Famous First Words: Row, Row, Row your boat... This is believed to be the most popular Round or Part-Song
Double the fun with twins. The Lucky Charms leprechaun has an evil twin. He's tragically malicious. §§ Do twins ever realize that one of them was unplanned?
It was nothing but a readiness of the soul, an ability, a secret art, to think the thought of oneness, to feel and breathe the oneness at every moment, in the midst of life. --Hermann Hesse
..........Now we look to the stars.........Francis Scott Key …..The Star Spangled Banner
The reality is if we want peace, we must prepare for peace. --Fellowship of Reconciliation
It is a gorgeous Friday morning. The temperature is 64°F and feels cool on the cheek and refreshing to the soul. A 7mph breeze makes the willows dance and the other foliage wave back in appreciation. A single squirrel sits on the edge of the storage shed eating peanuts and spreading shell pieces over the roof and the yard. The bluejay family has come and gone – I heard them discussing the morning earlier. I have not checked to see how many squirrels are scrambling through the grass to investigate the patio. Puck and been out and is now snoring under my feet. The world is so August – full green grass and trees and flowers and fruit and summer. And coolness too. What more could one ask of a summer's day?
Hope your weekend provides double the rest and relaxation, ePistliers
First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: In the end, I want my heart to be covered in stretch marks. --Submitted by Memoirs of a Post-Evangelical
Oh, are they twins? No, they're triplets. I just leave the ugly one at home §§ Oh, you had twins? No, the hospital was having a buy one, get one special.
Think always of the universe as one living creature, comprising one substance and one soul. --Marcus Aurelius
..........Between the dawn and the dark of night..........The Grateful Dead …..Ripple
Trivia Questions: It's Homemade Pie Day aka Braham Pie Day
What is the most popular pie in the US?
All the statistics come from sales of pies so homemade pie doesn't pile up any data. What is the most searched pie recipe in Kansas?
What percentage of Americans said they have had pie for breakfast?
Where in the US is the city called Pie Town?
The Romans published the first recipe for pie. What kind was it?
Big Hello: Pozdravljeni – Slovenian (Austria, Hungary, and Croatia) https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm
Second Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I know what I bring to the table, so trust me when I say I'm not afraid to eat alone. --Submitted by WWRWM
Image of the Week:
Insult of the Week: If looks could kill, you'd soon find out that yours couldn't. --Iris Owens After Claude
The orchestra leader named his twins Anna 1, Anna 2. §§ My twins are a twincredible duo.
The future of the human race will likely depend on our ability to transcend this tribalism and to see our fate as interconnected with everyone else's. --Robert Greene
..........You'd think that we'd know better at this point in our lives.........Robert Cray …..Playing In The Dirt
Moonbeam: Faith is the daring of the soul to go further than it can see. --William Clark
Blasphemy of the Week: Stop naming your kids Bible names but not teaching them Bible stories. I just got robbed by Moses. --Submitted by FNOG
Coffee Joke of the Week: Men are like coffee, good ones keep you up all night long.
Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Siri kept calling me Shirley this morning and I was getting really annoyed, but I realized I had my phone in Airplane mode. --Submitted by UUHS
My twin sister sued me for identity theft. §§ I was 25 before my parents told me that my identical twin sister was actually adopted.
We are stardust brought to life, then empowered by the universe to figure itself out—and we have only just begun. --Neil deGrasse Tyson
.......It's all a dream we dreamed one afternoon long ago..........Grateful Dead …..Box Of Rain
1) According to Reader's Digest Apple Pie is the most popular pie. It accounts for 29% of bakery made pies. I tried to find out what pie is most often made at home but nobody really knows.
Almanac: It is Friday, August 1, 2025. The moon enters its first quarter today and is on the Libra/Scorpio cusp. Today is Girlfriend's Day, Lammas Day aka Lughnasa aka Lughnasadh, National Minority Donor Awareness Day, National Spritz Day, Respect For Parents, Rounds Resounding Day, Spider-Man Day, US Air Force Day, World Lung Cancer Day, World Wide Web Day, and World Scout Scarf Day. Because it is the first Friday in August it is also Braham Pie Day aka Homemade Pie Day, International Beer Day, National Water Balloon Day, Tomboy Tools Day, and Twins Day.
Among those born on this day were Claudius (10 B.C.E.), William Clark (1770), Francis Scott Key (1779), Maria Mitchell (1818), Dom DeLuise (1933), Yves Saint-Laurent (1936), Jerry Garcia (1942), Robert Cray (1953), and Tempestt Bledsoe (1973).
On August first the Whiskey Rebellion began (1794), slavery was abolished in the British Empire (1834), the first cable car ran through San Francisco (1873), Colorado became the 38th state (1876), the Hawaii National Park was established (1916), the Atomic Energy Commission was created (1946), the 3rd class postage rose to $.04 cents (1956), and Dahomey gained independence (1960).
Night Sky, 8/1: The moon will be hanging halfway between Antares two fists from its upper left and Spica sinking away two fists to its lower right. Jupiter emerges from behind the sun today. I can be seen an hour before sunrise. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/
Fraternal Picture of the Week: Insider's view of Shark Week
This Week: Saturday, August 2 – National Clown Day & National Sunflower Day & Sleep Under The Stars Night
Night Sky, 8/2: Every 15 years Titan, Saturn's largest moon, repeatedly crosses Saturn's face from Earth's viewpoint – and, more visibly, casts its very tiny black shadow onto Saturn's face. They will continue every 16 days until October.
Sunday, August 3 – Friendship Day & Sister's Day & National Doll Day
Monday, August 4 – International Clouded Leopard Day & Picnic Day
Tuesday, August 5 – Dolly Parton Day & National Electric Traffic Light Day & National Night Out
Wednesday, August 6 – Hiroshima Day
Night Sky, 8/6: Saturn: (magnitude +0.8, in Pisces) rises around 10 or 11 pm daylight-saving time. But the best time to try a telescope on Saturn is in the hour or so before the beginning of dawn, when it's at its highest in the south.
Thursday, August 7 – Lighthouse Day & Particularly Preposterous Packaging Day
You can't choose your twin sister but you can choose your therapist. §§ The best thing about being a twin is that you have a ready-made partner in crime.
A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. --Albert Einstein
..........Don't fear the shadows me you can trust.........Robert Cray …..Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark
2) Apple is the most searched Kansas pie recipe. The blurb mentioned Manhattan as the Little Apple too. You can find the most searched pie recipe in your state at: https://www.allrecipes.com/gallery/most-searched-pie-in-every-state/ But guess first.
Preantepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: You can get the Pedophile in Chief to confess. Tell him you realize he wasn't rich enough or popular enough to get invited to those parties.
Moonbeam: That knowledge which is popular is not science. --Maria Mitchell
Update of the Week: I have turned in the keys to Jeffrey's apartment. I will put an obit in the Lawrence Times and we will celebrate his life in September.
Fun Fact of the Week: Happy National Water Balloon Day! Water Balloons are made smaller than standard gas balloons so they can be used (thrown) more easily. When filled with water, they can have a diameter of 10 to 15cm (4-6 in) while if gas balloons are to be filled with water would have the diameter of some 30cm (12 in) and would be harder to throw because they would break more easily. Water balloons are also made to have thick enough walls to be held without bursting yet thin enough to burst when they hit a surface.
Video of the Week: Ceasefire --Fellowship of Reconciliation https://forusa.org/ (5:08 and worth every second)
Lead me from death to Life, from falsehood to Truth. Lead me from despair to Hope. Lead me from hate to Love, from war to Peace. --Fellowship of Reconciliation
What I've found to be important is mainly just the realization that everyone has all knowledge and all humanity within themselves. Individual minds are connected to a universal mind. --Willie Nelson
I failed my calculus exam because I was sitting between two identical twins. It was impossible to differentiate between them. §§ Did you hear about the identical twin police officers? They were copies.
..........Trouble ahead, trouble behind..........Grateful Dead …..Casey Jones
3) According to the American Pie Council, 35% of Americans claim to have eaten pie at breakfast. FYI: 66% have had it at lunch and 59% have snacked on pie between meals.
Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I'm not procrastinating. I'm recalibrating the trajectory of my timeline. --Submitted by 42 Collective
Weird Word of the Week: Cleek – a large hook (as for a pot over a fire) https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cleek
Dragon of the Week: Epcot Dragon --Submitted by ml of ks
Dragon of Last Week: The image shows one of the "Creature Creations" by artist Jim Dickerman, which are part of the "Open Range Zoo" in Lincoln County, Kansas. --Thank you to vr of Thailand
Wacky Uses for Common Products: Remove mold and mildew from outdoor siding, tile, brick, stucco, and patios. Clean with a mixture of three-quarters cup Clorox bleach per gallon of water. https://www.wackyuses.com/wacky/clorox.html
You are not in the world. The world is in you. --Deepak Chopra
I have an identical twin. Whenever people ask me if I'm single, I say, “Nope, I'm double”. §§ Today a woman showed up at my door and claimed she was my identical twin. We stood side by side in front of the mirror and it was obvious. I was beside myself.
...........And the street has its attractions..........Robert Cray …..Night Patrol
4) Nope, it's not the name of a cute bakery , and no, it's not imaginary! Pie Town is a real place located on Hwy 60 in Catron County, New Mexico. Their specialty: Pies, of course.
Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: We shouldn't screw over the planet for the same reasons we don't screw over our friends. It won't be a good thing if nature “unfriends” you. https://www.facebook.com/powwowscom
Science Fiction Convention of the Week: JoMoCon 2025 (1-3, Joplin, MO) Are you ready for more... https://www.jomocon.org/
Philosophy Joke of the Week: Oh, my that was so embarrassing – I thought the abyss was staring at me, so I stared back, but it was totally staring at someone else. --Submitted by UUHS
Spark of Joy of the Week: Worrying is like paying a debt you don't own. --Mark Twain
Jaguar, my cat, gave birth to identical twin kittens. They were duplicats. §§ Identical twin brothers were arrested for separate crimes. Now they're finishing one another's sentences.
..........Set out runnin' but I take my time.........Grateful Dead …..Friend Of The Devil
5) The first pie recipe published by the Romans was for a rye-crusted goat cheese and honey pie. Epicurious has posted it: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/goat-cheese-honey-and-rye-crust-pie
Protest Sign of the Week: Government: Ideas So Good They Have To Be Mandatory
Better Protest Sign of the Week: Humankind Be Both
Quote of the Week: You'll never find justice in a world where criminals make the rules. --Bob Marley
Quote of the Week II: What if “winning” meant everyone eats, everyone learns, and no one's left behind? That's the kind of world worth fighting for. --Neil deGrasse Tyson
Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Yup, there's your problem. You've mistaken arbitrary norms specific to your social group for sacred immutable truths and it has driven you insane. --Regem Rex --Submitted by Philosopher Games
Today's Peace of History: August 1, 1914: As World War I began, Harry Hodgkin, a British Quaker, and Friedrich Siegmund-Schulte, a German Lutheran pastor, attending a conference in Germany, pledged to continue sowing the “seeds of peace and love, no matter what the future might bring,” germinating the idea for the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR).
We are stardust, we are golden. We are billion -year-old carbon. --Crosby Still and Nash
A scientist couple had identical twins. They named one Paula and the other Group Control. §§ I knew a set of twin brothers who liked having threesomes. They were dopplebangers.
..........Ohhhhhh don't worry.........Robert Cray …..Your Secret's Safe With Me
Masthead of the Week: Friday ePistle, August 1, 2025: dOuble ePistle . Online at: http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/ Exclusive editor: Christine Smith. Lawrence, KS.
Moonbeam: Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil. --Jerry Garcia
Cost of War:
As of 07/31/25 State Department Costs: $271,215,815,360
As of 07/10/25 State Department Costs: $270,637,677,412
As of 07/31/25 Homeland Security: $1,206,303,496,887
As of 07/10/25 Homeland Security: $1,205,675,449,627
As of 07/31/25 Interest on War Debt: $1,316,638,067,117
As of 07/10/25 Interest on War Debt: $1,315,022,564,160
As of 07/31/25 Military Costs: $3,159,354,005,235
As of 07/10/25 Military Costs: $3,158,128,369,914
As of 07/31/25 Veterans Care: $4,405,716,412,752
As of 07/10/25 Veterans Care: $4,393,469,441,497
As of 07/31/25 Total Cost of Wars: $10,359,233,387,607
As of 07/10/25 Total Cost of Wars: $10,342,935,654,166
https://www.nationalpriorities.org/cost-of/
While coming from diverse religious backgrounds, we have a common belief in the transforming power of nonviolence and reconciliation. --Fellowship of Reconciliation
Famous Last Words: --history will call us wives. --Frank Herbert Dune (Released August 1, 1965)
..........Sometimes the cards aren't worth a dime, if you don't lay 'em down.........Grateful Dead ….Truckin'
We all are one, same universal world. --Jimmy Cliff
I think the hospital switched our children at birth. They're identical twins, so it's hard to tell. §§ I used to date a twin in college. The best part was there were pretty much two of them because they looked alike. My friends and family would joke and tease me all the time about how I could tell them apart. I could always tell because my girlfriend always painted her nails black and her brother had a penis.
May Peace soothe your head
And Joy ease your heart
prairie mama
christine
Last Laugh:
