Waitin' for the Weekend

Voices from the Past

An early newsreel crew, givers of immortality.

Your Head Trucker has always been something of an antiquarian, but since arriving on the shady side of 60, he feels more and more the impelling current of Time, carrying us onward as leaves on a river:  the irresistible, inescapable force moving men and civilizations from birth to maturity to death, driving us relentlessly from age to age and change to change, whether we would or not.

And in our great technological civilization, yesterday's marvels are always becoming today's mere commonplaces, and all the clamorous thoughts and passions of one age become as silent and insignificant as the dust on a tomb in the next.  It is useful now and again to ponder these things, I believe, and in the midst of all our busyness to be reminded that all we go down to the dust; therefore, we would be wise to use the fleeting time we have to good purpose, with humility and humanity.

Here are some voices, long since fallen silent, recorded for the ages by Movietone News when sound motion pictures were the Big New Thing.  I find it fascinating to watch and listen to these folks, who were born in the 1820s, 1830s, and 1840s, when railroads and telegraphy were new and rare, and lived into the age of airplanes and radio.  Instead of the stiff, stern stares we so often see in Victorian portraits, notice how very human, and even humorous, these folks seem - as indeed they were, just as much as we.  There is a lesson there for those who want to learn it.

A century from now, what will the supra-modern children of the 22nd century think and say about our long-forgotten images, dug up by some digital archeologists, perhaps?




N. B. -- Rebecca Latimer Felton, seen from about 8:30 to 11:00, was born in 1835 in Georgia and had quite a remarkable life: among other notable doings, she was a college graduate, temperance leader, suffragist, and U. S. Senator for one day.  Her Wikipedia article provides dates and details of her life that you may find intriguing - or appalling. Yet she was admired by many.

And how shall our works and words be judged by generations yet unborn? ¿Quién sabe?

Ten Years on the Road in the Blue Truck

Today is the tenth anniversary of my little blog, strange to say.  Where does the time go?  I started it on a whim, and have continued it ever since on the same principle.  Consequently, it has never amounted to much - a poor thing, Sir, but mine own - nevertheless, it has been for the most part a happy little hobby, an agreeable routine to pass the time with amid the changing seasons of life.

Your Head Trucker doesn't amount to much, either - just an old dog lying on the porch, watching the mad world go by.  If any of my 3,690 posts has uplifted my truckbuddies, shown you something you didn't know, or raised a smile on your face sometime or other - then my small efforts have not been entirely in vain.

To mark the occasion, I am serving up once again one of my favorite slices of literature for your diversion:  an excerpt from E. M. Forster's collection of essays, Two Cheers for Democracy (1951), which I posted ten years ago today.  The waiters will be handing out glasses of champagne while you read - no tipping and no pinching!  Enjoy.

I believe in aristocracy. . . — if that is the right word, and if a democrat may use it. Not an aristocracy of power, based upon rank and influence, but an aristocracy of the sensitive, the considerate and the plucky. Its members are to be found in all nations and classes, and all through the ages, and there is a secret understanding between them when they meet. They represent the true human tradition, the one permanent victory of our queer race over cruelty and chaos. Thousands of them perish in obscurity, a few are great names. They are sensitive for others as well as for themselves, they are considerate without being fussy, their pluck is not swankiness but the power to endure, and they can take a joke.

I give no examples — it is risky to do that — but the reader may as well consider whether this is the type of person he would like to meet and to be, and whether (going further with me) he would prefer that this type should not be an ascetic one. I am against asceticism myself. I am with the old Scotsman who wanted less chastity and more delicacy. I do not feel that my aristocrats are a real aristocracy if they thwart their bodies, since bodies are the instruments through which we register and enjoy the world. Still, I do not insist. This is not a major point. It is clearly possible to be sensitive, considerate and plucky and yet be an ascetic too, and if anyone possesses the first three qualities I will let him in!

On they go — an invincible army, yet not a victorious one. The aristocrats, the elect, the chosen, the Best People — all the words that describe them are false, and all attempts to organize them fail. Again and again Authority, seeing their value, has tried to net them and to utilize them as the Egyptian Priesthood or the Christian Church or the Chinese Civil Service or the Group Movement, or some other worthy stunt. But they slip through the net and are gone; when the door is shut, they are no longer in the room; their temple, as one of them remarked, is the holiness of the Heart’s affections, and their kingdom, though they never possess it, is the wide-open world.

Grateful thanks to all my truckbuddies for riding along with me in the Blue Truck.

Beach Mix, 9/2/18

Somewhere . . . a place for us

Labor Day weekend has arrived to mark the end of the summer season in the US of A, and so we come to the end of our beach party here at the Blue Truck. I hope you all have enjoyed listening to my faves from the mid-sixties; there are of course many more great songs from that period that I haven't posted, but I've tried for the most part to feature those that have a good beat that you can dance to, as a good DJ should.

It took a bit of work, but it was a real treat for me to track down all these videos - live performances whenever I could find them in good, or at least bearable, quality. And truth to tell, in many cases it's the first time your Head Trucker has ever seen these singers and bands perform - or even just seen what they looked like. Today's children would be shocked and amazed, no doubt, to learn that once upon a time, still within living memory, one might go for years on end enjoying certain songs, but having no idea what the singers looked like.  And somehow it just wasn't all that important to see the singers - the music, the sound, was the important thing, and that was enough.

