SUNDAY FUNDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2021

 SUNDAY FUNDAY
OCTOBER 3RD, 2021

INTRO

WOW - cross another month off or the calendar.  October in central Texas is pretty nice - highs still in the ’80s (and even low 90s), but cooler nights.  We’ve also had some nice rains!!!

Time for thinking about Halloween costumes.  I have an idea but I need to finish it off.  As a professor, I ALWAYS had a costume for Halloween.  

Baseball is going into the playoffs, football is in full swing.  Granny Basketball doesn’t have a game for a while.  We lost all three games last weekend - the first game by two points, the second game by five points, and the third game - we lost by 30 points!!!  (Egads!!!)

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SPORTS

I was raised in an environment that had four sports:  College Football; Professional Football; College Basketball, and Major League Baseball.  

Soccer?  Nope!  Nobody played soccer!!  

Hockey - oh yeah, that’s the sport where all the players had lost at least one tooth.  And, in Iowa where there was not quite enough outdoor ice, there wasn’t much hockey played.  (We did have an ice skating rink near us and I tried to ice skate a few times - not the most graceful for me!!!)

Women’s sports - (did women play sports?).  In Iowa, girls played 6 on 6 basketball.  There were three sections - frontcourt, middle, and backcourt - two players from each team in each section.  Only the forwards could score and with only two players scoring they could get some good statistics - Lynne Lorenzen is the nation's all-time leader in scoring for 6-on-6 basketball, which Iowa stopped playing in 1993 with 6,736 points - or about 1,684 points on average for each year in her four years of play!!

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SERIOUS FOR A MINUTE

My father had dementia before he died (at age 97).  I think all of us know of somebody (possibly even in our family).  I ran across these ideas:

To help avoid dementia/Alzheimer’s
1 Get your sleep

2 Eat well

3. Be SOCIAL (get out and be active)

4 Keep your brain active (like games, logic problems)

5 Exercise 

6 Don’t overdo the alcohol

7 Avoid smoking

8 Try some new things - like learning a language, playing an instrument

9. Keep your weight in control

10 Keep your brain safe - avoid falls 

11 Take care of your hearing

(How to Prevent Dementia - 10 Strategies to Reduce Your Risk (homecareassistance.com)_

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MUSIC

(Okay, I am doing too much music).  Walburg German Oktoberfest on Saturday, October 2, 9, and 16; Williamson County Symphony on Friday, October 15 at First Baptist Church in Georgetown (7:30), and on Saturday, October 16th at the downtown plaza in Round Rock (near the library) - also at 7;30. And the new orchestra group - the Central Texas Musical Arts on Saturday, October 23rd in Leander at 7:30.

But, in reality, it isn’t too much.  At Quinnipiac, I played in the Cheshire Symphony with rehearsals on Monday night, Quinnipiac Pep Band rehearsal on Tuesday night, a brass quintet on Wednesday night, Hamden Symphony on Thursday night, and during basketball and hockey season playing most Friday and Saturday nights.  (That was too much with a full-time professor job!!!)

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PUZZLERS:

It’s been a while since we did some Wuzzles (or at least that is the name I learned them by).  The Cedar Rapids Gazette had these word puzzles in the Saturday paper every week.  (I was “Carrier of the Week” once for the Gazette - which, at that time, was an evening paper!!)

.1  MAN

    MOON

.2   MIND

    MATTER

.3   PAWALKRK

.4  KNOCK

      WOOD

.5  SOMEWHERE

       RAINBOW

(I think these are two easy - I’ll work on tougher ones next week)

RIDDLES

.6 What room has no doors?

.7 Nancy has five children

The first is named January

The second is named February

The third is called March

The fourth is April

What is the name of the fifth.

.8 What has one eye but cannot see?

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NATIONAL DAYS;

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NATIONAL UNITY DAY - October 3, 2021 | National Today

This is a German Unity day - celebrating October 3, 1990, when the two Germanys united.  (Maybe it is more so this year as Angela Merkel the longtime chancellor of Germany is stepping down after many years of keeping a solid hand on Germany and the European Union.

(My other choices for October 3 were “Mean Girl Day”, “Boyfriend Day”, and “National Kevin Day”!!  I think Germany unity day is the best choir of the four options!!!)  

And, if you want to challenge your memory, on October 3, 1995 - OJ Simpson was acquitted. (What car did he drive?  Who was he accused of killing? Is he in jail or not now)

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For me there were two obvious choices for October 4th:

​NATIONAL CINNAMON ROLL DAY - October 4, 2021, | National Today

And

National Taco Day 2020 — Taco Day Deals And Where To Celebrate (nationaltoday.com)

But some of you might have preferred:

NATIONAL GOLF LOVERS DAY - October 4, 2021, | National Today

Or

National Vodka Day 2019 — How and When to Celebrate (nationaltoday.com)

And, in history - something significant happened on October 4, 1957 - Sputnik was launched - and the Space Race was on!!!

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Two related days make my list for October 5th
NATIONAL BE NICE DAY - October 5, 2021, | National Today

NATIONAL DO SOMETHING NICE DAY - October 5, 2021, | National Today

If you can be anything - be nice!!!!

And, in history - Steve Jobs died on October 5th, 2011

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National Transfer Money to Your Daughter Day — October 6, 2019 (nationaltoday.com)

Maybe that one is past - but I remember transferring money to our kids for college!!!

And, on October 6, 1961, President Kennedy suggested that Americans build bomb shelters!!!  (I remember having bomb drills in schools and buildings that had signs for nuclear war safety rooms).

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October 7, 1913, Henry Ford opened the first assembly line plant in Highland Park Michigan - and the car revolution took off!!!

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And, for you, baseball fans - on October 8, 1957, Don Larsen pitched the ONLY PERFECT GAME in world series history!!!

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WRAP UP

So October is here!!! Time to enjoy nature (and Oktoberfest)!!!  

Yes, I have a beer (or maybe two) at Oktoberfest at Walburg.  I don’t want to drink more than that as I do drive home.  So, in the first hour, maybe one beer, and maybe just half a beer after that.  (The Brushy Creek Brass Band doesn’t get paid, but we get free dinner and free beer) 

LOVE WINS!!!

Karen

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Answers:

.1  MAN             MAN ON THE MOON

    MOON

.2   MIND MIND OVER MATTER

    MATTER

.3   PAWALKRK A WALK IN THE PARK

.4  KNOCK KNOCK ON WOOD

      WOOD

.5  SOMEWHERE SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW

       RAINBOW

RIDDLES

.6 What room has no doors?   MUSHROOM

.7 Nancy has five children The fifth child is “WHAT” (note - no 

The first is named January question mark at the end of the sentence)

The second is named February

The third is called March

The fourth is April

What is the name of the fifth.

.8 What has one eye but cannot see?  A needle