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.

+     +     +     +     +

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.

-----

Waitin' for the Weekend

"Family + Friends + Lovers" by Clint Collide:

-----

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.

-----

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:

-----

Waitin' for the Weekend

"Beefcake Sampler #6" by Clint Collide:

-----

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:

 

-----

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.

-----

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:

-----

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!

-----

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.

-----

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?

-----

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.

-----

Waitin' for the Weekend

"Just Passing Through #1" by Clint Collide:

-----

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.

-----

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.

-----

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.

-----

Waitin' for the Weekend

"Knowns + Unknowns #2" by Clint Collide:

-----

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.

-----

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:

 

-----

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.

-----