READ ON!

   SATURDAY, AUGUST 9, 2025

                 READ ON!

   August 9th is "Book Lovers Day!"

This "holiday" could easily have been

made for my wife. She is a devoted

book lover and reads each and every

day. When she had some eye problems

recently she tuned in to audio books

so as not to miss the literature! Between

family, friends, and the library she has

a constant supply. Reading, of course,

is good for you. It stimulates the mind

and good be a good source of history

as well. So as not to miss out I've

selected a copy of our grandson's

"Thomas The Tank Engine" for

the day. Looks like a good story

and there's lots of pictures! Hope

you're a book lover and that all

your NEWS is good! 

    

DO WHAT!!??

   FRIDAY, AUGUST 8, 2025

           DO WHAT!!??

   I've come across a lot of unofficial

"holidays" as I've prepared for my daily

BLOGS but this one is one of the

most unusual! August 8th is "Sneak 

Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's

Porch Night! I guess I shouldn't be

surprised it was created by somebody

in the media. Thomas Roy, a Talk show

host, came up with the day. He's also

responsible for "No Socks Day" and

"Humbug Day."  Roy thought the

day would be an opportunity to share

the wealth of your garden with your

neighbors. We do have a neighbor

with a porch but we haven't grown

any zucchini. We do have a fruitful

Blackberry bush so maybe we can

substitute as a way of observing

this holiday! Hope you'll share

your garden harvest as well and

that all your NEWS is good!

WHAT'S IN THE BOX?

   THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, 2025

        WHAT'S IN THE BOX?

   Here's an unofficial "holiday" that's

probably been familiar to most of us

even if we didn't know it existed!

August 7th is "Particularly Preposterous

Packaging Day!" I've sort of touched

on this before in a sense when I told

you about medical bottles that are

sealed on top, require a certain type

of push and turn to open them, only

to find another seal underneath the top.

But that's just one example. Think 

about the thumb drive you ordered

on line that comes in a package the

size of a shoe box! I was recently

gifted with a frame and cover for

a portable garage for my Miata.

I still don't understand how the

delivery driver was able to lift

the package and bring it to our

front porch. My son managed to

set it upright and wiggle it onto

his old skateboard in order to

move it to the site where we

was able to get it assembled!

That box was tremendously

heavy, wrapped in a plastic

coating and sealed with 

plastic bands along its

length and width! So, how does

one deal with "Particularly Preposterous

Packaging?"  I guess you just do

the best you can and be happy

they are at least delivered

safely! Enjoy the day! Hope

all of your NEWS is good!  

"HAVING A COW!

    WEDNESDAY AUGUST 6, 2025 

         "HAVING A COW!"

   In slang terms "Having a cow" generally

means to be very angry and upset. But that's

not the "cow" you're invited to enjoy today!

You see August 6th is "National Rootbeer

Float Day!" That freshing summer time

beverage was said to have been invented

by Frank Wisner in 1836 inspired, so

the stor goes, by the snow capped mountains

of Colorado! It's a simple drink composed

of a scoop of vanilla ice cream mixed with

root beer soda. And, it ois also know as a

"Black Cow!" But whatever you call it

today is the perfect day to enjoy one to

join in the celebration! Hope you enjoy

yours and that all your NEWS is good! 

A STOP IN CLEVELAND!

    TUESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2025

     A STOP IN CLEVELAND!

  Cleveland has a lot of history! The

city boasts the Rock &Roll Hall of

Fame. It's the place where you can

find the house from "A Christmas

Story movie! But Cleveland has

given us a lot more than those

treasures. In fact on this very

day in 1914 Cleveland gave us

the first electric traffic light!

Other hand operated signals

before that were all well and

good for horse and buggy

traffic. But one the automobile

came along the speed of things

picked up. The initial signal was

set up at the corner of Euclid

Avenue and  105 Street. It had

only red and green lights. No

amber! So now you know where

the traffic light came from. And

if I were a betting man I'd wager

the first car horn blast came about

two hundredths of a second after

that light turned green and the driver

up front failed to drive on instantly!

Hope you're obeying

all the traffic signals and that all

your NEWS is good!

THE STUFF WE BROUGHT HOME!

   MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2025

THE STUFF WE BROUGHT HOME!

  Leaving vacation isn't easy! When we

left Wildwood this past Saturday we had

already said goodbye to the family members

that joined us there. That was tough. Then

the was the packing. My wife did ours

because, if left to me, we'd need a U-Haul

truck. I had a 4 hour drive and that

included the usual Grand Prix on the

Schuylkill Expressway through Philadelphia!

There was unpacking and a ton of laundry

my wife handled while I took to the grass

that apparently grew 5 inches in just a

week. I'm still getting sand out of my

sneakers and I'll be able to fill a kid's

sandbox with the remains in our

folding chairs. On the positive side,

we did bring back wonderful memories

and a special treat. People will talk and

talk about Salt Water Taffy. But Salt

Water Taffy is an "add on." But enough

Fudge and you'll usually get a box of

taffy. Fudge is what you really want!

I bought a half pound box of mixed

flavors. Wait a minute. I just checked

and it's down to a quarter pound. Maybe

less. I don't believe my wife has had any

yet so you know what that means. I'll

have to eat the rest fast!!!!  Hope you're

all well and that all your NEWS is

good!     

HEADING HOME!

  SATURDAY, AUGUST 2, 2025

          HEADING HOME!

  Well our family vacation week in

Wildwood, New Jersey has come to

an end. By the time most of you read

this or watch my video we should be

back in the beautiful environment of

northeastern Pennsylvania. But what

a great week it has been! We've gone

fishing, gone to the beach, and gone

to the boardwalk. Our grandkids

have taken in some of the amusement

rides. Although I personally found

a few of those "attractions" far more

frighting than amusing. We've enjoyed

some great dinners and speciality foods

that I only seem to see when I'm here in

Wildwood. Chief among them, Curley

Fries, and Sticky Buns! The weather

has been great for the most part

although we had some rain on\Thursday 

and much cooler temperatures Friday. 

A suggestion, perhaps, that summer 

was beginning to come to an end. Of

course we all know we have a lot more

coming. Just not here at the shore.

I hope you've enjoyed coming along on 

vacation by way of these BLOGS and

I hope you'll keep watch for them daily

on my Facebook page. As always, I

hope all your NEWS is good!