Waitin' for the Weekend

"A Motley Mix of Men #2" by Clint Collide:

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What We're Watching: Miss Polly (1941)

We are sweltering through some mighty hot weather down here in Texas, boys - Tuesday it was 104 degrees, and the heat index was a whopping 119!  The temperature inside the house was 85, even with the a/c system and all fans going full blast.  We had a serviceman come out yesterday who cleaned and recharged the a/c, which helped; and also, the outdoor temp cooled off to a mere 98 degrees.

When we hear of silly-ass people in France or wherever agonizing over whether it is "ethical" to use air conditioning in extreme heat, we just laugh.  The question here in the Lone Star State is:  You want to live or die?  It's that simple.

I hope all my truckbuddies are staying cool and comfortable.  If you need something to take your mind off the weather, here's an amusing B movie from 1941 made by the Hal Roach studios - they also made the Our Gang comedies in the 1930s.  

We like to watch old movies or TV shows during dinner at the kitchen bar; and it seems I have made a convert of M.P., who wasn't quite sure who Zasu Pitts was until I started playing some of her movies.  Now he thinks she's swell.  See what you think.

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Sunday Drive: Strauss, The Blue Danube

Click to enlarge.

To help beat the summer heat, I think I will play some waltzes and other delightful things in the next month or so.  The beloved "Blue Danube" is of course at the top of the list, and Strauss wrote many others.  Here it is, as performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1961, with Eugene Ormandy conducting.

My mom used to pick up a record album from a thrift shop or discount store now and then, and though I never remember her playing any of them, they were exciting to discover as a lonely only child.  And what little gay boy wouldn't be entranced by the lush music and the fairy-tale picture on the album?

I played and replayed it countless times over the years.  When it had gotten rather scratchy in the mid-1970s, I searched the record stores until I found an 8-track version of the same, which I could play in my car while driving along the blue waters of the beautiful Gulf coast.  Fond memories; I hope you fellas enjoy the inspiration of this masterpiece recording too.

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"Loving Them All #1" by Clint Collide:

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Famous Photo Found!

From more than 60 years ago, I remember this fascinating photo of moving day in an American suburb that appeared in my World Book Encyclopedia, which my mom got me when I was 7.  (The World Book was an education in itself - thanks, Mom!)  I always did wonder how they got those all those big trucks in and out of that narrow street.

Now somebody has done the research to find out where this photo came from:  it was taken in 1953 for an article in Life magazine about the booming Lakewood suburb of Los Angeles.  The researcher uses Google Maps and his own video to show what the neighborhood looks like now.  A fine job of sleuthing.

May 1st was moving day up north; I never heard of such a thing down south.  This article from the Brooklyn Public Library gives the legal and historical background of the event, with some humorous period pieccs about the hustle and bustle.  See also this Wikipedia article.

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Sunday Drive: Summertime

Ella and Louis sing the Gershwin classic, recorded in 1957:

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"All American Boy" by Vintage Photomontage:

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Fifty Years Ago: Bay Gays, 1976

A compilation of news reports on the burgeoning "homosexual community" in San Francisco, in the freewheeling carnival days before Harvey Milk, before the riots, before AIDS and all that.  I was still in the closet, and though I knew I was gay I didn't feel any kinship with the screaming queens out there.  The two quiet, polite, monogamous guys interviewed in the first clip here were more my speed, and still are.  But San Francisco was in the vanguard of the gay rights movement, which has benefited us all from coast to coast.  

BTW, David Goodstein, who appears in the first clip, was owner and publisher of The Advocate, which I later subscribed to for several years.

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Uncelebrating July 4th

I've thought and thought, but I just can't come up with anything to say or show to mark our national day.

I love my country, and there are still good people in it - but when I look beyond our little home and neighborhood, what I see is a nightmare version of America, a Bizarro world turned upside down, inside out.  Not the country I grew up in.

Instead of a republic, we live now in a corrupt and corrupting dictatorship centered on the worship of a conceited egomaniac without a conscience, supported and sustained by supine legislators and venal judges.  He is the complete antithesis of everything an American president should be, a monumental disgrace to the office held by Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Lincoln, the Roosevelts, and so many other honest, honorable, decent men.

The dictatorship is not yet total, but his lickspittle lackeys, verminous henchmen, and deluded supporters are straining every nerve to make it so.  If they succeed, we shall have, not the blessings of liberty, but the scourging of a theocratic and plutocratic autocracy.  Which is just what the Founding Fathers feared and tried to prevent.  

The truth is, both the right and the left have gone far wrong, and no matter how the politics turn out, the old order of thing in this country and abroad has been shattered to pieces and will never return.  The clock never runs backward.  

This old man has outlived his time.  Things may get better eventually, or they may get worse - either way, there's nothing I can do to affect the course of events.  With the infirmities of advancing age, it's all we can do here just to keep ourselves and our little home in working order.

I could say many other things about politics and society, history and morality, but that's all I can manage for now - except a prayer:  God bless America and God help us all.

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I don't feel like singing today, but here is the late, great Kate Smith with the song she made famous when my dad was in England serving with the U. S. Air Force, and my mom was working in a defense plant here in Texas, turning out artillery shells:

Bonus, 5 p.m.:  Former President Bill Clinton has issued an encouraging statement on America 250 and the state of the country.  Excerpt:

Our Founders were wise when they gave us our mission to form a more perfect union. They knew America would never be perfect but could always be better. That’s what they meant by “more perfect.” We’ve done that by being courageous enough to acknowledge our flaws and missteps—and then bold enough to leave them behind for brighter tomorrows.

That’s the lesson of our first 250 years: we can always do better. In how we treat one another, in person and online; in building a better future for ourselves, our families, and our communities; and in standing up, showing up, and speaking out for our democracy.

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In The Room Where America Was Born

Signing of the Declaration of Independence by John Trumbull, 1819.
Click to enlarge.

Instead of the usual Friday assortment of several handsome men, today the Blue Truck features just one - which ought to satisfy everybody.

Independence Hall in Philadelphia is familiar to all Americans as the birthplace of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, as well as the original home of the Liberty Bell.  The Hall is in the care and custody of the National Park Service.  Those who remember fondly the denizens of Jellystone Park know that relations between bears and rangers have often been problematic.  

But now in this equal-opportunity era, here is Ranger Bigbear giving a really excellent and accurate narration of the events that occurred in the Assembly Room when the Founding Fathers gathered there.  Highly educational and enjoyable - if you can keep your mind on the history.

By the way, various authoritative sources tell me that the Assembly Room where the delegates met and debated is about 40 by 40 feet - more than twice the size of a typical high-school classroom today.  About 60 delegates attended in the summer of 1776; 56 of them signed the Declaration sometime in August - not on July 4th.  Believe it or not!

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America: What's It All About?

The late historian David McCullough (1933-2022), renowned author of presidential biographies and other best-selling books, discusses American ideas and ideals - and then-president Trump - with interviewer Charlie Rose in 2017.  One cannot understand the present without understanding the past.

This interview is well worth your time.  McCullough is easy to listen to, and his voice may sound familiar.  He has has narrated many Ken Burns miniseries and other PBS documentaries.

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