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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David Archuleta: Dulce Amor

Brand new from little David, who is bulking up nicely these days.  M.P. tipped me to this video.  See what you think, fellas.

P. S. -- The lyrics are found in the video description on YouTube.  A bit of autobiography, perhaps?

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Sunday Drive: Liszt, Consolation No. 3

A beautiful piece played on Liszt's own piano by a handsome young man.  How refreshing.

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"Hiya, Handsomes #2" by Clint Collide:

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Tom and Damien: Chateau for Two

The boys from French Canada are beavering away on renovating their newly-purchased Château Poséidon in the Loire Valley of France - and so quickly that I've already fallen behind on posting their videos.  Here are episodes 3 and 4 for your enjoyment.

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The Transfiguration of Christ

I have no words to say about the tragedy we are living through today, in this country and around the world; others have said it just as well, if not better.  All I can do is point to the gospel reading for today.

The Lessons Appointed for Use on

The Feast of the Transfiguration

On the holy mountain, a glimpse of God's glory, the splendid Reality behind and beyond all the anxious concerns of this transient life.  A profound thought for the faithful.  See also today's Forward meditation here.

The Transfiguration of Christ by Carl Bloch, 1872.
Click to enlarge.

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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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Sunday Drive: Tchaikovsky, Waltz of the Flowers

We usually hear this tune around Christmastime, but I thought my truckbuddies might appreciate a cool breeze now in high summer, with beautiful roses and some serene scenery too.  Peace be with you.

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Cavalcade of Food: No-Bake Noodle Doodles

Kevin shows how to make a quick, simple chocolate-and-butterscotch snack with a nifty improvised double boiler:

The peanuts are too crunchy for me at this late age, but I wonder if I can persuade M.P. to come up with a softer version.  I have to tell you all that he made a chocolate pie for dessert last Sunday, and it is out-of-this-world delicious!  Like going to chocolate heaven.  You never had anything better in your mouth.  Trust me.

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Do Not Be Afraid

I probably shouldn't do this, but today's reading from Forward Day by Day (a ministry of the Episcopal Church) is so very pertinent to this moment in time that I feel compelled to share it with my truckbuddies.  I hope you will draw comfort and strength from it in the parlous state of the world today.

Click to enlarge.

The text was written by Roger Hutchison, author, illustrator, and Episcopal lay minister.  If the good folks at FDD object, I'll remove the text image, but you can still read it at the FDD website here.

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Mike Wallace Interviews Oscar Hammerstein, 1958

I came across this video by accident yesterday, and I'm glad I did.  What Hammerstein says about his religion is quite touching.  He also talks a bit about politics.  Very interesting, even inspiring.

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Thou Shalt Not Kill

For the sake of my own peace of mind, in recent months I have deliberately posted less and less about politics and all the terrible conflicts going on in the world. This old man knows that his tiny voice will make no difference - a whisper in a whirlwind - but for my own self-respect I must at least say this about the new holocaust in Gaza.

My friends, do you recall this horrific, nauseating balcony scene from Schindler's List?

That is what I immediately thought of that when I read this in the Guardian the other day:

[D]ozens of American doctors and nurses who served in Gaza . . . last year testified they had received the bodies of Palestinian children shot in the head or chest by Israeli snipers. Israeli soldiers have confessed that they are deliberately targeting children. Nick Maynard – a British doctor working in Gaza’s Nasser hospital – says that he is seeing clusters of young teenagers who have been shot in different body parts: on one day, it’s the abdomen, on another, the head or neck, on another, the testicles. “So there’s a very clear pattern and it’s almost as if a game is being played,” he says.

What is the difference between the movie scene and what is happening in Gaza now?  The answer is, none:  it is murder for sport.  Just like the filthy Nazi in the film.  If that is not an abomination in the eyes of God and all mankind, what is?

This devil's work has nothing to do with religion.  It would be the same whether the perpetrators were Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, atheist, or Martian.  Murder is murder.  And the word for murder of a whole nation or people is genocide.  If you need to see it with your own eyes, here are some videos that are very hard to watch - but the world is watching.  So is God.  And God is not partial.

