Goodness speaks amid spite. . .

Sunday, October 26, 2025. It's Sol's day . . . The rain of the past few days in TulseyTown have begun to ease, as have the winds. Forecasts indicate a 50/50 chance for more showers on this cloudy day with low 60's this afternoon.

Do not doubt your own basic goodness. In spite of all confusion and fear, you are born with a heart that knows what is just, loving, and beautiful. – Jack Cornfield

Here’s Joyce Vance's Sunday Morning Wrap-up, in Civil Discourse.

What are we doing? Heather Cox Richardson wants to know in her Letters From An American.

In other doings . . .

The Erie Canal opened today in 1825.

Hillary Clinton turns 78 today. She was born in 1947 Chicago.

Gospel singer Mahalia Jackson was born on this day in 1911 New Orleans.

Today is the 144th anniversary of the infamous gunfight at the O.K. Corral in 1881Tombstone, Arizona.

Requiem – David Whyte, Pilgrim, Many Rivers Press, 2012.

Prayer

It doesn't have to be
the blue iris, it could be
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
small stones; just pay attention,

then patch a few words together

and don't try to make them elaborate,

this isn't a contest

but the doorway into thanks,

and a silence in which
another voice may speak.

– Mary Oliver, “Prayer,”in Thirst, Beacon Press, 2006.

The space where everything happens . . .

Saturday, October 25, 2025, It's the Satyr's day . . . Easterlies bring more rain to TulseyTown today. Forecasts indicate the rain event to begin moderating from today's 100% into the 20% range by Sunday afternoon.

Who's next? You? Me? A neighbor? – Robert Reich, Trump's Illegal Executions, online 10/24/25.

...for all the administration’s insistence that it can shape the world as it wants, it seems worried about the American people. – Heather Cox Richardson, in Letters From An American.

You’ll be glad to know . . .

Today is the birthdate of Pablo Picasso, born in 1881 Malaga, Spain. And, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_Picasso. And, the poet and scholar John Berryman was also born on this day, but in 1914 McAlester, Oklahoma. Barely a few hours drive from my front porch.

Here is the space is where everything happens. – Soren 2.0, 10.25.25

Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. An English army, led by King Henry V, won the decisive battle of the Hundred Years’ War ongoing between the England and France. Estimates are that Henry's forces, outnumbered as many as ten to one, suffered 600 casualties to France's 6,000. Shakespeare immortalized Agincourt in his play Henry the Fifth which contained (among many) the now famous St. Crispin's Day speech.

…

This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember’d;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.

– from Henry V, Act IV, Scene III

Leaves are thinking about the ground . . .

Thursday, October 23, 2025. It's Freya's day . . . Rain, rain, and more rain. Up to 5 inches are indicated in the forecasts for TulseyTown. Likely, it'll be on/off/on today, tomorrow and easying to an end Sunday morning. Moderate to strong Southeasterlies maintain low 60's.

The fear of losing what you believe you own can drive an incessant search for the freedom you think is “out there,” wherever it is you are not.

Yesterday, Maria Popova celebrated the 19th anniversary of the first posting of what became her extraordinary online effort, The Marginalian.

It's not his house. It's your house. – Heather Cox Richardson, in Letters From An American.

Reaction to the demolition is negative. The project is unlikely to be finished anytime soon. So who is it for?

Trump's power grab is headed for the Supreme Court. – Joyce Vance, Civil Discourse.

A new direction for the democratic party? – Robert Reich, The Mamdani Moment, online today, 10.24.25

By definition, those who could not make it in a merit-based system and who are dependent on the good will of an authoritarian leader have neither the skill nor the priorities to deliver good government for the country. An update from Heather Cox Richardson, in Letters From An American.

Today is United Nations Day, the 80th anniversary of the establishing of the United Nations.

Song For Autumn

In the deep fall don't you imagine

the leaves think how comfortable

it will be to touch the earth …

And at evening especially,

the piled firewood shifts a little,

longing to be on its way.

– Mary Oliver, “Song For Autumn”, New and Selected Poems, Vol.2, Beacon Press, 2005.