pUnctual ePistle

 Famous First Words: When in the course of human events.... The Declaration of Independence

Well, it's about time. Time doesn't necessarily happen in chronological order. --Douglas Adams // Time is an illusion. --Albert Einstein

We are all leaves of one tree. --Nhat Hanh

..........is to save every day 'til eternity passes away.........Jim Croce …..Time In A Bottle

Peace and friendship with all mankind is our wisest policy, and I wish we may be permitted to pursue it. --Thomas Jefferson

It is not quite dawn's early light, but it is early. I have witnessed a murder of crows (5) eating the pistachio nuts that I left on the patio. We have had them for some time and no one was eating them. But the crows love them. A squirrel too loves them and tried to join the crowd of crows but in the end thought better of it and ducked under the shed. The birds talked a good deal about something and I watched for a while. Now they are gone, there are a few nuts left for the squirrel and it is quiet. There are not even other birds singing to grace the air. It was like a mini soap opera with live animals. The squirrel did come back and I have pictures of him enjoying the nuts also. Jeff gave us the bag that we never opened. He would have liked it that the wildlife was having a great time and making a great mess. It certainly made my morning fun.

May you enjoy your independence and be safe in your enjoyment, Firecrackers.

First Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Lately I've been getting really into pre-apocalyptic fiction. --Adam Douglas Tompson The New Yorker

Time is a created thing. To say “I don't have time” is to say, “I don't want to”. --Lao Tzu // Time is an illusion. Lunchtime, doubly so. --Douglas Adams

At the deepest level, an “open heart” is a spacious presence, in which the sense of separateness between yourself and the “other” dissolves and there is the recognition of oneness, of shared consciousness. --Eckhart Tolle

..........Seasons change and so do I..........Guess Who …..No Time

Trivia Questions: Happy Fourth Of July! Happy Independence Day!

1. What was the first state to declare July 4^th a holiday?

2. When was Fourth of July first celebrated at the White House?

3. How many times is the Liberty Bell struck each Independence Day anniversary?

4. Which president was born on the fourth of July?

5. When did July 4^th become a federal holiday?

Big Hello: Keereho – Sidama (Southern Ethiopia) https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm

Second Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: It's the only country where the constitution is written in pencil. –-Jack Moniker (Robin Williams) Club Paradise

Image of the Week: Independence Day image

Insult of the Week: His whole life has been one continued insult to good manners and to decency. --John Adams on Benjamin Franklin

Time is what keeps everything from happening at once. --Ray Cummings // Bistromathics itself is simply a revolutionary new way of understanding the behavior of numbers. Just as Einstein observed that space was not an absolute but depended on the observer's movement in space, and that time was not an absolute, but depended on the observer's movement in time, so it is now realized that numbers are not absolute, but depend on the observer's movement in restaurants --Douglas Adams

We are all one. When we allow ourselves to become aware of this statement in its purest form, we open the doors to reveal the oneness of being. --Jim Harrison

..........I close my eyes only for a moment and the moment's gone..........Kansas …..Dust In The Wind

Moonbeam: It is now life and not art that requires the willing suspension of disbelief. --Lionel Trilling

Blasphemy of the Week: My point, once again, is not that those ancient people told literal stories and we are now smart enough to take them symbolically, but that they told them symbolically and we are now dumb enough to take them literally. --John Dominic Crossan

Coffee Joke of the Week: Baristas can remain calm because they know how to keep things grounded.

Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: I don't hoard; I pre-collect for future creativity. --QuiltersDigest

Time management is an oxymoron. Time is beyond our control... -John C Maxwell // I love deadlines. I like the whooshing noise they make as they go by. --Douglas Adams

You are, in fact, part of the glorious oneness of the universe. Everything beautiful in the world is within you. --Russell Brand

..........To everything turn turn turn there is a season..........The Byrds …..Turn Turn Turn

1) Massachusetts made July 4^th a state holiday in 1781. It was the first state to do so.

Almanac: It is Friday, July 4, 2025. The moon will enter the first quarter on Wednesday (7/2) and is in Virgo. Today is US Independence Day, Boom Box Parade Day, Independence From Meat Day, and Indivisible Day.

Among those born on this day were Christian Gellert (1715), Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807), Stephen Mather (1867), George M. Cohan (1878), Rube Goldberg (1883), Louis B. Mayer (1885), Louis Armstrong (1900), George Murphy (1902), Lionel Trilling (1905), Mitch Miller (1911), Tokyo Rose (1916), Ann Landers (1918), Eva Marie Saint (1924), Gina Lollobrigida (1927), Neil Simon (1927), George Steinbrenner (1930), Ron Kovic (1946), and Geraldo Rivera (1953).

