Famous First Words: High up in the north... Henrik van Loon The Story of Mankind 1922 winner of the Newbery Award
Happy National Onion Day!!! Medical Experts Hopeful That Gene Editing Will Soon Allow Sick Kids To Have Super Weird Pets. --The Onion <> Kristi Noem: Sen Padilla had an even deadlier opinion that failed to go off. --The Onion
Justice is what love looks like in public. --Cornel West
..........The magic spell you cast..........Louis Armstrong …..La Vie En Rose ~~Happy International Rose Day
Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. --Helen Keller
It is a calm Friday morning. It is only 6 am and the world is neither light nor dark. The air is filled with bird song with the wren's “chewy, chewy, chewy” being dominant. But other singers for which I have no names also contribute to this welcoming of another day. The yard wants mowing and smells of yesterday's rain, musky and damp. Veronica sits in the doorway which is open just wide enough for a cat to sit and enjoy the birdsong and the morning. The temperature is a cool 73°F which is a great relief from the recent heat. The sky is pale and white with small puffs of clouds here and there. The sun has not yet reached over the horizon to spread the blue. The wrens have moved on – I still hear them at a distance, but it is the rumble of the coffee pot and the smell of coffee wafting in from the kitchen that fills up my senses...and pucks sleepy snorts as well. The line from Joni Mitchell's Chelsea Morning comes to mind, “let's put on the day and wear it 'til the night comes.” Now, just as the sun has risen enough to brighten the very top of the tall willow with sunglow, I'm going to take a break and doctor up a cup of that coffee and send out this ePistle before 7 am. Love you all
Hope your weekend comes up roses, my beautiful flowers
First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Humanity: The answer to the question nobody remembers asking. --Submitted by 42 Collective
Actual Business of the Week: My nephew Jeffrey Miller (see below) died last weekend. He lived on disability and had no savings. It will take just under $2,000 to have him cremated. If you can help with this expense it would be much appreciated. It is our intention to spread his ashes over the grave of his great grandparents, Vivan and Edgar Hendrix, at the Maple Hill cemetery in Kansas City, KS. His grandmother, Julie Bray's ashes and his mother, Vivian Miller's ashes have been spread there and he will be the third generation. It is a peaceful place with the sound of horses neighing and trains running in the distance. Anything will help. Christine Smith, 2511 Morningside Dr, Lawrence, KS 66047. I thank you and 4 generations thank you.
...like he hadn't just stapled a “Mission Accomplished” sign to a gas can...
Iran Worried US Might Be Building 9,500th Nuclear Weapon. --The Onion <> Protesters urged not to give the administration a pretext for what it's already doing. --The Onion
Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding. --Albert Einstein
..........This life has many shades..........Dropkick Murphys …..Rose Tattoo
Trivia Questions: Happy National Sunglasses Day!
How old are sunglasses?
What were the first colored lenses used for?
How often is a pair of sunglasses lost, sat upon, or broken?
What percentage of sunglasses sold actually protect the eyes?
Who or what is Luxottica?
Big Hello: Ciau – Sicilian https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm
Ironing boards are just surf boards that gave up their dreams and got real jobs.
Second Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Remember to drink lots of water and stay indoors between 11:00 am and November 1st. --Submitted by INRITH
Image of the Week: Sign with flowers and candle from the No War On Iran candlelight vigil held last Sunday night in Lawrence. The photographer is unknown.
The National Weather Service has just published instructions on how to bake lasagna in your mailbox. https://www.facebook.com/groups/153447825273402/
Insult of the Week: He is simply a hole in the air. --George Orwell The Lion & the Unicorn
Texas bans consensual sex. --The Onion <> Death Star To Open DayCare Center. --The Onion
Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable. --John F Kennedy
..........So smile for a while and let's be jolly.........Lynn Anderson …..I Never Promised You A Rose Garden
Moonbeam: If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal. --Emma Goldman
Blasphemy of the Week: If love is the threat, maybe it's the system that needs disarming. --Submitted by NakedPastor
Coffee Joke of the Week: I had to stop letting my pet kangaroo drink coffee. It was making her way too jumpy.
