Saturday 9: That Funny Feeling

Saturday 9: That Funny Feeling (1965)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

 

1) In this song, Bobby Darin admits he cares more for the girl than he should. What's something you have recently overdone (eaten too many potato chips, stayed up too late, etc.)?

A. I think I spend too much time playing video games. I like all kinds of video games and try to tell myself it's good for my brain, but I am not so sure.

 

2) Bobby wrote this as the theme song for a movie he starred in with his wife, Sandra Dee. That Funny Feeling (the movie) turned a profit at the box office and "That Funny Feeling" (the record) made the Billboard Top 40. Can you think of another movie and song that were both popular?

A. Grease is the word that you heard, it's got groove it's got feelin'. Grease is the time and the place and the motion, Grease is the way that you're feelin'. (Not sure I have those words exactly right.)

 

3) While Bobby had a successful movie career and earned an Oscar nomination, he didn't get the part he wanted most: Tony in West Side Story. While he could sing and dance very well, producers didn't think Bobby looked like a romantic leading man. What actor or actress makes your heart skip a beat?

A. I think it is the role more so than the actor that makes my "heart skip a beat." For example, I really like Viggo Mortenson as Aragorn and Orlando Bloom as Legolas in The Lord of the Rings, but I didn't particularly find either of them attractive in other roles. 

 

4) Elvis enjoyed watching Bobby perform, but understood that if he sat in the audience, he would be a distraction. So, Elvis always watched Bobby from the wings. Think about the last thing you saw in a theater (concert, movie, play). Were you distracted by another audience member? Was anyone crinkling paper, checking their phone, whispering, etc.?

A. When we went to see the latest Downton Abby movie at the theater, I don't recall anyone being overly loud or doing anything troubling.

 

5) When the editor of a teen magazine asked if he could cook, Bobby not only said yes, he offered up his manicotti recipe. What's your favorite pasta dish? (To eat, not necessarily to whip up in your kitchen.)

A. I love spaghetti but I haven't been able to eat it for years, except at a local cafeteria which fixes baked spaghetti without tomato sauce. I'd love to have a good spaghetti with tomato sauce.

 

6) In addition to cooking, Bobby's friends recall he loved talking about classic cars and baseball. Which of those three would you be most comfortable discussing?

A. I would not be comfortable discussing any of those topics. I dislike cooking, I know only a little about classic cars, and next to nothing about baseball.

 

7) In 1965, when Americans were listening to "That Funny Feeling," aspirin was the top over-the-counter pain reliever. You could get a bottle of 200 tablets for just $1. Is there aspirin in your medicine chest right now?

A. Yes, I keep aspirin around in case someone has a heart attack. I have to replace the bottles every couple of years, and they are always unopened.

 

8) Also in 1965, I Dream of Jeannie premiered. The sitcom about a beautiful genie living in the suburbs was developed to compete with Bewitched, about a beautiful witch living in the suburbs. Which show do like better?

A. I like Bewitched better. Samantha was always such a cool character, and her family members were hilarious.

 

9) Random question: After a friend leaves your home, you spot a small, bound book on the floor next to your sofa. You flip through it and see that her journal fell out of her purse. It's mostly shopping lists and appointments but also includes personal observations, Once you realize what it is, do you close it and keep it closed until you can return it to her? Or do you continue reading?

A. To be honest, it would depend on the friend. If it were a really close friend, I would keep it closed. But if the person were not that close to me, I'd consider reading it. But I don't know that I would.

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I encourage you to visit the posts of other participants in Saturday 9 and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however. 

Thursday Thirteen

1. The other day I was thinking about all of the things around my home that are old, and I don't mean just me and my husband.

2. I am still using the Club cookware that I received as a wedding gift, almost 42 years ago. The pots have a few dings and scratches now, but they still heat evenly.

3. My camera sits on a Slik Stick tripod that someone gave me around 1986. I have tried a few other tripods, but I always go back to this one, even if I do have a bit of Duct Tape around one of its feet.