A report from Turkish state television:

An American veteran describes the war crimes against civilians he saw perpetrated by other Americans working for the Israelis:

Dr. Nick Maynard, quoted above, describes the mass starvation and horrific target practice the Israeli Defence Force has been using on Gaza children:

A final comment from an editorial in the Guardian, emphasis mine:

Faced with the systematic destruction of Palestinian life in Gaza, other states must together produce a systematic, comprehensive and concrete response. If not now, when? What more would it take to convince them? This is first and foremost a catastrophe for Palestinians. But if states continue to allow international humanitarian law to be shredded, the repercussions will be felt by many more around the world in years to come. History will not ask whether these governments did anything to stop genocide by an ally, but whether they did all they could.

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"Team Players #1" by Clint Collide:

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

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The Great Vacation Trains - Paris, 1958

A delightful record of the annual departure of a million Parisians for summer vacations in all directions, via the French National Railways (S. N. C. F.) and the Herculean efforts of its employees and train crews. A marvelous people-watching video from a bygone era.  All of those fresh-faced garcons are now old graybeards like me.

Tip:  open the video in YouTube and then hit the "CC" button to get a good English translation of the narration (you might want to slow it down a bit, too). 

Bon voyage!

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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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Father David: Prophetic Voices

Father David's very timely homily is based on yesterday's reading from the book of Amos as well as Jesus's speech in Matthew 23:

It's almost as if Amos and Jesus were responding to today's headlines, isn't it?

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Sunday Drive: Mama

Boys, do you ever miss your mamas?  Mine has been gone from this life more than thirty years, but I miss her still. And I know her bright, shining love will meet me when I get to the end of my road.

An old favorite song of mine: 

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New State Portraits in Buckingham Palace

A look at the two new portraits of the King and Queen, as well as others from past reigns.

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What We're Watching: Jim Butcher's Story, 1994

A poignant story of a young gay man coming out to his fundamentalist family in Dallas during the plague years.  We wept.

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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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Sunday Drive: "God Made Me the Way I Am"

Cameron shares his faith journey as a gay man raised in a conservative Christian church:

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"Old School Charm #1" by Clint Collide:

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Chateau for Two

Tom and Damien are a charming Canadian couple who bought a derelict chateau in France, where they have a monumental repair and renovation job ahead of them:

In their second video, they give a mini-tour of the chateau:

(Mais je ne comprends pas pourquoi les gars ne parlent pas le francais dans leur videos. Pour le convenence de leurs telespectateurs anglophones, je me suppose.)

For a full tour of Chateau Poseidon from top to bottom, and a bit of the grounds, see the video they made for So Chateau here.

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Boyfriend Bait: Key Lime Pie

New York Times food writer Vaughn Vreeland promises this homemade pie will be Love Potion Number Lime if you follow his recipe:

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Bernie and Pete: Where We Go From Here

Bernie Sanders denounces the looming healthcare disaster caused by Trump's "big, beautiful bill":

Pete Buttigieg is rocking the beard and stache, with a message of hope for all Americans:

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Growing Up Gay: Ken from Kentucky

"An Endless Tune":  from Kentucky to Florida to Hollywood and beyond.

Bonus:  Jane Pauley interviews Jeanne and Jules Manford, founders of PFLAG, on the Today show, July 6, 1978:

This was about the time I came out to my own mom, while I was in college.  Mama was great, she was immediately supportive, but it took her a while to process it all.  I brought her to a meeting of the gay rap group at school, where a lady who had started a chapter of PFLAG gave a talk, and that helped my mom a lot.  

Times were changing, but in 1978 it was still quite a scary thing to come out to anyone.  There were as yet no openly gay celebrities on TV or in public life, certainly not in the Deep South.  Only Anita Bryant running her mouth about the "homosexual threat" . . .

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Jeffrey Kevin: Nautical Tablescape (4th of July)

Navy blue and white are the main colors of this week's patriotic tablescape:

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The American's Creed

Written by William Tyler Page, 1917, and well worth remembering:

I believe in the United States of America as a government of the people, by the people, for the people; whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed; a democracy in a republic; a sovereign nation of many sovereign states; a perfect union, one and inseparable; established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes.

I therefore believe it is my duty to my country to love it; to support its Constitution, to obey its laws; to respect its flag; and to defend it against all enemies.

Bonus:  Adam Kinzinger's Fourth of July message "Still Worth Believing In":

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Restoring Sean: From the Top Down

Sean completes the ceiling and a lot of trim work.  The best view of the overhead work is from 36:30 on. 

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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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Sunday Drive: Fields of Gold

Eva Cassidy's timeless performance:

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Cavalcade of Food: Summer Display and Cool Cocktail

Kevin shows off his new summertime display windows at his appliance museum in Croswell, Michigan.

Bonus:  Kevin shows how to make his idea of a classic Cuba Libre - i. e., rum and Coke:

 

This is actually your Head Trucker's favorite drink, on those very rare occasions when I have a cocktail nowadays.  But I ask for a Captain and Coke on the rocks, no lime.  Simple and delicious.

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"Mon Prince Charmant" by Clint Collide:

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Ten Years On: Marriage Equality Day

June 26 should be a red-letter day on every gay and lesbian calendar - the day the Supreme Court extended marriage equality to all Americans in these momentous words that will ring through centuries to come:

No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization's oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right.

—Justice Anthony Kennedy, Obergefell v. Hodges majority opinion (emphasis mine)

Here's the NBC news report on that day and President Obama's eloquent remarks:

Here's your Head Trucker's post on that day.  M.P. and I were teary-eyed with joy.  I thought, finally -- it's over, we won, now life can flow on smoothly and happily for us gay folks, as it should.

But of course life doesn't always go as we expect.  Now we face new challenges.  Let's stay united, firm, and courageous.  Our love is here to stay!

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Restoring Sean: Derailed but Determined

Big, beefy, hairy guy with a sweet smile is renovating an old house he bought.  Come watch.  

If you're pressed for time, get the best view of his body of work starting at the 27:00 mark.

 

He's also into interior design. Check out his website at restoringsean.com.

(P.S. -- Where did all these home-repair bears come from?  In my day, everybody was into disco, not DIY.)

Growing Up Gay: Bullied but Unbroken

Insightful story by a woofy guy from my generation who came out in the 70's but led a very different life in the big city:

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Father David: On the Road Again

The Lessons Appointed for Use on the

Second Sunday of Pentecost

Father David shares a very timely message today, as the world recoils in shock from Trump's overnight bombing of Iran.

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Jeffrey Kevin: Butterfly Tablescape

To welcome the first day of summer, Jeffrey Kevin sets a lovely table in shades of pink and teal - and lots of pretty butterflies in all the colors of the rainbow!

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"Strong Enough #2" by Clint Collide:

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What We're Watching: Spotted Dick

Witty food historian Max Miller gets down to the nitty gritty with that British favorite of most peculiar nomenclature.  But relax - it's not what you think!

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Pleas for Peace: Senator, King, and Pope

For the record, I'm presenting clear sight and plain speaking from three good men - but who will listen?  The world has been warned.

1.  Senator Bernie Sanders, always a voice of reason and justice for all:

2.  King Abudllah of Jordan, who was educated in Britain and the United States, is the longest-serving monarch in the Muslim world and one of the most respected, and has always been a voice of tolerance and peace in the Middle East:

3.  Pope Leo also calls for peace, warning of a return to savage barbarism if peace is not preserved:

The world is sitting on the edge of a volcano. It's too awful to think about.  God help us all.

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Royal Ascot 2025

Ascot Racecourse is part of the Crown Estate, just down the road and over the hill from Windsor Castle.  It was founded in 1711 by Queen Anne.  Since 1825, the June races have been marked by a daily carriage procession of the reigning sovereign and assorted guests from the Castle to the course - a splendid old tradition that the horse-loving British are quite fond of.  It's also a marvelous occasion for ladies to dress up in their fanciest formal frocks and hats - think My Fair Lady. 

