Thank the ePistle

Famous First Words: Fellow Citizens... --Jefferson Davis' 2^nd Inaugural address (2/22/1862)

November is Gratitude Month! Gratitude is the wine of the soul. Go on. Get drunk. --Rumi ₲₲ I appreciate my sense of humor; it encourages me to laugh at my own bad decisions.

..........Got no checkbooks, got no banks, still I'd like to express my thanks..........Irving Berlin …..I got the sun in the morning and the moon at night

Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing. --Abraham Lincoln

It is a chilly (43°F) Friday morning. An eight mph north wind inspires the willow branches to dance a frenzied tarantella and the short foliage to sway in sympathy. A lone mourning dove nibbles sunflower seeds on the patio and the world is silent except for the occasional motorcar popping off to work or wherever. Much of the world is still green – grass, leaves, short fat hollyhock plants – but now it's mottled with yellow and brown and sometimes red leaves creating a moving abstract across the lawn. Puck has been out and back. I have my cup of doctored decaf. Veronica has come in to explain how she hasn't been fed for days and could I give her a treat. And since I get to write to you it's all in all a great morning!

Hope your weekend gives you much to be grateful for, ePistliers

First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Canada is looking through the blinds watching the crack house next door get raided. --Submitted by 98%

Gratitude is when someone else cooks while you open the wine. --Reese Witherspoon ₲₲ If you can't be content for what you have received, be thankful for what you have escaped.

..........When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed..........Johnson Oatman Jr …..Count Your Blessings

Trivia Questions: Blue Election Changes

1. What is the most incredible thing about a new blue senate?

2. What is the most incredible thing for the old Speaker of the House?

3. What was the world like before the democrats took back the House?

4. What was the world like the last time Kansas had a democratic US senator?

5. What will be the most fun about the new senate?

Big Hello: Bzia zbaşa – Abkhaz (Northwest Caucasus Mountains) https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm

Second Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: My favorite part of this fall is watching the states change colors. --sh of ??

Whatever This Is of the Week: I am so glad the election is over. Mostly so those awful ads stop. Both sides, either side, any office, any state...gone. One of the Roku channels would run positive and negative Roger Marshall/Adam Hamilton ads back to back. We heard more about people's ads and what people were paying for ads, and controversial ads, and ads with unauthorized images...than we heard about issues. If I am ever elected queen of the planet I will make a law that you can only campaign for an office for 60 days before the election. I read a suggestion that when you vote early, instead of an I Voted sticker they give you a password you put into your internet and it filters out all the political ads.

Gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder. --C K Chesterton ₲₲ We hope that, when the insects take over thew world, they will remember with gratitude how we took them along on all our picnics. --Bill Vaughn

..........The devil on the block and he lurkin'.........Lil Wayne …..Thankful

Moonbeam: People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing – that's why we recommend it daily. --Zig Ziglar

Blasphemy of the Week: God was sitting in heaven when a scientist said to Him, “Lord, we don't need you anymore. Science has finally figured out a way to create life out of nothing. In other words, we can now do what you did in the beginning.” “Oh, is that so? Tell me...” replied God. Well”, said the scientist, “we can take dirt and form it into the likeness of you and breathe life into it, thus creating man.” “Well, that's interesting. Show me.” So the scientist bent down to the earth and started to mold the soil. Oh, no, no, no....” interrupted God, “get your own dirt”. --Submitted by Wittenburg Door

Coffee Joke of the Week: Thanks, a latte!

Does this mean we get Colbert back? --Peter Sagal

Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Proof that AI is not alive. If it were alive the government wouldn't be building housing for it. https://www.facebook.com/BristolTnDems

Keep your eye on the general. Whenever she's feeling gratitudes she gives tanks. ₲₲ I feel a very unusual sensation – if it is not indigestion, I think I must be gratitude. --Benjamin Disraeli

..........But they've got nothin' on the power of this love I have for you..........Keith Urban …..Thank You

1) Incredible that we're going to have a Senate where nobody has to give a f*ck what John Fetterman thinks. --Submitted by 98%

Almanac: It is Friday, November 6^th. The moon will be new between Sunday and Monday (11/8-9) and is in Libra. Today is day one of Diwali, International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict, Marijuana Recreational Legalization Day (Colorado & Washington), National Jersey Friday, National Nachos Day, Saxophone Day, and World Town Planning Day. Because it is the first Friday in November it is also Fountain Pen Day, Love Your Lawyer Day, and National Medical Science Liaison Awareness & Appreciation Day.

Among those born on this day were Adolphe Sax (1814), John Philip Sousa (1854), James Naismith (1861), Gus Kahn (1886), Ray Conniff (1916), James Jones (1921), Zig Ziglar (1926), Mike Nichols (1931), Sally Field (1946), Glenn Frey (1948), Maria Shriver (1955), Ethan Hawke (1970), Rebecca Romijn (1972), and Emma Stone (1988).