4. I have stoneware plates I never use that were a wedding present. They sit in the cabinet, and I probably should use them. Instead, I use Corelle ware, and I have no real idea why. Maybe habit. Maybe because it’s what I reach for without thinking.

5. The kitchen clock was also a wedding present. It has ticked away through many meals and lots of cooking. It's the last thing I glance at as I head into the garage for the car, to see what time it is, because it's still accurate.

6. I have a globe atop my bookshelf that my in-laws gave me so long ago that it's out of date, because the Soviet Union no longer exists, and neither do some of the other countries listed on it.

7. My bedroom suite is about 30 years old. It's well-made by a company called Virginia House, which no longer exists. It's not glued together; it's put together like well-made furniture should be. It will outlast me.

8. The cover on my checkbook is over 20 years old. It is made of leather, and I bought it at a craft show. The edges are smooth from years of being opened and closed.

9. I have a couple of books here that I've had since 2002, when my husband's grandmother passed away. They are history books about my county. Kegley's Virginia Frontier is one of them. It smells a bit musty and a little like Grandma.

10. The tassel from where I graduated with my master's degree in 2012 is now 13 years old. It hangs on my bookshelf. It reminds me of goals completed.

11. Another checkbook cover dates back to the 1980s. It still says Sovran Bank, which was a regional bank that existed from 1983 to 1990. The bank eventually became Bank of America, and the branch we used is now called Hometrust Bank, another regional bank, after Bank of America bailed on this area. This checkbook has outlived at least three banks.

12. I have a couple of hard plastic cups that I brought with me when we married, part of my "dowry" that I started when I was about 12. I had a little box where I kept things I thought I might need if I moved out or married, and the cups were among them.

13. And of course there's our house, which we built ourselves, nail by nail, in 1987. We moved in about this time of year - I know it was sometime in November. It's full of our DNA, and it is uniquely ours.

All of which is to say that things can last if one takes care of them and goes for quality. We have, of course, gone through many items - dishes, glasses, things that break when you drop them. As we enter our dotage, our things will come along for the ride.

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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while, and this is my 932nd time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway. 

Beaver Moon

 

Blog Blast 4 Peace

 

Speak Love is the theme for this year's Blog Blast 4 Peace.

Love. It's the thing we all desire, the emotion that many believe will save the world. But what is it, exactly?

When I ask my husband of almost 42 years how he knows he loves me, his answer is, "I feel it in my heart." But he shows me he loves me in a myriad of ways, from small kisses to helping me change the bed linens on Saturdays. Sometimes he even washes my car! 

I show him I love him by taking care of him, making sure he's fed, washing his clothes, and keeping the house. These are acts of love, not chores.

Many people confuse love with control, though. A parent might say 'I'm doing this because I love you' while restricting their adult child's choices or demanding obedience. But love that seeks to control isn't really love at all - it's about power. True love empowers and trusts; it doesn't manipulate or dominate.

Other examples of control disguised as love include someone saying 'I love you' while monitoring their partner's phone, isolating them from friends, or making all the decisions. But that's not love - that's possession. Real love gives freedom and respects boundaries. 

Throughout history, people in power have claimed to act out of love for 'their people' while restricting freedoms and silencing dissent. But love that demands submission isn't love at all. It's dominance disguised as love.

And love is love, and it's what many of us hope will save the world. It's what Jesus preached:

John 13:34: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”

John 15:9: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.”

Mark 12:30–31: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

Matthew 5:44: “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

Luke 6:35: “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High.”

John 15:13: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

These verses reveal the radical and inclusive nature of Jesus’ love. It is a love that reaches across boundaries, forgives deeply, and calls us to mirror divine compassion in our own lives.

It is the love that many of us have hoped would save the world. We've hoped for this for over 2000 years, feeling that in the end love will win. But those words have been twisted until they are no longer recognizable in many places.

Love is many things, and I believe each person defines it for himself or herself. What I see as love may be completely different from what others see as love. Perhaps love for someone is about control, and someone who does not submit is someone that person cannot love or believes cannot love him or her. 

