The Daily Dose/May 25, 2026
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
Editor’s Note: This column has run on Memorial Day from time to time.
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.
USA! USA!: Today is Memorial Day here in the US, a day set aside for honoring our nation’s war dead, a worthwhile and solemn occasion. Its roots date back to after the Civil War, when communities put flowers on the graves of those who died in that war, though it did not become a federal holiday until 1971.
Dry, Technical, Matter: There are probably few families in America who have not had someone go off to war, and while, statistically, most people come back from their war, some do not.
Fly In The Ointment: Over the centuries, approximately 2.8 million Americans have died in battle, with 40,000 more missing. There is no reason to think they’re alive, so think of them today, too, dammit, becaue some became POWs and did not have the benefit of quick death.
A Warm, Personal Remembrance: We are very fortunate: everyone on both sides of our family returned from their wars. Six-time great-grandpa Absalom in the Revolution, Grandpa Gaylon in War I, Dad and Uncle Don in War II. More than one uncle returned from Vietnam, and my late brother returned from the Gulf. In fact, no one returned with so much as a bad case of dandruff. Not every family was that lucky, including two widows we know.
Me! Me! Me!: There wasn’t a war for us to fight, and we spent four years in the Navy mainly catching up on our rest, a treasured pastime to this day.
The Bottom Line: Please, do not thank a veteran or a current servicemember today. It is inappropriate, and they would resent it. Do, however, take a moment to remember those who did not come back and do so without fussing over whether or not you supported the wars they died in. Every one of them died for our country.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow’s sleep log is back. Today’s Diary.
…1030 Sunday until 1700 Sunday…7.0 hours for the day, a satisfactory start to the sleep week.
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On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it.
In 240 BC – History refers to Halley’s Comet for the first, in the Chinese chronicle Records of the Grand Historian, which noted a comet that appeared in the east and moved north. Halley’s Comet appears every 75-76 years and is scheduled to make its next appearance in 2061. It’s orbit takes it from between Mercury and Venus and out past Neptune’s orbit and is currently heading back to Earth, about 3.3 billion miles away.
In 1906 – The longest losing streak in American League history comes to end in a 3-0 Boston Americans win over the Chicago White Sox. It was the first victory in 20 games for the Americans – now the Red Sox – which broke the AL record of 18 straight losses by the Washington Senators in 1904 and the mark is now 21, by the 1988 Baltimore Orioles and the 2024 White Sox.
In 2024 – Post Malone and Morgan Wallen are at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs chart for the first week with I Had Some Help. It is the second time Wallen has simultaneously had the #1 pop and country song in the US (Last Night, multiple weeks, 2023) and Malone, who has had four #1s on Billboard’s soul chart, joins Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers, Ray Charles, and Billy Ray Cyrus as the only acts to have #1s on all three major Billboard singles charts.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
…memory finds paths away from a humiliation too terrible to accept.
Henry Wiencek
Master of the Mountain
Answer To The Last Trivia Questions
Knowledge is power.
The Boston Bruins have lost 14 Stanley Cup Finals, the most of any NHL team.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
What is the longest losing streak in major league history? – Answer next time!
