Balls

A couple weeks ago, I wrote that Mamdani has balls, but I was wrong.  Mamdani is a just a pretender.  Senator Mark Kelly is a MAN with bull balls.  Read this, and weep for the state of our country:

Mark Kelly To Hegseth: I Won’t Be “Silenced By Bullies” 

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Sunday Drive: Come, Ye Thankful People, Come

The beloved hymn of thanksgiving as performed by renowned organist Diane Bish:

Be still and know that I am God.  --Psalm 146

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Trump and Mamdani: Who's Fooling Whom?

Well, fellas, truth is certainly stranger than fiction in this deranged modern world.  Y'all remember last week, I predicted Mamdani would play David to Trump's Goliath.  Yesterday's meeting in the White House might have been a remake of Daniel in the lions' den.  But oh, was I ever wrong.  Turns out, it was Beauty and the Beast all over again. Love has bloomed, and life is beautiful.  Ain't that grand?

This is an invitation across the nation for dancing in the street!

I'm going to keep my predictions to myself in future. When you get two New Yorkers in a room together, there's no telling what the result will be -- love or murder, or who knows what. But I'll say this:  I don't believe a fucking word either of them said. There's a devil's game being played for the cameras, and it stinks. But I'll stop right there.

Put not your trust in princes . . . 

Bonus:  Republican Curtis Sliwa, who came in a distant third in the NYC mayoral race, agrees with your Head Trucker, saying "everyone got played" by these two fakers.  (Can't embed the short here.)

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"What Is Collide Press?" by Clint Collide:

Just pause the video and right-arrow through the pics if you're in a hurry.

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Jeffrey Kevin: Blue and White Thanksgiving Tablescape

Jeffrey Kevin goes over the top once again for Thanksgiving. It's much more than we would ever put on one table, but he does have some very pretty things, and he enjoys displaying them.  And why not?  À chacun son goût!

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One More Time!

It doesn't get any better than this.  Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell tap out a storm in Broadway Melody of 1940:

And here's Eleanor remembering that number in a tribute to Astaire, 1981:

Somewhere on YouTube is the same delightful clip of their dance, but set to "Sugar, Sugar" by the Archies. I can't find it today, though. 

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Sunday Drive: A Sunday Kind of Love

As performed by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons at Atlantic City in 1992:

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"Be Kind + Rewind Time" by Clint Collide:

If you're pressed for time, just pause the video and right-arrow through the pics.

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Nineteen Seventy-Five

I've been meaning to write something about 1975 for months now, but the year is nearly over.  So I'll just post a few thoughts today, and may post some personal reflections another time.

Bernie asks a question that can only be answered by those who are old enough to remember the time: Was life better fifty years ago?

Regardless of Bernie's remarks, the truth is that the question has no factual answer. Whether life was better then depends entirely on one's point of view. And indeed, no matter what year you want to talk about, in human life it is always the best of times or the worst of times - for somebody.  Your answer hinges on whether you feel loved or unloved, content or unsatisfied, hopeful or despairing.

I am annoyed by some people's comments on YouTube and in other places, people who were children or young teens then -- Oh, what a glorious time it was to be alive, a golden age! The music, the clothes, the cars - and everybody was so kind and courteous and loving. Well, no, that's not the way it was -- it was far from a golden age, as this CBS news summary makes clear, for anyone who cares to look back at the reality of 1975:

After long, dreary years of conflict and protests, defeat and deceit, Vietnam and Watergate were finally behind us.  Tricky Dick Nixon was gone, and steady Jerry Ford was in the White House; he survived two assassination attempts by wild-eyed leftist radicals (seriously) in this year.  Other wild-eyed leftist radicals blew up the State Department, and the Patty Hearst kidnapping ended horrifically.  The Middle East was still in turmoil, as it always is, and the Cold War was still on, with the spectre of nuclear war always in the background. The crime rate was rising, and there was a growing sense of decline in American power, politics, money, and manners, from the bold optimism of the Kennedy years to the stagnant malaise of the post-Nixon era.  Many felt the country was going to pot.

The change was felt most acutely in the pocketbook.  Inflation was out of control:  the Oil Crisis of '73 had made the prices of everything go up sharply.  I remember that the price of sugar zoomed from, say, a dollar a bag to five bucks.  (That equals $30 today.)  The same with coffee.  And for the first time in my life, there were empty shelves in the supermarket.  The recession of 1974 was still going strong, and jobs were hard to find.  Your Head Trucker was finding out the hard way that it was just not possible to live well on minimum wage - $1.60 an hour, so take-home pay was about $240 a month.  Rent on my first little cottage was $80 a month, plus phone and utilities.  For comparison, an apartment in a nice complex with swimming pool cost about $120 a month, or more.

My first home after high school was very similar to this one - but the front door was on the side, under a porch roof, and there were no basement stairs, so the kitchen was wide enough for a table and chairs.  It wasn't new, but it was decent, and it was MY place, where I could do as I pleased.  I felt very grown-up,

The placid "happy days" of the 1950s and early 1960s were long gone by this time, as I remember discussing with my friends.  However, I will say that compared to the state of the world today and the polarized society we now live in, it was easier to live without constant fear and dread back then. The world was already quite complex in those days, but it all seemed more understandable somehow - and it was easier to hope that tomorrow would be better.  

In the Deep South, far from the tumults and convulsions in the big cities up north and out west, everyday life was mostly calm and pleasant as long as you could pay your rent and feed yourself:  books, magazines, records, radio, television, movies, church doings, and simple outings with friends were enough to keep a young man occupied.  Nobody had a home computer; cable TV was non-existent, as were VCR's and DVD's.  Phones still had dials, and they were hard-wired into the wall.  You didn't buy one, you rented it from the phone company for a nominal fee, with a choice of four styles and half a dozen colors.

All that would soon begin to change, but as yet, no one felt a need to be "linked in" every single waking moment, and broadcast to the world pictures of their cat, or their butt, or what they were eating at the burger joint.  People would have fallen down on the floor laughing at the very thought of such nonsense.  

But now we live in a world seemingly controlled in nearly every detail by nosy machines and callous trillionaires. Since this old man's exit will be coming up sooner rather than later, I don't obsess about these things, though I deplore them heartily. But God help the younger generations.

Speaking of whom, someone has come up with a way to assimilate them even faster into the Hive Mind: watch this report on a new school with no human teachers -- and shudder.

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Pork Boys Recommend: General Tso's Chicken

Here's a sure-fire recipe for the best General Tso's Chicken you ever had.  At least, it's the best recipe we've found.   From America's Test Kitchen, father and son team Jeffrey and Kevin Pang - they call themselves the Hunger Pangs - show exactly how to make it, step by step.

M.P. has used their recipe a few times before, and he just made it again yesterday for our Sunday dinner - boy howdy, it's GOOD!  Took a long day in the kitchen, but M.P. says it was worth it - and your Head Trucker totally agrees.  We'll have it again tonight.

Using chicken thighs rather than breast meat makes tender, juicy eating.  And the sauce is just the right balance between sweetness and mild heat.  It's finger lickin' good - I tell you what, boys!

Bonus:  Get the Hunger Pangs' printable recipe here on the ATK website.

BTW, to make a complete meal, you'll also need some white or fried rice and perhaps an egg roll or two to go with the chicken.  Unless you're an experienced cook like M.P., I suggest you get those at the store, ready to heat up.

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"No Matter How Far + How Long #1" by Clint Collide:

To save time, just pause the video and right-arrow through the pics.

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The Anti-Trump Has Arrived

As my longtime truckbuddies know, I've pretty much given up following or blogging about politics lately - it's all too terribly sad, and totally disgusting.  But I did watch the astonishing New York mayoral returns last night, and I listened to Mamdani's victory speech; a cinematic finale to a hard-fought campaign by a political upstart.

So come January 1st, New York will have a Muslim socialist mayor from Uganda.  That's a scenario even Hollywood wouldn't have tried to put over -- "What?  Nah, nobody would believe that."  I'm not sure what to think about it.  New York, you know, is a whole 'nother world from Texas.  What's normal here is considered bizarre there, and vice versa.  So I will reserve judgment until I see what he does in the job.  

Right now, Mamdani is an unknown quantity:  a youngster with lots of idealism but no executive experience - and more than a little naivete, too.  But what's apparent to all is that Mamdani is a born politico, and Fate has dealt him a mighty good hand of cards.  Call it charisma.  It's what makes people sit up and listen.

First of all, he's a sexy guy - handsome, smart, witty, friendly, talkative, flashing a megawatt smile often and easily.  He'd be the life of any party he cared to drop in on.  These things shouldn't count for much in politics, but of course they do.  Imagine if an unknown 33-year-old Woody Allen had run for office, saying all the same things Mamdani has said - would he be in the driver's seat now?  I think not.

Besides his looks and personality, the other thing that stands out is that he's got balls.  At this dark moment in our history, when so many others who ought to be leading the resistance are quaking in their boots, afraid of the Orange Wrath, Mamdani seems ready and eager to face off with the Tyrant.  No fear.  No worry.  Bring it on.  You have to admire a guy with that kind of guts.

One more thing that stands out is his cocksure confidence that he is right.  He doesn't beat around the bush; he knows what he wants to do, and states it plainly.  Promising free goodies is always a crowd-pleasing strategy, on the right or the left.  The possibility of being wrong or mistaken doesn't seem to enter his mind.  That may show leadership ability - or foolhardiness.  A little time in office running the biggest, grittiest, most contentious city in the world will surely temper his juvenile certainties. 

But beyond all that, the headline of  this article from The Atlantic - "Mamdani Is the Foil Trump Wants" - made me realize what the dramatic set-up is here, the protagonist and antagonist.  David and Goliath.  Wow.  Oh wow.  This will make great reading in the history books of the future.  All the elements and players are coming together now, and the drama will proceed to the climax step by step.  

Of course, no one can foresee with certainty the eventual outcome.  But I say, firebrand socialist or not, thank God somebody is standing up for truth, justice, and the American way!  Cometh the hour, cometh the man.

So go make some popcorn and stay tuned.  This is gonna be quite a showdown.

For further reading:  "Zohran Mamdani Is About to Confront Reality" in The Atlantic.

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Old Fashioned Homo Love

I just came across two young fellas who have shared the story of their life and love in many YouTube videos.  They don't look gay, they don't sound gay, but they sure as hell are gay.  And so much in love.  Beautiful.

The vids I've posted below are the most poignant to your Head Trucker, who used to be a great romantic - before life knocked the stuffings out of me.  I always wanted the things you see in these videos - the rapturous love, the proposal, the wedding, the home, the happily ever after.  Someone to build a life with, a shared life worth living, not an empty string of one-night stands.

But wantin' ain't gettin'.  Sometimes, though, you get what you need.  Keep trying.  I had two husbands - as I like to say - before I met M.P.  Despite rosy beginnings both times, they didn't work out: one left and one died. There are no guarantees in this mortal life, none. You pays your money and you takes your chances.  (But it's better to try and fail, than never to have tried at all.  At least you lived and loved.)

There's not many pics of us together.  Here we are at Xmas 2010.
I'm not really that much taller than M.P. - I'd just come in from outside
and was still wearing boots, while he was wearing house shoes.

But then 18 years ago today, M.P. and I met for the first time, and we hit it off right from the start.  We don't do all that sloppy stuff like you see in these vids.  Been there, done that.  Finances are tight, so we don't travel, don't go to bars or movies. don't even eat out. But we think alike, laugh a lot, take care of each other in sickness and in health, and we're content with what we have, despite the ups and downs of old age. A quiet life in a happy little home is enough for us two old boys; it's all we need and all we want.  

As someone who well recalls a time when gay marriage was an impossible dream, it's quite touching to watch these young'uns start their life together, as I would have liked to do - a couple of regular guys in cowboy boots and hats getting hitched before a crowd of family and friends, heading off hand in hand in the prime of youth, in the pink dawn of love.  As all young lovers should, straight or gay.  Sweet.  Very sweet. 

A Ring for My Boyfriend (2016) (9:31)

The Proposal, Part 1 (2016) (10:25)

The Proposal, Part 2 (2016) (8:50)

The Wedding (7/11/17) (4;57)

Bonus: Zach has a deep, sexy voice, but I can't quite place his accent - it's Southern, but not quite Texan. It reminds me of Mark Collie's accent -- my first husband and I saw him in concert more than 30 years ago. Here's a song of his we used to dance to on cowboy night at the gay bar:

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Sunday Drive: Shall We Gather at the River

Prayers for

All Souls Day

Father of all, we pray to you for those we love, but see no longer: Grant them eternal rest; let light perpetual shine upon them; and in your loving wisdom and almighty power, work in them the good purpose of your perfect will; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Almighty God, Father of all mercies and giver of comfort: Deal graciously, we pray, with all who mourn; that, casting all their care upon you, they may know the consolation of your love; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

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The beloved old hymn, as used in seven films by director John Ford:

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"Gay-ly Forward" by Clint Collide:

Some mighty fine men on view in this week's edition.  As always, you can save time if you pause the video and right-arrow through the pics.  BTW, there's now a link to Clint's uncensored website in the NSFW section of the Blue Truck, at the bottom of the sidebar.  

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Feel the Rhythm!

A lively excerpt from the Dean Martin Show, circa 1969:

Who knew Lee J. Cobb could dance?

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The White House That Was

I think my truckbuddies might enjoy this color film produced in 1960, in the last year of Eisenhower's presidency, that nicely summarizes the history of the "People's House" up to that time -- without, however, mentioning the complete reconstruction of the place in President Truman's time.

In this similar black-and-white film produced a year or so later, you can see a few extraordinary pictures of the hollowed-out White House interior during Truman's reconstruction, starting about the 40:45 mark:

Bonus: Lady Bird Johnson dedicates the new Jacqueline Kennedy Garden in 1965. This was on the eastern side of the rear of the residence, while the Rose Garden was on the western end, extending to just outside the Oval Office in the West Wing. Mrs. Johnson is beautfully well-spoken, the epitome of a cultured, gracious Southern lady. 

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Sunday Drive: Jesus Loves Me

The beloved hymn that I learned in kindergarten has been a comfort to me throughout my life, and an anchor of my faith.  Here it is performed by Miss Brenda Lee, accompanied by Emmylou Harris.

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"The Male Gayze #4" by Clint Collide - with one glaring error. But I don't give a damn, I'm posting it anyway.

If you're in a rush, just pause the video and right-arrow through the pics.

Noteworthy:

1:20 and 6:55 - It doesn't get any hotter than this.  

2:25 - The Man.  Nobody does it better.  RIP.

6:25 - Fishermen's Ball?

8:05 - I want to bite your neck.

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Chateau Poseidon: Fountain of Possibilities

Latest updates from those French Canadian guys.

Episode 15: Second Floor Possibilities

Episode 16: A Fountain for Poseidon

Note to readers:  I admire the energy and know-how these fellas have; but the work is proceeding very slowly, and in future I may not post all their vids.  The last one above was interesting with the fountain, furnace, and apples.  The one prior to that was dreadfully dull:  scraping and painting all those window frames.  

Problem is, they still haven't made the caretaker cottage livable, and winter will soon set in.  The amount of work needed on the big house is mind-boggling, and so is the expense.  No doubt somewhere in one or both families is an indulgent Big Mama or Big Daddy with very deep pockets.  It must be nice not to worry about how to pay the rent or keep food on the table while picking out designer decor and furniture.

Frankly, I think with this beat-up chateau way to hell out in bumfuck, they have bitten off much more than they can chew or ever make a profit on, but what do I know?  I wish them good luck with this monster reno.  It will certainly be a great learning experience.

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Bernie Denounces Trumpism at No Kings Rally

Last Saturday in D.C.  Goddamn, what a man.  You go, Bernie.

I don't agree with some of Bernie's proposals, and he is wrong on a couple of points of history.  But I endorse the main thrust of his message.  There's far too much money in too few hands.  Money = power, and power, as Lord Acton said, tends to corrupt; and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

That's why our Founding Fathers set up a government with three branches (divided power; checks and balances) and periodic elections, ensuring that power changes hands from time to time.  They also endowed us with a Constitution that cannot be easily changed (the rule of laws, not men) and a free press that can expose the misuse and abuse of power to the attention of the people.  But when 3 or 4 people own most of the wealth in this country, working hand-in-glove with a would-be dictator, you don't have to be a "communist" to see that means the end of democracy. 

The system is not perfect, but then NO system is.  There is not now, nor has there ever been, nor will there ever be a Utopia where everyone gets everything they want when they want it.  The best that can be done is to provide the greatest good for the greatest number most of the time.  Capitalism properly restrained and regulated can be a good thing, bringing prosperity and security to many millions - with enough left over in the public treasury to provide a social safety net for the elderly, disabled, and unfortunate - as has been generally the case in the Western world for over a century now.  

But unbridled, unregulated capitalism is simply the dictatorship of the rich, and profoundly un-American.

Unelected and unaccountable, the super-rich could buy and sell all the lawyers, judges, police, and politicians they need to get their way, immune from any and all consequences.  They could control all sources of news and information, in print or online, indoctrinating everyone young and old with their corrupt wordview, and inciting the masses to fear, resentment, hatred, or violence against anything or anyone, as their masters pleased.  And rhey could manipulate the price of all goods and services and housing to squeeze the last dime out of the propertyless common people, in effect making them serfs perpetually dependent on the goodwill of the overlords and their digital informers/enforcers.  America or Soviet Russia?  Who could tell the difference?

The super-rich could also dispose of whoever is president, if he doesn't do their bidding.  There is an old saying that "there is honor among thieves."  But who knows what might happen when thieves fall out with one another?  

And by the way - don't fear what may happen one day.  It has already happened.  That little god-box in your hand that you just can't live without?  That plastic slab you carry everywhere you go and use to do everything with?  You do know, don't you, that it tracks every movement you make, 24/7, and they are recorded somewhere, as is every call you make and every word you type.  So are all your purchases, all your bank and credit card data, the names and numbers of all your friends and kinfolks, even your casual hookups and favorite porn.  It can all be used against you - and may well be.  Don't fear the slavery to come - the chain is already around your neck and the knife at your balls.  Resistance, I'm afraid, is too late.  You have been assimilated.  And paid good money for it, too, you fool.  So enjoy it while you can.

But what do I know?  I'm just a tired old man who has outlived his time, waiting for his flight to be called, that's all.  Move along, nothing to see here.

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Sunday Drive: What God Hath Promised

By Annie Johnson Flint, 1919, as performed by the Mennonite Hour Singers:

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"The Bold and the Beautiful #1" by Clint Collide:

If you're pressed for time, just pause the video and right-arrow through the pics.

Study Questions (some will appear on the exam):

2:45 - Is it really John Wayne, or is it James Cagney?  Explain.

2:55 - Which one is the gay brother?  Justify your answer.

3:30 - Why does this look like the Marx Brothers at play?

6:25 - Who knew Leslie Jordan was such a stud muffin?

7:55 - Springsteen's great-great-grandaddy?  Why or why not?

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What's Cooking? Plenty!

Pour yourself a beverage, sit back, and take your mind off the state of the world for a while with these fascinating videos.  WARNING:  May cause acute hunger pangs in sensitve individuals.  And everyone else.

1. Short Order Cookery (1973) - This vocational training film shows how one man can cook everything, all at the same time.  Who knew that griddles had different heating sections?

2. Give Your Eggs a Break (1966) - Another vocational film, with some comedy relief thrown in.

3. Spider (197x) - Kenneth Osgood, a former Golden Gloves boxer, was a phenomenal short-order cook at a diner in New Hampshire. When you watch this film, you'll understand how he got the nickname of "Spider."

4. New Jersey's Busiest Diner (2021) - A look behind the scenes at a ginormous diner with 125 staff in the kitchen, serving 15,000 meals a week.  I know M.P. will love the mountain of disco fries, an old favorite of his - I like them too.  We also love chicken and waffles, a Southern treat that goes back at least to the 1920s.

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PJ and Thomas: Fall Getaway

The Chattanooga family heads to the mountains of North Carolina with the kids, who are on fall break this week.  (Say what?  A whole week off from school??  In the middle of October???  I can't keep up.)

I'm posting this for the scenery and the sociological interest:  two gay dads with kids, and everyone seems to be happy, wholesome, and well-adjusted.  Lovely.  I'm glad for them - but a little cutesiness goes a long way.  Your mileage may vary, of course.

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Curlers or Not

Today's meditation from Forward Day by Day, a ministry of the Episcopal Church:

Click to enlarge.

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Todd and Rob Do Up the Outdoor Den

The mountain boys are back from Wyoming and itching to get the back porch all fixed up for fall with new furniture, a chandelier, and a truckload of pumpkins. Their aesthetic is very different from mine; but it's pleasant to see two husbands enjoying their life together. And obviously not at all worried about the price of groceries. I'm sure they spend more on decor every month than we do on food. Lucky ducks.

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Sunday Drive: Debussy, Beau Soir

From the 1976 album Classical Barbra, which your Head Trucker used to own:

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"So Many Men ... #1" by Clint Collide:

If need be, you can save time by pausing the video and right-arrowing through the pics.

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Meet PJ and Thomas

Ya know, when I came out in the closing days of disco, there were lots of sexy guys in the clubs, but no long-term couples to be seen, no role models for a stable, grown-up life.  But nowadays, YouTube keeps showing me more and more of them.  What a difference half a century makes.  

Here's a couple from Chattanooga that I just came across.  They have three kids, a house in town, a farm in the country, and a beach house on the Gulf. I don't know where they hide their ginormous Money Bin, but they seem to have a wonderful family life. Good for them.

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Chateau Poseidon: Treasures and Troubles

The latest updates from the chateau guys.

Epsidode 13:  Fishing for Treasures

Episode 14: Tower of Troubles

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Todd and Rob Escape to Wyoming

The mountain boys finally get out of the garden shed and into the wide-open spaces of the West.  (But where's Wally?)

Geography note:  The Grand Tetons were so named by the first explorers, Frenchmen, because they reminded them of their girlfriends.  I'm not making this up.

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Sunday Drive: Choral High Mass from St. Mark's Episcopal, Philadelphia

Your Head Trucker hasn't been to church in a very long while - for good reasons -  and is not a high churchman; but sometimes a service of bells and smells can be refreshing to the soul.  At least I can make a spiritual communion online, and listen to a good sermon.  

BTW - Psalm 37 is particularly apropos in today's world.

Video description:

Choral High Mass on the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

Sermon by Mother Nora Johnson

The music for the Mass is:

    Missa Octavi Toni – Orlande de Lassus (1532 - 1594)

    O Lord, Increase Our Faith – Henry Loosemore (? -1670)

    Love Bade Me Welcome – Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)

The service leaflet (PDF) for today's service is found here.

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"Do You Remember? #1" by Clint Collide:

If you please, you can save time by pausing the video and right-arrowing through the pics.

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Jeffrey Kevin: French Fall Tablescape

Another lavish display with a unique theme. In case you don't know, the Gallic rooster (coq gaulois) has been a symbol of France for ages.  

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Sunday Drive: The Lord's My Shepherd

The Good Shepherd, 1880 magazine illustration
via Wikipedia.  Click to enlarge.

A metrical version of Psalm 23 from the Scottish Psalter of 1650, sung by the choir of Winchester Cathedral.  This hymn was a favorite of the late Queen Elizabeth II, and was sung at her funeral in 2022.

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"Back for More" by Clint Collide:

If you're in a hurry, just pause the video and right-arrow through the pics.

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Cavalcade: Autumn Window Displays

Kevin celebrates the return of the fall season with crock pots, stoves, and miscellaneous pots and pans in the earth tones that were so popular when he and I were young.  Which is all very nice and decorative, but there's also a truckload of damn autumn leaves strewn everywhere.  I'm glad I'm not the one who will have to pick them up!

(Leaf raking was never my favorite chore.)

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Todd and Rob Still Shedding

The mountain boys continue their labors in their tiny garden shed, which now has new windows, new wainscotting, new panelling, new ceiling, and new paint.  They sure are good with tools, and I envy their know-how, though I hate to think how much money, time, and sweat these guys are pouring into a 4' x 8' room that no one will ever see except them and their plant life. But hey, at least they're not destroying Western Civilization - are they? 

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"Memorable Men Alone #1" by Clint Collide:

To save time, you can just pause the video and right-arrow through the pics.

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Kinzinger: Civil War Reality Check

It certainly wouldn't be anything like a Saturday-night rumble in the bowling alley parking lot.  I wish Kinzinger had prepared a more articulate statement instead of speaking off the cuff, but I agree with all he says here:

A few things Kinzinger forgot to mention. In addition to the loss of electricity and running water, there would be no working toilets.  Just sit with that thought a minute.

No air conditioning, either, which would be devastating across the South.  Up north, the lack of heating in wintertime would be just as bad.  Apart from military casualties, many millions of people - of all parties and persuasions - would be suffering and starving across the nation.

Also, there would be no front line, as in the wars we read about in history books. There would be numerous fronts and areas of conflict; and no safe place "behind the lines" anywhere. 

But just exactly what army would be fighting what army? Think about that a moment. The rightwing boys show up with all their cool army gear and guns . . . and who shows up on the other side?   

A moment's reflection shows that this whole idea of civil war is just a gung-ho fantasy - which, left unchecked, could become, God forbid, an excuse for wholesale manslaughter.  

It is certainly a symptom of unreasoning hatred, not human decency, and certainly not Christianity:  Remember the One who said, "Put your sword away.  He who lives by the sword will die by the sword."

Much more likely, though hardly less horrible, would be for the federal authorities to find some flimsy excuse to declare a National Emergency and suspend the Constitution, the courts, and all state and local governments not directly subordinate to military rule from Washington. The few pockets of resistance that might spring up here or there would quickly be put down by military patrols, which are already occurring in some cities.  

So no need for a war, which would disppoint the rank and file, but too bad. Life would go on and profits continue to fill the coffers of the ultra-wealthy. Which was only to be expected. 

Let us hope that these dire situations never arise, and that all this stupid talk is just stupid talk. I have to believe that cooler heads and good sense will in time show us the way out of this dark tunnel. Please God. 

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Chateau Poseidon: Episodes 10 & 11

Tom and Damien carry on with renovation work, decor planning, and friendly visits.

Episode 10: Chopping down overgrown ivy; a visit by a couple of Brits who are renovating another chateau; and a secret transatlantic flight.

Episode 11:  Fun with spray paint; a difference of opinion; late riser vs. early riser; a quick lunch in the town market; and Damien's design plans for all the first-floor (American: second-floor) bedrooms.

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Sunday Drive: Ave Maria

Il Volo performs the Schubert hymn at a Christmas concert in the Senate of Italy, 2014.

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Bernie Sanders Condemns Murder of Charlie Kirk

I agree with everything Bernie says:

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Charlie Kirk Shot Dead at Utah College

California governor and prominent Democrat Gavin Newsom has posted this tweet on the murder of rightwing activist Chrarlie Kirk at a college in Utah today, and I agree with every word:

Kirk was no angel.  He was an archetypal bully - smug and self-righteous, with a cruel mouth.  But I'm sorry he was murdered.  Not only for the reasons Newsom stated - which are essential to civilized society and individual human decency - but also because of what the repercussions will be.

Yet the brainless vicious bitches over on the comments section of Joe.My.God.'s blog are whooping it up in celebration.  YOU STUPID JERKS.  Your attitude is as disgusting as anything that ever came out of Kirk's mouth.  You are not on some higher moral plane.  You are down there in the gutter with all the other self-righteous ratbastards of the world.  Cold-blooded murder is never a cause for celebration.

But I'll stop right there - the morality of all this, regardless of which side you are on, is obvious to any decent adult.  A society where it's okay to just shoot anybody you disagree with is not a society I wish to live in.  

I despised Kirk's hateful words and attitudes towards gays and all others who weren't just like him - I thought him an arrogant SOB just like the ones who beat, bullied, and humiliated me in high school, and were unkind in more subtle ways later on.  But my thoughts tonight are with Kirk's widow and two small children; no one should have to go through a tragedy like this, regardless of politics or religion.

From the Sermon on the Mount:

Click to enlarge.

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Taco Tuesday Tablescape

Jeffrey Kevin has some fabulous Mexicana fun with this one.  M.P., having grown up in El Paso, will surely get some new ideas for the next Tex-Mex dinner he cooks, which is fairly often.  We already have a good bit of Mexican decor, including a set of dinner plates, bowls, and saucers with concentric rings of southwesty colors:  red, orange, yellow, lime green, sky blue.  And we have those very same napkins!  With a full-length table runner to match!  

But we totally need those red placemats with the rainbow-colored tassels.  You go, J.K.!

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Sunday Drive: Top 5 Songs of 1965

"Billboard Top 5 songs from 1965 | Gen Z Music Producer Reaction" -- the title says it all.  But I give Isaac Brown credit for being intelligent, articulate, and not at all snotty as some others of his generation would be.  He's respectful, not sarcastic; a nice guy.  You can see as he listens to each song, and occasionally comments, that he approches them across the gulf of sixty summers with a very analytical mind, like an archaeologist.

But wait to watch his head explode when he gets to "Wooly Bully"!

1965 was a very good year for pop music - this is my kind of music, from that sweet slice of time after Meet the Beatles but before Sgt. Pepper.  No, I wasn't part of the counter-culture. Too square; still am.

For more fun with Isaac, go watch him listen to Rumours for the very first time!  (How the hell do you get to be a music producer without ever having heard Fleetwood Mac?  Sheesh!  Kids these days . . . )

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Cavalcade of Food: Stove Swap

Kevin and Ralph along with their friend Todd replace a range in the kitchen corner of the Cavalcade private museum.  Kevin likes to do this every so often; his place is full of dozens of old stoves and other appliances.  Check out the wonderful sliders they use this time to eliminate the strain of lifting the ranges with a dolly - wow, how easy that is.

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"Love Is Love" by Clint  Collide:

There's a sprinkling of famous faces in this one. As always, you can just pause the video and right-arrow through the pics to save time. 

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The Story of Harry S. Truman

Official portrait of President Truman
by Greta Kempton, 1947.
Click to enlarge.

I am so disgusted with all that is going on in our country and in the rest of the world now that I can't stomach the news anymore.  A couple of times a week, I run my eye over the headlines on the news feed, ditto the headlines on Joe.My.God., but I don't want the details.  I see the abyss opening wide ahead of us, and I can't bear to think of what may come.  Of course, I have no crystal ball, and things may yet get better instead of worse; but having a long view of human history, and knowing how mighty states have often fallen from greatness into ruin -- well, it's best not to fill my mind with dread of things I cannot prevent or control.

The Farm Journal, May 1916

I find comfort in my faith, and in revisiting the brighter spots in history.  Harry Truman was one of them, and I offer this video summary of his life in the Oval Office as a reminder of what a president can and should be.  His small-town upbringing was the source of his virtues as well as his shortcomings; but by God, he had the right stuff, never waivering in his faith in American democracy and his respect for the inherent worth of the common people.  That was a true man, a strong man, and a good man.  One of the greats.

If you find this video refreshing, I heartily recommend the definitive biography, entitled Truman, by the late historian David McCullough.  There is an audiobook version on YouTube (slow the speed down to about 75%) that makes for fascinating listening - though you can start in the middle, if you like, with Truman's sudden elevation to the presidency on the death of FDR in April, 1945, a few weeks before Germany surrendered.  The job just got rougher and tougher from there on out, but Truman plowed right on, true to his lights, keeping the country and the world on course for peace and prosperity, doing an astoundingly fine job that would have broken many a lesser man.  That's why ever since he left office in January 1953, he has consistently been ranked in the top ten of American presidents.

The video opens with Truman thanking his hometown neighbors for the rapturous welcome they gave him when he returned to Independence, Missouri, after leaving the White House for the last time.  Enjoy.

 

On a personal note, it's odd to realize I am older now than FDR was when he died, and older than Truman was when he left office.  Where does the time go?

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Todd and Rob Strip Down and Cut Up

 The mountain boys put windows in the potting shed.

M.P. says it would be easier to just remove the siding and put translucent fiberglass panels all around the outside. When I said, why don't we do that with our own storage shed, he just growled and looked away.

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Sunday Drive: Frenesi

For M.P., who loves this tune and loves to dance.  Take your pick, amigo mio!

Julie London sings it in English, 1963:

From Latin America, a singer and two dancers:

From Mexico, maybe; two dancers have the floor to themselves:

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"No Shirts + No Shoes #2" by Clint Collide:

As always, if you don't have to time to watch it the regular way, just mute the sound and right-arrow through the pics.

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Tom and Damien: Chateau Poseidon updates

These boys are working and videoing so fast on their grand reno project, I can't keep up with them.  Here are their two latest vids.

Episode 7: Our First Thirty Days as Chateau Owners

Episode 8: Let's Talk about Money

They've also posted their first video en francais here.

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The Pork Boys Do Ossobuco

Well, fellas, it's been a long time since I posted about one of our dinners.  Because technical difficulties.  But I found a little work-around, so I have two pics of our most recent Sunday dinner to show you - a simple meal, but believe me it was grand!

