Here below is fall foliage here in our yard in Berkeley Springs, WV, followed by other images from the local Octoberfest celebration being held over this Columbus Day weekend. The days are still warm, with cool nights. We haven't turned our heat on yet (nor have we needed air conditioning this summer). It's really a rather comfortable climate here and now it's a quite lovely time of year.

Flowers abound in the center of Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, our home town.

Here below are booths from Octoberfest set up along Main Street.

Our celebration of Oktoberfest here in Berkeley Springs included experiencing a power outage all over town on the evening of October 11 when so many visitors were here over the long Columbus Day (Indigenous People's Day) weekend. My son came home briefly from his work at the Coolfont Hotel, also in the dark, to bring me a flashlight.

Below, here is another local Halloween yard display.

Although we have been celebrating Columbus Day this weekend, Norway's Leif Erickson was actually here first,

AI Overview

Leif Erikson is most famous for being the first European to set foot on the North American continent, arriving around the year 1000 CE—nearly 500 years before Christopher Columbus. He was from the territory that became Norway.

“Leif Eiriksson Discovering America,” by Norwegian artist Christian Krohg.

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Measles is still surging here in the US.

These graphics show how bad it has gotten https://apnews.com/article/measles-is-surging-in-the-us-these-graphics-show-how-bad-it-has-gotten-000001a1220ad818afebf28af3c30000?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=share The U.S. is enduring its worst year for measles since 1991. Since the beginning of last year, large outbreaks have been reported in several states, including Texas, Utah, South Carolina and, now, Pennsylvania.

RFK Jr. might point out that if children and even older unvaccinated people actually survive measles, they will be immune for life. I myself am immune to measles, having suffered that illness and several others as a child before vaccines were available. But not everyone actually survives or may survive only with lifelong problems. I feel fortunate to have reached age 88 without any major health problems attributable to common childhood illnesses that I contracted before vaccines were available. We had been quarantined with those illnesses, isolated there with warning signs posted on our front window. My own kids were all fully vaccinated, of course.

Wash. Post, Sixth person who had measles has died in Pennsylvania, local coroner says

Not everyone actually survives measles and other childhood illnesses. Resumption of regular childhood vaccinations would prevent those deaths and any subsequent disability among survivors. . Even folks who cannot be vaccinated themselves can be protected by "herd immunity." Measles had been eradicated in the US until RFK Jr. came on the scene. Now measles and other former childhood illnesses are back with a vengeance.

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Wash, Post, ‘Furious’ judge halts tree removal, demands answers on Trump’s D.C. golf plan

The judge lambasted the administration for ignoring her repeated pleas not to work on the historic East Potomac course: “There’s no excuse for this.” Government lawyers said about 430 trees were removed.

Donald Trump certainly likes golf and apparently plans to keep on playing golf in DC even when his presidential term is up. He does not seem to be particularly concerned about saving trees. His local golf game is much more important and he'd still like to keep his heavy hand in the operation of the government,. even should he no longer have any formal role.

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Saudi Arabia intercepts three missiles as capital’s international airport remains closed after deadly Houthi attacks

Wash. Post, Saudi Arabia vows retaliation against Houthis after airport strike kills at least 12

People gather outside a metro station on the road to King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on October 10, 2026.

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Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, center below, takes part in a flower laying ceremony during a commemoration on 15 years after the terrorist attack in which 77 people died in 2011, on July 22, 2026.

Norway's mass murderer. who shall remain nameless and is not being depicted here, is under indefinite solitary confinement, expressing no remorse whatsoever while still espousing Nazi ideology. He has no contact with other humans, with his food being delivered through a portal.

As for Christa, she does not seem to have been rehabilitated even after her many years in prison, as when she had a disputed with another inmate, she tried to strangle her with a
cord.

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Politics & Policy

Hegseth says public can watch Fort Hood shooter's execution.

Is that really something that many people will want to witness? Perhaps yes, just like they used to gather around the noose, firing squad, or guillotine of old.

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Here's a tragedy that has occurred in my former DC neighborhood, where I'd lived for more than 50 years.

Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser expressed “deep sadness” over the sudden death of Talib Shakir,

Shakir, 50, was killed in a deadly electric scooter collision evening of Friday, October 9, 2026. He was a prominent city official who served as the director of the Mayor's Office on Returning Citizen Affairs (MORCA).

The Incident

Location: The crash occurred just before 7:00 p.m. at the intersection of 8th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue SE on Capitol Hill.

Details: Shakir was operating an e-scooter when he collided with a female rider on a second scooter. When D.C. police arrived, Shakir was found unconscious and not breathing.

Outcome: Both riders were rushed to a local hospital, where Shakir was pronounced dead. The second rider had sustained injuries but was treated and released.