America Saved by Big Blue Wave

Nobody saw this coming.  But come it did, thanks be to God.

The NY Post is a right-wing newspaper and was Trump's favorite.

Great news for some, awful news for others -- who richly deserve it.

More to come after we eat our thanksgiving dinner here - the Pork Boys are celebrating with a box of Kroger fried chicken!  Yummy stuff.

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What a day!  What a night!  I have never been so shocked by an election result in my life -- except once, when Trump won his first term in 2016; but that was a horror.  This was like a glorious dream come true.  A miracle.  Nobody predicted this breathtaking revolution.

I had kept my expectations low -- we've had our hearts broken so many times here in Texas, crossing our fingers for a blue wave that never came. I did dare to hope that Talarico would win his Senate seat, but I didn't give a thought to the entrenched Texas regime.  They have been in power since before Dubya got elected president - and believe it or not, they eliminated, with voters' consent, the term limit for state offices.  Which is SO fucking wrong: an invitation to perpetual dictatorship.   And in what until now has been called a "ruby red" state, I never expected that mountain of corruption to crumble in my lifetime.

But how delighted I was to find out I was wrong.  The Democrats swept ALL the statewide offices in Texas for the first time since 1961 -- governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, treasurer, etc.  There is a God.  And even more amazing is that they all made a particular point of saying in their concession speeches that it was a fair election and they accepted the results.  EVEN MORE stunning was that shithead in D.C. chimed in with a similar statement.  No fuss and furor about a "stolen election" and all that rot.  "Pinch me," I said to M.P., "and tell me I'm not dreaming."

So we were not only ecstatic over Talarico's win, but also delighted that we will soon have a new Latina governor, Gina Hinojosa.  (The Latin vote in Texas was massively Democratic this time around.)  And right next door in New Mexico, Governor Deb Haaland, a native American who was Secretary of the Interior under Biden, won re-election.  And of course there were several other women governors elected, and at least two black governors in Georgia and in Florida.  And the first openly gay man was elected to the Senate, Chris Pappas of New Hampshire; Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin was the first lesbian, elected in 2012.  So the face of American politics will be different from now on - viva la diversidad y la unidad!

Well, I can't possibly cover all the election news in a blog post, but for the record - and perhaps the enlightenment or amusement of my truckbuddies - here are some short videos that tell the story across the nation and specifically here in Texas, where many people were shouting, crying, and dancing in the streets last night, just as when the Berlin Wall fell.  It's a bright new day in Texas, boys!  I tell you what.

But if you have the time, please scroll on down and watch Talarico's deeply moving victory speech - the same political sermon he's made at countless appearances all across Texas. The metaphor of David and Goliath is very apt - an inspiration to us  all. And Hinojosa also gave a beautiful speech, full of sunny smiles and blue skies of hope.

ABC News (4:05) -- Democrats take back Congress and flip the South in big blue wave:

' CBS Texas (2:39) -- Talarico, Hinojosa celebrate historic Texas wins at Whataburger (a beloved Texas institution, open 24/7):

Reuters (3:30) -- Seven numbers that explain Democrats' US midterm triumph:

NBC News (1:59) -- Election results yield historic firsts:

C-SPAN (3:13) -- Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski (a moderate Republican who voted to convict Trump after his second impeachment) has some damn good advice for Democrats:

Guardian News (UK) (3:07) -- People and politicians across the world react to the US midterm results:

ITV News (UK) (5:06) -- Watch as Donald Trump reacts to defeat in US midterm elections:

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James Talarico's sublime victory speech; this man speaks my language:

Gina Hinojosa also gave a beautiful and memorable speech last night:

N. B. -- "No te dejes" = don't back down, stand up for yourself.

Cheers!

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Live Election Results: Blue Wave or Blue Mood?

Election Day! Nationwide, there's been a massive early-voting turnout, and today's in-person turnout is huge, too.  The aggregate polls seem to indicate a big blue wave, if not a blue tsunami, in the Congressional races - but when the races are broken down state by state, the chances look smaller.  Yet pollsters are often wrong; as in any election, it's not over until the last vote is counted.  

Here's a live report on election results from the Associated Press:

PBS:  

NBC:

M.P. and I are especially interested in the Senate race between James Talarico and that corrupt Paxton. WFAA/ABC Dallas reports on the Texas races:

And then there's that Trumpian insult that backfired and became a T-shirt and an anthem:

Talafreako!

Addendum, 12:30 a.m.:

Blue wave??!  The hell you say.  It was a fuckin'

B L U E   W I P E O U T!

We laughed, we cried, we hollered, we hugged -- we were amazed and delighted.  Nobody saw this coming.  This was one for the history books.  Maybe there's hope for this old world after all.  I'll post more tomorrow.

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Kinzinger: Where We Are Now

Adam Kinzinger, former Republican Congressman from Illinois, now residing in Texas, discusses the final polls on the eve of Election Day:

As far as I know, Kinzinger still identifies as a Republican, but not a MAGA man, and he despises Trump's political perversion and corruption.  He was one of ten Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for instigating the attack on the Capitol, and later was one of the two Republicans, along with Liz Cheney, to serve on the January 6th Committee that recommended criminal charges against Trump.

Kinzinger is a real man:  he had the balls to go against his party and speak the truth, even though it cost him his seat in the next election.  Whatever label he identifies with now, Kinzinger certainly talks like a sane and sensible Democrat. He endorsed Biden and later Harris in 2024, and this year endorsed Talarico's Senate bid.

What I Say: The Democratic Party needs more butch white men like Kinzinger, a lot more, if it wants to regain power and keep it. There, I said it -- a simple demographic truth, whether anybody wants to hear it or not.

Bonus:  Kinzinger tells it like it is at the 2024 Democratic Convention. "Trump is a weak man pretending to be strong, a small man pretending to be big . . . ."

He had nothing to gain from this speech, but he made it anyway, for the love of his country.  Goddamn, that's brave.  To tell you the truth, I'd vote for Kinzinger for President any day of the week, if there weren't a better Democrat on the ballot.

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Sunday Drive: Shall We Gather at the River?

The Lessons Appointed for Use on

All Saints' Day

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The beloved old hymn as performed by Sean Dietrich, prolific novelist, columnist, musician, and humorist:

Actually, the hymn  is about Christian faith, not the Civil War. Complete lyrics can be found here.

For a bit of inspiration, read today's story from Sean's blog:  

The Only Prayer You'll Ever Need.

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Bernie: The Most Dangerous President

Boo!

Bernie tells it like it is, and I agree:

For an even bigger scare, see this interview by Ezra Klein on Elon Musk's endgame, which I haven't finished watching yet.

What I Say:  Trump and his deranged doppelganger Musk, and some other henchmen and hussies I could name, ought to be sent in a big, beautiful, gold-plated rocket to Mars, where they would have a whole planet to rule and ruin and fight over with robots.  No return fuel, though, and no radio to disturb the rest of us with.  Just eternal silence - no adoring audience - it would drive them both mad in no time.

Bonus: Obama provides some comedy relief and straight talk at a rally in Atlanta:

FYI:  All 435 House seats are up for election every two years.  Senators serve six-year terms, but one-third of the 100 Senate seats are up for election every two years.  Here are two graphics showing the current membership of both houses of Congress, from Wikipedia:

The six non-voting delegates in the House (not included in the graphic) are from the District of Columbia and five overseas territories:  Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Marianas.  They can participate in debate but cannot vote.  

For more graphics, maps, and the latest polling data, see 2026 United States elections at Wikipedia.

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"Timeless Grit " by Clint Collide:

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John Barrowman: The Making of Me

Your Head Trucker has been out of the cultural loop for many years, so I never heard of this Barrowman fellow until this video popped up in my YouTube feed the other day. Perhaps the rest of you already know that he's tall, handsome, well-built, and multi-talented - a star of stage, screen, and television who sings, dances, ice-skates, and has authored numerous books as well. 

Really an astonishing amount of talent in many different areas; and beyond all that, he's gay, happily married to a man since 2013. How very extraordinary, and how very far the world has come from my schoolboy days when there were NO gay people to be seen on TV or anywhere else, not that I knew.

In this 2008 BBC documentary, Barrowman consults with doctors and scientists to find the true origin of gayness:  a fascinating journey.

Unfortunately, Barrowman was not as put-together as he seems in this video:  he seems to have sabotaged his career with "exuberant behavior," as you can read about in his wikiarticle. Poor fellow.  It just goes to show that people who seem to have it all may not know what to do with it.

Bonus:  There's a definite gay vibe when Barrowman and Kevin Kline sing "Night and Day" in the Cole Porter biopic De-Lovely (2004):

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Pete Comments on Trump's Bizarre Booty Fixation

Pete keeps it classy:

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Bernie Says: Dems Need Guts to Save Our Democracy

And that starts at the ballot box:

Your Head Trucker endorses this message. 

M.P. and I plan to early-vote tomorrow. What about you?

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"Melange D'Hommes #1" by Clint Collide:

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Sunday Drive: When You Wish Upon a Star

Your Head Trucker stopped listening to pop radio more than thirty years ago, so there are many young singers I am not familiar with, like Josh Groban.  But I happened to come across his recording of this song yesterday, and it's quite lovely; M.P., who has some vocal training, also approves of his rendition.  See what you think.  

And by the way, the beard does a lot for the boy - woof.

Caution: Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it.

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Today's reading from Forward Day by Day speaks to me in a powerful way about things I have longed for and not received.  The message is one that all who grow in faith and grace come to realize; but it came this morning as a very welcome reminder.  I hope it speaks to you, too, whatever your faith.

Sunday, October 18

The Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost

Isaiah 45:3. I will give you the treasures of darkness and riches hidden in secret places, so that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.

Today's verse about treasures of darkness is set within a series of promises from God to the Israelites during their exile in Babylon. It's a dark and painful time, marked by lamentation and suffering. Yet, God assures them that through this experience, they will find secret riches, riches they otherwise never would discover. I believe this promise holds true for us too.

Haven't we all learned, and grown, and gained great blessings through times of great difficulty? I'm reminded of a quote attributed to the famous preacher, Charles Spurgeon: "I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock of Ages."

What does it mean to kiss the wave? Spurgeon isn't saying that he wants the wave or that he's glad the wave came crashing over him. But he can be thankful for it all the same because it caused him to cleave to God. And that's the greatest treasure of all.

Moving Forward: When have waves brought you closer to God? Offer a word of thanksgiving for the rough (and calm) waters.

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"Family + Friends + Lovers" by Clint Collide:

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Brave Words: LGB minus TQ+

Old pic of your Head Trucker.
He/Him/Man

Here's a remarkable statement by Michael Pezzullo, a gay therapist in West Hollywood.  From the video description:

I'm Michael — gay, not queer. Moderate, not woke. I say the things about gay men no therapist will say.

In this video I break down the lgb vs tq debate from a therapist's perspective — identity, belonging, groupthink, and why so many in the gay community feel ignored in mainstream lgbtq culture. This is my own analysis following my interview on LGB vs TQ and why the split keeps coming up.

Gay, not queer.  Moderate, not woke.  I like that description.  Your Head Trucker has always been a via media kind of guy.

Thanks to the Internet and YouTube, I am often astonished to find many other gay men thinking the same thoughts I do.  M.P. and I are isolated from the gay community - we have no gay friends to chat or visit with except online.  But apparently we are not as far off the gay wavelength as one might expect.  Listen to the video and see what you think.

I have more to say about this subject, and the tail wagging the dog, but I think I'll save it for another post. In the meantime, though, you might find the landmark Cass Review on gender reassignment of children (UK, 2024) interesting reading.

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Sunday Drive: I Could Have Danced All Night

Last Sunday, I posted a famous film song apparently sung by Deborah Kerr that was actually dubbed by studio singer Marni Nixon.  Here's another one she did, from the musical My Fair Lady (1964) starring Audrey Hepburn:

This making-of doco (1995) shows how the film was restored to its original glory of sight and sound, as well as how the original negative was saved from destruction just in the nick of time:

Bonus: Julie Andrews, who originated the role on Broadway, sings the same tune live on the Ed Sullivan variety show on July 15, 1956, with no dubbing at all:

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"Beefcake Sampler #6" by Clint Collide:

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In Memoriam: Eva Marie Saint, 1924-2026

Academy-Award-winning actress Eva Marie Saint died Tuesday at her home in Los Angeles.  She was 102.  For me, her most memorable role was that of the glamorous spy lady in Hitchcock's 1959 thriller North by Northwest.

The late Robert Osborne, host of Turner Classic Movies, interviewed her in 2014:

 

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What Do You Do with a Hungry Sailor?

Feed him, of course.  Here is a well-favored, well-spoken young man from the Naval History and Heritage Command who walks us through the preparation of Beef Chili Con Carne, straight out of the pages of the U. S. Navy's official Cook Book, 1945: 

You can find the 1944 edition of that cook book online at Internet Archive. It's quite fascinating, chock full of very good recipes for all kinds of down-home cooking that will fill a hungry man's belly and leave a smile on his face. Support Our Troops! And here's the recipe itself, if you're in a hurry to start cooking; but of course you'll have to cut the recipe down to size, as Thomas showed in his video.

I would add chopped onions and bell pepper.
Click to enlarge.

Bonus:  Here is another chili recipe from the United States Merchant Marine Cook Book, 1945.  I think it's better than the Navy version:

Click to enlarge.

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Sunday Drive: Shall We Dance?

One of the most beautiful song-and-dance scenes in all movie history, as performed by Deborah Kerr and Yul Brenner in The King and I (1956):

Bonus: The story of Marni Nixon, the actual voice of many famous musicals:

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"Photos of Men I Love #4" by Clint Collide:

The guy with the dogtags is one gorgeous hunk of man.  Wooof!

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Unlikely Couple, Lifelong Love

From the video description:

Lawrence Moore and Richard Hubbard, a biracial couple, reflect on 56 years together after meeting as military Russian linguists in Japan in the 1970s. An unexpected twist of fate brought them together just as Richard was about to begin a heterosexual life.

They share how friendship, mutual respect, and accepting each other’s differences helped them build a lasting love.

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Who Ordered the Bear Claws?

Everybody loves good pastry.

According to the video description, the police used non-lethal beanbag rounds to get the bear to leave the market. But my thought would be, if that's the baby, where's the mama?

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Sunday Drive: Some Sunday Morning

A vision of glimmering beauty that this ugly, vulgar, modern world cannot understand or create.  The lovely Alexis Smith performs this Oscar-nominated song in the film San Antonio (1945):

Studly Errol Flynn is the appreciative listener at the foot of the stairs.

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"Just Passing Through #1" by Clint Collide:

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Fat Bear Week 2026

Eliminated from competition:  too skinny.
Click to enlarge.

I never heard of this event before, but what a great idea!  It started in Katmai National Park in Alaska in 2014, and now attracts millions of spectators and voters.  I wanted to send in our names for the competition, but M.P. won't let me.  Spoilsport.

NBC's Today program reports:

Here's a link to the live bear cam (not embeddable) if you want to get a good look at all the naked competitors. Clothing is strictly prohibited, of course.

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Pete Does Dallas

Pete speaking in Dallas, 9/19/26.
Click to enlarge.

Former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg spoke at the Texas Democratic Party's annual Johnson-Jordan dinner on Saturday night.  What.A.Man.  Intelligent, eloquent, honest, modest, compassionate, courageous, and a true patriot.  I believe he will make a fine statesman in time to come.  May God bless, guide, and protect him.

But the sensational title of this video is quite misleading - some young staffer must have stuck that on there.  This is no mere "roast" - the mad bull in the White House is mentioned only once, I think - but a brilliant, upbeat review of the problems we face and the way out of them.  Well worth your time.

Bonus: Last week, Pete had a lively conversation about the future of the nation and the world with the Atlantic's editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg:

P.S. -- Whatever happens, I do hope Pete will always keep his very handsome beard.  It gives his youthful face gravitas.

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Sunday Drive: The Lord's My Shepherd

The Lessons Appointed for Use on the

Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

Today's readings from the Episcopal Lectionary speak to me in a special way; but today I wish to focus on another reading.

Yesterday, September 19th, was the fourth anniversary of the funeral of H. M. Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey, which was broadcast and streamed worldwide to billions of viewers.  It was deeply moving for me, and I particularly liked the rendition of the 23rd Psalm from the Scottish Metrical Psalter, set to the tune Crimond.  It was a favorite of the Queen's, who was raised by a Scottish nanny, who later served as her dresser (lady's maid) for many years.  

The Queen's Christian faith was the bedrock of her life and long reign, as she expressed many times in her annual Christmas broadcasts to her peoples around the world.  Here is the Psalm as performed at the funeral by the  Choir of Westminster Abbey:

The 23rd Psalm is, of course, deeply meaningful to all Christians, and is frequently used in funeral services.  It is dear to my heart because I learned it by heart in kindergarten at a Christian school, and it has comforted me through all the sad or lonely or grieving times of life.  And in my mind, it ties in with another comforting passage from the New Testament:

My grace is sufficient for thee: 

for My strength is made perfect in weakness.

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"Knowns + Unknowns #2" by Clint Collide:

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The Most Beautiful Train in the World

SP Daylight baggage sticker, 1937.

Postcard showing the SP Daylight on the Pacific Coast route, circa 1938.
Click to enlarge.

The California State Railroad Museum sponsored this 2005 documentary about the fabled Daylight streamliners of the Southern Pacific Railroad, which plied the rails between Los Angeles and San Francisco from 1937 until the formation of Amtrak in 1971. This video is a treat for the eyes and ears, and a must-see for all railfans.

You could eat plain or fancy fare, as you pleased, aboard the Daylight - from sardines to caviar.  Multiply the prices by a factor of 20 to get a rough approximation in today's dollars.  (Yes, it was and still is expensive to eat in the dining car - go look up Amtrak prices.)

SP Daylight lunch menu, 1937.
Click to enlarge.

The SP and its subsidiaries formed a gigantic enterprise with over 16,000 miles of track, stretching from Portland, Oregon, down through California and over to New Orleans, as well as eastward to Ogden, Utah, and Tucumcari, New Mexico.  There was also a Mexican subsidiary as well as a steamship line from New Orleans to New York.  

Southern Pacific system map at its greatest extent in 1929.
Thicker lines are SP routes; thinner lines are other railroads.
Click to enlarge.

SP's famous "Sunset Route" herald, used for decades
in publications and on billboards and railroad cars.

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Sunday Drive: Somewhere, The Texas Tenors

This widely acclaimed group got started on America's Got Talent in 2009 and went on to fame and fortune, winning three Emmy Awards, among other honors.  M.P. and I agree that "Somewhere" is a song gay men can easily relate to.  See what you think, fellas.

Encore:  I never heard this song before, but the boys sure do a beautiful job with it:

 

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Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning?

The Pearl Harbor of our time:  Twenty-five years ago today, the unthinkable happened.  Alan Jackson sings:

President Bush addressed the nation that evening, calmly and resolutely:

It was a very fine speech except for one thing.  That sentence about "they attacked us because America is a beacon of freedom and opportunity" is no explanation at all - it's mythology.

But I will say that he did an excellent job as Comforter-in-Chief in the dark days that followed. That was before he got completely off track and perverted our military response in the wrong direction.

And I will add that what goes around, comes around. No leader, no nation is so high and mighty that it cannot be brought low. Especially one that fights with its friends and cozies up to its enemies.

As the Good Book says, Pride goeth before a fall.

I'll stop right there.

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Homosexuals in Dallas, 1984

From the SMU Jones Film & Video Collection, a report by KERA, the local PBS station, on some lesbians and gay men living more or less openly in the Dallas area in 1984, and the antigay officials at Southern Methodist University who had a problem with that.  It may be hard for youngsters to realize how very different the world was back then, but just the fact of seeing real, live homos on TV was still shocking to many straight people.  

(Just so you know, SMU is a very prestigious school, often considered part of the unofficial Southern Ivy League.  It's located in the top-drawer Highland Park neighborhood of Dallas, and is home to the George W. Bush Presidential Library.)

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Disussion Question:   A commenter on this video says, "You’ve gone from, 'We’re just two people that love each other and want to be accepted' to indoctrinating kids in school with drag queen story hour." 

Frankly, I see a great big difference between responsible adults and impressionable little children. I'm not on board with the drag queen story hour idea. I say there's something very insidious about that. But I'm an old man with no power to control anybody, not even M.P. -- oh, certainly not M.P! 

What do you say?

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The "How Hard Can It Be?" Gene

It is an enduring truth of human life that few things are as satisfying as watching other people hard at work whilst you sit comfortably at a distance, sipping your favorite brew.  

We enjoyed watching this play-by-play video the other night over dinner.  A young, unemployed civil engineer did a brilliant job from top to bottom over a four-year period.  It's a great way to take your mind off the state of the world for an hour, not to mention your own troubles. I suggest, however, that you lower the playback speed to about 80 percent if you want to keep up with Speedy Andy.

BTW, here at Blue Truck HQ, the plumbers are supposed to come today to fix our runaway toilet.  Somehow, the fasteners on one side of the base have disappeared.  You haven't really lived until you've taken a ride on a rock 'n' roll toilet!  I tell you what.

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Sunday Drive: Ravel, Boléro

This well-known piece was written in 1928 by French composer Maurice Ravel.  M.P. - who had some vocal training in his youth and loves operatic tunes - sent it to me the other day, and though I had heard the melody many times, I guess I'd never heard the entire work played all the way through.  I was astonished to realize it is just the same intro repeated over and over again, never leading to anything else.  WTF??

Frankly, I thought it was absurd.  Come to find out - Ravel himself agrees with me!  He planned it that way.  Oh well, you know how those highbrow composers are . . . .

Here it is, from the BBC Proms in 2014, under the baton of Daniel Barenboim:

FYI:  Boléro would seem to have been an inspiration for the popular tune "Andalucía," aka "The Breeze and I," written by Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona, which was a big hit for Jimmy Dorsey and his orchestra in 1940, featuring a vocal by Bob Eberly:

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Waitin' for the Weekend: World's Best Nude Gay Beaches

Your Head Trucker shows off his treasure trail on a Florida beach, 35 years ago.  
My summer lover and I spent nearly every weekend at one beach or another.
We got quite brown and had a lot of fun while it lasted.  A happy memory.

Something different for this Labor Day weekend:  Experienced travelers Andy and Trai take us on a tour of their favorite nude gay beaches here, there, and yonder.  I hope all my truckbuddies have fun in the sun with the one they love, wherever you are.

And if you can't be with the one you love -- love the one you're with. There are only so many summers, babe.

Update 9/5/26:  Wow, this post has gotten a shipload of views.  Overnight, the count went from 725 to 9530 14,828, and more all the time.  At first I thought - Damn, I was hotter than I thought.  Aw, but then I remembered the f*kn video.

Oh well.  If it's the vid you like, Andy and Trai have lots more to see on YT.  On the other hand, if it's the pic of me in my glory days (?) you like, just stuff a bill or two in my Speedo.  *Grin*

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The World Our Parents Made

"You don't know what you've got till it's gone."

If you can put your modern-day complaints aside for a moment, here's a look at the glory days of the postwar era, when American civilization was at its height, a benign colossus bestriding the world without a rival.  As Shakespeare wrote, But me no buts.  Just hush up and watch - and then weep for all we have lost.  It wasn't a perfect country or a perfect world - but it some ways, it was the highwater mark of humanity.  

Go read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948).

Power Behind the Nation, 1947:

Your Head Trucker remembers well how the tiny tots of this peaceful era - some of them - grew up to hate and despise and cry down "the world our parents made." But now, just what kind of world have we made?  

And in particular, I refer to the 80-year-olds who have, collectively, sat in the seats of power and wealth for forty years now - they were once the golden boys and girls of the sixties.  What have they done with that power?

"We can change the world, rearrange the world" . . . "we" certainly have. For good or ill?  

Are we happy now?

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It's Time

Here's a sweet treat for you, fellas. Yesterday, YouTube threw me something I'd never seen before:  a beautiful ad for marriage equality from GetUp! Australia that aired in 2011, starring studly actor and filmmaker Julian Shaw.  After years of debate and campaigning by both sides, the Australian federal parliament finally legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in December 2017.

And here is the making-of video:

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Sunday Drive: Words, Barry Gibb and Dolly Parton

Recorded in Nashville for Barry Gibb's 2021 album Greenfields:

The finished version:

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"Hims + Thems #4" by Clint Collide:

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In Memoriam: Dolly Parton, 1946-2026

America has lost a national treasure.  The incomparable Dolly Parton, singer, songwriter, actress, and philanthropist, died today at age 80 after a life well lived, rising from the hills of Tennessee to the summit of world acclaim, but never losing the common touch.  She will live on in the hearts of many millions whom she touched with beauty, joy, and a generous, loving spirit.  She was also a friend and supporter of the gay community.

1.  A message from Dolly's family:

2.  NBC News reports on Dolly's true-life rags to riches story:

3.  In this 2025 interview with Dan Rather, starting at the 4:00 mark, we learn the secret to her success:  she's not a floozy, she's a sharp, shrewd businesswoman:

See the full interview here.

4.  Dolly was also a deeply spiritual person who lived her faith, as she explains in this wide-ranging interview with Norah O'Donnell in 2024:

5.  I believe Dolly always closed her shows with this beautiful song:

Bonus: The Empire State Building was lit up in sparkling pink tonight as a tribute to Dolly.

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Sunday Drive: Once Upon a Dream

The unforgettably romantic theme from Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty, 1959.  I never got to see the film until I was grown, but this little gay boy did play the song on a little yellow record over and over and over . . . .

The music is, of course, lifted directly from Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty ballet, 1889:

By the way, Resident Artist M.P. did get to see the movie as a little gay boy, and fell in love with the stylized artwork, which he still thinks is very, very cool. Check out this fascinating video about the artistic development behind the finished film:

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Waitin' for the Weekend: Friends of Walter F.

Beach forecast:  sunny, warm, and studly.
Kenneth Carson, Galveston, May 14, 1938 --
one of Walter's many friends.

Something different this week:  a poignant series of photographs of handsome young men at the beach and elsewhere, taken between 1937 and 1941.  The photographer, who appears in some of the photos, was one Walter R. Ferguson, who apparently had a job that enabled him to roam the South as "your TAFT representative," whatever that means.  He stayed in very nice hotels, too.

The photos record his travels, first to seaside towns, starting with Jacksonville, Fla., and westward along the Gulf Coast to Beaumont, Texas.  Next he shows up in St. Petersburg, Fla., and Miami, then travels up the East Coast all the way to Norfolk, Virginia.  The following year, he visits Charlotte, Birmingham, Jackson, and Dallas, then goes up to Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville in Tennessee.  And meets studly guys everywhere.  And they gladly let him take their pictures!

It's obvious that Walter was good at striking up friendships wherever he went; he must have had a charming personality.  The smiling young men he photographed seem to be enjoying his company, too.  Apparently, nothing more is known of Walter and his friends, but the photos seem to tell a story.  What do you think that story was?

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

These vids were posted on the YouTube channel homosexualhistory.

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Memories of My Grand Tour, 1976 - Part 2

This post continues the travel saga that I began two weeks ago.  Unfortunately, my old passport photo hasn't turned up yet.  But here's a picture of me a few months later, with the same hair and stache that I had when I toured London and Paris in August of 1976.  

By the way, I was still closeted at the time; I knew very well that I was gay, but coming out was several years in the future.

Your Head Trucker was strictly au courant on this occasion with the big plaid, wide lapels, platform shoes, and polarized indoor/outdoor sunglasses.

This photo was taken early in 1977 at a country-club get-together thrown by the Business Department of the university I transferred to after I finished junior college.  That was a practical choice, but it wasn't right for me; eventually I went to another university and felt very much at home in the humanities.

Back to the travel story:  I won't bore my readers with details of all the famous places I visited in England and France, which every tourist could tell you about.  Sure, it was thrilling to finally see in person the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace (the Queen wasn't at home, alas!  Gone to Scotland for her summer vacation).  And there was Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben (sadly silent - they were working on the bell mechanism); also, feeding the pigeons in Trafalgar Square, wandering through Windsor Castle (and enjoying a delicious afternoon tea at the hotel across the street), and Hampton Court Palace, and Kensington Palace, and walking the length and breadth of Hyde Park.

Unfortunately, Europe was having its worst drought in 300 years - nowadays, the British press refers to it as the heatwave of 1976, but at the time they spoke of the drought.  No fountains were running anywhere, and Hyde Park was one big carpet of dead grass, brown as toast - all except along the banks of the Serpentine, a lake that curves through the southern part, where the grass was thick and deep green.

I was there on a Sunday afternoon, when a military band played marches and popular tunes on a gazebo near the southeast gate, and you could rent a folding chair for, oh, maybe 25 pence or so.  It was lovely to sit under a shade tree and listen to the pretty music.  After the band finished up, around 4 p.m., I wandered over to a row of trees on a rise of ground paralleling the Serpentine and sat down on the cushiony grass.  There was a level field of the same grass about a hundred feet wide between the bank of the stream and where  I was sitting, and two teams of amateurs were having a jolly good time playing soccer - which the English insist on calling football.

It was a friendly, good-natured game that was pleasant to watch.  Those were the days when most young men sported long hair, moustaches, and beards, and I admired the hairy, sweaty guys as they ran to and fro, shouting and laughing, jumping up and falling down.  It made me a little sad, too.  Unathletic me doesn't give a damn about sports, but I would have liked to join in the game - to be one of the guys, for a change.  A wistful thought.  

A view across the Serpentine in Hyde Park, June 2007, via Wikipedia.

Most of those guys had very dark hair.  It seemed odd to me that there were few English people to be seen on the streets of London.  A great many Italians were working in small shops or cafes; the rest of the pedestrians were largely Indian ladies in their colorful saris or tall Africans in what we Americans called dashikis.  At least, that's how it seemed in the parts of the town I visited.

There was an Indian restaurant down the street from my hotel that I often passed on my way to the tube station (American:  the subway).  One day I stopped there for lunch - I had no idea of what Indian food was like, but in my naivete, I imagined that dishes from the exotic East must be something wonderful, like ambrosia of the gods, maybe.  The lunchtime crowd having departed, the nearly empty cafe was staffed by at least half a dozen young Indian men with thick accents, and it seemed half a dozen more were squeezed into the narrow kitchen, cooking food and washing dishes. 

The waiter brought me a menu, at which I gazed perplexedly.  I didn't recognize any of the items listed.  But hey, it's an adventure, right?  So I ordered Mulligatawny soup for the first course - that sounded vaguely Irish to me.  Then a main dish with chicken in it, and maybe some kind of vegetable.  What could go wrong?

I soon found out.  The soup was hot as blazes - both in temperature and spices.  The main dish was even hotter!  To my way of thinking, Indian food is very like Mexican food, nothing fancy but much hotter.  I didn't enjoy any of it, but I was too embarrassed by my stupidity to ask for something else, so I soldiered on through the meal, ordering Coke after Coke.  They had only the small bottles of Coke that we in America had long since abandoned for the king-size bottles.  They weren't cold, but even so, they gave relief to my five-alarm tongue.  I must have drunk six or seven bottles.

The waiters stood in the kitchen doorway, chattering excitedly and shooting glances at the crazy American who was drinking up their Coke supply.  I felt very conspicuous and foolish.  Somehow, I managed to down a respectable portion of what was served to me, paid my check, and left, faking aplomb outwardly, but inwardly vowing never again to order anything anywhere if I didn't know what it was.  

I tried a couple of other cafes in London, but the food wasn't to my taste, and the prices were higher than I wanted to pay, keeping a careful eye on my spending money, which had to last two weeks.  Fortunately, the answer to my food problem was near the tube station, under a pair of golden arches.  Who knew they had McDonald's in London, England?  Nowadays, it is common knowledge that American fast-food joints of all kinds have spread around the world, but it was a welcome revelation to me then.  

McDonald's was not my favorite burger joint - I was a Burger King man - but they kept me well-fed and happy, twice a day.  The amazing thing was that the burgers and fries tasted exactly as they did at home.  Only the drinks were a little off - I suppose due to the local water - but they were quite drinkable and icy-cold.  And the prices were cheap.  A tasty and most helpful discovery for this hungry young American.

To be continued . . .

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