Famous First Words: I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate and set aside Thursday, the twentieth day of November, 1941, as a day to be observed in giving thanks to the Heavenly Source of our earthly blessings.
If anyone has no family or friends and will be eating Thanksgiving dinner alone, let me know. I need to borrow your chairs. [] What's blue and covered in feathers? cold turkey
Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. --Melody Beattie
..........You're a pal and a confidant.........Andrew Gold …..Thank You For Being A Friend
The planter, the farmer, the mechanic, and the laborer...form the great body of the people of the United States, they are the bone and sinew of the country...who love liberty and desire nothing but equal rights and equal laws. --Andrew Jackson
It is a rainy Friday morning. There is a steady drip, drip, drip from the roof to the puddle below. And a steady plop, plop, plop of drips on the roof. Staccato Day Break. No bird song, no thunder or lightning; it's just a gentle rain, a much needed rain, a rain to make my newly planted milkweed seeds grow. And it is finally light enough to see the wind (11 mph from the northeast) blowing the still green willow branches into a frenzy. Wet enough to give Puck a wet dog scent. Gentle enough to soothe someone back to sleep if they weren't sitting up right at their computer. The world is washing itself into winter. And I sit in my warm room sipping coffee and muttering “we need this”. Wherever you are, whatever the weather, have a good one.
Here's hoping your weekend and your life gives you lots to be thankful for, thanksgivers
First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: We're hearing Uncle Scam may not pardon the Thanksgiving Turkey at the White House this year because the turkey is having trouble raising the two million dollar pardons fee. --The Iron Snowflake
Thanksgiving, when the Indians said, “Well, this has been fun, but we know you have a long voyage back to England”. --Jay Leno [] Thanksgiving: bringing out the best in family dysfunction since 1963.
Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. --William Arthur Ward
..........for every breath, for every day of living.........Don Henley …..My Thanksgiving
Trivia Questions: Thanks for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
When did the first Macy's parade happen?
How long was the route of the original Macy's Christmas Parade?
How long will the route of 2025 Macy's Parade be?
When was the parade first televised nationwide?
Guess how many people attended the 2024 parade in person.
Big Hello: Ahul - Tamasheq (A Berber language spoken across North Africa) https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm ~~Special thanks to this website on World Hello Day!!
Second Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I'm from Canada, so correct me if I'm wrong but...Isn't the American Thanksgiving a celebration of when the Europeans MIGRATED ILLEGALLY to the United States? --Submitted by LaughingInDisbelief
Image of the Week: This is the letter D. It appeared on the roof of my shed last Friday morning. By Saturday it had migrated towards the roof edge facing my window. On Sunday morning it was on the patio. It is plastic and obviously from some child's toy set. I believe it is a thank you gift from the crows who enjoy my peanuts from time to time and sing to me is a genre with which I am unfamiliar. I tied a string around it and hung it on the doorknob next to the patio.
Advice of the Week: Use your dishwasher to steam the vegetables by sealing them in a mason jar with water and seasonings before running a load of dishes. This is a high-tech (and potentially questionable) approach to multitasking.
I ran out of thyme and didn't get the turkey seasoned. [] Thanksgiving Day, man – not a good day to be my pants. --Kevin James
Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul –Henry Ward Beecher
..........I was building something.........Taylor Swift …..thanK you alMee
Moonbeam: A man has to be Joe McCarthy to be called ruthless. All a woman has to do is put you on hold. --Marlo Thomas
Blasphemy of the Week: Evangelicals promote the concept of “original sin”, the idea that everyone is born with a sinful nature. Marginal Mennonites believe in “original goodness”, that a spark of the divine resides in every human being. (John 1:9) --Submitted by MMS ~~See also “Famous Last Words” below.
Coffee Joke of the Week: I like my coffee how I like my jokes – Pun-cutual. https://www.facebook.com/maythecoffeebewithyou
Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Red Mitten Day sells mittens to support Canadian Olympic athletes. Canada & the US are holding Olympic trials for curling. You know, you sweep, therefore you win. How do you stop Canadian bacon from curling in the frying pan? You take away their little brooms.
Dear God, I'm writing about some concerns I have as a turkey. It seems that in Your infinite wisdom you decided to make us fat, flightless, and evidently delicious. Did we say something to make You mad? [] Thanksgiving dinners take 18 hours to prepare. They are consumed in 12 minutes. Half-times take 12 minutes. This is not a coincidence. --Erma Bombeck
“Thank you” is the best prayer that anyone could say. I say that one a lot. Thank you expresses extreme gratitude, humility, and understanding. --Alice Walker
..........Oh, we thank you for giving us peace in the midst of a storm.........New Edition …..Thank You
1) Macy's presented the first New York Christmas Parade in 1924. It featured floats, bands, and zoo animals. An estimated 10,000 people looked on. FYI: 2025 is the 99th parade because there were no parades in 1942, 1943, and 1944 due to the war.
