October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and home to Halloween, National Taco Day and Kick Butt Day
Read on and become the smartest person in the room -- or the Zoom -- or both!
There are myriad events to note this month. October is National Roller Skating Month, Bat Appreciation Month, and Squirrel Awareness Month. Major League Baseball playoffs begin. And Bring Your Teddy Bear to Work Day is right around the corner. But before we get to them, let’s talk about:
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
One out of every eight women in the United States will contract breast cancer in her lifetime.
But there is hopeful news: With early detection, most will survive. And that’s one of the points behind Breast Cancer Awareness Month — it’s a healthy reminder to be mindful of the symptoms of breast cancer, and to visit your doctor on a regular basis for a checkup.
Breast cancer may not be preventable, but it can be curable. For more information, check out this site:
In the News
Now that Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump have squared off in their big debate, it’s time for the VP candidates Tim Walz and J.D. Vance. The debate in New York City on Oct. 1 will be moderated by CBS Evening News anchor Nora O’Donnell and Face the Nation moderator Margaret Brennan.
Mark your calendar for Oct. 10. That’s the start of the launch window for the Europa Clipper, NASA’s first attempt to explore what’s hidden beneath the icy shell of Jupiter’s moon. Could there be life in Europa’s vast ocean of water? That’s what this mission is designed to discover.
Holidays
The month’s most notable holiday is Halloween. Oct. 31 arrives on a Thursday this year. Shopping for what to wear? HalloweenCostumes.com has a list of this year’s favorite adult costumes with Deadpool, Wolverine and Taylor Swift topping the list. What’s this year’s favorite candy to hand trick or treaters? According to CBS News, it’s Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and M&Ms—both regular and peanut butter.
Columbus Day is a federal holiday celebrated on Oct. 14 this year. It marks the day in 1492 when the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus “discovered” the New World, which was actually already inhabited by an estimated 60 million people.
Indigenous Peoples Day, also celebrated on Oct. 14, honors those millions of native inhabitants whose populations were decimated by the subsequent wave of illegal European immigrants, many descendants of whom today are upset about — of all things — illegal immigrants.
The Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are also celebrated this month beginning on Oct.2 and Oct. 12 respectively. Rosh Hashanah is the start of the Jewish new year; Yom Kippur centers on atonement and repentance.
Members of the Hindu, Sikh and Jain faiths celebrate Diwali—a festival of light over darkness—on Oct. 31. The origins of the holiday vary among the religions and regions. More here.
Big Events
Baseball’s postseason playoffs begin Oct. 1 with the first round of wild-card games — all leading to the World Series, beginning Oct. 25. Sadly, the Cincinnati Redlegs will, once again, be sitting this out. Oh, the shame.
The Women’s National Basketball Association playoffs are already underway with the finals tentatively scheduled to end no later than Oct. 20.
Meanwhile, the NBA begins preseason play on Oct. 4. Here’s the schedule.
On the Tube and the Silver Screen
The 2024 American Music Awards have been postponed until 2025, and in their place a special 50th anniversary special will be aired Oct. 6 on CBS starting at 8 pm EDT.
The long-awaited return of The Diplomat arrives on Netflix Oct. 31. This smart, wildly popular political drama ended its first season in 2023 with so many cliffhangers. If you missed season one, now’s your chance to catch up.
Here’s a list of the fall season lineup.
The Apprentice, the most controversial movie of the year, is scheduled to be released on Oct. 11. It depicts a young Donald Trump taken under the wing of political fixer and all-round weasel Roy Cohn. Trump threatened to sue to stop the film’s premier.
My favorite in the long list of movies out this month also is being released on Oct. 11. It’s Saturday Night, a film about the first night’s opening of Saturday Night Live and it’s cast of virtually unknown comedians — 49 years later, all household names. The trailer is hilarious.
Another movie getting a ton of chatter is Joker: Folie À Deux, although I don’t see the point since Batman isn’t in it. But to each his or her or their own. Complete list of premiers.
Daily Calendar
Oct. 1 — Jimmy Carter turns 100 years young today. He was the first American president to be born in a hospital. It’s also National Homemade Cookie Day.
Oct. 2 is Random Acts of Poetry Day. In honor of the event, I offer this:
Roses are red,
Violets are blue.
I suck at poetry,
go play a kazoo.
The Andy Griffith Show premiered on Oct. 3, 1960 and ran for a whopping 249 episodes. Ron Howard — aka Opie — went on to become a successful director in Hollywood.
Oct. 4 is National Taco Day. A Harris Poll found that 22 percent of Americans favored pizza over tacos as their favorite food. Probably all Russian bots.
World Teacher Day is Oct. 5. It’s also the start of the Albuquerque Balloon Festival.
Oct. 6 is National Noodle Day. Why? Because October is also National Pasta Month.
Oct. 7 — On this day in 1916, Coach George Heisman (yes, the guy for whom the trophy is named) led the Georgia Tech Engineers to a 222-0 romp over Cumberland College, the most lopsided game in college football history.
National Fluffernutter Day is Oct. 8. I had to look this one up. A fluffernutter is a disgusting sandwich comprising peanut butter and marshmallow creme on white bread. Elvis probably loved it.
