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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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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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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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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Todd and Rob: Your Questions Answered

Those Georgia mountain boys, with the help of some good whiskey,  take a break from landscaping to answer questions from fans.

Among other interesting confessions, they admit they spent $4000 or $5000 on flowers and plants and stuff this year. Wow.  They are very fortunate.

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Todd and Rob's Steamy Weekend

Todd goes topless in this day-in-the-life record of the diggings and dawdlings at their mountain cabin on a hot summer weekend.  Don't miss the fascinating close-up at the 13:20 mark.

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Todd and Rob's Mountain Oasis

The Georgia boys show off the luxuriance of their mountain garden in the height of summer:

BTW, don't miss the light show in the last eight minutes.

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Todd and Rob Go Jump in the Lake

Those Blue Ridge boys take a break from their phantasmagoric gardening to paddle around a beautiful mountain lake.

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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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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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Todd and Rob and the New Canoe

Those Georgia boys are at it again, adding yet more flowers and trees to their mountain garden, and water features too!  They sure have lots of energy.  As we used to, once upon a time . . . 

After a long season of winter inactivity, M.P. in the last couple of weeks has gotten back into yardwork and gardening with vigor.  The bright spring sunshine has helped his mood quite a bit.  He says, "I feel happier now - but I hurt all over!"  That's retirement life.

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Todd and Rob Do Spring Planting

Another day in the life of two husbands in the North Georgia mountains.  Nothing exciting, but it's pleasant to see another gay couple living life openly and happily - impossible in my youth, but a commonplace now, even in Georgia.  (I hope it stays that way.)

I envy their strength and stamina.  My get-up-and-go got up and went a long while back.

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Todd and Rob Do Homo Depot

See more mountain home videos at ToddandRob.com.

Special Report:  Just how do those crazy, wild-eyed, radical homosexuals go about destroying the American family, bringing down the wrath of God, and ruining everything for everybody?  See the facts for yourself in this Blue Truck report  . . . 

In spring, teh gayz get all misty-eyed at the thought of a rainbow of blooming flowers in the yard.  So these boys went a-huntin' for plants and bulbs this past weekend, and added some new ones to their cabin garden, up in the scenic North Georgia mountains.  They also did a bit of renovation work in the upstairs bathroom.  A sweet couple - I admire their manual skills and home-loving hard work.  

M.P. and I used to go plant shopping in the spring, but we're older and tireder now, and once we get down on the ground, we can't get back up again!  We really need to find a studly sturdy young man to help with the lawn and garden this year - can't pay much, but we'd feed him well. 

 Anybody know someone? 

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In Memoriam: President Jimmy Carter, 1924-2024

Official portrait, 1977

 

Former President Jimmy Carter died today at his home in Plains, Georgia, at the age of 100.  He was a fine man who set a fine example for all other presidents, in or out of office.  May God rest his soul.

And then there's Mr. Carter's longtime suport for gay rights.

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Christmas Cuteness

Just happened to come across this video on YouTube.  Todd and Rob are husbands with movie-star smiles who love spending time in their North Georgia mountain home, and of course they have it decorated to the hilt for Christmas.  Not all of this glitterfest is to your Head Trucker's liking, but then it doesn't have to be.  I'm just glad I have lived to see a time when two men could have a home together and tell the world about it - something unimaginable in the first part of my life.  

Well, see what you think, fellas.  (But jet black ornaments on a Christmas tree??  Shudder.)

Your questions answered here:

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Notes from the Revolution, 6/22/20

. . . a revolution of hearts and minds . . .

Today in Talladega - see story below.
Click to enlarge.

An assortment of recent news stories that give food for thought and inform the conversation on the momentous issues now gripping this country. Your Head Trucker may have more to say about some of these things another time, but for now, take a look and see what you think.


Have Trump Voters Changed Their Minds?  CNN's Van Jones reports (June 19 2020):




Black Georgia Sheriff Justifies Shooting of Rayshard Brooks:  CNN's Brianna Kellar discusses the shooting with Burke County Sheriff Alonzo Williams (June 16, 2020):




I'm Gonna Talk about You, Connie: Local activist Gary Chambers calls out the Baton Rouge School Board in no uncertain terms last Thursday in Louisiana:



More video and background here. At the end of the meeting, the board did vote to change the name of the school.


Cuomo Fears Election Setup: Governor Andrew Cuomo believes Trump's objections to mail-in ballots are a ruse to ensure a contested election in November (June 22, 2020):




I Stand with Bubba:  Fellow NASCAR drivers and crews gave a massive, moving show of support to driver Bubba Wallace in Talladega, Alabama, today:

Richard Petty's statement of support.  Click to enlarge.

Update, 6/23/20: No Charges in NASCAR Noose Incident.  The FBI says that noose was the tied-up pullcord of a garage door, and had been hanging there that way since last fall.  Well, if it wasn't an act of hatred, it was certainly the occasion for a wonderful display of love and unity in Talladega.


