Asteroid Astrology: Page 6

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Aster-Obit: Jimmy Carter

On Sunday, 29 December 2024, former US president Jimmy Carter passed away peacefully at his home in Plains, Georgia; at age 100, he was the longest-lived chief executive in US history.  Carter had been in hospice care for nearly two years, since February of 2023, and had lost his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn, that November.  He also enjoyed the longest post-presidency, which was viewed, rightly or wrongly, as considerably more successful than his administration, with the Carter Center promoting democracy, advancing human rights and assisting disease eradication globally.  Jimmy and Rosalynn also partnered with Habitat for Humanity in an annual home-building blitz, which the Carters joined personally.

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What the Dickens?

It’s that time of year again; the holidays are upon us, and amidst the lights and tinsel, trees and presents, one enduring emblem of the season remains almost inescapable.  It’s well-nigh impossible to make it through December without at least a glimpse of “A Christmas Carol,” Charles Dickens’ classic 1843 novella that introduced the world to Ebeneezer Scrooge and Tiny Tim, and almost single-handedly created the modern concept of Christmas.  Filmed over 100 times, and adapted into endless variations on TV, radio, the stage, animation, even a ballet, “A Christmas Carol” is surely one of the pillars that upholds yuletide.

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House Diary: Yule 2024 – Back to Basics

2024 is rapidly drawing to close, and the holidays are upon us!  Here, my TLS (short for Tchotchke Lust Syndrome, an incurable disease common to inveterate collectors) has kicked-in fulltime over the past few years, leading to a circumstance whereby the breadth and depth of the Yule/Winter/Christmas collection has swollen to such a size that it can no longer be displayed all at once.  There simply isn’t room, and the collection has had to be divided into three themes, displayed on a rotational basis.

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Asteroid Sleuth: The Case of the Cross-Country Cat

After the recent political developments in the US, couldn’t we all use a nice, feel-good story?  Such is the tale of Rayne Beau (pronounced “rainbow”), a savvy tabby who, against all odds, was reunited with his family in Salinas, California two months after becoming lost in Yellowstone National Park, some 1100 miles away.  Rayne Beau made the vast majority of the return trip, almost 900 miles, under his own steam, though no one knows how, being found and then trapped in Roseville, California, about 200 miles from home.

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Halloween Horror: The Candy Man Murder Turns Fifty

It was half a century ago, on 31 October 1974, that eight-year-old Timothy O’Bryan died in agony after eating a Halloween treat laced with cyanide.  The family and friends had been trick-or-treating in Pasadena, Texas, when they came across a house which did not respond to their knocks.  Thinking no one was home, the group proceeded down the street, but Timothy’s father Ronald hung back awhile.  In a couple minutes he rejoined the group, offering five 21” Pixy Stix to his son, daughter, and three other children, claiming that his repeated knocking had finally elicited an answer, and these were the treats he was given.

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House Diary: Halloween Returns

“All Hallowtide is now begun, and welcomed in with bells;

and ringing, too, at set of sun, with all our shrieks and yells!

As house to house we begging went, to get ourselves a sweet;

we also pranked, sans ill intent, ran riot in the streets.

With ghost and banshee, witch and cat, we’re happy to cavort;

give thanks to those who fill sacks fat, else “Trick!” is our retort.

On this one night of all the year, the children have the rule;

to banish all that they most fear, like homework, chores and school.

But come the dawn it all returns unto the normal scenes;

then joy and mirth are once more spurned, until next Hallowe’en!”

Due to my 2023 hiatus on Halloween, which came just weeks after knee replacement surgery, it’s been two years since I’ve done things up right here on the property.  Halloween is my favorite holiday, ever since I was a kid, and it was a wrench to give it up last year.  But that’s behind us, and it’s a brave new day, scary brave!

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