Preface and Lifetime Philosophy
Preface
This writing of mixed subjects and mixed temperament has a number of worthy purposes. It is spawned partly by the normal zest for life which includes humor. Humor, experts say, provides great physical healing and therapy. It is enjoyed by nearly 100% of mankind. It is something that is not learned in school or college. It is a gift taken for granted from our great master of creation, our loving God of the universe! Therein expresses one of the major purposes of the enclosed pages: hopefully to inspire, encourage, teach, and illustrate worthwhile and Godly principles.
The book is the inspired work of Harry W. Dishon and the great typing job by my wife, Joan.
Many of the stories are life experiences of the writer; some of them are punctuated and capitalized by the hand of God. Therein is the supreme purpose of these words: to teach and inspire by example with deep humbleness, we thank God for many years of pleasant living.
Lifetime Philosophy
There are many things that influence and affect the attitude that an individual has about life. Some of those influences may be environment, culture, family size, education, talent, and gender. Please come with me as we examine the lifetime effects of a community environment upon one young man.
The young man is Harry W. Dishon, and I was a junior in high school and a member of the basketball team at a very small school. Our team was scheduled to play the team of another community that was larger than our school.
Burlington, the school we were playing, had a larger gymnasium than we had at our little Carrolton school, and the gym had built-in bleachers for spectators; on the opposite side was a large blank wall. (At that time there was no need for a huge spectator area.)
We were “warming up” before the game. I had on my basketball suit of the era, which was much skimpier than those of today.
After my turn with the basketball, I looked up at the blank wall and saw some writing. It attracted my attention because of the depth of its meaning:
The saying was,
“When that great writer comes to write upon our name, He writes not if we won or lost–but how we played the game.”
The saying inspired and intrigued me because of its great and deep meaning, and the saying applied to the “game” of life as well as to the game of basketball. I stood there in the middle of the floor like a nincompoop until I had memorized one of the most important philosophies of life. Little did I realize that it would become my philosophy for the daily walk of life for the next 70 years and would be with me still today! The honesty and integrity that is suggested therein is embedded in God’s divinity.
The force of meaning that it carries has guided me through some greatly troublesome times such as 4 ½ years of hell in WWII and the death of a beautiful and very loving wife when we had a 12-year-old daughter. The Godly philosophy also carried me through six weeks of pain and agony during an arm and hand injury. It is more meaningful today because, in my advanced senior years, God is ever present, ever real. The divinity that it carries becomes more realistic each passing week.
A true story.
About the Author
Harry Dishon is a retired veteran living in Howard County. He and his wife Joan recently recorded some of Harry’s recollections as a child and as a soldier, and we are honored to be able to share these memories with you. Periodically, we will post selections from Harry’s writings on our Military Appreciation page, so please come back and share some of Harry’s insights and memories.