Elon Musk is such a bad father even his AI children don't respect him.
Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: (8/20) I know this is the longest day of the year, but somehow it also feels like the longest year of the year. --Submitted by Laughing Librarian
Army Holds Annual 'Bring Your Daughter To War Day. --The Onion <> President issues executive order reversing all vasectomies.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love. --Francis of Assisi
..........And the road has been too long..........Bette Midler …..The Rose
1) The first pair of sunglasses can be traced back over 2,000 years ago to Eskimos who were native to Alaska, Greenland, Siberia, and other Arctic regions. Initially used as snow glasses, to protect the eyes from the sunlight reflecting off the snow-laden ground and causing snow blindness, the first sunglasses were made of wood and leather.
Almanac: It is Friday, June 27, 2025. The moon was new last Wednesday (6/25) and is in Leo. Today is Decide to Be Married Day, Drive Your Corvette to Work Day, "Happy Birthday to You" Day, Ice Cream Cake Day, International Rose Day, IWW Day, National Food Truck Day, National HIV Testing Day, National Onion Day, National Sunglasses Day, and PTSD Awareness Day.
Among those born on this day were Louis the Just (XII, 1462), Charles Stewart Parnell (1846), May Irwin (1862), Emma Goldman (1869), Helen Keller (1880), George Walker (1922), H Ross Periot (1930), and Julia Duffy (1950).
On June twenty-seventh the first "women" magazine was published (The Ladies' Mercury, 1693), the Bank of California opened (1867), the first Newbery Medal was awarded (Hendrik Van Loon, 1922), asteroid #1566 (Icarus) was discovered (1949), the CIA overthrew the elected government of Guatemala (1954), Dark Shadows premiered (1966), John Dean revealed Nixon's "enemies list" (1973), and Djibouti gained independence from France (1977).
Night Sky, 6/27: This is the time of year when the two brightest stars of summer, Arcturus and Vega, are equally high overhead shortly after dark: Arcturus toward the southwest, Vega toward the east. Arcturus and Vega are 37 and 25 light-years away, respectively. They represent the two commonest types of naked-eye star: a yellow-orange K giant and a white main-sequence A star. They're 150 and 50 times brighter than the Sun, respectively — which, combined with their nearness, is why they dominate the evening sky. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/
Fraternal Picture of the Week: Summertime is here
This Week: Saturday, June 28 – International Body Piercing Day & National Logistics Day & World Bike Naked Day
Sunday, June 29 – Descendants Day & International Mud Day & World Camera Day
Night Sky, 6/29: Vega is also the top star of the enormous Summer Triangle holding sway over the eastern sky after dark. Lower left of Vega by about two fists at arm's length is Deneb. Three fists lower right of Vega is the third star of the Summer Triangle, Altair. With the Moon now gone, perhaps you can see the Milky Way (if you're not too light-polluted) running grandly just inside the Triangle's bottom edge. This stretch of the Milky Way includes the Cygnus Star Cloud, one of one of its richest regions. That's because when we look toward Cygnus, we're looking downstream through the local arm of our galaxy. That's the direction we're flying at 220 kilometers per second in the Sun's orbital motion around the Milky Way.
Monday, June 30 – Asteroid Day & NOW (National Organization for Women) Day & Please Take My Children To Work Day
It's a good thing Congress isn't alive to see this. https://www.facebook.com/reallyamerican
Tuesday, July 1 – Canada Day & National Postal Workers Day & Zip Code Day
Wednesday, July 2 – Made In The USA Day & World UFO Day & National Wildland Firefighter Day
Night Sky, 7/2: The First Quarter Moon peaks tonight at 2:30 pm CDT. It is in Libra.
Thursday, July 3 – Drop A Rock Day aka Rock Painting Day & Earth at Aphelion & National Crown Day aka Black Hair Independence Day & Stay Out Of The Sun Day
Man Returning From Near-Death Experience Recalls Angels Making Him Sign NDA. --The Onion <> President calls shooting victims to rant about Time Walz. --The Onion
You cannot find peace by avoiding life. --Virginia Woolf
..........Just like every night has its dawn..........Poison …..Every Rose Has A Thorn
2) While there is nothing cooler than having some red color lenses in your sunglasses; the truth is that different colored lenses were initially developed by a man called James Ayscough with the intention of resolving color blindness.
Preantepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Wow: 2,780 year old Israelite tablet finally translated to reveal its message: Persia is only weeks away from developing a nuclear weapon. https://www.facebook.com/1KANSASANTIFA
Moonbeam: You must show him, by leaving him severely alone. --Charles Stewart Parnell
If I have to stir it, it's homemade. --Submitted by Laughing Librarian
Fun Fact of the Week: The first name on Nixon's Enemies List was Arnold Picker, a film executive. Picker served as campaign financial manager for Edmund Muskie and Henry Jackson who ran against Nixon and his policies.
Video of the Week: the real Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan (3:08)
There is no king who has not had a slave among his ancestors, and no slave who has not had a king among his. --Helen Keller
Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence. --Henry David Thoreau
Jane Goodall Returns From Latest Expedition With Annoying Chimp Accent. --The Onion <> GOP lawmakers clarify that their hate-filled rhetoric is only meant to stoke fundraising. --The Onion
..........She was a flower for the taking..........Waylon Kennings …..Rose In Paradise
3) A scary fact is that an American loses, sits on, or breaks a pair of sunglasses every 14 minutes. This means that in America alone, a little more than 37,500 glasses suffer at the hands of our clumsiness each year.
Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: If Donny D-Cups* wants to wreck Iran he should just be their president for a while. --Submitted by sb of ar *from JimmyKimmel's 78 Hilarious Nicknames
Weird Word of the Week: Widdershins (adv) moving counterclockwise or in the opposite direction of what is considered normal. https://www.ohla.com/blog/15-weirdest-words-in-english/
Dragon of the Week: Dragon Tattoo ~~Looks a lot like a bat though, doesn't it?
Special Section of the Week: My nephew Jeffrey Skye Miller passed away last weekend of either a heart attack. I spoke to him on Saturday around noon. He had been out and was home ready to take a nap. On Tuesday we still hadn't gotten a call and Dashiell couldn't get an answer at his apartment so we called for a “welfare check” and the police found his body. Jeff turned 44 earlier this month. He had autism but was highly functional. He suffered from anxiety attacks and worried about a lot of things that were never going to happen. He was quite good at fixing things. He would look up videos on the internet and fix leaking faucets and clogged drains and small appliances. Because of his anxiety he wasn't much for crowds of people, but he recently attended a No Kings Demonstration. He enjoyed himself and told everybody how much he enjoyed himself. He also felt like he was a part of history – being in the country's largest protest ever. His son died in a car accident 10 or so years ago. His dad and mother died 8 or 9 years ago and he was living in a trailer 5 miles outside the nearest town (Columbus, NC) with no bus service and less than full cable television. He came to Lawrence in 2019. He had his own apartment. He learned to navigate the bus system and made routine trips downtown, to the library, and to his various doctor appointments. Jeff has a huge collection of movie dvds. He loved putting coffee memes and cat jokes on facebook. Jeff also educated and advocated for autism awareness during April - Autism Awareness Month. He will be missed. Though he was often confused about what was expected of him, he was always polite and sometimes utterly charming.
Wacky Uses for Common Products: Shave. Apply Clairol Herbal Essences Shampoo to wet skin as a substitute for shaving creams. https://www.wackyuses.com/wacky/clairol.html
Peace and justice are two sides of the same coin. --Dwight D Eisenhower
Texas Doctor Tapes Pregnancy Pamphlet To Comatose Woman's Forehead. --The Onion <> Self-actualized historians urge nations not to get hung up on the past. --The Onion
...........Some people got it and make it pay.........Bernadette Peters …..Rose's Turn
4) A scary fact but one that we think is incredibly important and needs to change. Little over 1 in 4 of the sunglasses that are purchased today, offer adequate UV protection for your eyes. With almost 75% of sunglasses just taking up the role of fashion accessory. You only get one pair of eyes in your lifetime, and we believe that they should be cautiously protected.
Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I can't believe it's WWIII season already...I still have my pandemic decorations up. --Submitted by LaughingInDisbelief
If you're feeling confused, you're halfway to enlightenment. --Submitted by 42 Collective
Science Fiction Convention of the Week: Planet Funk Con 2025 (27-29, Davenport, IA) ...the biggest Pop Culture event in the quad cities... https://www.planetfunkcon.com/
Resistance Idea of the Week: We could start dressing up as ICE agents and escorting people from their immigration hearings so it looks like they've already been detained but we just give them a ride home. --Submitted by 98%
We look forward to the time when the Power of Love will replace the Love of Power. Then will our world know the blessings of peace. --William E Gladstone
Physicists Discover Never-Before-Seen Particle In Back Of Old Cupboard. --The Onion <> Netanyahu calls Iran strikes necessary to prevent the war he just started. --The Onion
..........You remain my power, my pleasure, my pain.........Seal …..Kiss From A Rose
5) Have you ever heard of the Italian company Luxottica? Probably not. However, they control a significant share of the sunglasses market; including some of your favorite fashion brands. It is one of the largest designers, manufacturers, distributors and retailers of sunglasses making its hold on the market cradle-to-grave. Armani, Chanel, RayBan, Burberry, D&G are some of their biggest brands (via license), while Target Optical and Sunglass Hut are some of their biggest retailer outlets.
Protest Sign of the Week: Fire Don The Con
Better Protest Sign of the Week: Orange Lies Matter
You see, baldrick, we had to bomb Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt to stop them from starting a war that would engulf the entire middle east.
Quote of the Week: I'm not sure I would even want to be in a world without nuclear weapons. --Hair Mussolini*
*from Jimmy Kimmel's 75 Hilarious Nicknames for Fattyshack
Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: All bronzer and no brain. --Stephen Colbert
Today's Peace of History: June 27, 1986: The International Court of Justice ("World Court") ruled that the United States violated international law as well as its bilateral Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Amity with Nicaragua through its use of force against the Central American country.
If you want peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies. --Desmond Tutu
Allergic Swelling Leaves Kristi Noem's Face Completely Recognizable. --The Onion <>The severly claustrophobic Malin Rourke, 78, died Tuesday surrounded by loved ones on every side and with no possible escape. --The Onion
..........I dream of gardens in the desert sand.........Sting …..Desert Rose
Masthead of the Week: Friday ePistle, June 27, 2025: aLlium ePistle. Online at: http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/ Exclusive editor: Christine Smith. Lawrence, KS.
Moonbeam: An onion can make people cry, but there has never been a vegetable invented to make them laugh. --May Irwin
Cost of War:
As of 06/26/25 State Department Costs: $268,432,277,569
As of 06/19/25 State Department Costs: $267,865,396,352
As of 06/26/25 Homeland Security: $1,203,279,965,155
As of 06/19/25 Homeland Security: $1,202,664,228,679
As of 06/26/25 Interest on War Debt: $1,308,862,930,197
As of 06/19/25 Interest on War Debt: $1,307,279,6684,513
As of 06/26/25 Military Costs:$3,153,451,675,768
As of 06/19/25 Military Costs: $3,152,249,580,074
As of 06/26/25 Veterans Care: $4,346,779,707,194
As of 06/19/25 Veterans Care: $4,334,777,808,437
As of 06/26/25 Total Cost of Wars:$10,280,809,820,217
As of 06/19/25 Total Cost of Wars: $10,264,838,649,036
https://www.nationalpriorities.org/cost-of/
I do not want the peace which passeth understanding, I want the understanding which bringeth peace. --Helen Keller
Famous Last Words: You don't understand, I'm a man. --Jack Lemmon in Some Like It Hot Jack died on June 27, 2001
..........And she looks wild, wild, wild, wild.........David Lee Roth …..Yankee Rose
The most powerful weapon you can be is an instrument of peace. --Carlos Santana
Mike Lee Stresses He Would Have Posted Same Thing If Own Family Savagely Murdered. --The Onion <> President levies tariffs on companies that seem Chinese. --The Onion
May Peace encompass you
And Joy surround you
prairie mama
christine
Last Laugh
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