John Kerry, yesterday:

You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.

How big of a jackass do you have to be to make such a condescending comment about the US military? And his excuse – that he meant “you get us stuck in Iraq”, implying the President is the stupid one – is only slightly more believable than George Allen’s claim that he pulled the word “macaca” out of thin air.

Might this prevent the Democrats from taking back a house of congress next week? The Republicans are making the most of it. Hopefully it’s too late in the game for Kerry to blow another election; this time, without even running.

Last night Sharyl and I visited the Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville. They were having special mystery tours for Halloween. The tour guides told us about all of the murders that had taken place in the home and the ghosts that now haunt it.

We saw children’s hand prints that cannot be removed from a mirror, even though the glass has been replaced seven times. We heard tales of objects that move about the house on their own. And we learned about the ghosts of confederate soldiers that harass sleeping guests.

The tour was great fun. It didn’t really make a believer out of me, but I still don’t think I would stay the night at the Myrtles.

Meet Emma, Sharyl’s mom’s new dog. She is a Bichon Frise and is 14 weeks old. She enjoys playing with toys, running in circles and leaping through gardens. Click here for a brief Emma slide show.

I visited my mom this weekend and she gave me 30-something persimmons picked from my aunt’s persimmon tree. If you’ve never had a persimmon, you’re missing out on something great. It a sweet fruit that can only be eaten at the peak of ripeness when it’s flesh is about the consistency of pudding. Most of the ones I have are very close to ripe. Since I don’t know how to can them or cook with them, it’s been persimmons for breakfast, lunch and dinner.