Sometimes people talk about love and show love in many different ways. Dr. Gary Chapman has identified five "love languages" that people use to demonstrate love. Sometimes if people use one type of "love language" it may not be recognizable to someone who uses another type of "love language."

The five love languages are:

Words of Affirmation: Expressing love through spoken words, praise, or appreciation.

Acts of Service: Showing love by doing things for your partner, such as chores or tasks.

Receiving Gifts: Giving thoughtful gifts as a symbol of love and affection.

Quality Time: Spending meaningful time together, focusing on each other without distractions.

Physical Touch: Expressing love through physical contact, such as hugs, kisses, or holding hands.

Maybe love is all of these things and many more. Maybe love is whatever we want to call it, but I do not believe anything that causes pain, whether physical or mental, can be love. It isn't love to cut off food to starving children. It isn't "love" to destroy. Love creates or nurtures.

There are lines we must draw between love and hate, between genuine compassion and empty words, between actions that build up and actions that tear down.

So, what does it look like to speak love for peace? It might be checking on a neighbor who lives alone. It could be listening - truly listening - to someone whose views differ from ours, seeking to understand rather than to win. It might be volunteering at a food bank, writing a letter to someone who's struggling, or simply choosing kindness when we're tempted toward anger. 

Speaking love means acting with compassion, even when it's hard. Maybe especially when it's hard.

I try hard to love in all things, but of course I am only human, and I fail. I cannot always show love in the way someone needs, perhaps because I don't understand what they need. But that doesn't mean we can't try.

Let's all put a little love in our hearts. 

Five Things

 

Last week, I:

1. Went to the chiropractor.

2. Visited the grocery store.

3. Worked on my project with Chad and Sage.

4. Spent a lot of time working out a problem with my camera. I think it has a bad sensor. It still takes decent pictures, but it isn't working in low light like it used to.

5. Wrote a short story.

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In solidarity with federal workers, who were tasked in late February 2025 with listing 5 things they did the prior week in order to keep their jobs, I started listing 5 things I did last week every Monday. On August 5, 2025, the federal government decided this was a waste of employees' time (as if we all didn't know that already). I have decided to keep it up, at least for now.

They Did the Mash

Here are some spooky shots I took recently as we passed houses decorated for Halloween. Some people really go all out.

 

Sunday Stealing

Monday Morning Meme

1. What was the last thing you laughed at?

A. The costumes of the grandchildren of some of my friends. They sent me pictures.

2. Who among your friends/family "gets" your sense of humor?

A. My husband and my friend Teresa. Also, some of my blog readers! Thank you!

3. What jewelry are you wearing at this moment?

A. A watch and earrings.

4. If you could offer one bit of etiquette that everyone should follow while dining out, what would it be?

A. Put down your cell phone and talk to the people you are with, and for heaven's sake, please look after your children. Additionally, if your dog is not a certified service dog, leave it at home.

5. What's the first thing a guest would notice when they walked through your front door?

A. No one ever walks through my front door. They come in through the patio door. I guess the first thing they notice is the kitchen table, which is a family heirloom, and the couch, maybe. I've never really thought about it before.

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

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I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.

Saturday 9: Angie Baby

Saturday 9: Angie Baby (1974)

Unfamiliar with this week's featured song? Hear it here.
 
1) This week's song is a spooky one about a young man who breaks into the bedroom of a troubled girl named Angie. Their encounter doesn't go well, and he's never seen again. Though there's been gossip, no one knows for sure what happened to him. Does your town have any scary legends that have been passed down through the decades?

A. The ragman seems to have endured somewhat. Back before paper was made from pulp, old men would travel in carts from town to town, picking up rages to make paper. Parents told their children if they didn't behave, they'd give them to the Ragman. One little girl allegedly opened the door to find the Ragman after she'd been particularly bad and died of fright.
 
2) Songwriter Alan O'Day said he drew upon aspects of his own childhood to come up with "Angie Baby." He was an only child who often stayed home sick from school, with only Top 40 radio for company. What do you recall when you think about sick days as a kid?