None of this has anything to do with the government of the country - but isn't this much nicer than a gloomy parade of tanks and guns and vainglorious bluster from a pompous buffoon?

The history of Royal Ascot:

Yesterday's royal carriage procession for the opening day, described by a couple of chatty newsgirls. Wait for the reveal of their hats at the very end:

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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 Kinzinger, 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: 

\ 

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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Waitin' for the Weekend

"The Heat is On #2" by Clint Collide:

If you're pressed for time, just pause the video and arrow forward to the pics you like best.

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Cavalcade of Food: Vintage Kitchen Tools

When I was a teenager, my mom had a kitchen with blue Formica counters and coppertone appliances, similar to the ones above.  The cabinets were knotty pine.  She put yellow gingham curtains in the kitchen window, which I realize now was just the right homey touch; she had a knack for that sort of thing.
See the entire 1957 American Kitchens catalog here.

Your Head Trucker is taking a break from political blogging to clear his head.  It's better for me to tend to our quiet life in this little bungalow instead of repeating all the outrage and uproar of the big world outside, which I can do nothing about.

In this video, Kevin shows and tells us about a wide range of kitchen gadgets, most of which I remember from my mother's and grandmother's kitchens.  The camera work is a bit wobbly, but it's all fascinating if you enjoy cooking.

 

Bonus: Here's an array of useful gadgets from the 1940 Sears catalog, the rest of which you can browse through yourself at Catalogs & Wishbooks, a wonderful website full of more than 300 old catalogs from various mail-order stores.

N.B. - for equivalent prices in today's money, multiply by about 20.  See Measuring Worth for more conversion factors.

Click to enlarge.

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Sunday Drive: Handel, La Rejouissance

Rejoice!  It will do you good.

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That Old House: Sears Lexington

Your Head Trucker often enjoys browsing through old house plan books over at the Internet Archive.  Here's one of my favorite plans:  the Lexington, a lovely colonial offered by Sears and Roebuck from 1927 to 1933.  Even M.P., whose architectural tastes incline to the hobbity, admires the beauty of it.

Sears Lexingtton on the cover of the 1928 Sears Modern Homes catalog.
Click to enlarge.

Sears Lexington, 1929, which was a revision of an earlier model.

Specifications and options for the 1929 model.

Sears Lexington from the 1932 catalog, showing an actual photograph of this model as built.

As everyone knows by now, I suppose, Sears, Wards, and other companies offered pre-cut materials to build houses in the first decades of the 20th century, as well as heating, plumbing, and electrical systems.  Those houses ranged from tiny cottages to almost-mansions, in all the popular styles of the era.

The Lexington was one of the high-end models; to that $4000 price tag for pre-cut lumber and materials (windows, doors, nails, paint, flooring, mouldings, etc.), add about $1500 for all utitilies and necessary options like window screens and asphalt roof shingles, as well as who knows how much for the lot to build it on and the cost of excavating a basement, plus bricks and cement (not supplied by Sears), and carpenter's wages for whatever work you didn't do yourself. 

So the total cost might have been around $8000 - equivalent to  $144,000 today, according to Measuring Worth.  This for a 36 x 26 floor plan, for a total of 1,872 square feet.  And that's just for the house, not including furniture and appliances, nor landscaping nor even a garage for your Pierce-Arrow.

But of course most people bought much less expensive homes.  The whole idea of the pre-cut, "mail-order" houses was to get a low-cost, well-built home that you could put up yourself, or, as many people did, hire a carpenter to erect it.  A great idea in its time, and makes for fascinating reading today.  If you're interested in that sort of thing, check out the Wikipedia article on "kit homes" here.