I miss transistor radios.  Hell, I miss radio - simple and free, radiating from out the aether to everyone, everywhere, endlessly emanating delightful sounds - a constant comfort and joy.


But I digress. We begin our final Beach Mix by dimming the lights for the sweetheart dance - which goes out to my truckbuddy Frank, because he is one (and that's all you need to know, ragazzi).

Don't Worry Baby, Beach Boys, 1964




The next tune goes out to my faithful truckbuddy Davis, to remind him of those sunny days of innocent youth.

I Can't Help Myself, Four Tops, 1965




And this perfect updating of the Cole Porter classic is an oldie but such an elegant goodie - like my dear old chum Tim, living the beach life year-round on the Costa del Sol, the lucky blighter.

I've Got You Under My Skin, Four Seasons, 1966




And to all my truckbuddies around the world in these troubled times - if you ever need a lift, this song is guaranteed to provide it:

Dancing in the Street, Martha and the Vandellas, 1964




To end the summer with a bonus: Your choice of any stud in the Blue Truck catalog - free! - goes to the reader who can name all the TV shows featured in this brilliantly edited little video. Have fun, y'all.

Keep on Dancing, Gentrys, 1965

Waitin' for the Weekend

Robert Reich: Unchecked and Unbalanced

In Memoriam: Senator John McCain, 1936-2018

Embed from Getty Images

The Honorable Senator John McCain died Saturday at his home in Arizona, a few days short of his eighty-second birthday.  The details of his life and career as a naval aviator, prisoner of war, maverick politician, presidential candidate, and statesman are too well known to need rehearsing here.  But he left a farewell letter to the American people which cements his renown as a patriot of the first order in the classic mold:

My fellow Americans, whom I have gratefully served for sixty years, and especially my fellow Arizonans,

Thank you for the privilege of serving you and for the rewarding life that service in uniform and in public office has allowed me to lead. I have tried to serve our country honorably. I have made mistakes, but I hope my love for America will be weighed favorably against them.

I have often observed that I am the luckiest person on earth. I feel that way even now as I prepare for the end of my life. I have loved my life, all of it. I have had experiences, adventures and friendships enough for ten satisfying lives, and I am so thankful. Like most people, I have regrets. But I would not trade a day of my life, in good or bad times, for the best day of anyone else's.

I owe that satisfaction to the love of my family. No man ever had a more loving wife or children he was prouder of than I am of mine. And I owe it to America. To be connected to America's causes - liberty, equal justice, respect for the dignity of all people - brings happiness more sublime than life's fleeting pleasures. Our identities and sense of worth are not circumscribed but enlarged by serving good causes bigger than ourselves.

"Fellow Americans" - that association has meant more to me than any other. I lived and died a proud American. We are citizens of the world's greatest republic, a nation of ideals, not blood and soil. We are blessed and are a blessing to humanity when we uphold and advance those ideals at home and in the world. We have helped liberate more people from tyranny and poverty than ever before in history. We have acquired great wealth and power in the process.

We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe. We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down, when we doubt the power of our ideals, rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been.

We are three-hundred-and-twenty-five million opinionated, vociferous individuals. We argue and compete and sometimes even vilify each other in our raucous public debates. But we have always had so much more in common with each other than in disagreement. If only we remember that and give each other the benefit of the presumption that we all love our country we will get through these challenging times. We will come through them stronger than before. We always do.

Ten years ago, I had the privilege to concede defeat in the election for president. I want to end my farewell to you with the heartfelt faith in Americans that I felt so powerfully that evening.

I feel it powerfully still.

Do not despair of our present difficulties but believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here. Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history.

Farewell, fellow Americans. God bless you, and God bless America.

Powerful words of wisdom and faith, and very timely too.  I hope all my truckbuddies, regardless of political persuasion, will take them to heart.  We may have disagreed with his politics, but his patriotism is beyond dispute.

Beach Mix, 8/26/18

Let's have a beach party!

Sunday Drive is on summer hiatus while I offer some favorites from the mid-sixties for fun in the sun and tans on the sands.

What memories do these songs bring back for you?


Barbara Ann, Beach Boys, Jack Benny Hour, 1965




Ain't That Peculiar Marvin Gaye, 1965




When You Walk in the Room, Jackie DeShannon, 1964




The Teaberry Shuffle, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, 1966




Cara Mia, Jay and the Americans, 1965

Waitin' for the Weekend

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Alice Barker Sees Herself

A sweet little video about Alice Barker, a 102-year-old dancer who sees film of her younger self for the first time.



Alice passed away about a year after this video was made.

Beach Mix, 8/19/18

Let's have a beach party!

Sunday Drive is on summer hiatus while I offer some favorites from the mid-sixties for fun in the sun and tans on the sands.

What memories do these songs bring back for you?


Help Me, Rhonda, Beach Boys, Andy Williams Show, 1965




It's the Same Old Song, Four Tops, 1965




Have I the Right? Honeycombs, 1964




Green Grass, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, 1966




She Loves You, Beatles, A Hard Day's Night 1964