A. I would stay with my grandmother, and we watched The Price Is Right and she gave me Campbell's chicken soup.  
 
3) Helen Reddy said she enjoyed hearing what her fans thought happened in "Angie Baby." Can you think of another song that is open to interpretation?

A. The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia, although I don't know if that song is really open to interpretation. Maybe Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds?
 
4) When Helen and her husband/manager Jeff Wald heard "Angie Baby" the first time, they immediately agreed she should record it. She went into the studio that afternoon and in less than 10 days, disc jockeys were playing it and "Angie Baby" became an international hit. When were you glad you acted on impulse?

A. A very long time ago, I asked someone I barely knew if she'd ride with me to pick up my car at the out-of-town repair shop. I was driving a loaner. She agreed. And then we became very close friends. We'd known one another before, of course, but it seemed like that trip, those 2 hours together, was the real start of our friendship.
 
Questions inspired by Halloween . . .  

5) Though best known as a recording artist, Helen Reddy also acted on occasion and appeared as a singing nun in Airport 1975. A nun's habit is a popular Halloween costume. Will you/did you dress up this year?

A. No dressing up here.

6) In 2024, more Americans than ever dressed their dogs up for Halloween. Have you ever taken your pup with you trick-or-treating?

A. No.

7) According to the Guinness Book of Records, the award for highest number of jack-o-lanterns in one place went to Keene, NH, where in 2013 there were 30,581. Did you carve a pumpkin for Halloween this year?

A. No.
 
8) In years gone by, the Irish celebrated Halloween not with pumpkins but by carving turnips, potatoes and beets. Are any of those foods in your kitchen right now?

A. I have potatoes.
 
9) Some Elvis fans insist his ghost hovers in the trees over Graceland. Have you ever seen a ghost?

A. I have seen many ghosts. When I was growing up, we used to stay with Uncle Carmen and Aunt Helen in West Virginia. Their house was haunted, and you couldn't sleep through the night for the rocking chair rocking, the pipes banging, the clock that didn't run suddenly bonging, and the banjo playing.

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I encourage you to visit the posts of other participants in Saturday 9 and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however. 

A Halloween Treat

Happy Halloween! I have a special treat for you! I've written a short story for the season that I would to share. I hope you enjoy this fictional piece!

The Séance

I arrived at Willow’s McMansion at 11:40 a.m., just as she’d asked. I'd almost been late: the phone call with my sister had gone longer than expected. I rang the doorbell and listened to the odd chime of the refrain of "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" echo throughout the huge house.

Willow, wearing her lavishly long skirt, white camisole, and no shoes, answered the door. "We have to hurry!" she exclaimed, grabbing my hand. "We have to start at precisely 11:47! That's when the full moon is at its peak!"

I blinked. "In the daytime?"

"Time is a construct," Willow replied, tugging me past a lava lamp and toward the kitchen.

The house, as it always did, left me feeling like I'd smoked a joint and forgotten about it. While the exterior screamed lavish and rich, inside the place reminded me of a 1970s mobile home, complete with avocado refrigerator and a harvest gold table with matching chairs.

I ducked under a macrame plant hanger, sans plant, and followed Willow over the shag carpet and into the kitchen. Steve, Willow's husband, sat at one end of the table, his mouth filled with popcorn. He swallowed, choked a little, then grinned. "You made it! I told her you'd show."

The kitchen table was buried under a jumble of scarves Willow had dragged from the linen closet, The tassels dangled like jungle vines. In the center sat a jelly jar holding a candle, its flame flickering nervously.

My eyes moved from Steve to a few stray popcorn kernels. To me, they looked like they were wobbling toward the candle. My eyes playing tricks, I thought.

"Sit, sit," Willow said, pointing at the chair. "Of course she came, we had to have three. You can't have a séance without three people."

Steve rolled his eyes and winked at me. "Your old classmate is sure that this time we're going to call up someone."

Willow, always lithe and breezy, practically danced into her chair. She leaned across the table, eyes wide, lipstick glowing brilliantly. "Steve, no laughing. Spirits have very delicate feelings."