Bonus:  Thousands of Sears homes are still standing and much loved today by happy homeowners.  Here's a Lexington in Washington, D. C., that occupies its own triangular block.  The plan is reversed from that shown in the catalog, an easy change.  Some owner screened and expanded the side porch, and cleverly added a basement-level garage below.  The house appears to be well kept, but looks rather bleak in a monochrome paint scheme, stripped of its colonial shutters.  Why are modern people so afraid of color?

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More Garden Tips and Nips

This time in Washington state.  That boy does get around.

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World Naked Gardening Day

Rodney is such a tease.

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What We're Watching: Levittown

Mass-production housing for the masses. What a concept.

A couple of early Levittown houses in 2D and 3D view.
Click to enlarge.

What was included in the price of a Levittown home in 1950.

Floor plan of the "Ranch" model, about 800 square feet.  Much more convenient layout,, but the 8-foot kitchenette would bug me, and M.P. would would have fits.

M.P. and I enjoyed watching this touching 2008 film about the first Levittown, featuring some of the original owners reminiscing about the early days of that huge postwar development on Long Island.  Levitt & Sons mass-produced more than 17,000 houses in less than five years, and built an entire town too, complete with schools, churches, stores, playgrounds, and swimming pools. 

We both grew up in postwar neighborhoods ourselves, but they were nothing like this gargantuan, master-planned community.  Quite an achievement - in my book, on a par with the Empire State Building and the Golden Gate Bridge.  A dream come true with practical benefits.  Here's a look into the human side of all that.  Enjoy.

 

If you want an in-depth survey of the Levitt empire and its accomplishments, here's a nice long read for you.

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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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Sunday Drive: Begin the Beguine

Artie Shaw is the best, and this Cole Porter tune made his career in the big band era. It's been a favorite of your Head Trucker's for many years, but this is the first time I've seen this live performance. Enjoy.

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"Eye Candy Is Dandy #1" by Clint Collide:

Tip:  If you're pressed for time, just pause the video and arrow through the pics.  But I got dibs on Steve Kelso.

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Two Guys, Same Song

1.  Bruce Springsteen in Manchester, England, yesterday:

Text via JMG:

In my home, the America I love, the America I’ve written about, that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration. Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experiment to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism and let freedom ring!

The last check, the last check on power after the checks and balances of government have failed are the people, you and me. It’s in the union of people around a common set of values now that’s all that stands between a democracy and authoritarianism. So at the end of the day, all we’ve got is each other.

There’s some very weird, strange and dangerous shit going on out there right now. In America, they are persecuting people for using their right to free speech and voicing their dissent. This is happening now.

In America, the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the world’s poorest children to sickness and death. This is happening now. In my country, they’re taking sadistic pleasure in the pain they inflict on loyal American workers.

They’re rolling back historic civil rights legislation that led to a more just and plural society. They are abandoning our great allies and siding with dictators against those struggling for their freedom. They are defunding American universities that won’t bow down to their ideological demands.

They are removing residents off American streets and, without due process of law, are deporting them to foreign detention centers and prisons. This is all happening now.

A majority of our elected representatives have failed to protect the American people from the abuses of an unfit president and a rogue government. They have no concern or idea of what it means to be deeply American.

The America l’ve sung to you about for 50 years is real and regardless of its faults is a great country with a great people. So we’ll survive this moment. Now, I have hope, because I believe in the truth of what the great American writer James Baldwin said. He said, "In this world, there isn’t as much humanity as one would like, but there’s enough." Let’s pray.

2.  Pete Buttigieg in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, yesterday:

Despite the great beard and awesome stache,  no one would accuse Pete of being a rocker - but he was definitely on the same page as Springsteen:

Guys like these are our last hope.  We need more like them.

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Chicken Coop Tour!

M.P. tipped me to this video by a couple of guys down in Austin who are real handymen.  Rodney takes us on a tour of their custom-made chicken coop and run, all very well built.  What really aroused my, um, interest is Rodney's cut-off shorts that always seem about to slide right off his slim, supple body.   If they lived closer, I'd offer to lend a hand and help him out.  Boy howdy!

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Garden Tips and Nips

Gardeners like this are hard to find.

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