On November sixth Abraham Lincoln was elected president of the United States (1860), Jefferson Davis was elected president of the Confederate States of America (1861), the first US train was robbed (1866), the American Library Association was organized (1876), Gandhi was arrested in South Africa (1913), The Bolshevik Revolution began (1917), the Challenger space shuttle landed at Edward Air Force Base (1985), Russia outlawed the Communist Party (1991), the Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore, MD (1995), Barack Obama defeated Mitt Romney (2012), and Sharice Davids (KS) & Deb Haaland (NM) became the first Native American women elected to the US House of Representatives (2018).

Night Sky, 11/6: The Southern Taurid meteor shower is still active. The moon is nearly dark so the meteors should be easy to spot. ...only 5 or so per hour but beautiful big fireballs.

Fraternal Picture of the Week: The boys in the same car at the same time at different seasons

This Week: Saturday, November 7 – Bison day & International Cake Day & Notary Public Day & Sadie Hawkins Day

Sunday, November 8 – Abet and Aid Punsters Day & Dunce Day & National STEM/STEAM Day

Night Sky, 11/8: New Moon for this lunar cycle will occur at 11/9 at 2:02 am and is in Scorpio.

Monday, November 9 – Kristallnacht & World Freedom Day & Adoption Day

Tuesday, November 10 – Diwali final day & Sesame Street Day & World Science Day for Peace and Development

Wednesday, November 11 – Minute of Gratitude Day & Armistice Day & Origami Day & Veterans' Day

Night Sky, 11/11: Great Square of Pegasus, Andromeda, and Cassiopeia are visible in the north. Perseus and Double Cluster are in the northeast. Capella and Pleiades with Hyades are to the east

Thursday, November 12 – Fancy Rat & Mouse Day & World Pneumonia Day

Former Olympic skier Picabo Street donated money to a local hospital. In gratitude, the hospital named their emergency ward after her-- it's now the Picabo ICU. ₲₲ Enough is a feast. --Buddha ₲₲ We cannot feel thankful and unhappy at the same time.

..........for letting me be myself again.........Sly & the Family Stone …..Thank You

2) Mike Johnson, current speaker of the house, will no longer have to lay awake nights thinking up lies about how honest the Trump family is...or how well the war is going...

Preantepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Did you know 65 million years ago the first dinosaur T-shirt Boutique opened? It was called “Try Sarah's Tops”. --Submitted by Catsonacouch

Moonbeam: When the world is so complicated, the simple gift of friendship is within all our hands. --Maria Shriver

Video of the Week: Called the greatest saxophone solo ever Raphel Ravenscroft: Baker Street https://www.facebook.com/reel/1093430696002483 (:37)

We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution. --Abraham Lincoln

An alien crash lands on earth but is still alive and the scientist helps him fix the spaceship so he can go back home. As a sign of gratitude, the alien tells the scientist that he will answer him a single question, whatever it is or however it's formulated. As the alien is about to take off, the scientist finally comes up with a question. "What is the best question that I could possibly ask you in this situation and what is the answer to it?", the scientist asks. "The best question is the one you just asked, and the answer to it is the one I just gave you", says the alien and flies away ₲₲

..........For giving me the best day of my life..........Dido …..Thank You

3) Eight years of a republican House of Representatives. You realize, the last time the Democrats had this much power in Congress, there were only 2 Transformer movies and Harvey Weinstein only looked like a creep. --Trevor Noah

Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Well, we gained an hour of sleep,..but lost the will to do anything after 5 pm. Happy Daylight Savings Time. --Submitted by ks of ks

Weird Word of the Week: Agathism: (n) The belief in the ultimate triumph of good over evil. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/meditation-for-modern-life/202607/the-philosophy-of-agathism

Dragon of the Week:

Wacky Uses for Common Products: Store thumb tacks. Fill a clean, empty Coke bottle with thumb tacks. Need a tack? Turn the bottle on an angle. It dispenses only a few tacks at t atime. With the cap on the bottle, you never have to worry about spilling tacks again. https://www.wackyuses.com/wacky/cocacola4.html ~~This is pushing it, I think. Almost any bottle or jar with a removable lid would do the same thing.

Gratitude is knowing every bad hair day eventually ends with a hat. ₲₲ I'm thankful for my brothers; they are/were the only people who could annoy me and make me laugh at the same time.

...........Freedom in your stride, love, and peace of mind.........Earth Wind Fire …..Gratitude

4) 1938: The last time Kansas sent a democrat to the US Senate was the year before The Wizard of Oz was played in theaters.

Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: English Teacher: A person who puts more thoughts into the novel than the original author did. --Submitted by LanguageNerds

The Many Beat The Money! --iwillnotbesilenced.bsky.social

Extra Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Governing by tantrum has resulted in Donald Trump holding his breath until America turned blue. https://www.facebook.com/middleageriot

Spark of Joy of the Week:

Gratitude is like a good pair of socks – comforting and slightly mismatched. ₲₲ I am grateful for my teachers and all the other teachers too; they can find red pens in a black hole.