"I'm not laughing," Steve said, squinting. "I'm just questioning why we couldn't do this somewhere else. Like a cemetery or an abandoned church, like normal people."

"Because the last time we tried that, you fell over a headstone and broke your wrist, that's why!" Willow whispered dramatically. "So, here we are!" She waved her hands around, and I followed them as they pointed toward cupboards and the refrigerator.

Then I sat in the chair Willow had pointed at. My palms felt sweaty. I'd agreed to document Willow's paranormal "investigations" for a potential article, but I hadn't expected to be an active participant. Willow looked at me and smiled. "Spirits need a fresh soul," she said. “You’re just the blood we need.”

That was a new twist. I couldn’t help glancing toward the knives in their knife block. Fresh blood? Should I be terrified, or amused? I wasn't sure.

Willow hit her phone and dimmed the kitchen light until only the candle flickered, though with the curtains open there was plenty of light. "Close your eyes. Join hands. Focus."

Steve's hand was cool on my left; Willow's trembled on my right.

"Oh spirits," Willow intoned, rolling her r's like she was casting a spell, "we invite you to join us tonight. We are here for you. Speak through this table, this candle . . . or one of us, if you must."

Nothing happened. “Om Salabbibi,” Willow said. “Come to us, spirit.”

“Om soybeans and salami,” Steve recited.

The room seemed to shrink. The hum of the fridge stopped and then started again.

"Willow… did you pay the electric bill?" Steve asked. I opened an eye to see him smirking.

"Shhh! That was the other side!"

The candle flickered violently, though no breeze stirred.

Willow gasped. "Did you see that? Steve, it's working!"

Steve frowned. "Yeah . . . working for who? The ghosts or us?"

The saltshaker rattled across the table, tapping the candle jar. I flinched. I thought I smelled a hint of cigarette smoke over the smell of popcorn. The scent was like the Camels my grandfather used to smoke.

Steve muttered, "Yep. Definitely ghosts. Or a very angry mouse."

Willow leaned in, eyes gleaming. "No! This is real. Spirits! Give us a sign! Knock once for yes, twice for no!"

The freezer door creaked.

"They're after my cheesecake!" Steve yelped. He started to stand up, and Willow forcefully pulled on his arm to keep him in his seat.

The door slammed shut. Candlelight flickered.

The séance was alive.

Steve broke the circle then, shook his hand as if Willow had squeezed it too tightly, and reached into his bowl of popcorn. "If I'm going to have a heart attack, I may as well snack."

"Steve! Not during a séance!" Willow said. “You’ve broken the circle.”

"It’s not going to hurt anything. And crunching doesn't break a spell," Steve replied.

The candle spat hot wax. Popcorn flew from the bowl across the table.

"Steve!" Willow cried.

The kernels didn't scatter randomly. They spelled a word. We all twisted our heads to see what it said. LISTEN.

Willow clutched my arm, circle forgotten. "Oh, Laura! I knew you’d bring us luck. Steve, they're spelling things with snacks! This is amazing!"

She grabbed my hand and took up Steve’s again. "Oh spirit, give us your name so that we can help you with your need!" she intoned.

Steve muttered, "Really, Willow," and reached for his popcorn. It spilled again.

The popcorn spelled out another word: CLAUDE.

Willow gasped. "Claude! The spirit's name is Claude!"

Steve tilted his head. "Claude! Claude is an AI! The AIs have taken over the spirit world! I wonder what else is there? ChatGPT? Gemini?"

Willow huffed. "It isn't AI. It must be a ghost. Claude the friendly ghost. Or maybe Claude from accounting."

Willow pressed on. "Claude… tell us something! Knock once for yes, twice for no!"

A sharp knock came from the cupboard.

"Now we have mice in the cabinets!" Steve announced.

Willow shushed him, then whispered, "Claude likes snacks."

The cabinet door flew open. A box of Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies tumbled out and hit the floor.

