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“There is only one success—to be able to spend your life in your own way.”  Christopher Morely, journalist

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— MY TWO CENTS WORTH —

I awoke to riches this morning, Oct. 21. When I opened my mail, I discovered two dispatches from Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations. I am so honored that Mr Guterres reached out to let me know that I’m the recipient of $60 million. In an email dated Sept.15, he wrote: 

“After our meeting today, it has been decided that the cash will be sent to you. However, you still have the option to choose between receiving cash/Bank Transfer or an ATM card.”

Decisions, decisions, decisions. 

“This decision comes as a result of previous issues and your inability to comply.”

I’m not sure why I didn’t “comply,” but I think I’m being punished because another email from Guterres, dated 10/21/25, lowered the payout to only $15 million.

I also received an email from “your good friend Steve Nelson.” This was a real surprise because I have no good friends named Steve Nelson. 

But Steve and I could become good friends because he, too, has an ATM card for me, but only in the amount of $840,000. A bit lower than the money Mr Guterres wants to hand over. But there is a bit of a catch. My good friend Steve Nelson says I’ll be required to pay $395 for shipping and insurance. Steve added that other expenses have been “taken care off by me before traveling to Germany for my medical treatment.”

This is a weekly and sometimes daily occurrence. Even though they keep going to my junk mail box, I can’t totally prevent them from arriving.

— DISPATCHES FROM THE OLD WEST — 

(1) Business tycoon Ben Holladay accumulated wealth at a dizzying pace. And, when it came to spending it, he took a backseat to no one. "FALL OF AN EMPIRE."

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(2) Another transportation titan of the 19th century was Cornelius Vanderbilt, whose focus on railroads made him the richest man in America. Like Holladay, Vanderbilt lived life big.

— DISPATCHES FROM HERE & THERE —  

(3) Haunted houses, pumpkin shows, and trick-or-treaters are all part of Halloween, only days away. Here are the best Halloween events in the USA.

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(4) If you spend any time online, especially watching YouTube, you can’t help but notice the barrage of so-called infuencer marketing featuring apple cider vinegar. Cleveland Clinic cautions that it isn’t a magic potion. 

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(5) The types of research that go on today boggle my mind. Name a topic, and I’m betting it has been researched. But this one came out of left field. It’s about bird droppings. Yep. But not just any bird droppings. Guess which 10 cars are likely to be pooped on by birds. I hope you don’t drive a RAM.

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(6) If you’ve ever been curious whether restaurants featured in various TV shows and big screen flicks are real, some are. In fact, here are 14 of them that are open for business. 

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(7) When I was a young whipper snapper, a neighbor built a tree house for his kids. Nothing fancy. Fairly basic with a few planks for a platform, and maybe a couple of sides but never enclosed. I’ve seen a few more sophisticated ones over the years, but here’s one that will blow your socks off. This tree house serves as a hideout for a billionaire, and he built it for only $400,000. 

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(8) Believe it or not, there are people who claim they’ve married an AI chatbot. Yep, lots of idiocy populating the planet. Even though there is no legal recognition of these “unions,” an Ohio lawmaker, Thomas Clagett, has introduced legislation outlawing the practice. It also bans AI from a slate of other potential possibilities. 

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“One who believes everything he's told is as naive as one who fetches water with a sieve.”  —Sicilian Proverb

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