It was Dinner in Italy at our house.  We started with Tuscan beans and greens soup, (what's the name for that, Frank?) with bits of cooked ham thrown in.  Quite tasty!  We Southerners found it much to our liking, natch - we were raised on greens, beans, and hamhocks.  Only it was a bit too salty, so the second time around, M.P. boiled some chopped-up potatoes in it, which corrected the saltiness nicely.

Ossobuco.  I found this pic on the net. 
It looks very much like what M.P. cooked up.

The main dish was ossobuco, which M.P. made for the first time last winter, and again last weekend, filling the house with a most delicious aroma.  The name means "hollow bone," and that's where the marrow is.  The beef shank with attached meat is cooked low and slow in the oven as the marrow melts out into the meat, giving every bite a rich, fatty, scrumptious taste!  It puts us into orbit, and we are only sad that we had to wait 70-odd years to discover this fabulous dish.

The green vegetable was fagiolini in fricassea (hey you in the back - watch your damn mouth, buddy), which is green beans cooked in a creamy sauce of egg yolks and lemon juice.  An Italian recipe, perhaps of Greek origin, it has a new and different taste.  I liked it.

For the starch dish, we had linguini alfredo, with a standard alfredo sauce, which we both love.  The bread was M.P.'s wonderful focaccia, handmade.  Our dinner wine was Gato Negro, something M.P. discovered a while back, which is dark and strong like Chianti.  Yeah, I know it's Spanish, but it worked fine.

Finally, the piece de resistance was the chocolate & caramel cheesecake that M.P. had baked that morning, which was totally Out.Of.This. World.  OMG, you have no idea.  Here's the one picture we got of it:

This made us pork boys happy as pigs in the sunshine, I tell you what!

We finished it off last night.  And that's all I have to show, but I hope from here on I can get more food pics to show here on the Blue Truck.  Later, guys.  Buon appetito!

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Sunday Drive: I Can Hear Music

The Beach Boys' 1969 hit brings back memories of someone I can't quite recall.  Was it a girl I was dating in high school?  That didn't work out, but I thought I was in love, and I do recall the warm, cozy feeling of this song.  Or was it later on, and I re-listened to this song, thinking of a boy I thought I loved?  Funny, I usually do remember personal things like that.  I guess the mind is aging like the body.  Oh well, it's still a good summer song, so enjoy.

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"Stop Scaring Us!"

I don't know why this popped up on my YouTube page yesterday, but it's well worth a listen.  Jackie Goldberg, past president of the Los Angeles School Board, sounds off vehemently against the homophobes in this speech from June 2023.  Ms. Goldberg retired last December after a lifetime of political and social service.

I wonder if this speech would get her sent to Alcatraz today. 

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"Memorable Men Alone #1" by Clint Collide:

"

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Is Your Marriage Safe?

Ten years ago, the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.  Now a new petition asks the court to overturn that decision.  Read this summary from ScotusBlog to get up to date on what's happening:

Will the Supreme Court revisit its ruling on same-sex marriage?

You may want to look at some stats from the Pew Research Center on Americans' opinions about homesexuality and same-sex marriage.  Be aware that the latest poll that Pew conducted on these issues was in 2023-2024, when two-thirds of Americans favored same-sex marriage; however, some people may have changed their minds since then.

Religion and views on LGBTQ issues and abortion

It's also interesting to scroll to the bottom of that page and compare the very similar figures for attitudes about abortion, which also was legal nationawide until 2022.  As I said in this blog ten years ago when the Obergefell decision came down, what the Supreme Court gives, it can also take away.

We may all be about to find out who our friends really are.

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Todd and Rob: A Fright and a Fix-up

If you're like me, you may want to skip the snake part, from about 3:00 to 11:00.  Or watch it have a good laugh as the guys lose their minds.

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Sunday Drive: Schubert, Serenade

Just right for a quiet summer Sunday.

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VJ Day Plus 80

Monument to Allied dead in the Kohima War Cemetery, India.

King Charles III released an audio message last night commemorating the end of World War II on this day in 1945:

Here is the speech broadcast by his grandfather, King George VI, in 1945:

Earlieri that day in Washington, President Truman had announced the unconditional surrender of Japan, sparking riotous celebrations across the United States:

My dad was an Air Force mechanic stationed in Aachen, Germany, at the time. I don't know how he celebrated, but I do know that just two months later, after being shipped stateside with maybe ten thousand other G.I.'s on the Queen Elizabeth, he was back home with his parents, safe and sound. Many others never made it home, or were disabled for life. Living or dead, we owe them all an immense debt of gratitude - as it says on the monument pictured above.

Their service and sacrifice saved the whole world from depraved tyranny and unspeakable horrors. As President Roosevelt had remarked some years before, that generation had a "rendezvous with destiny." They met it with courage and righteous determination, bequeathing to us who followed three generations of general peace, progress, and unparalleled prosperity in the free world.  

What destiny lies ahead for today's linked-in generation, and how will they meet it? This weary old man in his twilight years wonders -- but would rather not stick around to find out.

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