..........Me has bendecido con tu gracia............Ozuna …..Gracias

5) JD Vance – the man without a personality – will have to swear in all those fresh, new democratic senators.

Protest Sign of the Week: JD Vance Puts His Cast Iron Skillet In The Dishwasher

Quote of the Week: When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around. --Willie Nelson

Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: We're in a giant car heading towards a brick wall and everyone's arguing over where they're going to sit. --David Suzuki https://www.facebook.com/groups/286366068793713/

Today's Peace of History: November 6, 1986: Although an American plane with supplies for the Nicaraguan contra insurgents had been shot down the previous month, and a Lebanese newspaper reported that the US government had arranged for the sale of weapons to Iran, President Ronald Reagan denied involvement (“. . . a story that came out of the Middle East, and that to us has no foundation ...”) in what came to be known as the Iran-Contra scandal. Both the ongoing aid to the contras and the weapons sales to Iran were violations of US law.

Gratitude is like gravy, put it on everything. ₲₲ I'm grateful for the Wi-Fi; without it, I'd actually have to talk to my family.

..........When my bankroll is getting small, I think of when I had none at all.........Bing Crosby …..Count Your Blessings

Masthead of the Week: Friday ePistle, November 6, 2026: Thank the ePistle. Online at: http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/ Exclusive editor: Christine Smith. Lawrence, KS.

Moonbeam: Basketball doesn't build character, it reveals it. --James Naismith

Cost of War: Pentagon Spending 11/05/26: 1,118,729,553,901

Nineteen billion, four hundred and ninety-nine million, one hundred and seventy-five thousand, one hundred and seventy-four dollars spent on war this week.

Pentagon Spending 11/1/26: $1,105,912,568,197

Pentagon Spending 10/29/26: $1,099,230,378,727.

Peace cannot be bullied into existence. --Ali Jarbawi

Pentagon Spending in October 2026: $85,210,317,032

Pentagon Spending in September 2026: $83,835,546,693

Pentagon Spending in August 2026: $89,089,647,361

Pentagon Spending in July 2026: $85,053,017,282

Pentagon Spending in June 2026: $82,621,957,422

Pentagon Spending in May 2026: $87,601,145,719

Pentagon Spending in April 2026: $81,264,897,194

https://www.nationalpriorities.org/cost-of/

You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today. --Abraham Lincoln

Famous Last Words: Let somebody love you before it's too late. --Glenn Frey Desperado

..........And traffic jams and anagrams and bills we never paid.........Bob Hope …..Thanks for the Memories

November is also Georgia Pecan Month – so there's that to be thankful for too. ₲₲ Even though we can't have all we want, we ought to be thankful we don't get what we deserve.

May Peace give you grace

And Joy give you gratitude

prairie mama

christine

Last Laugh:

ePistle Boo

Famous First Words: The apparition of these faces in the crowd... --Ezra Pound In a Station of the Metro

Happy All Hallow's Eve Eve! I'll try to stay grounded, but my broom may have other plans. 🎃 My cauldron and I can brew some really amazing..uh...tea. 🎃 Did the Petrified Forest get that way because ghosts scared the trees?

..........On a misbegotten, moonless night..........Don Henley …..Miss Ghost

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. --Anne Frank

It is a cloudy Friday morning. There is a light breeze from the south encouraging the willow branches to dance and the mulberry leaves to fly. The foliage is slowly moving from greens to yellows and even reds. There are trees around wearing lush fall colors, but my backyard is still mostly green. The tall plants – hollyhocks, pokeweed – have been mowed and the baby mulberry trees along the fence have been trimmed to the ground. The world smells dry and dusty – not at all like pumpkin spice. The sun is only now lighting up the sky which seems to be a solid bank of clouds without much texture. Birds are up and active in the 60°F air, chirping and cawing and peeping. Puck and Veronica have both been out and returned. Puck is napping under my desk and Veronica has gone to other parts of the house to do cat business – whatever that is. I am sipping decaf and writing to you; can't ask for more than that.

May your weekend be filled with unexpected magic moments, my little goblins.

First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: After weeks of rioting in Paris no one has been killed. Which technically means your child is safer attending a riot in France than school in America. --martinldart --Submitted by cjj of ks

The Leaky Cauldron Inn is known for its great broom service. 🎃 Don't be afraid, the spider is much smaller than you are. Yeah, so is a grenade. 🎃

..........His candle just at twelve o'clock began to burn quite palely..........Kingston Trio …..Unfortunate Miss Bailey

Trivia Questions: Blessed Samhain!

