Bob's Almanack — October 3, 2026

My focus is my domain.

~ Robert

Note from Bob

A walk around the block. A quiet page. A choice about who to become. This week also brings The Restless Heart , a new collection of Catholic reflections. All Is a Gift and Jesus Alongside Me begin a conversation about service and prayer.

New from Outside In Print

A solitary writer sits beside a tranquil lake while indigo ink rises from the notebook into feathered strokes and birds across a luminous violet and rose-gold sky.

The Noise of the Crowd

From the essay

It’s hard to find silence these days. The noise of the crowd follows us through our screens, almost ubiquitous in the modern age. Even the pauses get filled. A spare minute becomes a glance at a screen, another voice, another opinion. We can spend a whole day taking in words without hearing what we want to say. The noise deafens us to ourselves.

Read the full essay →

An anonymous person walks up a shaded neighborhood sidewalk toward a sunlit crossing while a neighbor sweeps leaves beside a house.

One More Block

A morning walk follows a neighbor’s broom, a short hill, and the sunlight reaching the sidewalk.

A small green shoot rises through a jagged crack in a massive stone slab, lit by a rose-gold dawn above violet mountains.

Choosing Up

A shoot growing through stone accompanies a short reflection on the choices, faith, and persistence that shape who we become.

In warm kitchen window light, a woman offers an earthenware bowl of pears to another person's open hands across a wooden table.

All Is a Gift

Work, comfort, and possessions become tests of whether we can receive a gift with gratitude and let it go when service asks it of us.

A person sits with an open hand on a wooden chapel bench as warm window light falls across the pews.

Jesus Alongside Me

Following All Is a Gift, this reflection moves from a few lines of Gospel and an honest prayer to listening, finishing a duty, and helping a neighbor.

This Week's Virtue

Silence

Put the screen down for a few minutes. Let a thought finish before seeking another opinion. In prayer or conversation, give your attention to the person you came to hear. When you speak, say something useful. A quiet interval can help you decide what deserves your time.

Well done is better than well said.

~ Poor Richard · Source

One Number

29,000

U.S. payrolls added an estimated 29,000 jobs in September. BLS described employment as little changed; its October 2 report also lowered July and August’s combined gains by 60,000. source

One Document

Unannounced Drills Using Patient Actors to Evaluate Health Care Facility Readiness for Infectious Disease Outbreaks

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, October 1, 2026

In 73 unannounced avian-flu simulations at 69 facilities in New Jersey, New York, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, staff both masked and isolated the patient in 44 drills. Limited participation restricts how broadly the findings apply. source

Results

Atlanta beat Philadelphia 6–2 on October 1, joining the White Sox, Yankees and Padres as Wild Card Series winners. source

Records

Tigst Assefa won the Berlin Marathon on September 27 in 2:11:04, a women’s course record. She improved her own 2023 mark by 49 seconds. source

Final Bows

Mariners radio voice Rick Rizzs called his final game on September 27, ending more than 40 years with the club. source

Obituaries

Dennis Haskins, Mr. Belding in Saved by the Bell, died September 27 at 75. He earned his theatre degree at 65 and donated his working scripts to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2016. source

Worth Reprinting

Say Less to Say More

An angry reply waits in a draft while its writer takes a breath. This July musing belongs beside The Noise of the Crowd because it brings the same pause into a hard conversation: make a clear request, set a fair boundary, or offer an honest apology.

I’m grateful for this day and its opportunities.