Famous First Words: You were invited... --Giuseppe Verdi La Traviata
Yay! It's National Cheerleading Week! Do cheerleaders for the Skunk Ball team scream “The White Stripes Stink”? ** Cheerleader: I Do My Own Stunts.
..........But I keep my nose on the grandstone..........Merle Haggard …..Workin' Man Blues
The United States can pay any debt it has because we can always print money to do that. So there is zero probability of default. --Alan Greenspan
It is a wet Friday morning. Winds of 20 mph from the SSE are blowing in temperatures in the 60s and whipping the willow branches into frenzy. Rain pitter-patters on the roof and spits against the window. Puck went out before light, shook rain water over our room and the kitchen and the bedroom before drinking a little milk and going back to sleep. I haven't seen Veronica at all today. Birds are silent. The wind has blown a crack into the cloud cover and a hint of blue sky is visible behind the tree trunk which are themselves dancing in the high winds. A restless morning, a morning moving constantly, an almost spring morning. And restlessly, I write to you.
Hope your weekend jumps with cheer and high spirits, team
First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I might be mean, but I have a good heart. When I tell someone to go to hell, I still hope they get there safely. https://www.facebook.com/moomoocqt
Cheerleaders: Bringing The Real Bounce To Life ** My dog thinks he's a cheerleader. He's a pompomeranian.
..........Not knowin' where I'm bound..........Merle Haggard …..Mama Tried
Trivia Questions: It's Middle Name Pride Day! Can you name these people by their middle name?
A US president: Milhous
A US poet: Allen
A US film director: Ford
A US activist: Luther
A US singer: Aaron
Big Hello: K'uxi – Tzotzil (A Mayan language spoken in Chiapas, Mexico) https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm
Second Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Apparently when I said I wanted to see Les Misérables someday, I should have clarified that I did not mean “unfolding on the streets around me in realtime”. https://www.facebook.com/FightThePatriarchy
Image of the Week: Me in my Champion Seahawks hat sent to me from my daughter, Kirsten, who lives in Seattle.
Strange Speculation of the Week: We've long known that the cheatin' cheeto is an admirer of Hitler. One of the things people say about Hitler all the time, “killed 6 million”. What if the faux president is trying to beat Hitler's record. Remember during the pandemic he told people to inject bleach and other crazy stuff. 400,000 deaths were attributed to his mismanagement. Not even in contention but a pretty good start. He's now killing people on 3 continents. A war will add numbers rapidly. He has the nuclear codes, could he want 6 billion? Is anybody keeping track? ~~Sorry to be such a downer. I'll try to think up a joke to transition. It's Thursday afternoon and no funny line has presented itself.
Cheerleaders: Born To Stunt, Forced To Study ** Cheerleading is my jam and I'm here to spread it.
The moment we choose to love we begin to move against domination, against oppression. --Bell Hooks
..........Is the best of the free life behind us now..........Merle Haggard …..Are The Good Times Really Over
Moonbeam: He said true things, but called them by wrong names. --Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Blasphemy of the Week: Why do we sit, stand, and kneel during worship? To pray with our whole selves. Also known as Pew Aerobics: The original Full-Body Workout. --Submitted by High Church Coyote
Coffee Joke of the Week: I want my coffee so strong it would get somebody stripped of their Olympic gold medal. --Jonathan Edward Durham
Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Blessed is the man who, having nothing to say, abstains from giving us wordy evidence of the fact. --George Eliot
Cheerleader: I Can Cheer Louder Than The Crowd. ** I passed my cheerleading exam. I went in and said, “GIVE ME AN A” and they did.
What if nonviolence wasn't an inhuman standard demanded of the powerless, but an ethic upon which we reimagined the state. --Ezra Klein
..........Headed somewhere in flight..........Merle Haggard …..Silver Wings
1) Richard Milhous Nixon
Almanac: It is Friday, March 3, 2026. The moon was full (Worm) last Tuesday (3/3) and is in Libra. Today is Day of the Dude, Hockey Jersey Day, Oreo Cookie Day, Sofia Kovalevskaya Math Day, Employee Appreciation Day, Middle Name Pride Day, and National Frozen Food Day. Because it is the first Friday it is Dress In Blue Day, Employee Appreciation Day, Global Day Of Unplugging, National Salesperson Day, National Speech and Debate Education Day, and World Day of Prayer. Because it is the first Friday of the first full Week it is also Middle Name Pride Day. Finally, because it is the first weekend it is National Days of Unplugging (6-7).
