An Important Date We Seem to Gloss Over

​

September 8 is an important date in the Abrahamic religions. It is the birthdate of Maryam in Islam, Miriam in Judaism and the Blessed Mother Mary in Christianity.

Each religion reveres her more than any other woman, paying homage to her in their specific creeds.

Mary in Christianity

Mother of God: Christians (particularly Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglicans) revere Mary as the Theotokos (Bearer or Mother of God) because she gave birth to Jesus, whom Christians believe is the incarnate Son of God. 
The New Eve: Christian tradition views her total obedience to God as the counterweight to Eve's disobedience, making her a vital figure in human redemption.
Intercessor and Model: She is seen as sinless, perfectly faithful, and a spiritual mother to believers who can pray for them as an intercessor in heaven. 

Mary in Islam

Highest Status Among Women: In the Quran, Mary (Maryam) is named in an entire chapter (Surah 19)—the only woman explicitly named in the Quran. She is chosen by God and purified above all women of the world.
The Virgin Birth: Islam firmly upholds the miraculous virgin birth of Jesus (Isa), celebrating Mary's chastity, strength, and complete submission to God's command. 
A Righteous Role Model: Muslims revere her not because she is the "Mother of God" (a concept rejected in Islamic theology), but because of her supreme personal piety, righteousness, and devotion.

The Jewish Perspective

Historical Context: In traditional Judaism, Mary is simply the historical Jewish mother of Jesus of Nazareth. However, she is recognized for her devotion to chastity, her piety and her purity. She is treated as a role model, leading us to salvation.

Christians, especially Catholics, Orthodox and Anglicans, recognize her with Feast Days  of her Immaculate Conception on December 8 and her Death and Assumption into Heaven on August 15.

And today, we honor her birth. Hail Mary, full of Grace.

T’is the Season of Hallothanksmas

​

Pumpkins. Pumpkin Spice Coffee. Pumpkin Cookies. Pumpkin Spice Cake. Oh, and those little failures called Gourds

They began showing up in Walmart, Aldi, Publix and even in your favorite coffee shops during the third week in August. And so did the Big Bags of Halloween Candy. Just in case you needed a head start.

Apparently, there must be a belief we are unable to realize that the same events occur every year at the same time. Or, that we don’t know how to read a calendar.That seems to be the prevailing opinion of the marketing geniuses who want to control our habits.

As if we are Pavlov’s dogs. Ring the bell and salivate. Put out pumpkins, get people to buy all the stuff we need for Halloween. Conditioning.

But it doesn’t stop there.

Just in case we forgot, the same geniuses start decorating by the end of September to remind us about the Big Holiday Season of Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas. And soon , we will hear songs to remind us the Deck the Halls and Santa Claus Is Coming to Town. Again.

Hence, the three and one half month of Hallothanksmas..

In fact, some Big Box Stores have already begun decorating for the December Spectacular. Hey, the NFL  doesn’t even start the regular season until Thursday. And we will have almost two months until the baseball season has finished.

So. It is time cool your jets, folks. It is bad enough that life seems to pass us by so quickly as it is. There is no need to put it all into overdrive.

Enjoy your pumpkin spice lattes and start stringing up your lights.

Labor Day 2026… and New Festivities to Come

​Once again, Labor Day weekend is upon us. Last week, we arrived at Meteorological Autumn and we are now at the unofficial end of summer for 2026. Soon enough, we will finally see the official start of Fall.

Monday is actually Labor Day, which was sparked in the 19th century as a means to honor our labor unions and workers across the country.

For context: Prior to the inception of the holiday, labor unions were advocating for "very specific improvements in their working conditions," according to CNN. Most workers in America were indulging in physically or mentally taxing jobs—and doing so all seven days of the week, with no real limit to the hours per day.

Labor Day honors the common American workers who helped change the way our country views its workforce, allowing for economic freedom and liberty. The unions of the time advanced the need for a forty-hour work week, paid vacation time and sick leave.

The first unofficial Labor Day dates back to September 5, 1882, taking place in New York City. Though it took some time, states slowly but surely began adapting the holiday as their own over the years. By June 28, 1894, Labor Day was an official holiday according to Congress, passing an act that declared the holiday be celebrated on the first Monday in September of each year.

There are a few reasons why we observe Labor Day in September. For one, September 5, 1882 is when over 10,000 workers had a planned unpaid leave from work. These 10,000 individuals organized a march from City Hall to Union Square in New York City. Though, it's important to note that the date for this event wasn't chosen for any specific reason. Peter J. McGuire, the organizer of the parade on that day, stated that the reason for choosing September was only due to the fact that it fell "between the Fourth of July holiday and Thanksgiving," according to Brittanica. In 1884, the Knights of Labor union decided that they would continue on with the September tradition, just changing the date to be "every first Monday" instead of being locked down to September 5.

Over time, Labor Day has also become the unofficial start date for the Hallowthanksmas holiday season. We are already seeing Halloween candy, costumes and Thanksgiving decorations in the stores. And early ads for Christmas are beginning to appear on social media.

So, enjoy the waning days of summer this weekend and Monday. Soon enough, we will be in the throes of autumn and all the festivities that the season brings us.

And have a safe weekend.

Sixty Years and Still Going Strong

“Live Long and Prosper” - Vulcan salutation, spoken frequently by Mr Spock

​On Tuesday, September 8, Star Trek will celebrate SIXTY years since it first exploded across our television screens in living color. NBC had long been in discussions with Lucille Ball, who owned Desilu, Star Trek’s production company, and finally agreed to broadcast the show.

It would survive three seasons and seventy-nine episodes before being cancelled in June, 1969. Ironically, it was six weeks before the lunar landing on July 20.

It lived on in syndication through the seventies, along with novels, cartoons and increasing fan support until the first of fourteen movies, countless different TV sequels and story lines were aired, starting in 1979.

Now, Paramount owns the rights to the franchise and streams it all on its platform. It has been reported that the Star Trek library generated over $2.6 billion in global subscription value across major platforms (including Netflix, Amazon, and Paramount+) from 2020 through late 2024. Not a bad investment of the $17MM purchase Paramount made of Desilu in 1967.

Surviving cast members of the original series from 1966 include William Shatner (Captain Kirk), George Takei (Lt Sulu) and Walter Koenig (Ens Chekov).

Of all the characters who ever existed in the Star Trek Universe, probably Spock and Data were the fan favorites. It doesn’t lessen the popularity of the many other characters who graced the franchise, including Kirk, Bones, Scotty or Picard. Or Crusher, Worf, Uhura, or even Sarek. There are so many characters who made the franchise so successful.

And just think of all the fantasy items which have become variations of our 21st Century reality: The communicator became the smart phone, the tricorder became the tablet, the phaser became the taser, the bridge screen became the flat screen TV, sickbay became open MRI, video screen communication became Face Time and Zoom, Uhura’s ear piece became ear buds, and digital boards ran everything then as now. Could warp drive and time travel be so close to reality, too?

Gene Roddenberry had an idea where the cowboy and western TV shows needed a futuristic change of scenery. Hence, Star Trek was born. Even he could not have imagined what it would become, And so far, its five year mission has lasted sixty years. Where NO ONE on TV has gone before.

Truly one of the most successful, creative profitable franchises ever created for TV. And Beyond. 

It certainly has done as Mr Spock wished.

Disney Begins to Come To Its Senses

​Josh D’Amaro, who is a long-time Disney employee, was named CEO of the Company in March. He has held several positions, including President of Disney Parks, 

Since his ascension to CEO, he has moved the Company away from the Bob Iger-woke Hollywood agenda of DEI and has begun to return Disney to its core roots of family-friendly entertainment.

