Day: October 15, 2021

Shattered Dream

Fandango8 Comments

The Red Sox did what they had to do, but the Giants faltered. Ten days ago I wrote a post sharing how I was dreaming about the potential of a World Series this year between the Boston Red Sox and the San Francisco Giants. Well, the Red Sox did their part by first beating the New York Yankees in the American League Wild Card game and then besting the Tampa Bay Rays in their best-of-five divisional series.

But last night, the Giants were unable to bring it home, losing — at home — to their arch rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, in the best-of-five National League divisional series in a heartbreaking game, and thereby dashing my dream of a Red Sox-Giants World Series.

Now the Red Sox have to face the Houston Astros in the best-of-seven American League Championship series, the winner of which will go on to the World Series to face off against the winner of the National League Championship series between the LA Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves.

If the Sox can get past the Astros, they’ll be in the World Series, and at least half of my dream will be realized. Go Sox!

Fibbing Friday — October Fibs

Fandango7 Comments

Frank (aka PCGuy) and Di (aka Pensitivity101) alternate as hosts for Fibbing Friday, a silly little exercise where we are to write a post with our answers to the ten questions below. But as the title suggests, truth is not an option. The idea is to fib a little, a lot, tell whoppers, be inventive, silly, or even outrageous, in our responses. Today is Frank’s turn to host and here are his questions.

1. Exactly what did Columbus do in 1492?

He took the world’s very first hot air balloon ride.

2. Why does Canada celebrate Thanksgiving in October rather than November as the US does?

Because Canadians want to give thanks for not honoring a guy who did terrible things to native people in the new world.

3. Why do we carve pumpkins into Jack-o-lanterns for Halloween?

It’s an annual October ritual that pays tribute to the all-knowing, all-seeing, omnipresent, omnipotent Great Pumpkin for having blessed us with pumpkin spice.

4. If “octo-” means eight, then why is October the tenth month?

Because Pope Gregory XIII, who introduced the Gregorian calendar in October 1582, didn’t speak Latin.

5. Why do kids dress up in costumes and go trick-or-treating on Halloween?

Because that was one of the Great Pumpkin’s commandments Linus brought down from Mount Pumpkin Patch.

6. What is the movie, “Hocus Pocus” about?

It’s biopic about the world’s greatest magician who coined that phrase and repeated it after every feat of magic he performed.

7. In the Movie, “Halloween,” why was Michael Myers sent to an insane asylum when he was only six years old?

Because he attempted to destroy with world’s supply of pumpkin spice that was bestowed upon us by the all-knowing, all-seeing, omnipresent, omnipotent Great Pumpkin.

8. Continuing from the previous question, what did Myers do when he escaped approximately fifteen years later?

He tried to atone for his crime by opening up a Starbucks that, for the month October each year, gave away pumpkin spice lattes.

9. What was the movie, “Lost Boys” about?

It was about a group of boys who got lost. Duh!

10. According to legend, why don’t vampires have a reflection?

Because vampires are very shallow and don’t spend any time reflecting upon the ramifications of their evil deeds.

Texas, WTF?

Fandango46 Comments

In Southlake, Texas, Gina Peddy, the Carroll Independent School District’s executive director of curriculum and instruction, advised teachers last week that if they have a book about the Holocaust in their classroom, they should also offer students access to a book from an “opposing” perspective.

What is an “opposing perspective” when it comes to the Holocaust? Would that be the Nazi perspective that the genocide of millions of European Jews during World War II was a good thing? Or would it be that the Holocaust was fake news and never actually happened?

Peddy, referring to a new Texas law that requires teachers to present multiple perspectives when discussing “widely debated and currently controversial” issues, told teachers to “make sure that if you have a book on the Holocaust, that you have one that has an opposing, that has other perspectives.”

“How do you oppose the Holocaust?” one teacher asked in response.

“Believe me,” Peddy said. “That’s come up.”

This new Texas law requires teachers to provide “balanced perspectives” not just during classroom instruction, but in the books that are available to students in class during free time.

One teacher said, “There are no children’s books that show the ‘opposing perspective’ of the Holocaust or the ‘opposing perspective’ of slavery. Are we supposed to get rid of all of the books on those subjects?”

But what can you expect from Texas, which now has the most restrictive abortion law in the nation. That law allows any private individual to sue abortion providers or those who aid or abet abortions in violation of the law. Successful litigants can collect at least $10,000. It basically makes bounty hunters out of “concerned citizens” who rat out anyone who in any way assists or aids a woman to have an abortion — even if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest — after six weeks of her pregnancy. Most women don’t even know they’re pregnant within the first six weeks.

Seriously, Texas, WTF?

Fandango’s Flashback Friday — October 15th

Fandango20 Comments

Wouldn’t you like to expose your newer readers to some of your earlier posts that they might never have seen? Or remind your long term followers of posts that they might not remember? Each Friday I will publish a post I wrote on this exact date in a previous year.

How about you? Why don’t you reach back into your own archives and highlight a post that you wrote on this very date in a previous year? You can repost your Friday Flashback post on your blog and pingback to this post. Or you can just write a comment below with a link to the post you selected.

If you’ve been blogging for less than a year, go ahead and choose a post that you previously published on this day (the 15th) of any month within the past year and link to that post in a comment.

This was originally posted on October 15, 2017.

Sunday Photo Fiction — The Cruise

“I can’t believe we’re finally going on a cruise,” Bertha gushed. “I’ve wanted to go on one of these ever since I can remember.”

“There’s nothing too good for my Bertha,” Benny said. He looked around at the five other people sitting at their table. “It’s our fiftieth anniversary.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful,” Mildred said. “My husband got me this cruise for my 65th birthday, which was last month.” She nudged Charles, who was dozing. “Isn’t that right, Charles?”

“This is my second cruise,” said Murray jumped in. “The last time I was with my wife,” he added.

“Is she not with you this time?” Benny asked.

“No. The last time we hit some rough water and she got severely seasick. And then there was some kind of food poisoning or something and nearly everyone on board, passengers and crew alike, got severe diarrhea.”

“Oh my,” said Henrietta. “No wonder she didn’t want to join you this time.”

“Well,” Murray said, “she passed before the cruise ended. But she wasn’t very good company anyway, so I thought I’d give it another go.”

The conversation stopped. The others all got up and left the table.

“Hey, where’s everyone going?” Murray asked.

(199 words)

Written for this week’s Sunday Photo Fiction prompt.

FOWC with Fandango — Table

Fandango20 Comments
FOWC

Welcome to October 15, 2021 and to Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (aka, FOWC). I will be posting each day’s word just after midnight Pacific Time (U.S.).

Today’s word is “table.”

Write a post using that word. It can be prose, poetry, fiction, non-fiction. It can be any length. It can be just a picture or a drawing if you want. No holds barred, so to speak.

Once you are done, tag your post with #FOWC and create a pingback to this post if you are on WordPress. Please check to confirm that your pingback is there. If not, please manually add your link in the comments.

And be sure to read the posts of other bloggers who respond to this prompt. You will marvel at their creativity.