Almanac: It is Friday, November 21, 2025. The moon was new yesterday (11/20) and is in Sagittarius. Today is Alascattalo Day, National Red Mitten Day, Substitute Educators Day, World Hello Day, and World Television Day.
Among those born on this day were John Bale (1495), Voltaire (1694), William Beaumont (1785), Arthur Quiller-Couch (1863), Jim Bishop (1907), Stan Musial (1920), Vivian Blaine (1921), Jean Shepard (1933), Marlo Thomas (1927), and Goldie Hawn (1945).
On November twenty-first the first balloon flight took off (1783), Andrew Jackson was admitted to the bar (1787), the cigar lighter was patented (1871), Red Grange played his final game for University of Illinois and signed with the Chicago Bears (1925), the first bi-colored stamp was introduced (1952), Jack Benny on violin and Richard Nixon on piano played a duet (1959) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ArB8_CQX-U}, and the Concorde made its first flight (London to NY, 1977).
Night Sky, 11/21: d-Monocerotid Meteor shower: https://in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=20251121_10_100#google_vignette Mars and the moon are in conjunction and Earth and Uranus are in opposition.
Fraternal Picture of the Week: Above the trampoline
This Week: Saturday, November 22 – Family Volunteer Day & Humane Society Day
Sunday, November 23 – Dr Who Day & Fibonacci Day & Mother Goose Day & Stir Up Sunday
Night Sky, 11/23: The bowl of the Little Dipper slowly swings down in the evening at this time of year, left or lower left of Polaris, which holds steady due north. Most of the Little Dipper is dim. The exceptions are Polaris (its handle-end) and Kochab (the lip of its bowl). Both are 2nd magnitude. Around 10 or 11 pm, depending on your longitude within your time zone, Kochab passes exactly below Polaris. They're 16° apart, about a fist and a half. https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/observing-news/this-weeks-sky-at-a-glance-november-14-23/
Monday, November 24 – Fairy Bread Day & Celebrate Your Unique Talent Day
Tuesday, November 25 – International Hat Day & International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women Day
Night Sky, 11/25: Sunrise: 7:11 am Sunset 5:03 pm Moonrise: 4:39 am Moonset: 3:25 pm
Wednesday, November 26 – National Jukebox Day & National Mike Day & World Olive Tree Day
Thursday, November 27 - Thanksgiving
Night Sky, 11/27: Saturn ends retrograde.
My grandmother made the best sweet potatoes. She called it a yam session. [] Thanksgiving is America's national chow-down feast, the one occasion each year when gluttony becomes a patriotic duty. --Michael Dresser
Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world --John Milton
..........And every little piece of sweetness............Kris Kristofferson …..Thank You For A Life
2) The 1924 parade started at 145th Street and continued for 6 miles.
Preantepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: If Eve doomed the entire human race over an apple, what would she have done for a Klondike Bar? --Never Trust A Smiling Cat
Alascattalo Day: Dedicated to Akaskan humor: Captain Chirikov had trouble navigating the waters between Russia and Alaska; he just couldn't get his bearings straight. /\ The Texan knew she was in trouble when the Alaskan police officer asked her where she was on the night of November 14th to February 12th? /\ Alaska doesn't exist. It was all an aleutian.
Moonbeam: I put all my intelligence, such as it is, into playing dumb blondes. --Vivian Blaine
Fun Fact of the Week: World Hello Day is a secular holiday, observed annually, to express that conflicts should be resolved through communication rather than the use of force. Participants verbally greet ten people or more on that day as an expression of the importance of personal communication in preserving peace. The annual global event began to be celebrated in 1973 as a response to the Yom Kippur War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Hello_Day
Video of the Week: Goldie Hawn explains tax deductions (:37) https://www.tiktok.com/@clown_jewels/video/7358191924072713515
Take time to deliberate; but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in. --Andrew Jackson
Giving is an expression of gratitude for our blessings. --Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen
To make Thanksgiving s'mores, use Pil-grahams. [] I suppose I will die never knowing what pumpkin pie tastes like when you have room for it. --Robert Brault
..........Oh, Oh, you've been good to me............The Beatles …..Thank You Girl
3) This year the parade will run from Central Park West to Columbus Circle, onto Central Park South and south on 6th Avenue ending at 7th in front of Macy. This is a 2.5 mile route.
Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: A violin has four strings and a short neck. A fiddle has four strings and a red neck. --Adam Lee Marcus
More Advice of the Week: Ensure a happy family get-together this Thanksgiving: Stuff the turkey with cannabis.
Weird Word of the Week: Snerdle {v} To wrap up snugly beneath the blanket (and ignore the world a little longer) 18th century dialect. https://www.facebook.com/woodlarking
Dragon of the Week:
Wacky Uses for Common Products: Clean pesticides and insects from fruits and vegetables. Add one-half cup of Clorox Bleach in a sink filled with enough water to cover the fruits and vegetables. Let soak for ten minutes, and rinse clean. The chlorine bleach kills lingering bugs. https://www.wackyuses.com/wacky/clorox3.html
Fill the earth with your songs of gratitude. --Charles Spurgeon
My daughter, the baseball star, helped with Thanksgiving dinner. She was the first to
baste. [] If you stand in the meat section at the grocery store long enough, you start to get mad at turkeys. There's turkey ham, turkey bologna, turkey pastrami. Someone needs to tell the turkey, “Man, just be yourself”. --Mitch Hedberg
...........I rejoice to the skies.........Big Star …..Thank You Friends
4) The first national network TV broadcast of the Macy's Parade was in 1948.
Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Americans Agree: Epstein is evil, but at least he didn't host The Apprentice. --Submitted by TPWJS
Science
Fiction Convention of the Week: Chicago
TARDIS 2025 (28-30, Chicago area) Named by
The
Guardian as one of “the best
conventions for US Whovians” https://www.chicagotardis.com/
Thanksgiving FYI of the Week: Safe For Dogs: Sweet potatoes, turkey meat, green beans, apples (no seeds), pumpkin, carrots, and celery. Unsafe For Dogs: Mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, turkey bones or skin, casseroles, onions, and garlic. --Submitted by RHOZ
Spark of Joy of the Week: Book Store Clerk: We've moved a few things around. Travel books are in the Fantasy section, politics is in Sci-Fi, and epidemiology is in Self-Help. Good Luck!
When we focus on our gratitude, the tide of disappointment goes out and the tide of love rushes in. --Kristin Armstrong
The official Dance of Thanksgiving is the Turkey Trot. [] For those of you who cannot be with family this Thanksgiving, please resist the urge to brag. --Andy Borowitz
..........For every opportunity..........MarvinSapp …..I Thank You For It All
5) It is estimated that 3 million people watched the 2024 parade in person.
Protest Sign of the Week: The Tree Of Life Is Dying...Prune the top 1% and Feed The Roots
Quote of the Week: The colors most strongly associated with thankfulness are 1: pink (especially dark pink), which represents healt-felt appreciation, grace, and elegance. 2: Yellow which symbolizes joyful thanks and happiness. Other colors like orange, red, and brown are linked to the season of Thanksgiving and its themes of harvest and abundance. --Google AI ~~Seriously, I edited it. The words are almost verbatim but the punctuation was confusing. ~~~~There were people saying blue is the color of thanks but they didn't make a very good case for it. The words were calming, and inspirational – not gratitude.
Seasonal Suggestion of the Week: Moms, hear me out...if you purge your kids toys now instead of after Christmas, we can fill thrift stores with toys for moms looking for an affordable Christmas. --Submitted by Feral Spiritualists
Final Funniest Thing I Didn't Read of the Week: I use Apache's Open Office as my word processor. It is very “helpful” like Veronica my cat is “helpful” when I'm trying to make my bed. I can type tha and it will suggest thanksgiving. But in all the times that I have written gratitude in this ePistle, OO has never once suggested it for me. After gra it suggests grandmother and then gives up when I type the t. I think OO must have an ungrateful algorithm.
Today's Peace of History: November 21, 1981: More than 350,000 demonstrated in Amsterdam against U.S. nuclear-armed cruise missiles on European soil.
As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. --John F Kennedy
What do you call a rude turkey? Jerky [] Thanksgiving is so called because we are all so thankful that it only comes once a year. --R J O'Rouke
..........But you did, but you did..........Sam & Dave …..I Thank You
Masthead of the Week: Friday ePistle, November 21, 2025: Danke Pistle . Online at: http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/ Exclusive editor: Christine Smith. Lawrence, KS.
Moonbeam: You know, there's endorphins in laughter, as there are endorphins in running in the park. --Marlo Thomas
Cost of War:
As of 11/20/25 State Department Costs: $280,096,083,208
As of 11/13/25 State Department Costs: $279,557,889,553
As of 11/20/25 Homeland Security: $1,215,949,237,415
As of 11/13/25 Homeland Security: $1,215,353,812,751
As of 11/20/25 Interest on War Debt: $1,341,440,008,223
As of 11/13/25 Interest on War Debt: $1,339,909,903,088
As of 11/20/25 Military Costs: $3,178,186,753,179
As of 11/13/25 Military Costs: $3,177,024,239,250
As of 11/20/25 Veterans Care: $4,593,726,094,367
As of 11/13/25 Veterans Care: $4,582,120,852,877
As of 11/20/25 Total Cost of Wars: $10,609,401,387,481
As of 11/13/25 Total Cost of Wars: $10,593,958,283,468
https://www.nationalpriorities.org/cost-of/
I have always been afraid of banks. --Andrew Jackson
Famous Last Words: Alexa! Say grace.
..........The thank you's never end..........Cocomelon …..Thank You Song
Silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone. --Gertrude Stein
When are turkeys the most grateful? The day after Thanksgiving. [] I come from a family that believes gravy is a beverage. --Erma Bombeck
Be thankful for the Peace in you life
And for the Joy even more
prairie mama
christine
Last Laugh:
