{"id":15018,"date":"2026-10-12T07:32:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T14:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/?p=15018"},"modified":"2026-10-12T07:31:06","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T14:31:06","slug":"a-conversation-with-october","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/?p=15018","title":{"rendered":"A Conversation With October"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">by Bob Sparrow<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"452\" height=\"678\" src=\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Oct.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15019\" style=\"width:221px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Oct.jpeg 452w, https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Oct-200x300.jpeg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 452px) 100vw, 452px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">October is an unusual month. I love it, as football is in full swing, the World Series takes place, which is the only time I have patience enough to watch baseball; hocky is underway and basketball starts this month, The fall weather is usually perfect \u2013 summer heat is gone and the winter chill has not yet arrived. This year, however, the summer heat decided not to go, as we here in Southern California, are experiencing near-100-degree weather . . . in OCTOBER! But I digress \u2013 for all it&#8217;s good attributes, October seems to have gotten the short end of the stick in many regards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here is an imagined conversation between October and the Calendar Guy . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Oct: \u201cHey, I\u2019m the eighth month, remember \u2018oct\u2019 means eight, then you push me back a couple of months? What\u2019s the deal?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Calendar Guy: \u201cYes, you were eighth in the old Roman calendar, but they added two months, so you got pushed back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Oct: \u201cWhat do you mean \u2018they added two months\u2019, did the earth slow down on it journey around the sun?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Calendar Guy: \u201cNo, originally the first 60 or so days of the calendar weren\u2019t counted because it was the rainy season, bad weather, and nothing happened during that time, so they just didn\u2019t count it. But eventually, they did add January and February, thus pushing you back two months. Sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Oct: \u201cSo why did I get screwed on the holidays?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Calendar Guy: What do you mean?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Oct: The other months have Christmas, New Years, Valentine\u2019s Day, Independence Day, St. Patrick\u2019s Day, Memorial Day, Thanksgiving, just to name a few. You gave me a day where everyone dresses up in stupid or scary costumes and goes from house to house begging for candy. I feel like the red-headed step-child!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Calendar Guy: \u201cI gave you Columbus Day?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"738\" height=\"408\" src=\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Columbus-invade.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15050\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.8088518280949326;width:407px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Columbus-invade.jpeg 738w, https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Columbus-invade-300x166.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 738px) 100vw, 738px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Oct: \u201cYeah, thanks for that! You gave me a day to celebrate a guy who did not discover America because millions of Indigenous people already lived there, and other Europeans had visited centuries earlier. AND he actually landed on islands in the Bahamas and other islands in the Caribbean, mistakenly believing until his death, that he had reached the East Indies and Asia. Aside from being cruel, he was stupid!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Calendar Guy: But . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Oct: &#8220;No buts, here\u2019s a guy that forced the indigenous people into slavery. And in fact, eliminated many of them through warfare, mistreatment, and the introduction of fatal European diseases. AND, when he went back to Spain, he was arrested by Spanish authorities for the way he treated people! And you gave me Columbus Day to celebrate this jerk?!!!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Calendar Guy: \u201cWell, I later gave you \u2018Indigenous People Day\u2019 too, so people can celebrate either holiday.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Oct: \u201cThanks a lot! Indigenous People Day didn&#8217;t even become a national holiday until 2022! Many people today don\u2019t even know what an indigenous person is! OK, forget the holidays, what about Octoberfest?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Calendar Guy: \u201cWhat about it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Oct: \u201cOctoberfest ends on the first Sunday of October, so I could get 7 days, or I could get one day!! September always gets over two weeks. Shouldn\u2019t Octoberfest mostly be in October?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"447\" height=\"447\" src=\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/image-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15025\" style=\"width:198px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/image-1.jpeg 447w, https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/image-1-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/image-1-300x300.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 447px) 100vw, 447px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Calendar Guy: \u201cThe weather is better in September.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Oct: \u201cYou don\u2019t need good weather to drink German beer!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Calendar Guy: &#8220;You should just be grateful for what you have, &#8216;International Coffee Day&#8217; and &#8216;National Pumpkin Spice Day&#8217;.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Oct: \u201cBite me!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hoping you all are having a happy October.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Bob Sparrow October is an unusual month. I love it, as football is in full swing, the World Series takes place, which is the only time I have patience enough to watch baseball; hocky is underway and basketball starts &hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/?p=15018\">read more<span class=\"meta-nav\"><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15019,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[135,2977,1060,5176,5177,450,5178,2718,5172,5173,5174,2472,705,761,786],"class_list":["post-15018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-holiday-observations","tag-christmas","tag-columbus-day","tag-independence-day","tag-indigenous-people","tag-international-coffee-day","tag-memorial-day","tag-national-pumpkin-spice-day","tag-new-years","tag-october","tag-octoberfest","tag-roman-calendar","tag-st-patricks-day","tag-thanksgiving","tag-valentines-day","tag-world-series"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p31aN0-3Ue","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Oct.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15018"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15018\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15060,"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15018\/revisions\/15060"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}