Kinzinger: A Warning for Democracy

Former Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger has an urgent message for all Americans:

Your Head Trucker is aware of the numerous horrors going on in the world at this time; but this weary old man can't bring himself to blog about them.  Not that it would do any good, anyhow.  Kinzinger says what needs to be said; let those who have ears, hear.

BTW, I just learned that Kinziger, who represented an Illinois district in Congress, recently moved to a suburb of Houston.

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Todd and Rob Canoodle On

Those Georgia mountain boys are getting all hot and sweaty as they continue with their canoe project.  But will they shuck the shirts?

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Sunday Drive: Holy, Holy, Holy!

The Lessons Appointed for Use on the

First Sunday after Pentecost:

Trinity Sunday

Lyrics are found here.

Bonus:  Father David's sermon for today has a profound message for believers and unbelievers alike.  I recommend it to all my truckbuddies.

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Trooping the Colour, 2025

Now this is how you do a real King's Birthday Parade.  Sky News covers the whole shebang, which took place in London this morning:

Note:  the British monarch and all other European monarchs are the good guys - constitutional monarchs.  Their powers were clipped centuries ago, and now they reign but do not rule, as the saying is.  It is hard for an American mind to grasp the concept of a king with all the glory but very little of the power, but that's the way the British like it.  (They don't think like we do.)  And as the 70-year reign of the late Queen Elizabeth II amply demonstrated, in a parliamentary democracy a figurehead monarch can be a strong force for good and an anchor of stability amid the to-and-fro of politics and social change.

For background on the evolution of the monarchy in Britain, start with the Bill of Rights 1689, which preceded our own Constitution and Bill of Rights by a century, and was very much in the minds of the Founding Fathers when they were getting our country off the ground.

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"Strong Enough #1" by Clint Collide.  A short, eclectic mix of the weird and the wonderful.

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New Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge Nears Completion

It was scheduled to open sometime this month, but there's no word yet on just when that will happen.  The new bridge is not exactly what I would call pretty, but it's an impressive structure:  over half a mile long and more than 500 feet tall.  See what you think.

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"I Loved Lucy": An Interview with Author Lee Tannen

Harvey Brownstone conducts an in-depth interview with Lee Tannen about his friendship with Lucille Ball: 

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I just want a reality check here: is everybody in the world turning gay? Or has the YouTube algorithm finally got my number?   I'm like, WTF man?  Lately, it's been throwing lots of homo-centric videos my way, so I figure I should share them with my truckbuddies. 

Intervewer Harvey Brownstone is a most unusual person. After 25 years as a family court judge in Toronto, he retired and has made a second career for himself as a celebrity interviewer. And most of the people he interviews are people I would like to hear from. Gay minds think alike, I guess. There's lots more interviews and commentary to be found on his blog.

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Blue Heaven Tablescape

As my longtime truckbuddies know, we love setting a pretty table for our Sunday dinners here at the Blue Truck - chef de cuisine M.P. is also the man in charge of decor, though I have bought numerous items of china, crystal, cloths, and tableware over the years to enhance our collection of pretties.

But Jeffrey Kevin has us beat all to slap.  Oh my, he does have a penchant for all that.  It takes a special talent to make something as grand as this Blue Heaven spread he shows us today, with lovely old-time porcelain, French crystal, and even blue hydrangeas to match the Wedgwood.  Beautiful.

BTW, if you're pressed for time, you don't have to watch the whole show to get the effect, just the first couple of minutes. 

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Sunday Drive: I AM PRIDE

What a great gay anthem.  Ought to be the gay anthem, I say.  I'd make a few tweaks to the lyrics, but overall - I love it.  Thanks to my truckbuddy Frank for posting it first.

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"The Heart Knows, #1" by Clint Collide:

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Rodney and Jake Roof the Coop

Or, Rodney on a hot tin roof.  Just a simple backyard job, easy-peasy with power tools.

Bonus:  The guys install a new super-duper theft-proof mailbox:

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Better Homos and Gardens

The warm weather has brought the DIY'ers out in droves, on YouTube anyway, and my truckbuddies may be interested to see what somebody is doing with an old plantation house in South Carolina.  Brian Branton, a D.C. attorney and lobbyist, saw historic Cedar Grove for sale online a while back, and by his own account, immediately fell in love with the place and snapped it up.  Now he's hard at work writing checks to have the house and gardens restored to his idea of fabulous.  

An enormous "passion project," as monied people like to say, but he seems to have the requisite energy and enthusiasm for it.  Well, good luck to him in that reddest of all red states - I'm sure it's great fun to have a whole estate to play with. 

You can choose how much you want to see of this project, from among a dozen or so vids Brian has posted already.  Here's his first introductory overview from April 2024 (2 min.):

 

 Here's Brian's walkthough of the whole house, a work in progress (47 min.):

 

And here's his latest video, just posted yesterday, an overview of the garden and grounds (29 min.): 

 

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Todd and Rob Fly the Flag!

Pride comes to the North Georgia mountains:

These boys have big ideas that your Head Trucker wouldn't dream of attempting even if he was able to do it.  And obviously, they have Money.To.Burn.  But it's sweet to see a gay couple living out their idea of domestic bliss.  More power to 'em.

Here in Texas, M.P. has been working like a Trojan the last few weeks on clearing brush, mowing the lawn, trimming the bushes, and replanting some herbs and flowers.  I hope to get a few pics to post soon.

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