My eyes widened. I couldn't believe it. I used to call those Granddaddy cookies. I hadn't thought of them in years.

Willow leaned forward, squinting at the box. "Oatmeal cookies? Is the spirit hungry?"

Steve shook his head. "It’s an AI, I’m telling you. We need tech support so some guy can tell us to turn a computer off and on again."

A cereal box fell from the cabinet, spilling its contents across the counter. We all stood up to look, dropping our hands. The cereal spelled: BEWARE THE TREE.

Willow and Steve moved closer to study the words.

"Beware the tree?" Willow nodded. "I get it. I told you that we need to get that big dead ash tree cut down, Steve."

"Maybe he means a tree someplace else," Steve muttered. “Maybe the tech guy is talking about the file tree in DOS.”

I swallowed and felt a throb in an old scar on my thumb. I remembered the day I’d cut myself with a saw when I was helping my grandfather with a mulberry that lightning struck. The scar seemed to pulse and grow. It can’t be that tree, I thought.

We returned to the table and took our seats.

“Om Salabbibi,” Willow said, closing her eyes. “Do you have more to say, Claude the spirit?”

“I’m telling you it’s AI,” Steve muttered.

The sugar bowl rattled and exploded in glittering crystals. I looked at the mess in front of me. DON'T TRUST THEM, it said.

Willow tilted her head, trying to read sideways. "Does that say something?"

“It’s nothing,” I said.

Steve looked at the table, now littered with popcorn and sugar. "What a way to spend lunch," he said. He couldn't tell there were words as he was looking at the sugar upside down.

I dropped my head, feeling a headache coming on. The overhead light suddenly brightened and the candle went out. The séance was over.

Willow clapped. "That was wonderful! Oh, if only we knew who Claude was! That was fabulous, just fabulous, wasn't it, Laura?"

I started to gather sugar and popcorn with trembling hands.

Don't trust them. Don’t trust who? But I knew, deep down, who I shouldn’t trust. How could I, I thought, when I know they blame me?

For Willow and Steve, they had made contact, and they were thrilled. For me, it was a warning.

A warning from my grandfather, Claude.

*The End*

Closing Incantation:

This tale is conjured from memory, myth, and imagination. Though it may echo real names or places, all characters and events are fictional. Any resemblance is unintentional—or the result of spectral coincidence.

Thursday Thirteen

Spooky Short Stories for the Threshold of Halloween

1. “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson
A sunlit village gathers for its annual ritual, one that is cheerful, ordinary, and horrifying. Jackson’s masterpiece of social horror exposes the violence lurking beneath tradition.
Read online (XpressEnglish)

2. “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
A woman confined for “rest” begins to see movement in the wallpaper. A descent into madness—or a haunting critique of domestic repression and medical gaslighting.
Read online (Project Gutenberg)

3. “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
A murderer insists on his sanity, but the sound of a beating heart beneath the floorboards betrays him. Guilt becomes a rhythmic torment in Poe’s classic.
Read online (PoeStories.com)

4. “The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs
A cursed talisman grants three wishes, but with cruel irony. A meditation on grief, fate, and the danger of tampering with the unknown.
Read online (Project Gutenberg)

5. “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe
In the catacombs beneath carnival revelry, a man exacts revenge brick by brick. Poe’s tale of betrayal and buried secrets chills with its calm cruelty.
Read online (PoeStories.com)

6. “The Summer People” by Shirley Jackson
A couple decides to extend their stay past Labor Day only to find that the locals grow strange. A quiet dread builds as the landscape turns hostile.
Read online (PDF)

7. “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula K. Le Guin
A utopian city thrives, but at a terrible cost. Le Guin’s philosophical fable asks what we’re willing to sacrifice for comfort, and who bears the burden.
Read online (PDF)

8. “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner
A Southern woman clings to the past and to something more disturbing. Gothic decay and denial culminate in a macabre revelation.
Read online (PDF)

9. “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin
A woman receives news of her husband’s death and tastes freedom, albeit briefly. A haunting twist turns liberation into tragedy.
Read online (Owl Eyes)