On July fourth US declared independence from Britain (1776), the first US tariff act was passed (1789), slavery was abolished in New York (1827), the Wisconsin Territory was formed (1836), Thoreau moved to Walden Pond (1845), the US annexed Texas (1845), Alice In Wonderland was published (1865), the Social Democratic Workmen's Party of North America was formed (1874), the Tuskegee Institute was established (1881), the Telegraph Hill Observatory opened (SF, 1882), the Statue of Liberty was presented to the US (1884), the Republic of Hawaii was established (1894), Island Records began (1962) recording, the Freedom of Information Act became effective (1966), and Give Peace a Chance was released (1969).

Night Sky, 7/4: If you have a dark enough sky, the Milky Way now forms a magnificent arch high across the whole eastern sky after nightfall is complete. It runs all the way from below Cassiopeia in the north-northeast, up and across Cygnus and the Summer Triangle in the east, and down past the spout of the Sagittarius Teapot in the south. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/

Fraternal Picture of the Week: Summer in motion

This Week: Saturday, July 5 – Ashura & Bikini Day & National Play Outside Day & International Day of Coopeartives

Sunday, July 6 – International Kissing Day aka World Kiss Day & Fried Chicken Day & Hand Roll Day

Night Sky, 7/6: This evening the waxing gibbous moon shines in the head of Scorpius, with Delta Scorpii above it and Antares to its left. And tonight the moon's dark limb occults Pi Scorpii, magnitude 2.0, for observers nearly all across North and Central America.

Monday, July 7 – Chocolate Day & Dive Bar Day & Global Forgiveness Day & National Day of Rock n' Roll & Tell The Truth Day

Tuesday, July 8 – National Freezer Pop Day & National Video Game Day & SCUD Day (Saver the Comic, Unplug the Drama

Wednesday, July 9 – Bald Is In Day & Deadhead Day & National Dimples Day

Thursday, July 10 – Black Women's Equal Pay Day & Global Energy Independence Day & Kitten Day & Teddy Bear's Picnic Day**

Night Sky, 7/10: Full moon (Buck) at 20:36 in Capricorn

**I feel like the Teddy Bear's Picnic should be held on a Saturday because I grew up listening to Big John and Sparkie on Saturday morning radio and it was their theme song. And that's how old I am.

We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand, and melting like a snowflake. --Francis Bacon // Today I will live in the moment, unless the moment is unpleasant, then I will take a nap.

The final goal of all religions is to realise the essential oneness. --Mahatma Gandhi

..........No one knows, no one can stay...........Beth Gibbons …..Floating On A Moment

2) The first July 4^th celebration at the White House was hosted by President Thomas Jefferson in 1801. He opened the White House to the public and greeted diplomats, military officers, and Cherokee chiefs.

Preantepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: He had the look of one who had drunk the cup of life and found a dead beetle at the bottom. --P G Wodehouse

Moonbeam: Immature artists imitate. Mature artists steal. --Lionel Trilling

Fun Facts of the Week: The first US Tariff Act was passed in 1789, specifically on July 4th, and was signed into law by President George Washington. This act, known as the Tariff of 1789, was the first major piece of legislation enacted by the newly formed federal government under the Constitution. It aimed to generate revenue for the government, protect nascent American industries, and address the nation's war debt. The act imposed a 5% tax on most imported goods, with higher rates on specific items.

Video of the Week: Yankee Doodle Dandy, Geroge M Cohen himself singing Over There (:32)

Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all. --George Washington

Love is the recognition of oneness in the world of duality. --Eckhart Tolle

Time is a great healer, but a poor beautician. --Lucille S Harper // Reality is often inaccurate. --Douglas Adams

..........Time keeps on slippin' slippin' slippin into the future.........The Steve Miller Band …..Fly Like An Eagle

3) Every Independence Day the Liberty Bell is rung 13 times in honor of the original 13 states.

Antepenultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: The most dangerous phrase in the galaxy: I have a plan. --Submitted by 42 Collective

Weird Word of the Week: Snollygoster (n) a selfish, unprincipled, and dishonest person. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/snollygoster

Dragon of the Week:

Wacky Uses for Common Products: Freshen old sponges. Soak sponges for five to ten minutes in a mixture of three-quarters cup Clorox bleach per gallon of water, then rinse well. https://www.wackyuses.com/wacky/clorox.html

Peace will come to the hearts of men when they realize their oneness with the universe. It is everywhere. --Black Elk

How did it get so late so soon? --Dr Seuss // Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.

...........When the chimes strike five, six, and seven...........Bill Haley & His Comets …..Rock Around The Clock

4) Calvin Coolidge was born on July 4^th 1872, 51 years before he became president.

Penultimate Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: The man who devised the Heat Index has died. He was 92 but felt like 107. --Submitted by RHOZ

Science Fiction Convention of the Week: InConJunction 2025 (4-6, Indianapolis, IN) Legends, Myths and Cryptids: Things that go bump in the night. https://inconjunction.org/

Update of the Week: Thank you for all the wonderful support and money that you gave to help us cremate Jeff. It was heartwarming and a thing of joy. --written on Tuesday (7/1) On Thursday (7/3) the Douglas County Coroner's Office called and said that the county would cremate Jeff's body. Kind of...also...a thing of joy except that would be creepy. FYI: I called the coroner's office and told them we have this money but we're short and are there some funds to make up the difference? He asked Jeff's name and a few things about him. Called back the next day with the news. Thank you, Will.

Spark of Joy of the Week: Woody Guthrie himself singing This Land Is Your Land (My national anthem)

You can develop the right attitude toward others if you have kindness, love, and respect for them, and a clear realization of the oneness of all human beings. --Dalai Lama

As if you could kill time without injuring eternity. --Henry David Thoreau // It's at times like this that I wish I had listened to my mother." "Why, what did she say?" "I don't know, I didn't listen." --Douglas Adams

..........And the void would be calling..........Richard O'Brien …..Time Warp

5) July 4^th was declared an unpaid federal holiday in 1870. It wasn't until 1941 that federal workers get paid for July 4^th.

Protest Sign of the Week: Fight The OliDorky

Quote of the Week: Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity over humanity, nothing exceeds most of the criticisms made on the habits of the poor by the well-housed, well-warmed, and well-fed. --Herman Melville

Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: A dung beetle walks into a bar and asks, “Is this stool taken?”

Today's Peace of History: July 4, 1966: The Freedom of Information Act, P.L. 89-487, became law. It established the right of Americans to know what their government is doing by outlining procedures for getting access to internal documents.

A person experiences life as something separated from the rest – a kind of optical delusion of consciousness. Our task must be to free ourselves from this self-imposed prison, and through compassion to find the reality of Oneness. --Albert Einstein

Time stays long enough for anyone who will use it. --Leonardo d Vinci // People assume that time is a strict progression of cause and effect, but actually, from a nonlinear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey... stuff." --Dr Who (David Tennant)

..........the second hand unwinds.........Cyndi Lauper …..Time After Time

Masthead of the Week: Friday ePistle, July 4, 2025: pUnctual ePistle . Online at: http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/ Exclusive editor: Christine Smith. Lawrence, KS.

Moonbeam: We are at heart so profoundly anarchistic that the only form of state we can imagine living in is Utopian; and so cynical that the only Utopia we can believe in is authoritarian. --Lionel Trilling

Cost of War:

As of 07/03/25 State Department Costs: $268,976,897,099

As of 06/26/25 State Department Costs: $268,432,277,569

As of 07/03/25 Homeland Security: $1,203,871,494,178

As of 06/26/25 Homeland Security: $1,203,279,965,155

As of 07/03/25 Interest on War Debt: $1,310,383,960,976

As of 06/26/25 Interest on War Debt: $1,308,862,930,197

As of 07/03/25 Military Costs: $3,154,606,420,727

As of 06/26/25 Military Costs: $3,153,451,675,768

As of 07/03/25 Veterans Care: $4,358,307,253,358

As of 06/26/25 Veterans Care: $4,346,779,707,194

As of 07/03/25 Total Cost of Wars: $10,296,147,556,583

As of 06/26/25 Total Cost of Wars: $10,280,809,820,217

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

Great is the guilt of an unnecessary war. --John Adams

Famous Last Words: Thomas Jefferson still survives. --John Adams who died 7/4/1826 ~~Adams was unaware that Thomas Jefferson had died earlier that same day.

..........And keep your eyes wide, the chance won't come again...........Bob Dylan …..The Times They Are A-changin'

We are all waves of one sea. --Thich Nhat Hanh

The timeless in you is aware of life's timelessness. --Kahlil Gibran // “If I ever meet myself,” said Zaphod, “I'll hit myself so hard I won't know what hit me.”

May Peace warm your heart

And Joy cool your mind

prairie mama

christine

Last Laugh:

aLlium ePistle

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 9,500^th 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!

1. How old are sunglasses?

2. What were the first colored lenses used for?

3. How often is a pair of sunglasses lost, sat upon, or broken?

4. What percentage of sunglasses sold actually protect the eyes?

5. 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 1^st. --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

: