Monday, October 12, 2026

The Little Guy (Awww Monday), Inspiring Quote of the Week, and Poetry Monday

***********************************





Awww Monday is hosted by Sandee at Comedy Plus.


Join us every Monday for Awww...Mondays.  Post a picture that makes you say Awww... and that's it.


Make sure you get the code from Sandee's site, linked above, and leave a link to your post so we can visit you.  What better way to start the week than with a smile!


Little Ben is getting bigger.  Yes, his sister still likes him, although she does need extra mama time now and then.











***********************************



Sparks is the brainchild of Annie of McGuffy's Reader, who wanted us to post something positive and uplifting at the start of the week.  While she no longer blogs, i like to post an Inspiring Quote of the Week in her honor.     






***********************************


Our dear friend Diane is taking a break

accommodations we must make

we miss her poetry and wit

so carry on as Poetry Monday's a hit!


Poetry Monday was started by Diane at On The Alberta/Montana Border.  Charlotte/Mother Owl and i are keeping it going while she takes a blog break, we hope temporarily.  Anyone else is welcome to join in the fun, just let us know!


This week the theme is Contents of the Safe.


my safe is not safe

even the salmon can get

in he’s a lox myth


*******


I opened my safe to see

a man who in there should not be,

I asked, “Who are you...”

and then, “How did you...”

“I’m a locksmith and I’m a locksmith,” said he!


******



Future themes are:


Oct 12 Contents of the Safe (Today!)

Oct 19 X-ray Vision

Oct 26 Clam

Nov 2 Big bird

Nov 9 Planes


(All themes are from the 365 Days of Drawing Prompts and Other Arts Facebook group.)


***********************************



Today is:


Anti-Columbus Day


Ayathrem -- Zoroastrianism (feast of bringing the herds and flocks home, a five-day feast, dates approximate)


Cephalopod Awareness Days:  Fossil Day -- celebrating the most intelligent invertebrates in the world; today, for all the "incredible suckers that have gone extinct"


Child Rambunctiousness Appreciation Day -- remembering back to when we didn't say every kid with ants in his/her pants needed drugs


Children's Day / Feast of Our Lady of Aparecida -- Brazil


Columbus Day/Discovery Day/Two Worlds Day/Anti-Columbus Day/Native Americans Day/Pan America Day -- observed, several countries

     American Indian Heritage Day -- AL, US

     Columbus Day (obs.) -- Turks and Caicos Islands; US and Territories

     Dia del Respet a la Diversidad Cultural -- Argentina

     Fraternal Day -- AL, US

     Native Americans' Day -- much of the US formally; almost everywhere informally (a day to mourn Native American victims of conquest and oppression, make peace, and celebrate the empowerment of Native Americans)


Commonwealth Culture Day -- Northern Mariana Islands


Constitution Day -- Sint Maarten


Day of Fortuna Redux -- Ancient Roman Calendar (goddess of successful journeys and lucky homecomings, favored by travelers and soldiers)


Day of Giving the Black Land to Horus and the Red Land to Set -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)


"Discovery" of America by Columbus, actual date; most government holidays will be on the Monday nearest this date

     Columbus Day -- Turks and Caicos Islands; US and Territories

     Descubrimiento de América -- Mexico

     Día de la Hispanidad or Fiesta Nacional de España -- Spain

     Dia de la Raza -- Latin America and especially Guatemala (Day of the Race, or Day of the Natives)

     Día de la Resistencia Indígena -- Venezuela (Day of Indigenous Resistance)

     Dia de las Americas/Descubrimiento de America -- Uruguay

     Dia de las Culturas -- Costa Rica (Day of the Cultures)

     Dia del Descubrimiento de dos Mundos -- Chile

     Discovery Day -- Bahamas

     Encuentro de Dos Mundos -- Ecuador

     National Heritage Day -- Turks and Caicos Islands

     Pan America Day -- Belize


Fiesta Nacional de Espana -- Spain (National Day/Hispanity Day)


Fitness Day / Health-Sports Day -- Japan


Freethought Day -- celebration by Freethinkers of the effective ending date of the Salem witch trials


Independence Day -- Equatorial Guinea(1968)


International Moment of Frustration Scream Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays, who want you to go outside at 1200GMTand scream for 30 seconds so we can all get it out of our systems 


Lotu-a-Tamaiti -- Samoa; Tokelau (Day after White Sunday)


National Heroes Day -- Bahamas


National Gumbo Day


National Kick-Butt Day -- a day to kick yourself in the rump, jump start yourself to doing something you've been wanting to do and making excuses for not doing; begun by Sylvia Henderson 


National Pulled Pork Day


Native American's Day -- often celebrated on both the observed and the traditional Columbus Day; a day to mourn Native American victims of conquest and oppression, make peace, and celebrate the empowerment of Native Americans


Norfolk Island Agricultural Show Day -- Norfolk Island, Australia


Old Farmers Day -- an unsponsored day, and any day is a good day to honor the men and women who work hard to grow our food


St. Edwin of Northumbria's Day (Patron of converts, hoboes/tramps, homeless people, kings, parents of large families)


St. Wilfred of York's Day (Patron of Middlesbrough, England; Ripon, England)


Takata-no-Baba Yabusame -- Toyama Park, Tokyo, Japan (demonstration of the ancient art of horseback archery)

     same as health and sports day, second Monday


Thanksgiving -- Canada (Interfaith)


Virgin Islands - Puerto Rico Friendship Day


World Arthritis Day -- people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases can make their voices heard today




Anniversary Today:


Day of Six Billion, 1999 (marking the world population reaching that number)




Birthdays Today:


Marion Jones, 1975

Kirk Cameron, 1970

Adam Rich, 1968

Hugh Jackman, 1968

Carlos Bernard, 1962

Ronald E. McNair, 1950

Susan Anton, 1950

Chris Wallace, 1947

Tony Kubek, 1936

Luciano Pavarotti, 1935

Dick Gregory, 1932

Charles Gordone, 1925

Jean Nidetch, 1923

Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1872

Jonathan Trumbull, 1710



Debuting/Premiering Today:


"Jesus Christ, Superstar"(Rock opera), 1971

"The Bob Hope Show"(TV), 1953

"The Burns and Allen Show"(TV), 1950

"Call Me Madam"(Musical). 1950



Today in History:


The army of Cyrus the Great of Persia takes Babylon, BC539

King John of England loses his crown jewels in The Wash, 1216

Nichiren, Japans Buddhist monk who founded Nichiren Buddhism, inscribes the Dai-Gohonzon, 1279

Christopher Columbus' expedition makes landfall in the Bahamas, 1492

Massachusetts discontinues all witch trials, 1692

America's first asylum for "Persons of Insane and Disordered Minds" opens in Virginia, 1773

Bavarian royalty invites the citizens of Munich to join the celebration of the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen; this celebration becomes the founding of the first Oktoberfest, 1810

Charles Macintosh, of Scotland, sells the first raincoat, 1821

Criminal Tribes Act (CTA) is enacted by British rule in India, which named over 160 local communities 'Criminal Tribes', i.e. hereditary criminals, 1871*

President Theodore Roosevelt officially renames the "Executive Mansion" to the White House, 1901

An iron lung respirator is used for the first time at Children's Hospital, Boston, 1928

The Soviet Union launches the Voskhod 1 into Earth orbit as the first spacecraft with a multi-person crew and the first flight without space suits, 1964

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the first of five books in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy comedy science fiction series by Douglas Adams is published, 1979

The lowest recorded non-tornadic atmospheric pressure, 87.0 kPa (870 mbar or 25.69 inHg), occurred in the Western Pacific during Typhoon Tip, 1979

Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh visit the People's Republic of China, 1986

NASA loses radio contact with the Magellan spacecraft as the probe descends into the thick atmosphere of Venus, 1994

The proclaimed 6 billionth living human in the world is born, 1999

The second Chinese human spaceflight, Shenzhou 6, is launched, 2005

The first of the thirty-three miners trapped in the Copiano mining disaster, Florencio Avalos, is rescued, 2010

The customary law preventing women from inheriting their family home is overturned in Botswana, 2012

A long-lost bust of Napoleon by Auguste Rodin is confirmed found in Madison borough hall, New Jersey; it is estimated to be worth at least $4m, 2017

California becomes the first US state to pass a law banning the manufacture and sale of new fur products, 2019

Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya becomes first to run a marathon in under 2 hours (1:59:40) in Vienna, Austria, 2019

Lebanon reports its first death from Cholera since 1993, as more Syrian refugees flood the country, 2022

Roman scrolls burnt in the 79AD Mt Vesuvius eruption at Herculaneum are read for the first time after a computer science student develops a computer program to do so, 2023

Spanish researchers, after studying genetic material, reveal Christopher Columbus is probably Spanish and Jewish and born in Valencia, not an Italian from Genoa as he claimed, 2024

President of Madagascar Andry Rajoelina flees the country after military units join anti-government protests, 2025


*Not repealed until India's independence in 1949

Sunday, October 11, 2026

Truth Hurts (Cajun Joke), Sunday Selections, and Sunday Selfie

 ***********************************

Update for any who might be wondering, the hurricane did not come anywhere near here.  The most we got was some rain further south of us, i ran into some sprinkles on the way to NOLA yesterday morning, but they cleared up quickly.

 ***********************************



Just because Sandee of Comedy Plus is no longer hosting a Silly Sunday blog hop, do not expect me to quit telling Cajun jokes, especially as it has now become a habit.



Grandma and i have a special way we work together to brush her teeth.  She’s blessed to have her own still and at this point, a tooth problem would be dangerous as she can’t be taken to a dentist.


Tee Boudreaux done come home from de school an’ he gots him a tooth missin’.  


Him’s Père, Boudreaux, done ax, “Garçon, what done happen?”


An’ Tee say, “Francine, de girl I be sweet on, done bake some bread an’ she done brought some to school fo’ me, but it be hard as de brick!”


An’ Boudreaux say, “Garçon, you din’t have to eat it, you shoulda done tole her it was too hard.”


An’ Tee say, “Mais, Père, dat be what I did!”



***********************************



Sunday Selections was started as a way for bloggers to use photos that might otherwise just languish in their files.  The rules have been relaxed, and it is now simply a showcase for your photos, new or old, good or bad, although nothing rude, please.  Our friend River is hosting, and other participants often include Charlotte/Mother Owl, Andrew, and WiseWebWoman.  


It’s beginning to look a lot like Spooky Season.







Boo Blvd., Spooky St., and Reaper Rd.





Anita Doktor and Noah Scape

Cousin Itt says, "Welcome, October!"




***********************************




This week, Mr. Cal wants to join the Kitties Blue at The Cat On My Head for their Sunday Selfies Blog Hop.  








***********************************



Today is:


Armed Forces Day -- Abkhazia


Cephalopod Awareness Days:  Myths and Legends Day -- celebrating the most intelligent invertebrates in the world; for all the cephalopods of legend, literature and movies


Cirio de Nazare -- Belem, Brazil (two week Feast of Cirio begins in Belem [St. Mary of Bethlehem])


Clergy Appreciation Day


Dia Nacional de la Mujer Boliviana -- Bolivia (Bolivian Women's Day)


Earth Science Week -- US (this year's theme, "Critical Minerals for a Thriving Society")  


General Pulaski Memorial Day -- US (celebrating Casimir Pulaski, "the father of American cavalry")


Ghatasthapana Dashain Festival-- Nepal (start of a nine day Hindu festival, the longest and most auspicious festival in the Nepalese annual calendar)


Grandmother's Day -- FL, US


It's My Party Day -- so go have one!


