by Judy Handley | Nov 11, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 315: The Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month at 11 O’clock
Date: Wednesday, November 11, 2026
Weather: Sunny; High Temp 57, Low 43 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth MA
On the eleventh day of the eleventh month at exactly 11 o’clock, every single year, Falmouth has a wonderful celebration honoring all veterans. There is a parade from the Green to the library lawn, led by the Falmouth Police, Firemen, and Scouts color guard, followed by a Scottish pipe band, then the town officials, and finally all of the Scouts in Falmouth. As Chair of the Select Board, Heather was in the parade, and Jed marched with the Scouts.
This is the first year in many that none of my grandsons were in the parade. Ollie would have been with the Scouts, but he is still recovering from the flu. When the parade reaches the library lawn, they are greeted by an American flag flying high above atop the highest ladder from one of our town fire trucks, a large gathering of people, and today by the high school acapella choir. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful ceremony. And I was especially pleased that on my way out of my driveway, I stopped to ask my neighbor Andy, who is a veteran, if he was going to the ceremony. He said, “What ceremony?” He has lived in Falmouth for many years, but he had no idea that there was a Veteran’s Day celebration. He came and marched with the other veterans down Memorial Lane to be honored. He was very grateful that I told him about it.
Once home, I dove into the job that had to be done today. It was a task that my sister’s Power of Attorney has asked for and that I have put off for over three months. I was asked to come up with a detailed monthly spending budget for my sister. There are many reasons it has taken so long to get his done, but the wonderful thing is that I did get it done today. I feel like the weight of the world has been lifted from my shoulders.
by Judy Handley | Nov 9, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 313: Birthday Celebration and Jonah’s Soccer Game
Date: Monday, November 9, 2026
Weather: Partly Sunny; High Temp 57, Low 51 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth MA
Sandy Faiman-Silva founded the Falmouth Immigrant Rights Coalition when Trump was re-elected, but she works for social justice issues with many different organizations. One woman who has been working with her for the past year and half found out that yesterday was her 80th birthday, so she planned a low-key surprise birthday celebration at Coffee O under the guise of a meeting. It was great for all of us to meet and not have to do work. We just got to enjoy each other’s company and which Sandy a happy birthday.
Ollie was home sick today. We knew yesterday that might be the case, and I had said clearly that I would stay with him and not go to Jonah’s game. But he really didn’t want to keep me from going and I finally agreed. I really wanted to see Jonah play what might be his last high school soccer game, but I really didn’t want to leave Ollie alone for so many hours. But he finally talked me into it, so as a surprise, I went to Walmart and bought a Lego set for him to work on in the hours we would all be done. Heather was in Vermont and was to meet Jed and I at the game. And friends had room in their van for 2 more people, so Jed and I piled into the van belonging to Johan’s good friend Jean Luc’s parents. Traffic wasn’t as bad as we anticipated around rush hour, but it still took about 3 hours to get to the field at Lowell Technical School in Tyngsborough, MA, almost on the New Hampshire border. Lowell is #10 in the state and Falmouth is #23. But we won, 2-1! Because it was an away game, Falmouth was wearing white tonight, not the usual crimson. Winning tonight means Falmouth advances to the next game in the state tournament–time, place and opposing team to be announced.
by Judy Handley | Nov 8, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 312: Paperwork and Dinner with a Friend
Date: Sunday, November 8, 2026
Weather: Mostly Cloudy; High Temp 57, Low 46 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth MA
For weeks and weeks, I have put off fulfilling a request of Patsy’s Power of Attorney. He wants me to come up with a monthly budget that includes all of her expenses. Honestly, I am just now getting a handle on what all of the costs are. But try as I may, I did not get it done. I did get the spreadsheets done for expenditures in the past couple of months, so hopefully in the next day or so, I will get this job that has been hanging over my head DONE.
I went over to check in with the Goldstones in the early afternoon. Sam was working on getting Otis (his car) put back together and Heather was getting ready to drive him back to Vermont. I think Otis actually got driven out of the garage before they left. It still needs to have a cracked windshield replaced and needs to be checked out by a reliable mechanic to make sure it is safe to drive and ready for inspection. Hopefully by next weekend, it will be ready for prime time. In the meantime, Sam will continue to drive the family’s second car, but not until it gets to a garage tomorrow to see what is wrong with it.