Bring Your Teddy Bear to Work Day is Oct. 9. Raising the vital question: Is Teddy Bear capitalized or not. The answer: No. It’s teddy bear. Cool story behind the invention of the teddy bear: It was named after President Theodore Roosevelt, whose nickname was Teddy. Are all teddy bears named Teddy? No. Some are named Frank. Or Sally. Or Maurice. Whatever you want.
Oct. 10 is World Against the Death Penalty Day.
Oct. 11 — The start of Saturday Night Live’s 50th season.
Oct. 12 — The actual day in 1492 that indigenous Americans discovered a lost Italian named Columbus wandering around their beach. They could have run him off, but instead brought him gifts. Further proof there is no such thing as a small decision.
Father-Daughter Day is Oct. 13. It was created by Smokey Robinson to celebrate the bond between fathers and daughters and the role dads play in helping their daughters develop into strong, confident women.
Kick Butt Day is Oct. 14. It’s a clever play on words, the butt in question referring to cigarettes.
National Grouch Day falls on Oct. 15. It’s another of these pointless, concocted holidays, but you can use this obscure snippet of trivia to wow your friends.
Oscar Wilde, the Irish wit and playwright, was born on Oct. 16, 1758. Some of his great one liners:
“Be yourself; everyone else is taken.”
“Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.”
“You can never be overdressed or overeducated.”
“Never love anyone who treats you like you’re ordinary.”
A good friend will always stab you in the front.”
Hunters Moon is Oct. 17. It’s just a full moon with a fanciful name.
Oct. 18 is Meatloaf Appreciation Day. Yes!
International Pronoun Day is Oct. 19. Some international pronouns include: ‘el, su, son, elles, and the list goes on.
Rodent Awareness Week begins Oct. 20. According to the never-wrong internet, the most popular pet rodent is the hamster. If you thought the answer was “ferret,” well, no. Pro tip: Don’t put ferrets and hamsters in the same cage.
Oct. 21— It’s Everyone Writes Day. But does everyone write good?
Oct. 22 — Smart Is Cool Day. You’re reading this. Ergo, you’re cool.
Oct. 23 — YES! It’s time for one of the year’s favorite holidays. It’s Slap Your Annoying Coworker Day. In honor of Rodent Awareness Week, you could also try a rabbit punch.
Oct. 24 — It’s National Kangaroo Awareness Day. But take care, if your annoying coworker happens to be a very large marsupial, they know how to kickbox.
Frankenstein Friday is Oct. 25. Not to be confused with Werewolf Wednesday or Troll Tuesday or Monster Monday, or whatever.
The gunfight at the O.K. Corral took place on Oct. 26, 1881, in Tombstone, Arizona. Wyatt Earp won. Whether he used his famous Buntline special with its 12-inch barrel is unknown. Earp’s friend, Bat Masterson, had one, too, but is said to have cut off the end of the barrel because it was too difficult to draw.
Cranky Coworker Day is October 27. This is what you get for slapping him/her/them earlier in the month. It’s also Mother-in-Law Day.
National Chocolate Day is Oct. 28. Is chocolate good for you? Who cares? Enjoy.
Oct. 29 is an important birthday for all of us who rely on modern technology. It was on this day, 55 years ago, in 1969 (yes, we’re mathing!) that the first connection of what would become the internet was made. It’s also National Cat Day.
Oct. 30 is Create a Great Funeral Day. Yeah, this is one of those days promoted by trade associations, in this case undertakers. Been to a lot of funerals. None were what I would call great. But I have a list, so I haven’t given up hope.
Oct. 31 — Books for Treats Day. A day to give books to children. Cautionary note: You drop a book into a trick-or-treater’s bag instead of candy, you could be asking for trouble.
Letters from Readers:
Dear J.C.
I see that you’re now writing a version of your newsletter for Florida Weekly. Cool gig. How do I subscribe?
C. Bernstein
As a monthly newsletter subscriber, I’ve got you covered. I’m sending out a link each week to the column. I also post links to it on my Facebook page. You can also go the the newspaper’s main website here. Thanks.
Dear J.C.
Is it true that in addition to all the other awards your latest book, Strange Timing, has won this year that it is also a finalist in the Royal Palm Literary Awards?
C. Hiaasen
True enough. I’m very honored to be included among this great group of writers, and proud of the Gold Medals earlier books in the Strange Files Series have won.
Dear J.C.
That previous letter. It was a blatantly planted commercial message, wasn’t it? Do you really expect us to believe that was a real letter from a reader?
Cynical in Miami
Honestly, it never ceases to amaze me what some people will believe. There are people, for instance, who believe pizzas are better than tacos. Go figure.
Parting Shot:
J.C. Bruce is a journalist and author of The Strange Files series of mysterious novels (available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, other online booksellers, and at selected libraries). He also writes this monthly newsletter. He holds dual citizenship in the United States of America and Florida. Check out his new column in Florida Weekly for Essential News updates.
Sponsored by TROPIC PRESS, publisher of The Strange Files Series of Mysterious Adventures.
And today is the birthday of the comic character, Grimmy, from the comic strip Mother Goose and Grimm, 40 years!