Meditrinalia/Vinalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (tasting of the year's new wine; in honor of Meditrina, goddess of health/medicine, longevity, and wine, and Bacchus, god of wine)


Naha Tug-of-War Festival -- Okinawa, Japan (tug-of-war involving a 27 ton rope)


National Sausage Pizza Day


Old Michaelmas Day -- Celtic Calendar


Revolution Day/Uprising Against Fascism Day -- Republic of Macedonia


St. Gomar's Day (Patron of childless people, courtiers, cowherds, glove makers, people in difficult marriages, separated spouses, woodcutters; Lier, Belgium; against hernias)


Warai Matsuri -- Kawanabe, Wakayama, Japan (a laughing festival, in which wine flows and this place earns its name as one of the happiest places on earth; one legend about the laughter is that one of the spirits of the shrine didn't wake in time for a meeting, and was laughed at, so now everyone laughs)


White Sunday -- Samoa and American Samoa (children wear white to church and run the church services, are served a special meal, and receive new church clothes for the upcoming year)


"You Go Girl!" Day -- in honor of Kathy Sullivan, first American woman to walk in space



Anniversary Today:


William Jefferson Clinton marries Hillary Rodham, 1975



Birthdays Today:


Emily Deschanel, 1976

Stephen Moyer, 1969

Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez, 1969

Jane Krakowski, 1968

Luke Perry, 1966

Joan Cusack, 1962

Steve Young, 1961

Dawn French, 1957

David Morse, 1953

Daryl Hall, 1948

Robert Gale, 1945

Ron Liebman, 1937

Dottie West, 1932

Roscoe Robinson, Jr., 1928

Elmore Leonard, 1925

Art Blakey, 1919

Jerome Robbins, 1918

Charles Revson, 1906

Eleanor Roosevelt, 1884

Harlan Fiske Stone, 1872

Henry John Heinz, 1844

George Williams, 1821 (founder, YMCA)

Mason Locke "Parson" Weems, 1759



Debuting/Premiering Today:


"Ma Rainey's Black Bottom"(Play), 1984

"Saturday Night Live"(TV), 1975

"Imagine"(Lennon single release), 1971

"Allegro"(Musical), 1947

"The Silver Tassie"(Play), 1929

The Comptometer (the first adding machine known to be accurate at all times, patented by Dorr Eugene Felt), 1887



Today in History:


Massive earthquake strikes Aleppo, Syria, 1138

Columbus' ship sites land on the horizon (the Bahamas), 1492

Huldrych Zwingli is killed in battle with the Roman Catholic cantons of Switzerland, 1531

Peter the Great becomes tsar of Russia, 1689

Explorer Meriwether Lewis dies under mysterious circumstances along the Natchez Trace in Tennessee at the Grinder's Stand Inn, 1809

The first steam powered ferryboat, the Juliana, begins operation, 1811

Australia's oldest university, University of Sidney, is inaugurated, 1852

The Great Chicago Fire is finally extinguished, 1871

David Houston patents roll film for cameras, 1881

First female FBI "special investigator", Alaska Davidson, appointed, 1922

With the opening of store # 1252, in Milford, Delaware, J.C. Penney becomes a nationwide company, with stores in all 48 states, 1929

CBS's mechanical color system is the first to be licensed for broadcast by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, 1950

Pope John XXIII convenes the first ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church in 92 years, Vatican II, 1962

NASA launches Apollo 7, the first successful manned Apollo mission, 1968

The NBC sketch comedy/variety show Saturday Night Live debuts with George Carlin as the host and Andy Kaufman, Janis Ian and Billy Preston as guests, 1975

The Mary Rose, a Tudor carrack which sank on July 19,1545, is salvaged from the sea bed of the Solent, off Portsmouth, 1982

The record high of the Dow Jones Industrial Average occurs at 14,198.10 points, 2007

A ban on fracking is upheld by the Constitutional Council of France, 2013

A TripAdvisor customer poll names The Black Swan in Oldstead, North Yorkshire, the world's best restaurant, 2017

A Russian Soyuz spacecraft makes an emergency landing when the rocket fails two minutes after liftoff, 2018

The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmen for the peace deal with Eritrea, 2019

Wild beavers are reintroduced to West London for the first time in 400 years, 2023

Archaeologists announce the discovery of one of the oldest churches in the world, possibly dating from as far back as 4th century AD, during excavations in Artaxata, Armenia, 2024