Sunday Salon. On the Count Down.

Weather: The night's are turning cold and threats of frost are in the air. Right now (Saturday afternoon) it is lovely and cool with blue skies.

Family news:  We visited a local pumpkin patch with our daughter and her family. Ian had fun running around, going on a ride pulled by a tractor, attempting to hit a box with a pumpkin in a sling shot, and jumping off a hay bale when grandma said "Jump". I love this photo so much. You can even see our other grandson's head peeking out from the cool mommy-n-baby coat.

Books: Amazingly I actually did a little reading this week.

• Completed:
•  The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert. This was a book club selection for the club meeting this past Tuesday. Last week I mentioned that I had abandoned this book because of its serious and depressing message, but I picked it back up and nearly completed it in time for the meeting. I highly recommend it. It contains such a vital and timely message we all need to hear. (Print)
• Born a Crime by Trevor Noah. No wonder everyone who has read this told me to read it, too. I expected "how I became famous" but got "growing up in South Africa is hard work." There was not a hint of feeling sorry for himself, either. Wow. Now it's your turn. Read it! Better yet, listen to the audiobook. Noah reads it himself. (Audiobook)
• Hello, Neighbor! The Kind and Caring World of Mr. Rogers by Matthew Cordell. An authorized picture children's biography of Mr Rogers. Love it. (Print)
  
• Currently reading: 
  
•  A Velocity of Being: Letters to Young Readers by Maria Popova. A collection of over 100 letters written to young readers of the future from authors and other well-known people. I am so grateful that this book fell into my hands at this time. It is like a salve to a wound. (30%, print)
• Writers and Lovers by Lily King. I started this audiobook ages ago and didn't finish it before it was due back at the library. I just got it back and am trying to pick up where I left off last time. (Audiobook, 50%) 
• Almost Everything: Notes on Hope by Anne Lamott. I picked this one up from my church library a few weeks ago, wanting something, anything to give me hope. At least I can read it even though there is so much chatter going on in my head. (50%, print)
  

Good News:

1. Endorsements for Biden. In the event you still need a little persuasion before you vote, read/view these:

• Rolling Stone Magazine 
• "We’ve lived for the past four years under a man categorically unfit to be president. Fortunately for America, Joe Biden is Donald Trump’s opposite in nearly every category: The Democratic presidential nominee evinces competence, compassion, steadiness, integrity, and restraint. Perhaps most important in this moment, Biden holds a profound respect for the institutions of American democracy, as well as a deep knowledge about how our government — and our system of checks and balances — is meant to work; he aspires to lead the nation as its president, not its dictator. The 2020 election, then, offers the nation a chance to reboot and rebuild from the racist, authoritarian, know-nothing wreckage wrought by the 45th president. And there are few Americans better suited to the challenge than Joe Biden."
• USA Today
• "Elect Joe Biden. Reject Donald Trump.  In 2016, we broke tradition in urging you not to vote for Trump. Now we're making our first presidential endorsement. We hope it's our last... Now, two weeks until Election Day, we suggest you consider a variation of the question Republican Ronald Reagan asked voters when he ran for president in 1980: Is America better off now than it was four years ago?"
• Ret. Admiral William McRaven (who oversaw the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden) wrote an  op-ed in the Wall Street Journal endorsing Biden.
• "This week I went to the polls in Texas. Truth be told, I am a pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, small-government, strong-defense and a national-anthem-standing conservative. But, I also believe that black lives matter, that the Dreamers deserve a path to citizenship, that diversity and inclusion are essential to our national success, that education is the great equalizer, that climate change is real and that the First Amendment is the cornerstone of our democracy. Today I voted for Joe Biden."
  
•  The Des Moines Register endorsed Biden several weeks ago. Now they are endorsing a slate of Democrats. Wow, just wow. If only people read newspapers still.
  

• [Putting party above country] has led Republicans down a treacherous path of steadfast loyalty to a president who has coddled dictators, demonized immigrants, wavered on denouncing white supremacists, run the White House like a family business, routinely ignored science and witnessed over 215,000 Americans die in a pandemic on his watch. And the worst may be yet to come, since he has not committed to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the election.

  That's why in this particular election every Republican incumbent should be voted out of office and every open seat should be awarded to the Democratic candidate.

  The Democratic candidates for Congress in Iowa have much to offer. But make no mistake: Elected Republicans' actions have been so poisonous that removing them from power is as important a goal as sending thoughtful public servants to Washington.  

• Mel Brooks, first Presidential endorsement ever. (You never know what kind of weird news items I will find each week! Ha!)
  

My father, @MelBrooks, is 94. He has never made a political video. Until now. #MelBrooks4JoeBiden#BidenHarris#GrassrootsDemHQ pic.twitter.com/yQZhopSbNV

— Max Brooks (@maxbrooksauthor) October 21, 2020

2.This Joe Biden ad played during the first game of the World series, narrated by Sam Elliot. It is super patriotic. (Link)

3. Pope Francis calls for civil union law for same sex marriages. (Catholic News Agency)

• “Homosexuals have a right to be a part of the family. They’re children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out, or be made miserable because of it,” Pope Francis said in the film, of his approach to pastoral care.

4. This poem is by author Octavia Butler from the Parable of the Talents. It is very appropriate for us today.

5. A Texas teenager may have found a COVID-19 cure breakthrough. Really. Read about this astonishing story here. (DKos)

6. The polling still looks very good for Biden. Even on issues that the President thinks he has sown up, he is behind on most of them.

7.  Obama is back! Here he speaks at a Biden campaign rally in Philadelphia. It is 36 minutes long but I loved listening to him again! (Obama at Biden rally)

I'm not the only one who felt this way. Check out this meme that showed up the day after his speech.

Musical Interlude from Dave Mason and the Quarantines, playing "Feelin' Alright." Haven't heard of them? If you are an old rocker you'll recognize the musicians. Enjoy. (Listen here.)

On the Lighter Side:

1.Trump knows the only way he will win is if he cheats. And he is so crooked he thinks cheating is fine.

2. Doesn't it seem like Trump only does things for himself, not the country?

3. Trump lies so often some people don't even recognize them as lies. But others see the truth, like Tom Hanks!

4. Borat's new movie apparently caught Trump's attorney, Rudolph Giuliani, with his pants almost off. This is Borat defending him. (Snark)

Borat speaks pic.twitter.com/csBwCJdH41

— Daniel Uhlfelder (@DWUhlfelderLaw) October 23, 2020

5. Most laughs of the day, compliments of my sister Grace.

6. Unless you consider the kind of "treats" we've been eating in 2020. Yuck.

7.  Every week I think I won't find enough funny memes to fill my blog. Every week I am delighted by what I actually find. Musically speaking, this one seems to wrap up the year perfectly.

8. And the last word of the week goes to Gilligan's Island.

Another musical Interlude. This is not-to-be-missed. (Black Eyed Peas)

10 more days until election day. Breathing deep.

I love your comments. It lets me know you have visited and read my blog. But it also allows for polite discourse. Please leave a comment below or on the link at Facebook. Thank you.

-Anne