and how much John in Carolina has added to so many of us, who have been connected over the years only through you.

Thanks so much for all of the time and energy in educating us on one of the most amazing legal cases of my lifetime.

Good luck and good health to you, your family and all of your readers.

Anonymous said...

JinC

perhaps intentional, perhaps not ....
think you meant spirit in your post
not spirt .....

whatever, will miss your thoughts.

JWM said...

To Anon @ 8:47,

You are right.

It should have been "spirit" and not "spirt."

Thank you for calling my mistake to my attention.

I'm wondering if you're the commenter who's made a number of comments here that I've deleted.

I only ask because if you are, I'd follow your acknowledgment of that with a bit of background for readers and a hat tip to you.

Whatever the case, thank you for your comment.

John

Anonymous said...

John,
I do not believe I am commentor(deleted posts) to whom you were referring. I post infrequently, and believe my comments have been cleared, not deleted. Your follow-up about the 'deleted commentor' may be interesting if you will share.

My apologies about spelling correction - old teaching habits are difficult to break. (I do not know if Tarheel Hawkeye was referring to same, post#3).

Reading your blog has been a pleasure for several years. Your comments and observatons re: media are so true. As well, you have created another Churchill admirer.
Thank you. You will be missed.
anon 8:47pm

Anonymous said...

Steve in New Mexico:

I will miss reading your insightful comments at this site as well as those of ex-prosecutor, Tarheel Hawkeye, and danvers (just to name a few) . I think part of the sadness that the regular readers of Jinc are feeling is that we are saying good byes to people who have become friends of a sort (though we may disagree at times or even all the time)through this blog.
I hope that Jinc will post from time to time more about Churchill (it was those postings as much as anything that first drew me to this site) and of course what we all hope will be the discovery phase and civil suits emanating from the Duke case.
cks

Anonymous said...

To the 9.04 Spellchecker:
Yeah, I caught both the misspellings (old habits, etc.) and I was waiting to see how long it took John to catch the second of two;))
I know he's been busy with the grassfire that popped up over KC Johnson, so I didn't want to put too much on his plate.
Actually, John is doing very well if his spelling is the only thing we can critique.
Tarheel Hawkeye

Anonymous said...

TH,

Yes, he is doing well, I believe.
Know we all wish him the best.

Anon 9:04

Anonymous said...

JinC:

Just checking in. Have begun the serious reading that is part and parcel of my time abroad. Rediscovering the joys of serious academic reading (goes much more slowly than I remember - must be a result of aging eyes and a decrease in stamina)is proving to be a great by-product of what should be a rewarding experience. I am looking forward to your suggestions for travel, etc. I posted a piece on the snub to the Queen in the last Churchill piece. I almost feel that I should knock on the door of Buckingham Palace wheren in London to personally apologize for the US government's poor manners.
cks

Anonymous said...

Thanks John and goodbye.

I'll miss checking in.

Scott S.

Anonymous said...

Dear John,

I wish you and your family all the best. You will be greatly missed.

Another Duke Mom