For Southerners Only

I feel so sorry for the rest of y'all.  Really I do.




Yes, Hummingbird Cake.  You'll love it.

Sunday Drive: Born This Way

The Lady Gaga anthem, as performed with great esprit by the Columbus Gay Men's Chorus in 2012:

Waitin' for the Weekend

Justice Joslin

Pope Tells Gay Man: God Made You That Way

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I'm sure my truckbuddies have already seen this story elsewhere, but I'm reprinting it for the record here in the BT. Juan Carlos Cruz, a survivor of sexual abuse by a Chilean priest, has reported that during a three-hour talk with Pope Francis last month, the Pope apologized to him in the name of the Church and told him:

Juan Carlos, that you are gay does not matter. God made you like this and loves you like this and I don’t care. The pope loves you like this. You have to be happy with who you are.

This does not mean a change in official Catholic teaching, but coming from the head man's lips, it's pretty amazing.




Cruz, who lives and works in Philadelphia, spoke with CNN's Chris Cuomo this week:

Sunday Drive: Stand by Me

Yesterday's royal wedding address was given by the Most Reverend Michael Curry, since 2015 the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States. It was most amusing to note the suppressed smiles on many British faces as the PB launched into his usual rollicking, gospel-style delivery, something I'm sure is rarely heard in the Church of England - and is unusual in the Episcopal Church, too, for that matter.




The address was followed by a stirring rendition of the Ben E. King classic, performed by the Kingdom Choir from southeast England:

American Princess

Your Head Trucker has paid no attention to the royal wedding preparations and speculations these last six months - I've had other things on my mind - but for the record, here are a few snapshots.

It's not every American girl who grows up to be a real princess, but this one did, and how:

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The bride wore Givenchy, a perfection of elegant simplicity, topped with a sleekly chic antique tiara:

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Prince Harry lost no time staking his claim to a little piece of America, which I suppose no one will mind:

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And then they were off - actually, just around the block to the other side of Windsor Castle for the first reception of the day:

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The relatives waved from the side door of the church:

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The Queen was in good form with a chartreuse coat and hat, one of her favorite colors, I'm told, and a magnificent diamond brooch that would choke a horse:

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The parents were pleased and proud, just as you would expect:

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Well, that's all the snaps I took before I ran out of film. But in case anyone missed the festivities, the whole thing - without a single babbling word of commentary - can be seen at the official Royal Family channel:

The Order of Service can be downloaded from the British Monarchy website here.

Waitin' for the Weekend

Tradition in the Kitchen

You have to learn Southern cooking from your grandmother, as shown in this video from Southern Living:




Here is the recipe for hot-water cornbread, which I'm sure is yummy. But it's just too easy to reach for a fifty-cent box of Jiffy mix, add an egg and a splash of milk, and throw a pan in the oven, from which it comes out perfect every time.

My own grandmother made a pan of cornbread nearly every day - it was their staple bread, made from scratch with white corn meal, but without sugar or other unnecessary additions.  I prefer the sweet, yellow Jiffy cornbread now, but I remember Grandma's with affection.

It's nice to see that Grandma Jackie is still going strong at 87, after six decades in her pretty kitchen in a ranch-style house. I plan to write a blog post soon about those houses, which were space-age modern in the fifties, and are now classics.

Sunday Drive: Dream a Little Dream of Me

A sentimental favorite of your Head Trucker's, by the great team of Ella and Louis.

Waitin' for the Weekend

NSFW view here.

Today's Toons: Donelan

Back in the Dark Ages, long before there was the intertoobs - or any other way for small-town gays to meet other gays, or even know there were any others on the planet - I used to subscribe to The Advocate.  I remember fondly the charmingly satirical cartoons of Donelan that were a regular feature, some of which I just ran across.

Ah, the more things change, the more they stay the same, isn't that so, fellas?

Sunday Drive: Handel, Ombra Mai Fu

Many thanks to truckbuddy Tim for today's lovely selection from Xerxes by his favorite tenor countertenor, Andreas Scholl:

Waitin' for the Weekend

OMG.  Why didn't you guys tell me there was such a thing as David Gandy in the world???  Is that any way to treat a friend?  Wooof.

Today's Chuckle: Roswell

New Yorker cartoon by Pat Byrnes;
click to enlarge.