I was invited to have dinner with a friend from by Book Club, Dena. She and her husband live in Cambridge part of the time and here part of the time. She was here tonight and we had a nice evening together talking about everything.
Jed, Ollie, and I plan to drive to Lowell tomorrow after school to go to Jonah’s soccer game. Heather will drive down from Stowe and meet us there. Hopefully, she will have the car situation sorted out by then. But that is a story to be continued.
by Judy Handley | Nov 7, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 311: BELIEVE
Date: Saturday, November 7, 2026
Weather: Misty Day; High Temp 62, Low 46 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth MA
This is the fourth day after the midterm elections, and my head is still spinning. I worked so hard to win, hoping against hope that we would win everywhere, all at once. Deep down in my heart, however, I had serious doubts. Thankfully, the American people did it. But Ted Lasso would not be happy with me, so I am going to make a BELIEVE sign and put it above my desk.
People coming to our weekly rally for democracy on the Falmouth Green today were asked to bring cleaning tools like feather dusters, vacuums, and broom, along with ‘Clean Up Corruption in Washington’ signs. I arrived with my feather duster and sign in hand and saw that others had done the same. We were having a little fun with this today, but as we all know, corruption is a very serious matter that has to be dealt with. We don’t need retribution, but democracy demands accountability. What a huge job the new Congress has facing it. So, make your BELIEVE sign and join in doing what you can to support.
As I wrote last night, we have plenty of rain yesterday, but during the night, not so much. But still we had almost 6 inches. The weather report indicated that the rain was going to stop around 10 am, and it did. But then the mist began. And that was not predicted. It stayed misty, off and on, into the evening. The regular soccer season has ended, but now Falmouth is one of the 32 teams statewide that are in the playoffs. The first ‘play in’ game for the Falmouth High School boys’ soccer team was at home beginning at 3 pm today. There are 32 teams in the state finals. The teams are paired and if you lose the game, you are out. Falmouth played Burncoat High School from Worcester, MA. The girls’ soccer team played first and won in the second overtime, 1-0. The mist was heavy during parts of the afternoon, but the boys’ team ignored it and played an aggressive game, winning 2-0. We learned at the end of the game that Falmouth will play their next game on Monday night in Lowell which is up near the New Hampshire border. It will be a trek, but the faithfuls will be there. Of course, #14 is my favorite player. Jonah proudly wears that number and did a great job in today’s game. Sam is home from Vermont for the weekend, and he joined us for the second half. It was great to see Sam and Jonah together after the game. Looking forward to Monday, I will get that BELIEVE sign on the wall in the morning. Go, Clippers!
I also was in contact with Ziggy in Puerto Rico today. He took the SAT this morning in a town north of Rincon and then drove south Mayaguez this afternoon to display a class project. As I understand it, he had to choose a town in Puerto Rico and make a life size project promoting that town. His town was Yauko which is in southwestern Puerto Rico. It is the islands premier coffee capital and is a center of public art. Ziggy sent me a photo of the town and of one part of his project. I believe when you entered his colorful storefront, there was a coffee display. I will talk to him tomorrow to learn more.
by Judy Handley | Nov 6, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 310: Serious RAIN
Date: Friday, November 6, 2026
Weather: Rain, Rain, and More Rain; High Temp 66, Low 57 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth MA
The unofficial reports from friends and neighbors say we got about 5 inches of rain today and it continues to come down. It was raining so hard this morning and there were so many deep puddles in the roads that driving was really a little scary. It was the huge wave of water from cars passing you in the opposite direction that covered your windshield so that you literally couldn’t see anything for a second or two and you just had to hope that you were going slow enough that if you did hit something while you were blinded, it wouldn’t be a major problem. I walked Shadow this morning when the rain was steady but not pouring, but there was thunder and he was so frightened he couldn’t go to do his morning business. By the time I finally got him to go pee, we were both soaked. When we come inside, I put both of our rain jackets in the dryer. I had my Friday morning class today and I got absolutely soaked going from the house to the car and then the car to the building where the class is held. This is the second, or maybe the third, super rainy day we have had this fall. These storms used to be once every couple of years, but now they happen much more often.