10. “Charles” by Shirley Jackson
A mother worries about her son’s unruly classmate, until the truth emerges. Domestic absurdity masks a darker reflection of childhood and denial.
Read online (PDF)

11. “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut
In a dystopia of enforced equality, beauty and brilliance are punished. A rebel rises—and is swiftly crushed. Satirical, eerie, and disturbingly relevant.
Read online (PDF)

12. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates
A teenage girl meets a stranger who knows too much. Inspired by true crime, this story simmers with psychological menace and seductive dread.
Read online (PDF)

13. “The Landlady” by Roald Dahl
A young man checks into a cozy bed-and-breakfast. The tea is warm, the pets are still, and the guestbook never changes. Dahl’s tale is quietly terrifying.
Read online (PDF)

*An AI tool helped put this list together*

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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while, and this is my 931st time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway. 

Battling Bucks

It's time for the rut, and the young bucks are fighting over the does. The larger buck just lay there and watched; I guess he'd already won his fight when I saw these two going at it.

 

Falling Spring Falls

Falling Springs Falls is a breathtaking 80' waterfall that is one of the most visited and photographed spots in the Alleghany Highlands.

The scenic waterfall is located on Route 220 in Alleghany County, just five miles north of Covington, Virginia. The property has had extensive renovations to the overlook and grounds, including a picnic area, so that visitors can more safely stop and enjoy the view.

According to the book, “Historical Sketches of the Alleghany Highlands” by Gay Arritt, 82 acres of land including, the Falling Spring Falls was granted by King George III of Great Britain to Gabriel Jones in August 1771. 

In 1780 Thomas Jefferson, as Governor of Virginia, granted the property to Major Thomas Massie. The site was once visited by Jefferson to survey the falls, and he mentions it in his manuscript “Notes on the State of Virginia” written in 1781. “The only remarkable cascade in this country is that of the Falling Spring in Augusta,” wrote Jefferson, “...it falls over a rock 200 feet into the valley below.” 

From 1914 to 1926 a producer of travertine material, Ohio C. Barber Fertilizer Company, mined fertilizer in Barber, Virginia, now called Falling Spring. In 1927 Falling Spring Lime Company assumed operations until 1941. Mining operations necessitated the relocation of the falls where it now plunges only 80 feet.

On November 28, 2004, Mead Westvaco donated the Falling Spring Falls and approximately 19 surrounding acres to the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. Douthat State Park maintains the area.

One of the largest falls in Virginia, it cascades from an overhanging ledge and is easily visible from the roadway. 

Venturing from the overlook to explore the Falls is dangerous and illegal. The area beyond the fence is posted as no trespassing and violators are subject to fine.

 

Five Things

 

Last week, I:

1. Had a haircut.

2. Took a friend out.

3. Went to the grocery store.

4. Worked on my project.

5. Spent my evenings looking at Comet Lemmon through the binoculars. My attempts to take photographs of it were failures.

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In solidarity with federal workers, who were tasked in late February 2025 with listing 5 things they did the prior week in order to keep their jobs, I started listing 5 things I did last week every Monday. On August 5, 2025, the federal government decided this was a waste of employees' time (as if we all didn't know that already). I have decided to keep it up, at least for now.

Sunday Stealing

Four 5's

FIVE things on my to-do list:

1. Bookkeeping work.

2. Write a letter.

3. Wash my car.

4. Walk on the treadmill.

5. Work on my project.

 

FIVE snacks I enjoy:

1. Nature Valley Cashew Bars

2. Brownies

3. Lays Baked Potato Chips

4. Nuts

5. Chocolate chip cookies

FIVE places I have lived:

1. In Salem, when I was very small.

2. In a trailer (mobile home) outside of Fincastle.

3. In an old farmhouse.

4. In my husband's grandmother's rental house.

5. In the house my husband and I built.

 

FIVE jobs I have held:

1. Guitar player in a band.

2. News reporter.

3. Freelance writer.

4. Legal Secretary.

5. Babysitter.

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

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I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.