Update, 6/25/20: NASCAR Releases Photo of the Noose. NASCAR president Steve Phelps said at a press conference that "a thorough sweep of the 29 tracks and 1,684 garage stalls at the speedway, authorities found 11 pull-down ropes tied in a knot -- but only one noose," the one found in Bubba Wallace's stall. "We further determined that the noose was not in place when the October 2019 race weekend began but was created at some point during that weekend," Phelps said. "Given that timing and the garage access policies and procedures at the time, we were unfortunately unable to determine with any certainty who tied this rope in this manner or why it was done."

All About Grits

Grits are good, grits are fine. Grits are scrumptious any old time.
Grits are groovy, grits are great. Eat them up and lick the plate.

--Traditional Southern lullaby

For all you Yankee boys who don't know what's good, Southern Living's test kitchen director Robby Melvin stopped by the Blue Truck today to give you a quick lesson in fine dining.




And all you peckerwoods wearing out your intertubes a-worrying about climate change should be glad to hear that grits are eco-friendly:  they can be made with nothing more than rocks and water.  I'm telling you the Gospel truth!  Just looky here at this little fillum, and you might learn something:




What's that you ask? You say you want to know more about the goodness of grits? Well, then, go read "Why Southerners Must Know Their Grits" over at the Southern Living website.  That will tell you all you never knew you wanted to know about grits, and then some.  You might also be surprised to know that the Italian word for grits is polenta.  Well, almost.


But now listen to ol' Russ: you don't need to fool with all that high-falutin' history and technology and stuff.  (And do NOT even think about doing anything with lye - your grandma knew how, but the secret died with her.)  Just run yourself over to the store and grab you a round canister of quick 5-minute grits - any brand will do, and any color, too - yellow is prettier, but the standard white is just fine.

Now fellas, if you can boil water, you can make grits.  It's that doggone easy, I swear it is. Just follow the extremely simple directions on the package. In five minutes, if you have a lick of sense, you will have a steaming hot pot of perfect grits, and then you can commence to eating and enjoying one of God's greatest gifts to the South - and to the world.

Just add butter and black pepper, and ooooowheeeee! You got something good there, boys, for breakfast, dinner, supper, or midnight snack. Goes with anything and everything. Plumb delicious. You'll feel better and live longer, too. I tell you what.


What's that you say? You went to the store and they didn't have nary a box of grits to be found? Well sir, that's a mighty sad thing, yes indeed. And I feel just as sorry as I can for all you underprivileged folks living in the undeveloped world. I'll pray for you.

The preceding has been a public service announcement from Russ Manley and the Blue Truck Educational Trust.

Beat, Curse, Disown Your Gay Kid in Jesus' Name

What's love got to do with it? Joe.My.God. writes of this family in Kennesaw, Georgia:

440K views in one day of this YouTube clip in which a kid comes out to his family, only to have them curse him because Jesus, then physically attack him.

Dan Savage and others have set up a fundraiser to pay the kid's living expenses while he gets on his feet.


Update, 8/29, 9 a.m.: Donations for Daniel Pierce, who is staying with supportive friends, now exceed $50,000.

Shocking Expose: Gay Marriage Healthcare Scam

"There is no way that this is about equality. To me, it’s all about a free ride."
--Sue Everhart, Georgia Republican Party Chairwoman

Well boys, the cat's out of the bag.  Now a flower of Southern womanhood has spoken out and exposed gay marriage for the massive straight-boy fraud that it really is.  Stephen Colbert reports:

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,Video Archive

As to her other clear-sighted revelation, that gays can't even have sex together: I confess, fellas. All those times I was doing you . . . I faked it with a little salted tapioca. Forgive me.


Bonus: Studly fuck stupid fuck Jeremy Irons says gay marriage means you can marry your dad - or your dog. Either way, he wishes you "the best of luck."

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The Advocate reports that Irons has responded to an inundation of criticism on his website by stating he is totally not anti-gay, but was merely raising "a mischievous argument, but nonetheless valid."

Your Head Trucker has known and dated several actors in his time, and brilliant as they may be when playng a role, they are not usually so well spoken off-script.

Free Speech is a Civil Right

Much ink and many pixels have been employed recently over the oppostion of Chick-Fil-A's Chief Operating Officer, Dan Cathy, to marriage equality.  The mayors of Boston, Chicago, and Washington, D. C., have called for the company to be banned from opening stores in their locales.  But pardners, that just ain't the American way.  Giddown off your high horse for a minute and give a listen to Kevin Naff in the Washington Blade:

It’s true that the bigots at Chick-fil-A are on the wrong side of history, but unfortunately so are HRC and the groups that support government retaliation against a citizen on the basis of his political views. Does the LGBT movement really want to find itself on the losing side of a debate over freedom of speech? Sure, criticize Cathy and his views. Organize boycotts and protests of the restaurants. And use this ugly episode to make the case for the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act, because surely Cathy’s LGBT employees lack job security. But endorsing government attacks on a business over its president’s views — however offensive and wrong — is reckless and ignores our community’s long, painful history of being victimized by government officials. . . .

Members of the LGBT community ought to be the most aggressive in defending the freedom of speech. We continue to use it in powerful ways to advance our equality. To now applaud politicians who would deny business licenses to companies based on the political views of their owners might feel good, but are we so desperate for validation that we want to stoop to the ugly (and unconstitutional) practices of our opponents?

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg got it right when he said, “trampling on the freedom to marry whoever you want is exactly the same as trampling on your freedom to open a store.” Dan Cathy deserves the right of free speech. He’s entitled to his views and welcome to spend his money funding our enemies. It’s ultimately a losing fight so his money is wasted. We should counter his message of hate and intolerance by pressing for justice. This controversy should be Exhibit A in the case for ENDA.

Let's think this through here, fellas. What is the purpose of a business? To sell a product or service to the public, and thereby make a profit for its owners. As long as the business pays its taxes, complies with the laws that prohibit selling shoddy or dangerous merchandise, as well as the laws regulating pay and treatment of its workers, you're good to go here in the U. S. of A., right?

There is no political or religious test for running a business. And do you really want to see that here, friends? The proprietor can be an atheist or a Holy Roller - a flaming liberal or a die-hard conservative - a member of PETA or the NRA. None of that matters a bit, nor how the proprietor votes or what he thinks about any issue of the day. Our government simply takes no notice of all these irrelevant things. Nor should it.

They don't ask to check your gay card when you walk up to the counter and order a scrumptious chicken sandwich and waffle fries, do they? Which is a treat your Head Trucker dearly loves - but I won't be eating any, anytime soon. That's also my privilege in this land of the free and home of the brave. 

But frankly, this whole uproar is getting much more attention than it deserves - to reduce marriage equality, which means so much to so many, to a goddamn chicken sandwich is just so fucking 5th-grade that I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

So can the government - local, state, federal - take any action against a company run by a bigoted owner? Um, no. No more than the government can tell you what neighborhood you can or can't live in because of your political views, bucko, or where you can or can't buy your groceries. It's called freedom, ya know?

So Russ, you're asking me, does that mean the government can never touch a business that's behaving badly? Well, it can - when the business breaks a duly enacted law. It's called the rule of law, ya know?

Take a little walk with me back to the Civil Rights era of the 1960's, to a controversy involving another Atlanta-based outfit. The government did indeed step up to the plate then to prosecute businesses that broke the law - but it was because they violated the law, not because the owner shot off his mouth in one direction or another. That is always an American's privilege - yours and mine and even the buffoonish bigot, Lester Maddox, whose Pickrick Restaurant in Atlanta was smack-dab in the middle of a major civil rights confrontation back in 1964. From the New Georgia Encyclopedia:

Maddox refused to serve African American patrons. He kept ax handles--called "Pickrick drumsticks" near the restaurant's front door to discourage African Americans seeking to eat at the restaurant.

Following the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Maddox chased two African Americans away from the Pickrick at gunpoint. Maddox publicly announced he would go to jail before serving African Americans, even after being charged in court for pointing a gun at the men. On July 22 in a case against the Pickrick and the white-only Heart of Atlanta Motel, a federal court upheld the Civil Rights Act and issued an injunction beginning August 11 against both businesses prohibiting them from denying service to customers based on color or race. Lawyers appealed the case to the United States Supreme Court which heard the case in October; while waiting for the court to hear the case, the Heart of Atlanta began accepting African American customers, and Maddox closed the Pickrick on August 13.

On September 26 Maddox opened the Lester Maddox Cafeteria in the Pickrick's old location and announced he would serve "acceptable" Georgians. During a trial for contempt of court on September 29, Maddox argued that he was not in contempt because he was no longer offering service to out-of-state travelers or integrationists. In December 1964 the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Civil Rights Act. On February 5, 1965 a federal court ruled Maddox was in contempt of court for failing to obey the injunction and ordered him fined two hundred dollars a day for failing to serve African Americans. Maddox closed the restaurant February 7, 1965 blaming president Johnson and communism for putting him out of business.

Maddox had to close his restaurant not, be it noted, for his opinions on race, but because he violated the law - though the notoriety got him elected Governor of the state of Georgia at the very next election. And so for four years, he was Bozo-in-Chief of the Peach State, until succeeded by Jimmy Carter in 1971.

Still, it's the rule of law that is the lesson here. White, black, gay, straight - everybody can speak their mind in these United States, even if it's the mind of a dipshit jackass. And if you don't agree with that, you don't deserve the freedom to speak yours.

Picket, protest, abstain, do whatever peaceful thing you want to do - but just remember: what goes around comes around, fellas. We may be gay, but we're Americans first.


Here's some clips of Lester at his asshole best, I thought you boys might get a chuckle out of them. The first is from 1964, when a few black activists tried to enter the Pickrick, and Maddox arrogantly turned them away:



Another clip is from 1968, when then-Governor Maddox was interviewed by Joe Pyne - forgotten now, he was a hard-hitting forerunner of Phil Donahue:




See also: Rob Tisnai's brilliant post, "Hating Hate Speech Laws."


Bonus: The Rev. Baxter Wynn, of First Baptist Church of Greenville, South Carolina, and a nephew of Lester Maddox, compares his uncle with another Atlanta boy, Martin Luther King Jr., in this fascinating excerpt of a talk (I wish someone had posted the whole thing on YT):