Cavalcade of Food: Late-Winter Whimsy

It's above freezing in Michigan once again, and Kevin shows us his newly redecorated dispay windows, full of colorful kitchen appliances and nostalgia, not to mention the elephant next door. BTW, it's sunny and 80 degrees here in Texas.

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When Woodstock Came to Texas

Poster for the Texas International Pop Festival,
August 30 - September 1, 1969.
(from Wikipedia)

It may surprise some of my truckbuddies to learn that Texas had its own hippie rock concert on Labor Day weekend, 1969, just a couple of weeks after the famous one in New York state.  I'm surprised, too:  I never heard of it, and neither did M.P.  We were both still in high school, far away from Dallas. And I was too square to care; still am. But as matter of social history in my own lifetime, it was interesting to stumble upon these news videos and reminiscences of the event, which some surviving participants say was life-changing.

First, an official video from the City of Lewisville, a little ways north of Dallas proper, where the festival was held in a large open field next to Interstate 35.  The site has been heavily redeveloped since then (see maps).  The promoter who first appears at 1:36 is a son of the founder of the Six Flags theme parks, Angus Wynn, Jr.

It says a lot about small-town Texas that the upright, God-fearing citizenry at the time were outraged, not by the long hair, rock music, and drugs, but by all the nekkid bodies skinny-dipping in the nearby lake in broad daylight!  The locals knew the kids were naked because they were out there in their motorboats, intently scrutinizing all that indecency through binoculars.

Notice what the newsman in the next clip says about "it's hard to know what to call these young people" - most of them were "weekend hippies" whose hair and clothes were still within the limits of respectability. In the next few years, what was strange and different, even shocking, in 1969 became ordinary:  that's how the fashion industry works. 

Just a couple of years after this event, I was sitting in a goverment class when the instructor posed a discussion question:  "What is a hippie?"  We all looked at each other mutely as we realized that "hippie" had become "normal."  Long-ish hair, flares or bell-bottoms, wide belts, long sideburns, mustaches, beards, and hip-hugging blue jeans - most young men dressed that way, at least for slogging around campus, regardless of their socio-political orientation.  The words "hippie" and "groovy" were already obsolete; but blue jeans - workman's clothing - became the default choice for casual wear, and remain so to this day. 

But 1969 was the starry-eyed Age of Aquarius:  harmony and understanding, sympathy and trust abounding.  It's poignant to hear the earnest young folks in these clips spout all those utopian sentiments of peace, love, and joy: "just be yourself, do what you want to do - people will love you for it." A happy thought, a hopeful thought - but mistaken. Human nature just doesn't work that way. But they surely found that out later on. 

This last video opens with a crotch shot that proves more than words ever could that rock and roll is all about sex, and vice versa.

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I Have No Words

From the Book of Common Prayer:

Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn

but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the

strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that

all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of

Peace, as children of one Father; to whom be dominion and

glory, now and for ever. Amen.

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Sunday Drive: Beethoven, Moonlight Sonata

From the video description by pianist Paul Barton:

Mongkol is a 61-year-old former logging elephant. His captive-held life was spent hauling trees in the Thai forest. His body shape is deformed through hard labor, he lost his right eye and tusk in this brutal logging practice. Mongkol was rescued and brought to Elephants World to spend the rest of his days relaxing peacefully in freedom by the River Kwai. I discovered Mongkol is an extremely gentle, sensitive elephant who enjoys music, especially this slow movement by Beethoven which I play to him occasionally in the day and night.

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"Just Say Yes": sweet photos with a common theme, how nice.

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What We're Watching: The International Male Story

We watched this last night while eating supper at the kitchen bar. I'm sure many of my truckbuddies will recall thumbing though those catalogs as M.P. and I did in the 70's.  It wasn't nearly as good as Playgirl, but sometimes it was all you had to dream on.

Bonus: In this a local news report on West Hollywood in 1980, you will get a glimpse of the International Male store there. I never knew they had an actual store building.

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Russ Cooks! Swiss Steak a la Johnny Mac

Last night for our Sunday dinner I made Swiss Steak, and M.P. loved it - gave me an A+!

Swiss steak with tomato gravy over white rice; fried Italian green beans; garlic Texas toast.  First course was that lusicous garlic soup (not shown) left over from last week.  Click to enlarge.

It was really a joint production, though - M.P. did all the prep work (mis en place), and had everything already chopped, measured, and laid out for me when I got to the kitchen.  This was a very tasty, very filling meal:  a real treat.  M.P. thanked me profusely, and I was proud to have cooked something to delight his tastebuds, instead of the other way around as is usual at our house.

I had seen this video by Johnny Mac, the Sauce and Gravy Guy, and it looked so good and so easy, I just wanted to try it myself.  I followed his directions, but at M.P.'s suggestion, added a couple of drops of Louisiana Hot Sauce™ and 2 teaspoons of sugar; also a quarter-cup of chopped bell pepper.  Cooked and baked it all in a cast iron deep skillet* for 2 full hours; the meat came out fork tender and scumptious, the tomato gravy full of luscious flavor.

If any of you fellas want a real man-pleasing meal, this is it!  We highly recommend Johnny Mac's simple recipe. Total prep time for me, first time out of the chute, was 45 minutes, not counting all the pre-prep work M.P. did.

* - I'm not affiliated with the Lodge company; I just think everyone who likes to cook ought to have one of these handy things.  It's a skillet and a dutch oven all in one; and the handle makes it super easy to use on top of the stove or in the oven for all kinds of roasts, stews, soups, and whatever.  It will last forever with proper care, which is very simple.

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Today's Sermon: Talarico Condemns Christian Nationalism

Texas state representative James Talarico, running now for a U. S. Senate seat, delivered a powerful and compelling sermon two years ago in his home church of St. Andrew's Presbyterian in Austin.  M.P. and I were most impressed. Talarico has a master's degree in education, as well as a Master of Divinty degree.

I didn't know they still made young men like this. We agree with all his main points - though there are some fine points of history and theology he skates over a bit too quickly, in my opinion. Still, his thesis that the Christofacism engulfing the country today is both un-Christian as well as un-American is indisputably true, and he makes the case splendidly.

We hope to vote for him in the general election. But there is one nagging question in the back of my mind - here is this clean-cut, well-educated, well-spoken young man . . . still single at 36? Why? A cursory online search turns up no mention of wife, girlfriend, ex-girlfriend, or any other relationship. If he were a Catholic priest, that would be understandable, but he's a Presbyterian. As much as I like what he says, there's something not quite right about this picture.

So what gives?  Perhaps some enterprising reporter will dig into this mystery. Meanwhile, he and Buttigieg are the two best hopes we see for the future of America at this point in time. God bless them.

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"Beefcake Sampler #2" by Clint Collide:

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The Pork Boys Do Mardi Gras, 2026

I'm afraid I don't have much to show from this year's feast; M.P. cooked all evening, so it was past midnight when we sat down to eat, and we were so hungry we couldn't take time to photograph the food.  So this is really just for our future reference - a couple of pics of the beautiful table setting M.P. spread out in purple, green, and gold with Mardi Gras beads and masks:

Click to enlarge.

Dinner was delicious:  We began with M.P.'s famous garlic soup - made from about 20 or 30 cloves of garlic, but it's not overpowering as you might think; very tasty and satisfying indeed, and a bit sweet.  The entree was boned Cornish game hens stuffed with minced chicken livers and fried a crispy golden brown; also golden gravy (regular gravy with a pinch of turmeric added for color); and browned rice.  

For dessert M.P, made a cinnamon King's Cake, very sweet and buttery, not dry and tasteless as most bakery cakes are nowadays.  This has become our yummy new tradition.

That's all, folks!  But I must make note of last night's whimsical "Dinner of the Spheres" that M.P. dreamed up - scrumptious Swedish meatballs in gravy, steamed Brussels sprouts with Thousand Island dressing on the side, and little round new potatoes sauteed in lemon-garlic butter.  A delightful meal.  While we ate it at the kitchen bar, we watched The Making of Fantasia, a fusion of art, music, and animation that somehow was a perfect accompaniment to our fanciful dinner.

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Like Ships in the Night: Two Christian Leaders

Two men of different races, generations, and backgrounds, one departing, one just arriving, whose faith has informed their politics - not the other way around.  Hope is still alive.

The Reverend Jesse Jackson, 1941-2026; may he rest in peace after his long, weary struggles for civil rights and justice for all:

Texas state representative James Talarico, born 1989, in a censored interview with Stephen Colber:

For 50 years, the religious right, a political movement - that's the perfect description for it - they convinced a lot of our fellow Christians that the most important issues were abortion and gay marriage:  two issues that aren't mentioned in the Bible, two issues that Jesus never talked about. Jesus in Matthew 25 tells us exactly how you and I and every one of our fellow believers, how we're going to be judged and how we're going to be saved:  by feeding the hungry, by healing the sick, by welcoming the stranger. Nothing about going to church, nothing about voting Republican. It is all about how you treat other people.

Don't tell me what you believe; show me how you treat other people, and I'll tell you what you believe.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Bonus:  Talarico speaks at a town hall in Laredo last week:

This man speaks my language.  He's young enough to be my grandson, but he talks with mature wisdom and confidence.  Wow.  

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Sunday Drive: My Funny Valentine

For M.P.

The Rodgers and Hart classic, as sung by Linda Ronstadt, an American treasure (official lyric video):

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Waitin' for the Weekend

A valentine dream for all my truckbuddies -- "The Handyman" by Nicholas Downs:

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Ian McKellan: "Your Mountainish Inhumanity"

On the Stephen Colbert show last week, Sir Ian McKellan delivered an impromptu monologue from the play Sir Thomas More, with some lines added, it is nowadays believed, by William Shakespeare himself.  What a powerful statement against the hate-fueled cruelty of unthinking mobs, then and now.

Shakespeare was not merely good with words: he saw through human nature and understood what makes people tick; and always upheld a kind-hearted, broad-minded Christian morality. This is the sort of thing one ought to gain from a study of good literature, properly taught.

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"Brothers from Other Mothers #1" by Clint Collide:

P. S., 4 p.m. -- Just for the record, the ice didn't completely melt away from the north-facing side porch and driveway until last Tuesday morning.  It's now a glorious 81 degrees here.  That's Texas weather for you.

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Kinzinger to Trump: I'm Not Afraid of You

Wow, what a put-down!  Bravo!

Adam Kinzinger, former Republican congressman and member of the January 6th Committee that investigated the attack on the Capitol in 2021, throws down the gauntlet, calling Trump "the biggest victim, the biggest crybaby, the biggest sissy to ever exist . . . a corrupt, evil man . . . a disgrace to everything America stands for."  

It does your Head Trucker's heart good to hear a real man, brave and true, call out Trump no uncertain terms.  I hope there will be many more good men and women who heed the call.

And then there's this:

Hillary Clinton To Comer: “If You Want This Fight, Let’s Hold It In Public, We’ll Be There With The Cameras On”

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Hillary Comes Out

. . as a believing Christian, that is.  Here is an excerpt from her brilliant essay just published in the Atlantic, which is a bit long but a powerful indictment of Trumpism, and well worth your time:

When I first saw the video of the killing of Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital, I immediately thought of the parable of the Good Samaritan. Federal agents shot Pretti after he tried to help a woman they had thrown to the ground and pepper-sprayed. Jesus tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves and help those in need. “Do this and you will live,” he says. Not in Donald Trump’s America.

Americans have now seen with their own eyes the cost of President Trump’s abuse of power and disregard for the Constitution. Videos of the killing of Pretti and Renee Good by federal agents have exposed the lies of Trump-administration officials who were quick to smear the victims as “domestic terrorists.” Even Americans who have grown habituated to Trump’s excesses have been shaken by these killings and the reflexively cruel and dishonest response from the administration.

This crisis also reveals a deeper moral rot at the heart of Trump’s MAGA movement. Whatever you think about immigration policy, how can a person of conscience justify the lack of compassion and empathy for the victims in Minnesota, and for the families torn apart or hiding in fear, for the children separated from their parents or afraid to go to school?

That compassion is weak and cruelty is strong has become an article of MAGA faith. Trump and his allies believe that the more inhumane the treatment, the more likely it is to spread fear. That’s the goal of surging heavily armed federal forces into blue states such as Minnesota and Maine—street theater of the most dangerous kind. Other recent presidents, including Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton, managed to deport millions of undocumented immigrants without turning American cities into battlegrounds or making a show of keeping children in cages. . . .

The glorification of cruelty and rejection of compassion don’t just shape the Trump administration’s policies. Those values are also at the core of Trump’s own character and worldview. And they have become a rallying cry for a cadre of hard-right “Christian influencers” who are waging a war on empathy. . .

This is certainly not what I was taught in Sunday school, not what my reading of the Bible teaches me, and not what I believe Jesus preached in his short time on Earth. Yes, I went to Sunday school. In fact, my mother taught Sunday school at our Methodist church in Park Ridge, Illinois. As an adult, I occasionally taught at our church in Little Rock, Arkansas. Some people—such as the Republican congressman who once called me the Antichrist—might find this surprising. (When I confronted him, he mumbled something about not having meant it. Trump later appointed him to his Cabinet.)

I’ve never been one to wear my faith on my sleeve, but that doesn’t mean it’s not important to me. Quite the opposite: My faith has sustained me, informed me, saved me, chided me, and challenged me. I don’t know who I would be or where I would have ended up without it. So I am not a disinterested observer here. I believe that Christians like me—and people of faith more generally—have a responsibility to stand up to the extremists who use religion to divide our society and undermine our democracy. . . .

What I  Say:

It is not necessary to be a Christian to be a good citizen in America; but can America survive without Christian morality?  I don't mean who sleeps with whom, which is a non-issue in the scheme of things - I mean the essential teachings of Christ as found in the parable of the Good Samaritan, the Golden Rule, and the Sermon on the Mount, to name a few.  True Christianity is about loving your neighbor as yourself - the polar opposite of the rampant narcissism of the modern world - not to mention the perverted Christianism of the far right, hate-filled and self-serving.

Liberal-minded people have been fleeing from the churches en masse in recent decades - but I really don't think they will like a "post-Christian" world as much as they expect.  In fact, it's already here - in Minneapolis, in Silicon Valley, and in Washington, D. C.  

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Sunday Drive: Peace Prayer

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?

                                                 -- Micah 6:8

The Peace Prayer, sometimes called the Prayer of St. Francis, exquisitely performed by John Michael Talbot.

The Lessons Appointed for Use on the

Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"Men Back Then #3" by Clint Collide:

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Art Works: Boom!

Handsome cover of The American Magazine for September, 1931, by illustrator John Sheridan.  Actor Joseph Cotten was the model.

Click to enlarge.

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Pete B.: The Ground Is Shifting

"Hope can be the consequence of action, not just its cause."

Bonus: In this opinion piece for The Atlantic, conservative gay author and political analyst Jonathan Rauch says its okay to use the F-word now:  "Yes, It's Fascism"

Also well worth your time:  another Atlantic piece about "The Four Types of Trump Supporter" and the different ways he appeals to each type.

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Sunday Drive: Snowfall

As performed by Doris Day, 1967; one of M.P.'s favorite songs.  And so appropriate for today in Texas.

It's sunny and 16 fucking degrees outside as I write, and feels like 30 in the house.  BRRR!  We have 3 to 5 inches of white stuff all over the gound, atop a solid glaze of ice.  That's why you don't see any traffic on the roads in this news video, though the freeways are open.  Temps won't get above freezing until Tuesday afternoon, for a little while.  Here's some live coverage from the Dallas-Fort Worth area:

M.P. and I are hunkered down and huddled up in our drafty old bungalow, using all available methods of heat generation and retention - gas furnace, electric fireplace, and multiple layers of clothing. I highly recommend fleece-lined flannel shirts and knitted caps.  And we're not leaving the house until the icy white is all gone. 

Screen capture from WFAA drone over Dallas.  Click to enlarge.
N.B. - This is a color picture.

To keep up our morale, last night M.P. made sausage-and-chicken gumbo, with potato salad and fried oysters on the side; it doesn't get any better than that! And I hunted up The Birdcage, which we haven't seen in years; still a comedic treat.  We watched it as we ate our dinner at the kitchen bar, followed by hot coffee and the last two slices of homemade chess pie, flavored with a drop of orange liqueur.

My heart aches for you Yankee boys, really it does.

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"Those Who Came Before #1" by Clint Collide:

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Here We Go Again

North Texas is bracing for a monster icy blast like that Deep Freeze we had five years ago.  WFAA in Dallas reports:

Last time, all the state agencies assured us that everything would be fine. Instead, there were massive power failures statewide, and hundreds of people died from exposure. The Governor put all the blame on solar panels and wind turbines.  Seriously.  Now the same agencies and the same governor are saying once again that all will be well - we've got it covered - don't worry, be happy. 

M.P. and I are stocking up on groceries, candles, and brandy, and crossing all our fingers.

P. S. -- That craven skunk Ted Cruz has already jetted off to California - a sure sign that we're gonna get walloped.

Bonus:  M.P. just got back from Kroger and Winco, and he said it was just like what you see in this video.  Even the produce shelves were completely empty - I'm thinking, what the hell?  Produce?  Is this a vegetarian emergency?

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Gimme Your Bike or I'll Beat You Up!

Bizarro World:  The American president just threatened to make war on Europe - our own allies - because he didn't get the Nobel Peace Prize.  I wish this were the premise of a Saturday Night Live skit - but it's not.