1. What percentage of people in the US claim that Halloween is their favorite holiday?

2. What is the heaviest pumpkin ever recorded?

3. How much do we spend on Halloween costumes for our pets?

4. What word or phrase did children use on Halloween before “Trick or Treat” became fashionable?

5. What happened to trick-or-treating during WWII?

Big Hello: nuqneH – Klingon https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm

Second Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Have a panic attack. You've earned it. --Dave Tarnowski

Image of the Week:

First Get Out and Vote Item of the Week: Willie Nelson Vote 'Em Out (2:20) ~~Submitted by sw of ks

My secret to successful potions is using only organically grown children. 🎃 When I was a kid I was afraid of the dark. Now that I pay my own electricity bill, I'm afraid of the light. 🎃

..........Tryin' to catch the Devil's herd, across these endless skies.........Marty Robbins ….Ghost Riders In The Sky

Moonbeam: Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. --John Adams

Blasphemy of the Week: Hell is probably just a group chat that you can't leave.--Submitted by Blasphemy Memes

Coffee Joke of the Week: Some people call 5 cups of coffee a problem. I call it a start. https://www.facebook.com/groups/CoffeeMemes4Life

More Get Out and Vote Item of the Week: Bette Midler: All You Fascists Bound To Lose “We're gonna win the midterms, we're coming for his ass”

Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Transylvania Wireless is offering their latest new phone. It comes with unlimited hex messaging. --Lennon Cartoons

The fish at Martha's Vineyard are all afraid of Giovanni Godfather, he's such a notorious Lobster 🎃 Winnie Witch had twin girls. The problem is one never knows which witch is which. 🎃

..........walk, walk, walk, walk.........Roky Erickson …..I Walked With A Zombie

1) 23% of people in the US say that Halloween is their favorite holiday.

Almanac: It is Friday, October 30, 2026. The moon enters its first quarter on Sunday (11/1) and is in Cancer. Today is Checklist Day, Create A Great Funeral Day, Devil's Night aka Mischief Night, National Candy Corn Day, National Publicist Day, National Uplift Someone Day, National WICKED Day, Speak Up For Service Day, World Audio Drama Day, and Haunted Refrigerator Night. Because it is the last Friday it is also Frankenstein Friday, International Bandanna Day, National Breadstix (Bread Sticks) Day, and National Pharmacy Buyer Day.

Among those born on this day were Christopher Columbus (1451), John Adams (1735), Richard Sheridan (1751), Feodor Dostoevsky (1821), Ezra Pound (1885), Ruth Gordon (1896), Louis Malle (1932), Grace Slick (1939), Henry Winkler (1945), Harry Hamlin (1951), Charles Martin Smith (1953), Ben Bailey (1970), and Ivanka Trump (1981).

On October thirtieth King Charles I gave Robert Heath the Bahamas (1692), Jane Austen's first novel was published (Sense & Sensibility, 1811), Barnum's Greatest Show On Earth debuted (1873), Welles' War of the Worlds broadcast panicked the nation (1938), Anne Frank was transferred from Auschwitz to Belsen (1944), shoe rationing ended in the US (1945), the US military desegregated (1954), Stalin's body was removed from Red Square (1961), Dolly Parton released her debut single (The Last Thing On My Mind, 1967), and former Trump campaign chairman & associate Rick Gates indicted on fraud charged (2017).

Night Sky, 10/30: The Orion Nebula (M42) is visible late night & predawn sky. Also the moon approaches Dwarf planet Ceres.

Fraternal Picture of the Week: Halloween in Bremerton...

This Week: Saturday, October 31 – Samhain & All Hallows Eve & Magic Day & National UNICEF Day

Sunday, November 1 – All Saints Day & Cinnamon Day & Extra Mile Day & National Family Literacy Day & Plan Your Epitaph Day

Night Sky, 11/1: Daylight Savings Time Ends at 2 am. Set your clock back one hour. ~~We'll be turning our clocks back soon. Gaining an extra hour in 2026 is like getting a bonus track on a Yoko Ono album. --Submitted by cjj of ks Jupiter shines in the morning sky. Mars is moving through Cancer toward the Beehive Cluster. Saturn will be visible into the evening hours.

Monday, November 2 – All Souls Day & Color the World Orange Day & Job Action Day

Tuesday, November 3 – Election Day & Cliché Day & Public Television Day & World Jellyfish Day

Night Sky, 11/3: The Square of Pegasus, the Double Cluster in Perseus, & the Andromeda Galaxy grace the night sky.

Wednesday, November 4 – International Stress Awareness Day & Use Your Common Sense Day

Thursday, November 5 – Firewood Day & National Medical Cannabis Day & Play Monopoly Day

Night Sky, 11/5: Sunrise: 6:52 am Sunset: 5:16 pm 10 hours and 24 minutes of daylight. Moonrise: 3:11 am Moonset 3:14 pm

If the broom fits, ride it. 🎃 Don't be frightened but Halloween 2026 is on Friday the 13 for the first time in 666 years. 🎃

..........I'll show you my dark secret.........The Toadies …..Possum Kingdom

2) This very month (10/26) a pumpkin weighing 3,156 pounds was grown by Ron Wallace. It is the first pumpkin to weigh in over 3,000 pounds since they started keeping track.

Preantepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Any stairway can be a stairway to heaven if you're clumsy enough. --Submitted by cp of ks

Moonbeam: Power is given only to those who dare to lower themselves to pick it up. Only one thing matters, one thing: to be able to dare! --Fyodor Dostoevsky

More II Get Out the Vote Item of the Week: Jon Stewart 10/27/26 For God's sake get out and vote.

Fun Fact of the Week: People with very young babies or very old dogs spend half their time worrying about the strange breathing noises they make and the other half worrying because they aren't making the strange breathing noises.

Video of the Week: Disney's first Silly Symphony: The Skeleton Dance (5:53)

In the long run, the sharpest weapon of all is a kind and gentle spirit. --Anne Frank

At Dracula's Used Furniture there are 3 wall mirrors with “Never Used” written on the price tag. 🎃 When you called and asked me to “check the children”, I thought it was a crank call, then I remembered … the oven. 🎃

..........You look like Boris Karloff and you don't even care.........Tom Petty …..Zombie Zoo

3) According to the National Retail Federation, Americans are projected to spend $92 billion on pet costumes in 2026 .

Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Satan gets blamed for an impressive amount of stuff people clearly thought up all by themselves. --Submitted by Blasphemy Memes

Weird Word of the Week: Callipygian: Having beautifully shaped buttocks. https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/callipygian ~~Teach it to Trump; it will class up his rambles about asses.

Dragon of the Week: The All Hallows Dragon

Wacky Uses for Common Products: Sepia tone photographs. Place the photographs (color or black and white) in a tray of some Coca-Cola, let soak for two minutes, carefully rinse the photographs in a tray of water, and dry the pictures (pat them with a dry towel and then use a blow-dryer set on high). The photos will turn a nice shade of sepia, the color that makes old photos look so warm. https://www.wackyuses.com/wacky/cocacola4.html

Retro Get Out the Vote Item of the Week: 2020 with the muppets and others Amusing (2:03)

When Walter Witch's broom broke, he had to witch hike. 🎃 My toddler was scared of the thunder so I told her it was just the sky farting. Now she giggles when she hears it. Sometimes all you need is a rebrand. 🎃

...........I'm a black bat, baby, bangin' on your window pane.........Neil Young …..Vampire Blues

4) Trick or Treat was not the original phrase children would shout to receive candy. Instead they yelled, “Belsnickel” The first recorded use of “Trick or Treat” was 1927 in Blackie, Alberta.

Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I just realized that the reason ghosts say Boo is because it's a Latin verb. They're literally saying I alarm/I am alarming/I do alarm!! If it comes from the latin word, they're actually saying I'M YELLING which is even cuter. Do ghosts speak Latin because it's a dead language?

Science Fiction Convention of the Week: VillainsCon 2026 (31-1, Beaufort, SC) Get ready for an action-packed weekend... https://www.villainsconbeaufort.org/

Question of the Week: If poison is past its expiry date, is it more poisonous or is it no longer poisonous?

Another Get Out the Vote Item of the Week: 2026 Workout video with Jane Fonda. Exercise Your Rights (1:29)

People in Iran are afraid of spiders. But in Iraq, no phobia. 🎃 When Wanda Witch met Dracula she said, “You're a pain in the neck, but I love your coffindence.” 🎃

..........And it vanished in the air..........Grateful Dead …..Friend Of The Devil

5) In 1941 the US government rationed sugar because of the war. Each person was allowed 28 lbs over the course of a year. In 1945 it was reduced first to 20 lbs and then 15 lbs per person per year. For Halloween people handed out fruit, coins, or nothing at all.

Protest Song of the Week: Grifting Along With The Bumbling Trumpleweeds by Roy Zimmerman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNdefi2os7k

Quote of the Week: It's not the world that was my oppressor, because what the world does to you, if it does it long enough and effectively enough, you begin to do to yourself. --James Baldwin

Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: We were at a Halloween Haunted House last week. I walked into a room and there was a dead body on the floor. YOUR NEXT was written in blood on the wall. I was shivering, but I couldn't help myself, I dipped my finger in the blood and wrote YOU'RE. --Submitted by LanguageNerds

Today's Peace of History: October 30, 1995: Over 80 people were arrested at Sugarloaf Mountain in southern Oregon during a massive direct action to prevent clear-cutting of old-growth forests on public land by private timber companies.

Wesley Witch lives in DC. He has gotten very tired of being picked up by every politician on a witch hunt. 🎃 That mathematician who's scared of negative numbers will stop at nothing to avoid them. 🎃

..........They think it's Red Grange instead of poor Ann Boylen...Kingston Trio …..With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm

Masthead of the Week: Friday ePistle, October 30, 2026: ePistle Boo. Online at: http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/ Exclusive editor: Christine Smith. Lawrence, KS.

Moonbeam: A bumper of good liquor will end a contest quicker than justice, judge, or vicar. --Richard Brinsley Sheridan

Cost of War: Pentagon Spending 10/29/26: $1,099,230,378,727. That's nineteen billion, five hundred and thirty-five million, six hundred and forty thousand, seven hundred and fifty-nine dollars spent this week on fear and hatred.