We spent our class time today digesting the midterm election. And I then spent the afternoon running a few errands that I have put off for weeks and then catching up on email communication. I also took time to make a ‘Clean Out Corruption in Washington’ sign for tomorrow’s rally on the Green. People keep saying to me that I must feel a huge weight off my shoulders with the election over, and I do. But the hard work is yet to come. People need to understand that we won the election, but that democracy is still on the brink. It is going to take the involvement of everyone to make sure we get back on track. Democracy is not a spectator sport, so we have to stay involved. The first thing everyone needs to do is to call your senators and your representative on Monday or Tuesday of this coming week to ask them what criteria they are using in determining who they will vote for as Speaker of the House and Majority Leader. Those positions will be decided in the next two weeks, so we need to our feedback on what we are expecting of them. You can do this, beginning on Monday, by calling the US Capitol switchboard and asking to be connected (202) 224-3121. You will have to call multiple times to talk to both of your state senators and your representative. And if you don’t hear back from them in a day or two, call again. This is one way you can participate directly in the democratic process.
by Judy Handley | Nov 5, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 309: American Tsunami
Date: Thursday, November 5, 2026
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, Still Warm; High Temp 67, Low 61 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth MA
The weather has been unseasonably warm with lots of blue skies and sunshine for days now. But this morning, it was cloudy. But once I got outside with Shadow, I realized that a long sleeve thermal shirt was too much for today. It was even warmer than yesterday. But starting around 3 am in the morning, the heavens are going to open and give us 32 hours of rain. My neighbor Andy says we could get as much as 6 inches. Ollie is supposed to go camping this weekend with Scouts, but 6 inches is a lot of rain for a camping trip. I have my “These Truths” class in the morning, but nothing else on my schedule until noon on Saturday. I think I will come home from class and hibernate.
My friend Christina Brodie called this morning to check in on how I felt about the results of the election and my answer was ‘elated’. Both of us have done a great deal of door knocking in the past few months and we both feel really good about what we did. We think door knocking really makes a difference. Christina also mentioned that she liked what Hakeem Jeffries said yesterday in his remarks on the election, “It wasn’t simply a blue wave, it was an American tsunami.” I love this because it is inclusive. Then this evening, I was working with the Indivisible Steering Committee to get a message out to members tomorrow about Saturday’s weekly rally for democracy on the Falmouth Green. We want it to be a fun celebration of the election, but with a message. So, we chose “Clean Up the Corruption in Washington” as our theme. We are asking people to bring a feather duster, broom, mop, vacuum or some other cleaning implement and we will collectively, symbolically, start to CLEAN UP the Corruption in Washington! And as long as we are going to have a little fun on Saturday, I decided to ask AI to write new words to the song American Woman, making it American Tsunami. Here’s what AI came up with in about 30 seconds. Not bad. Anyone know how to add music to this?
AMERICAN TSUNAMI (AI generated)
American Tsunami, come on over to me
American Tsunami, it’s a sight to see
Come on knockin’ round my door
Yeah, we wanna see your wave some more
We got great big things to do
Watchin’ all the red turn into blue
Now woman, I said come on stay
American Tsunami, changin’ the day
I love your midterm shifts
I love your Senate flips
Gained twenty-five in the House, they say
Washed the old roadblocks right away
Go look at Texas, Kansas too
Even the red states are turning blue
It wasn’t a wave, it’s a tidal roar
Come on knockin’ around my door
American Tsunami, come on over to me
American Tsunami, it’s a sight to see
Come on knockin’ round my door
Yeah, we wanna see your wave some more
Go look at Georgia, look at the map
Historic wins just closed the gap
Now woman, come on close to me
American Tsunami, you’re a sight to see
I love your veto threat
Countin’ up the seats we get
Don’t need no more partisan fuss
The working class is steering the bus
Gonna lower the costs, gonna change the track
Ain’t no way that we’re lookin’ back
Now go, gotta spread the word
Gotta spread the word, gonna tell them now
Oh yeah!
Oh yeah!
Bring on the wave some more!
I’m gonna look, watch the power grow
High water’s flowin’ at the midterm show
American Tsunami…
Swept right through the USA…
American Tsunami…
Washed the old regime away…