France 24 reports:

Secretary Pete says we don't have to accept this craziness:

Danish comedian Huxi Bach wants to speak to the manager:

Bach says we have always bragged about the checks and balances in our system, and it's true they have worked well for a long time. But what he and all of Europe need to understand is that the USA they knew and admired no longer exists, except on paper. It was the victim of a hostile takeover last year, which is still d/b/a (doing business as) the USA - but in name only. The Congress, which can indeed "fire the president," is populated with a majority of supine sycophants who are only too glad to shirk their duties and let the infantile CEO run wild. They are enablers of all the craziness, and will continue to be unless and until the voters turn them out.

But will they? Can they? I'd be deeply saddened, though not at all surprised, if there were no more elections in my lifetime - real elections, not phony ones. For anyone who's read history, the present state of affairs in America has a familiar ring. The august Senate of Rome, proud guardians of their republican traditions, all acquiesced meekly (with financial advantage) to the supremacy of the Caesars when the imperial government began, and though they continued to meet and debate with all due decorum for several more centuries, they were just a rubber stamp for whoever sat on the imperial throne.

Likewise in Germany when the Nazis came to power. Hitler expelled all the other parties from the Reichstag, and thereafter did as he pleased, with the Nazi members of the legislature gladly doing his bidding as required. It's important to remember that dictators, as a general rule, like to maintain the trappings of law and legitimacy - then they can say, "See? I'm only doing what I was supposed to do."  This sort of don't-blame-me charade has occurred many times in many lands, all over the world.

But as Europeans should remember, once Hitler came to power, he kept making incessant, outrageous demands on all his neighbors, blaming them for "provoking" confrontations, and demanding more territory for national security and industrial expansion. And constantly spouting one outrageous lie after another.  But the Europeans were afraid of him, and didn't want to get into another catastrophic war, so they kept timidly backing away from the fight, doing all they could to make nice and appease the insatiable dictator - who could never be appeased enough.  We all know where that led.

I have no diplomatic expertise, so I can't say what Europe should or could do if push came to shove in Greenland or anywhere else. But what I feel sure of is that if they cave in to this outrageous demand, there will quickly be another one, and another, and another, until Europe is overwhelmed and fragmented and prostrate beneath the heels of the billionaire cronies of the Emperor of the West.

The only thing a bully of any age understands, and grudgingly respects, is a swift punch in the nose! Enuf said.

Bonus:  Here is Franklin D. Roosevelt in early 1944, speaking as an American president ought always to speak:

"The doctrine that the strong shall dominate the weak is the doctrine of our enemies, and we reject it."

Wow, what a concept, huh?

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Sunday Drive: Bach, Air on the G String

Like a prayer for peace -- as performed by Hauser.

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"Brotherly Love #1" by Clint Collide:

You can save time by pausing the video and right-arrowing through the pics.

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Lost America: Big Trains Rolling (1955)

As a youngster, your Head Trucker was fortunate enough to travel many times on some of the fine old streamliners before passenger service was all given over to Amtrak. Here is a classic film, intended for showing in elementary schools, about the complex operations of the railroads before passenger trains were done in by airlines and Interstates.  Notice the colorful paint jobs of the sleek diesels that were rapidly putting steam locomotives out of business.  Note also the beauty and the optimism of an America that is now long gone.

But this happy picture was not to last - for the times are always a-changing in human life. Who could have believed that in the next decade, Carol and Jimmy would grow up to despise the neat, tree-lined neighborhood they grew up in, denounce their parents as capitalist pigs, and demand to overthrow the Establishment and smash the system to pieces?  Where are they now, I wonder?

And the beat goes on . . . 

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Sunday Drive: Be Still, My Soul (Finlandia)

Police state?  Evil empire?  Amerika?  Or just a horrible dream?

My heart is heavy with grief at all that is happening in our country and being done by our country in other lands. We have come to the darkest chapter in our national history - and I fear that things will get very much worse before they get better. I am too old and weary to make a difference; all I can do is offer a song of hope and inspiration - a little candle in a deepening night.

David Archuleta sings the well-known hymn to the tune of Finlandia by Sibelius. There are other, secular lyrics which do not come to hand at the moment.

God help us all.

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"Lads from Other Dads #1" by Clint Collide: 

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Gay History in the Smithsonian Archives

Filmed in 2024, this video presents memorabilia of gay life in America before and after Stonewall.  Quite poignant.

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Sunday Drive: We Three Kings

 A favorite old Christmas carol, as performed by Clamavi De Profundis:

The Lessons Appointed for Use on the

Second Sunday after Christmas Day

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"Ride" by Vintage Photomontage.  A pleasant little video with a consistent theme, for a change.

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