From husband Bill, Nov. 12, 2026
I created and uploaded a video onto my YouTube channel about my memories of William Shakespeare. (length: 6 minutes, 12 seconds) ... I have included a short, self-recited passage from Hamlet.
Memories of Shakespeare (Nov. 12, 2026)
https://youtu.be/_yMI7b6DP-Y?is=N-hOhVN2FNXzq_3P
From husband Bill, Nov. 12, 2026
From husband Bill, Nov. 12, 2026
I prefer the opposite. Keep the works. Just give me the anchovies.
From husband Bill, Nov. 12, 2026
I occasionally enjoy French Dip.
From husband Bill, Nov. 12, 2026
From husband Bill, Nov. 11, 2026
At 11:11 (11:11 a.m.) today (November 11, 2026), the festive Fasching Season began in Austria, Switzerland, Germany, and Liechtenstein (basically German-speaking areas of Europe). Sometimes in Austria, Fasching Season begins on January 1. (My heritage is part Austrian and part Swiss.
It continues until Karneval (Carnival), also known as Shrove Tuesday, Fastnacht, Fasnacht, Fasnet, Fasching, Fastabend, Fastelovend, Fasteleer, Fünfte Jahreszeit (Fifth Season) and Mardi Gras, ending at the stroke of midnight on February 9, 2027. Let the months-long celebration begin. Aschermittwoch (Ash Wednesday) is the following day and marks the beginning of Lent, which ends on Easter (March 28, 2027).
On February 15, 1983, when I was almost 22 years old, I celebrated Fasching (Mardi Gras) at a gathering of about 150 people while on a vacation of skiing and visiting my many Austrian cousins in the westernmost province of Vorarlberg, Austria. That's me in the yellow, pink, and white clown suit. The woman to my right, wearing the red hat, is my dear friend Cathy from upstate New York, who accompanied me on the trip. The man in the red-and-white striped shirt and short pants on the left is my Austrian cousin Guntram. The woman dressed in black next to him is his wife Lisa. The woman in the white wig on the right is Guntram's sister Ulrike (also my cousin). The other people are friends of the family that I met for the first time that night. Incidentally, that night, I danced the polka for the first time.
From husband Bill, Nov. 11, 2026
From husband Bill, Nov. 11, 2026
On Veterans Day today (November 11, 2026), starting at 11:11 a.m. Eastern Time, I honor my father, who served 22 years in the Navy on active duty and in the reserves. Here he is in 1958 at age 24, when he was stationed in Hawaii.
My mother worked for the U.S. Navy as a civilian.
My dad retired at the rank of Commander, about three months away from earning the rank of Captain. After more than two decades, he had enough and decided to retire from the military.
Dad also served aboard a ship in the late 1950s, transporting displaced persons (delayed pilgrims, as he called them) after World War II multiple times from Bremerhaven, Germany, to New York City.
Soon after his death in 1997 at age 62, some of his ashes were scattered from a Navy ship into the North Atlantic Ocean, where, as he had told me, he spent one of the best times of his life.
The remainder of his ashes were interred at Breslau Cemetery in Lindenhurst, Long Island, New York. (Lindenhurst was formerly named Breslau after the city in Germany.)
From husband Bill, Nov. 11, 2026
From husband Bill, Nov. 11, 2026
When I was a kid in the 1970s, I would order hot fudge sundaes with the fudge on the bottom. That way, I would be able to eat the ice cream first and then eat the hot fudge. Actually, the hot fudge in almost every sundae was always at the bottom anyway.
From husband Bill, Nov. 11, 2026
From husband Bill, Nov. 10, 2026
Happy 26th Anniversary of my first date with my wonderful wife (on November 10, 2000) !!! Stir Crazy, the Asian bistro in Boca Raton, Florida, where we had our first date (lunch), no longer exists.
PHOTO: an online photo of Stir Crazy
We dated for about five years before I proposed marriage high upon a snowy mountain in western Austria on April 10, 2005. We wed the following year and will celebrate our 21st wedding anniversary on February 4, 2027.
From husband Bill, Nov. 10, 2026
From husband Bill, Nov. 10, 2026
I prefer chocolate anything, but vanilla is sometimes OK.
From husband Bill, Nov. 10, 2026
From husband Bill, Nov. 9, 2026
Scrapple is basically a spicy, pork-based, processed breakfast meat that is thinly sliced and then fried. It's popular in Pennsylvania.
I often ate it when I attended Villanova University near Philadelphia from August 1980 to December 1984, after which I received a bachelor of arts degree in communications with a minor in the French language. I studied mathematics and sciences in the pre-med program for two and a half years before changing my major.
(I would soon secure a master's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, graduating in May 1988.)
Even though I like Scrapple, I haven't eaten it much outside of that time period, mainly because I no longer lived in Pennsylvania. It really is delicious, but, like hot dogs, it's best not to know how it is made.
The "disgusting" ingredients are pork stock, pork livers, pork fat, pork snouts, corn meal, pork hearts, wheat flour, salt, and spices. Now, I have a craving for Scrapple.
From husband Bill, Nov. 9, 2026
From husband Bill, Nov. 8, 2026
Happy Diwali, The Festival of Lights !!! In other words, Happy Hindu New Year !!! I wish you much happiness, good health, and spiritual and financial prosperity during the new year !!!
I always eat Indian food on Diwali, which occurs on a different day every year, so ...
... in celebration of Diwali today, this evening for dinner, I ordered an Indian feast that was delivered from a nearby restaurant.
https://www.corianderflorida.com/menu
I enjoyed Samosas with Hari Chutney and Imli Chutney; Saag Paneer (mild) with Basmati Rice; Raita; and Roti with Butter. (My wife passed, except for 1 of the 4 Samosas.)
My religion is Gaudiya Vaishnavism, also known as Hare Krishna, which is a sect of Sanatana Dharma, also known as Hinduism.
From husband Bill, Nov. 8, 2026
From husband Bill, Nov. 8, 2026
I created and uploaded onto my YouTube channel this video to wish you a Happy Diwali (Happy Festival of Lights and Happy Hindu New Year.) (length: 1 minute, 15 seconds)
Happy Diwali (Nov. 8, 2026)
https://youtube.com/shorts/4dUHRN60sYA?is=MzjekTF6F2F1dYle
From husband Bill, Nov. 8, 2026
Today (November 8, 2026) is the first anniversary of my surgery to have the third and fourth toes of my left foot amputated due to gangrene caused by a blocked artery.
PHOTO: my partially bandaged left foot on November 12, 2025 ... A nurse was in the process of a daily bandage change. (I decided NOT to show you my bare foot.)
Four days earlier (November 4, 2026) was the first anniversary of my six-hour-long artery-bypass surgery, when I had a three-foot-long vein in my right leg removed, reversed, and inserted within my left leg.
Recent Surgeries (9):
1. March 2022: open-heart surgery
2. May 2022: 1st chest surgery: loose sternal plates removed; staph infection; chest left open for one week
3. May 2022: 2nd chest surgery: closed chest with seven sutures
4. September 2023: 1st spine surgery: removal of abscess in infected disk
5. October 2023: 2nd spine surgery: placement of titanium metal rods to hold my spine together due to a bone infection
6. April 2024: right ankle surgery: 2 fractures
7. November 2025: artery-bypass surgery: removal of vein within my right leg and inserted within my left leg
8. November 2025: left foot surgery: 3rd and 4th toes of my left foot amputated due to artery blockage
9. April 2026: left leg: angioplasty of main vein, related to artery-bypass
From husband Bill, Nov. 8, 2026
From husband Bill, Nov. 8, 2026
Today (November 8, 2026) is World Pianist Day. I have been playing the piano since the late 1960s, when my age was in single digits. I have written piano pieces, but my favorite thing to do is play improvisations on my digital piano. In 2009, I recorded and produced a twenty-nine-song CD titled "He Can't Be Serious," which includes eleven of my original instrumental songs.