Pentagon Spending 10/1/26: $1,020,702,251,165

The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war. --Norman Schwarzkopf

Pentagon Spending in September 2026: $83,835,546,693

Pentagon Spending in August 2026: $89,089,647,361

Pentagon Spending in July 2026: $85,053,017,282

Pentagon Spending in June 2026: $82,621,957,422

Pentagon Spending in May 2026: $87,601,145,719

Pentagon Spending in April 2026: $81,264,897,194

https://www.nationalpriorities.org/cost-of/
Retro II Get Out and Vote Item of the Week: I think it's 2018, but I'm not sure. Unfortunately it's still relevant. Rock The Vote (3:26)

Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart. --Anne Frank

Famous Last Words: So goodbye everybody, and remember the terrible lesson you learned tonight. --Orson Welles ...as the radio narrator for War of the Worlds

..........Oh, how the ghost of you clings.........Ella Fitzgerald …..These Foolish Things

When the indigenous Mexican was scared, he hid in Hispanic Room. 🎃 It never fails, my pumpkins don't just get drunk they get smashed 🎃 Turns out, I'm 100% That witch.

May Peace haunt your days

And Joy frequent your nights

prairie mama

christine

Last Laugh:

Higgs' ePistle

Famous First Words: I, Clarence Thomas, swear … Justice Thomas swore his oath on 10/20/1991

This is Nuclear and National Nuclear Science Week. It is also Disarmament Week. Have you seen Dr. Strangelove? Have you learned to love the bomb? ??? The most terrifying word in nuclear physics is Oops. ???

..........There's strontium , and silicon, and silver, and samarium..........Tom Lehrer …..The Elements

To serve the state is to serve the future, for a man’s legacy is defined not by the honors he receives, but by the stability he builds for others --Marcus Agrippa

It is a beautiful Friday morning. The 53°F temperature is cool and inviting; the nearly cloudless sky is a vibrant blue and filled with a plague of grackles challenging a duo of squirrels for peanuts. I hear crows in the distance too. Noise levels are off the charts. There is a light eastern breeze and birds, too far away for me to be sure what kind, are rocking on the willow branches and keeping watch over the neighborhood. Puck and Veronica have been out and have returned. Puck is sleeping and snoring under my desk and Veronica has disappeared into the house. I am sipping doctored decaf and writing to you. Wow, what a great morning it is.

Hope your weekend is both peaceful and electric, my sweet little collections of atoms.

First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Fruits that do not live up to their names: passionfruit, grapefruit, honeydew, dragonfruit. Fruits that do live up to their names: orange. --Submitted by LanguageNerds

When building an atomic bomb, I always use grandma's secret recipe. ??? Particle Board: The designated group of scientists who name tiny things inside atoms.

..........Higgs, Higgs, Glorious Higgs.........Danuta Orlowska & the CERN Choir …..The Particle Physics Song

Trivia Questions: Clarence Thomas has been on the Supreme Court 35 years today.

1. Where was he born?

2. How many black justices came before him?

3. Before “Law” what did he study?

4. What legal experience did he have when he was nominated?

5. Who nominated him for the supreme court?

Big Hello: Bon Dia! -Interlingua https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm

Second Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I just found out that Albert Einstein was a real person! All this time I thought he was a theoretical physicist. --Submitted by LanguageNerds

Image of the Week: Dashiell and I went to vote today (10/20) and then went out for breakfast. We arrived a little after 9. The parking lot was full; there were lots of people but no line. A helpful usher pointed us right to open check-in spots and my check-in lady was very helpful. There were 6 or so check-in desks. There were plenty of spots open in the booths. They even had a booth where you could sit in a chair. Altogether it took under 10 minutes. I saw a post suggesting that the early voters could be Republicans. I certainly didn't take an exit poll as I left; but the people voting seemed happy to be there which suggests to me Democrat, but I could be wrong. We had breakfast at Wheatfields. I had the delicious breakfast burrito and Dashiell had biscuits and gravy. Thank you to the Douglas County, KS Election Office.

Whatever This Is of the Week: If you take all the machinery in the world and dump it in the ocean, within months more than half of all humanity will die and within another six months they'd almost all be gone; if you took all the politicians in the world, put them in a rocket. And send them to the moon, everyone would get along fine. --R Bunckminster Fuller

While driving home do nuclear physicists worry whether they turned the atom smasher off before they left work? ??? The difference between the orange pedophile and a rabid dog is that the dog has no nuclear weapons.

..........We are billion year old carbon..........Crosby Stills & Nash …..Woodstock

Moonbeam: I am certain there is too much certainty in the world. --Michael Crichton

Blasphemy of the Week: “God works in mysterious ways” has survived for centuries because, apparently, “we have no idea” needed better branding. --Submitted by Blasphemy Memes

Coffee Joke of the Week: Coffee doesn't fix everything but it does add a tiny emotional handrail to the staircase of nonsense. --Submitted by MTCBWY

Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: If you ever feel useless, remember it took 20 years, trillions of dollars, and 4 US presidents to replace the Taliban with the Taliban. --Norman Finkelstein --Submitted by cjj of lfk

We're attacking Iran because they have nuclear weapons. Why don't you attack Russia then? Are you crazy? They have nuclear weapons. ??? I set up a small nuclear power plant in my garage. It was running well until I got busted – by the fish and game warden – for not having a fission license.