Changes in Corporate Policy and Filings

Scrubbing DEI Branding: Disney removed or scaled back explicit DEI references, diversity quotas, and programs like "Reimagine Tomorrow" from its recent SEC and financial reports. 
Focus on Business Success: Executive pay metrics have been adjusted to prioritize financial outcomes and business performance over diversity goals.
Leadership Stance: Leadership, including former CEO Bob Iger and current executives under Josh D'Amaro, has emphasized a return to core storytelling and a mission to entertain broad audiences rather than engaging in political or cultural proxy battles.

Content and Operations Adjustments

Park and Communication Adjustments: Reports and viral discussions highlight adjustments to messaging in theme parks, such as the reappearance of traditional greetings like "ladies and gentlemen," though fact-checkers note that broader corporate restructuring and layoffs (such as cutting roughly 1,000 jobs) are primarily aimed at operational streamlining rather than a sweeping cultural purge. 
• Content Moderation: Content advisories on older classic films on Disney+ have been slightly toned down from autoplay warnings to shorter disclaimers.
  

Since Mr D’Amaro was the President of Disney Parks prior his promotion, it had to become apparent to him that the attendance was trending downwards, as people grew frustrated with the Disney focus on DEI and not on families.

Profitability also dropped year over year as people expressed their outrage of the concentration of woke-themed programs and practices. Thus, a turn back toward a reasonable approach toward families without discriminating against other segments of our society.

One thing we can universally agree on is this: Money talks as Bull$#!+ walks. Even Disney recognizes that the almighty prayer is “our father who art in pocket, DOLLAR be your name”. 

A lesson learned for sure.

Summer’s End Is Here

​Today, August 31, is the last day of Meteorological Summer. Thoughout the country, we have witnessed higher than normal temperatures, unbearable heat indexes and higher ambient units of rain.

But, thus far, no US landfall tropical events.

We have made it halfway through the 2026 Hurricane Season and we have had only four named storms: Arthur, which made landfall in Mexico, bringing heavy rain on the Gulf Coast, Bertha, which was a rain event in Louisiana, Cristobal which petered out as soon as it was named and Dolly, which formed just this week in the North Atlantic.

By this time in 2024, for example, we had already had several destructive storms and fifteen storms to date. Last year we had thirteen total storms and none made landfall in the continental US.

Tomorrow is September 1 and the beginning of Meteorological Autumn. The promise it brings is led by steadily cooler temperatures, another football season and knowing that Halloween and Thanksgiving are next. And don’t forget the midterms!

In fact, as you walk through the “big box” stores, you see evidence of both already. Can Christmas and Hanukkah be far behind?

What comes next will be a surprise for everyone.

Remembering Beloved Celebrities

​This has been a sad week and month with so many famous and beloved people passing away. There have been so many others who have passed this year, but these are the latest.

Dolly Parton - 80 was the Queen of Country Music for half a century, song writer, creator of Dollywood, and Philanthropist

Shelley Fabares - 82 was a singer and  actress, made her start as both on the Donna Reed Show, starred in several successful TV series and was a voice-over actor

Tim Curry - 80 was a cult favorite in Rocky Horror Picture Show, starred in many plays both in London and Broadway, as well as on TV and in film, including Home Alone 2

Jaye P Morgan - 93 was a singer, actress, comedian and favorite game show panelist, making her mark on The Gong Show and as a frequent guest on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson

Hayden Panettiere - 36 was a child actor (Remember the Titans), who proved she could sing and act (Music and Lyrics), appeared in the Scream films and TVs Nashville 

Vincent Pastore - 80 was known for his roles as a Mafioso (Sopranos, Gotti and Goodfellas), an accomplished Broadway actor, a podcaster and his own Italian sauce

There is much more that could be said about each of these fan favorites but Page 6 and other entertainment publications will give more on each. Suffice to say, this writer enjoyed watching them over the years and will continue to enjoy their talents.

Surely, many of you will, as well. May they all rest in peace, knowing they gave us some joy in what they did.