Here is a link to an older video of myself playing the song "Over The Rainbow" from September 7, 2013. Note: 1. Unfortunately, the camera on my phone was tilted 90 degrees, so the video is sideways; and 2. I seem to be a little funky in this video, possibly due to diabetes and/or tiredness. I assure you that I am NOT under any influence, except creativity. I play the melody with my right hand and improvise with my left hand.
https://youtu.be/Gr4tyrgigi8?si=99sG-Q-GbzV3bJjC
If you want, you can go to the video section of my YouTube channel at this link and watch/listen to more videos of my piano playing. Also, please subscribe to my YouTube channel: "Bill Santos: Piano & More." It's free.
https://youtube.com/@billsantospianomore678
From husband Bill, Nov. 8, 2026
From husband Bill, Nov. 8, 2026
Happy Diwali !!!, also know as "The Festival of Lights" and the Hindu New Year. I wish you much happiness, health, and prosperity during the new year !!!
My religion is Gaudiya Vaishnavism, also known as Hare Krishna, which is a sect of Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism).
Diwali, also know as Deepavali, is the five-day Hindu "Festival of Lights" which is celebrated this year from November 6 to 10. The third day (today) is the main day of the holiday, marking the start of the Hindu new year. Diwali, my favorite holiday, falls on a different date every year.
On this day, leave your doors and windows open, and put a candle in the window so that Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth, can find you to bestow spiritual and financial prosperity during the coming year. For safety reasons, I use an electric candle every year.
Make sure your home is clean because Lakshmi visits the cleanest homes first.
On a practical level, businesses in India start their fiscal year on Diwali, so their fiscal year starts on a different date every year. Also, today is the only day of the year when gambling is permitted.
To celebrate, I will order Indian food for dinner from a nearby restaurant this evening, as I do every Diwali.
PICTURE EXPLANATION: I found the picture below online. I liked it, so I decided to post it with my greeting. The "swastika" is a sacred symbol in the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain religions. It is ubiquitous in India. The word translates to "good life." It's an auspicious symbol of good luck and prosperity.
From husband Bill, Nov. 8, 2026
From husband Bill, Nov. 8, 2026
Tip: If you go to Italy, NEVER order a Cappuccino after 12 p.m., maybe even after 11 a.m. Cappuccini are strictly early-morning drinks. Afternoons and evenings are meant for the Espresso ... or my ultimate favorites: the Ristretto (a half of an extra-strong Espresso) during the day and an Espresso in the evening.
(Disclaimer: You can drink Cappuccini anytime you want, but you may get a strange look from the waiter in Italy. Then again, tourists order Cappuccini all day long, so it's typical.)
From husband Bill, Nov. 8, 2026
I went through my Harvey Wallbanger phase sometime in the 1980s, when I was somewhere in my 20s. It's basically a screwdriver (orange juice and vodka) with a splash of Galliano liqueur on top. I think it was around this time when I realized that vodka gave me terrible hangovers.
From husband Bill, Nov. 8, 2026
I have absorbed so much medical radiation that I glow in the dark.
From husband Bill, Nov. 8, 2026
From husband Bill, Nov. 6, 2026
I created and uploaded onto my YouTube channel this short video in celebration of National Nachos Day today: November 6, 2026. (length: 1 minute, 59 seconds)
National Nachos Day (Nov. 6, 2026)
https://youtube.com/shorts/h10ZjT_WnKg?is=M2crt4qol0RDdTKc
From husband Bill, Nov. 6, 2026
From husband Bill, Nov. 6, 2026
One of my favorite snacks is Doritos Nacho corn chips dipped in chocolate pudding, which I will enjoy today.
When I was in sixth grade (1972-73; age 11 or 12), I first ate it in the cafeteria of Bayview Elementary School (West Islip, Long Island, New York) in an attempt to make two girls disgusted. They didn't care all that much, and I discovered that I really like it. I have eaten it many times over the years since then.
From husband Bill, Nov. 6, 2026
My dad played the saxophone in the band as a student at the University of Pennsylvania in the 1950s. (He once told me on the sly that he wasn't able to play it very well. His motivation was to travel with the football team to many different universities in hopes of meeting many different women. He told me that he would march in the marching band but just pretended to play.)
From husband Bill, Nov. 6, 2026
I used to write with my dark brown fountain pen in the 1980s. I still have it somewhere, but I don't use it anymore. It is a modern fountain pen, meaning the ink is contained in a plastic, disposable receptacle within the pen.
From husband Bill, Nov. 6, 2026