..........Gravity, stay the hell away from me.........John Mayer …..Gravity

1) Thomas was born in a small town outside of Savannah, GA. In 1948. His father deserted the family 2 years later. So Clarence was sent to live with his maternal grandfather.

Almanac: It is Friday, October 23. The moon will be new on Monday (10/26) and is in Aries. Today is International Stuttering Awareness Day, Make A Dog's Day, National Tavern Style Pizza Day, National Tex Mex Day, and Smart is Cool Day.

Among those born on this day were Marcus Agrippa (63 BCE), Samuel Morey (1762), John Heisman (1869), Gummo Marx (1892), Felix Bloch (1905), Gertrude Ederle (1906), Bob Montana (1920), Johnny Carson (1925), Pelé (1940), Michael Crichton (1942), Billy Talbot (1944), Ernie Watts (1945), Ang Lee (1954), Dwight Yoakum (1956), Weird Al Yankovic (1959), Robert Trujillo (1964), Sanjay Gupta (1969), and Ryan Reynolds (1976).

On October twenty-third King Charles II revoked the Massachusetts Bay Charter (1684), Congress barred blacks from service in the army (1775)**, the first US National Women's Rights convention opened (1850), the final day of the Battle of Westport (MO) was fought (1864), the New Orleans mint reopened its assay office (1876), 25,000 women marched in NYC demanding the vote (1915), Dumbo was released (1941), Pasternak won the Nobel for Literature (1958), Gabelich set an auto speed record 662.4 mph/1,002 kph (1970), 90% of women in Iceland strike for a day for equal pay (1975), Kosygin resigned as Soviet Premier (1980), Iraq released 330 French hostages (1990), and Justice Clarence Thomas was sworn in as US Supreme Court Justice (1991).

** Wait, wasn't Crispus Attucks the first man shot in the Revolutionary War? A mulatto, Crispus was not in the army but was one of a group of townsmen who brought clubs and sticks to a gunfight.

Night Sky, 10/23: Predawn Orionid meteor shower. https://www.space.com/stargazing/meteor-showers/the-orionid-meteor-shower-peaks-oct-21-22-2026-heres-what-to-expect

Retro Fraternal Picture of the Week: From 2022

This Week: Saturday, October 24 – Accountant's Day & Make A Difference Day & United Nations Day

Sunday, October 25 – International Artists Day & Sourest Day & Mother-in-law Day

Night Sky, 10/25: The big constellation overhead is The Northern Triangle. The bright stars are Vega (aka Alpha Lyrae), Lyra (the Harp) and Aquila (The Eagle).

Monday, October 26 – Mule Day & National Day of the Deployed & Howl at the Moon Night

Tuesday, October 27 – Black Cat Day & National Civics Day & National Mentoring Day

Wednesday, October 28 – Childcare Superhero Day & National Chocolate Day & National First Responders Day

Night Sky, 10/28: Sunrise: 7:43 am Sunset: 6:254 pm 10 hours and 42 minutes of sunlight. Moonset: 10:45 am Moonrise: 8:04 pm

Thursday, October 29 – Internet Day & National Hermit Day & Snowmobile Day

What's the difference between a nuclear-ravaged wasteland and Hong Kong? The amount Xi has been drinking. ??? Scientists in Hawaii are working on a non-weapon nuclear device, code name: Nukeulele.

..........Won't slow down, won't slow down.........Pegboard Nerds …..Speed of Light

2) Thomas was the second negro on the supreme court. Thurgood Marshall (Brown v Board of Education) was the first.

Preantepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I'm going to start telling men they are dressed like rapists. And when they get offended I'll tell them they need to learn how to take a joke. https://www.facebook.com/NationalNOW

Moonbeam: People never ask people doing serious music, “Do you ever think about doing funny music?” --Weird Al Yankovic

On a scale of Cheech to Chong how high are you right now?

Non So Fun Fact of the Week: The Doomsday Clock is set at 85 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been to global catastrophe in its history.

Video of the Week Pink Elephants On Parade From Dumbo, (2:00)

When the republic demands your hands, you give them without hesitation, for the cost of inaction is always higher than the cost of sacrifice. --Marcus Agrippa

The obnoxious tactical nuclear weapon called dynamite, Boomer. ??? Yes, she stole energy from the museum. She's a Joule thief.

..........And I know why they taught us math in school.........Eden …..Space

3) Thomas entered Conception Seminary with the idea of becoming a Catholic priest, but struggled with the passive stance of the church on racial justice. So he transferred to Holy Cross where he got a degree in English Literature.

Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: As I get older I realize I don't look good in certain things anymore...like photos and mirrors for example. --Submitted by jm of ks

Weird Word of the Week: Pernoctate – to stay up or out all night https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/pernoctate

Dragon of the Week: Nuclear Dragon Patrol Badge

Wacky Uses for Common Products: Bake moist brownies. Substitute Coca-Cola for water in brownie recipes. The brownies come out moist and delicious (thanks to the caramel flavoring). https://www.wackyuses.com/wacky/cocacola4.html

Bret the biologist broke up with Phyllis the physicist. There was no chemistry. ??? The Secretary of Defense is so bad at this job. When he was in high school he launched a weapon of math destruction at his calculus teacher.

...........I swear I can see atoms split.........Annabella Dinda …..Nuclear Fission

4) Thomas attended Yale Law School. After passing the bar in Missouri in 1974, he worked in the office of the Missouri Attorney General and then for the campaign of Senator John Danforth. Regean appointed him to the Employment Opportunity Commission.

Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Shawn: (yawns) I'm tired. Shaun: (yauns) me too. Sean: (yeans) and me. --The Language Nerds

Science Fiction Convention of the Week: GalaxyCon 20236 (23-25, St Louis, MO) Festival of Fandom...and People Like You https://galaxycon.com/pages/galaxycon-st-louis

Second Cousin Once Removed of Whatever This Is of the Week: My brother was a physicist. He taught his kids to sing “My Old Man's A Physcist”. Ah, the ever amusing life of the scientist. So one day I read that some scientists in Australia (I think) had found a minor exception to the general theory of relativity. So I asked him, did that mean we could take back the bomb. And he said, “no, and they will probably build something even worse from this discovery”. I've never heard any more in the media since. So it turned out to be not true or to not make any difference or they haven't worked out the math yet or worldwide, scientists are keeping it a secret so the people who would build the weapon won't hear about it.

Spark of Joy of the Week: Denmark installed red LED street lights near bat habitats because bats are less sensitive to red light. Their activity reportedly returned to normal almost immediately, while drivers could still see the road clearly. --Submitted by FNOG

Kim Jong-Un likes nukes so much they're already calling him Fallout Boy. ??? I am a Nuclear Technologist! Don't Argue! Just explain why I'm right.

..........We'll try to stay serene and calm when Alabama gets the bomb..........Tom Lehrer …..Who's Next

5) George H W Bush nominated Thomas, who has barely one year of judiciary experience, to the court in 1991. He replaced Thurgood Marshall.

Protest Sign of the Week: Clean Up In Aisle 47

Quote of the Week: All governments lie, but disaster lies in wait for countries whose officials smoke the same hashish they give out. --I F Stone --Submitted by Fractal Enlightenment

Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Protestors are being criticized for looting businesses without forming a Private Equity Firm first. --The Onion bit.ly/2AeYOzK

Today's Peace of History: October 23, 1947: The NAACP filed formal charges with the United Nations accusing the United States of racial discrimination. "An Appeal to the World," edited by W.E.B. DuBois, was a factual study of the denial of the right to vote, and grievances against educational discrimination and lack of other social rights. This appeal spurred President Truman to create a civil rights commission.

After the discovery of “antimatter” and “dark matter”, we have just confirmed the existence of “doesn't matter”, which does not have any influence on the universe whatsoever. ??? I've heard that yellow cake was the only dessert they served to the Manhattan Project members.

..........Physics answers for free.........Physishipp …..Vertical Motion

Masthead of the Week: Friday ePistle, October 23, 2026: Higgs' ePistle . Online at: http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/ Exclusive editor: Christine Smith. Lawrence, KS.

Moonbeam: Wherever you go, there are three icons that everyone knows: Jesus Christ, Pelé, and Coca-Cola. --Pelé

Cost of War: Pentagon Spending 10/22/26: $1,079,694,737,968

This week's total: we spent nineteen billion, six hundred and fifty-eight million, eight hundred and seven thousand, five hundred and ninety dollars for war.

Pentagon Spending 10/15/26: $1,060,035,930,378

Pentagon Spending 10/8/26: $1,040,766,835,854

Pentagon Spending 10/1/26: $1,020,702,251,165

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other. -Mother Teresa

Pentagon Spending in September 2026: $83,835,546,693

Pentagon Spending in August 2026: $89,089,647,361

Pentagon Spending in July 2026: $85,053,017,282

Pentagon Spending in June 2026: $82,621,957,422

Pentagon Spending in May 2026: $87,601,145,719

Pentagon Spending in April 2026: $81,264,897,194

https://www.nationalpriorities.org/cost-of/

True service requires the shedding of personal ambition in favor of the greater good, a task that few men possess the strength to undertake -Marcus Agrippa

Famous Last Words: And I bid you a very heartfelt good night. --Johnny Carson ...signing off his last Tonight Show May 22, 1992

..........We go 'round every two hundred million years.........Monty Python …..The Universe Song

The most terrifying word at NORAD is Oops. ??? We were studying frequency in physics class today. Now my brain Hertz.

May you have classical Peace

And quantum Joy

prairie mama

christine

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