Bob's Almanack

The light in me recognizes the light in all other beings.

~ Robert

New from Outside In Print

Morning sunlight fills a home entryway as an anonymous host accepts a covered breakfast dish from one of three arriving loved ones while another carries flowers and their joyful figures gather in a wide hallway mirror.

Love in the Mirror

Morning gathers all of us in the same light.

An anonymous man stands with a notebook and laptop bag at the open glass door of an empty conference room, facing a bright late-afternoon office courtyard.

Welcome the Heat

I let failure show me what can carry me forward.

An anonymous person stands at an open kitchen cupboard, lifting an intact ceramic mug with both hands as clear morning light fills the room.

After the Cup Falls

I repair what happened without punishing myself.

Before sunrise in a hotel room, an anonymous man adjusts his collar before a lit mirror while his shadow spreads across the wall as an empty conference table surrounded by vacant chairs.

The Part That Is Mine

I leave the performance in the mirror and take charge of my next move.

This Week's Virtue

Sincerity

Sincerity starts with the part that is yours. Name the failed plan, the broken cup, or the apology without turning it into a performance. Speak plainly, repair what you can, and leave another person's answer to them. Honest action needs fewer excuses and less rehearsal.

One Number

53.8%

Among people ages 16 to 24, 53.8 percent were employed in July 2026, compared with 53.1 percent a year earlier. source

One Document

B-338306: Bears Ears National Monument Resource Management Plan

U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2026-08-12

The Government Accountability Office found that the Bears Ears plan counts as a rule under the Congressional Review Act. It must be submitted to Congress and the Comptroller General before it can take effect. source

Results

La Mirada Little League of California beat Shing-Ming Junior Little League of Chinese Taipei 6-3 on August 16. The win gave California the 2026 Junior League Baseball World Series title. source

Records

Milwaukee beat Seattle 22-0 on August 18. The score tied the largest shutout margin in Major League Baseball's modern era and set a Brewers record for margin of victory. source

Final Bows

Shae Hopkins will retire as Kentucky Educational Television's executive director and chief executive officer at the end of 2026. She has spent 40 years with the public-media network. source

Obituaries

Tommy John died August 15 at 83. He won 288 games after returning from pioneering elbow surgery. The operation now bears his name. source
Frank Beard, ZZ Top's drummer for more than five decades, died August 17 at his Texas ranch while in hospice care. He was 77. source

Drive thy business; let not that drive thee.

~ Poor Richard

Worth Reprinting

Togetherness

Connection begins when nobody has to perform.

I don't try to control things. I only control myself!

~ Robert