Among those born on this day were Cyrano de Bergerac (1619), Giuseppi Paganelli (1710), Karol Kurpinski (1785), Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806), Guy Kibbee (1882), Ring Lardner (1885), Furry Lewis (1893), Dave Clark (1909), Stewart Granger (1913), Ed McMahon (1923), Sarah Caldwell (1924), Alan Greenspan (1926), Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1928), Marion Barry (1936), Merle Haggard (1937), Valentina Tereshkova-Nikolayev (1937), Kit Bond (1939), Willie Stargell (1940), Mary Wilson (1944), Rob Reiner (1945), Tom Arnold (1959), Shaquille O'Neal (1972), and Greg Ostertag (1973).
On March sixth the Treaty of Paris was signed (1323), Magellan sighted Guam (1521), the first black Mason was initiated (1775), the first state vaccination legislation was passed (IL, 1810), the Alamo fell (1836), La Traviata premiered (1853), the US Census Bureau was formed (1902), the Friendship Treaty between Turkey and Bulgaria was signed (1929), Ghana became independent (1957), Cassius Clay is renamed Muhammad Ai (1964), and Larry Flynt was shot by a sniper (1978).
Night Sky, 3/6: Before sunrise the star above the moon is Spica, the brightest star in Virgo. Shortly after sunset Mercury, Venus and Saturn will shine near the western horizon while in the southeast Jupiter remains the dominant star. Uranus & Neptune are there too but you need optical aids.
Fraternal Picture of the Week: Dad, Max, and Ollie – I have no idea where they are
This Week: Saturday, March 7 – Genealogy Day & National Be Heard Day & Sock Monkey Day
Night Sky, 3/7: Venus & Saturn will seem so close to each other that you can see them both in your binoculars. Visible both nights just after sunset for around 45 minutes.
Sunday, March 8 – International Women's Day & Girls Write Now Day & National Proofreading Day & Volunteers of America Day
Night Sky, 3/8: Daylight Savings Time Begins!! Set your clock one hour ahead. Venus & Saturn will seem so close to each other that you can see them both in your binoculars. Visible just after sunset for around 45 minutes.
Monday, March 9 – Napping Day & Get Over It Day & Panic Day
Tuesday, March 10 – International Bagpipe Day & International Day of Women Judges & Organize Your Home Office Day
Wednesday, March 11 – Dream 2026 Day & National Find Common Ground Day & World Plumbing Day
Night Sky, 3/11: The moon enters its fourth quarter (4:39 am CDT) and is in Capricorn.
Thursday, March 12 – Working Moms Day & World Kidney Day & Girl Scout Birthday Day
Night Sky, 3/12: Sunrise: 7:37 am Sunset 7:25 pm (11 hours and 48 minutes of daylight) Moonrise: 3:55 am Moonset: 12:48 pm
Cheerleader: Just Flipping Awesome ** These cheerleaders have a yell for every holiday: Happy New Cheer! Give me a P...Give me a U...Give me a R...Give me an I...Give me an M
Care is the antidote to violence. --Saidiya Hartman
..........Out of kindness, I suppose..........Merle Haggard …..Pancho and Lefty
2) Edgar Allen Poe
Preantepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Went to the bathroom without my phone. There's 118 floor tiles and the longest word on a shampoo bottle is “methylchloroisothiazolinone”. --Submitted by Aloka (The Peace Dog)
Moonbeam: He looked at me as if I were a side dish he hadn't ordered. --Ring Lardner
Fun Fact of the Week: National Frozen Food Day: The increasing interest in plant-based diets has paved the way for more vegan and vegetarian options in the frozen food section. However, the market is also driven by “flexitarians” – people reducing their meat consumption without eliminating it.
Video of the Week: A tribute to Rob Reiner: (:45) https://youtu.be/XZmcHS9P4uU
Unless you are willing to compromise, society cannot live together. --Alan Greenspan
Cheerleader: Life Cheers Louder When I Show Up ** You don't scare me. I'm a zombie cheerleader.
Nonviolence is a weapon of the strong. --Mahatma Gandhi
..........A place where even squares can have a ball..........Merle Haggard …..Okie From Muskogee
3) Francis Ford Coppola
Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: It has often been said that the old Royal families of Europe “learned nothing and forgot nothing”. An apt description of the House of Trump. --Submitted by lh of ks
Weird Word of the Week: Sempiternal – everlasting or eternal https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sempiternal
Dragon of the Week: Door Handle - Simontornya Castle, Hungary
Wacky Uses for Common Products: Clean tarnished pennies. Fill a drinking glass with Coca-Cola and drop in the pennies. Let sit for one hour, and then wipe clean with a soft cloth. https://www.wackyuses.com/wacky/cocacola.html ~~Because there's nothing worse than a dirty penny.
Cheeringleading: Life's Better With A Twist. ** When in doubt, Cheer it out!
When the rich wage war, it is the poor who die. --Jean-Paul Sartre
...........Searching for that four-leaf clover..........Merle Haggard …..That's The Way Love Goes
4) Martin Luther King Jr
Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Capitalism is where you build enough bombs to blow up the entire world but you can't put out forest fires. --Hairy Revolutionary
Science Fiction Convention of the Week: BlerDCon Geek Nik (6-8, Arlington, VA) ...a vibrant, growing community celebrating the intersection of Black identity with passions for anime, comics, gaming, sci-fi, and cosplay... https://blerdcon.org/
Math Joke of the Week: How do you get 100 math teachers into a room that only fits 99? You carry the 1. --Submitted by Puns
T-Shirt of the Week: I Survived My Partner's PhD Dissertation
Spark of Joy of the Week: Do unto others 20% better than you would expect them to do unto you, to correct for subjective error. --Linus Pauling
Cheerleading: Because Pom Poms Make Everything Better ** Gracie is such a cheerleader that her herb garden is full of Encourage Mint.
..........But they won't let my secret go untold..........Merle Haggard …..Branded Man
5) Elvis Aaron Presley
Protest Sign of the Week: Turn The Files Into Trials
Quote of the Week: Fortunately the US didn't elect a woman president to prattle on cluelessly about interior decorating in a time of war. --Joyce Carol Oates
Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Lord, bless our work, bless our rest, and bless whoever invented coffee. Amen. --Submitted by High Church Coyote
Today's Peace of History: March 6, 1957. Ghana became the first black African country to become independent of colonial rule.
Cheerleader: Always Flipping Excited For The Team **Duh, the cheerleaders crossed the road to get to the Pep Rally.
..........I guess everything does change..........Merle Haggard …..My Favorite Memory
Masthead of the Week: Friday ePistle, March 6 , 2026: Go ePistle Go. Online at: http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/ Exclusive editor: Christine Smith. Lawrence, KS.
Moonbeam: If you take out the killings, Washington (DC) actually has a very, very low crime rate. --Marion Barry
Cost of War:
Pentagon Spending as of 3/05/26: $435,095,928,797
Pentagon Spending as of 2/25/26: $415,908,360,851
$19,187,567,976 Nineteen billion, one hundred and eighty-seven million, five hundred and sixty-seven thousand, nine hundred and forty-six dollars in one week.
https://www.nationalpriorities.org/cost-of/category/military/
Fear invariably and universally induces disengagement, and disengagement is negative division of labor. --Alan Greenspan
Famous Last Words: Never take a risk all year long. –-Frank Loesser The Company Way (the finale of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying which closed 3/6/65 after 1,415 performances, 7 Tony Awards, and a Pulitzer Prize.
..........And the dream of peace comes true..........Merle Haggard …..Rainbow Stew
Cheerleader: Delivering Pep With Precision. ** Our pompoms are so fluffy even the clouds are jealous. ** Keep Calm And Cheer On
May Peace lift your spirits
And Joy raise your outlook
prairie mama
christine
Last Laugh:
