Bobservations

Carlos came to the breakfast table the other morning and said:

“I have made an Executive Decision—”

“You cannot do that.”

“Why?”

“All Executive Decision are made by me, though you have the ability to make an Executive Suggestion and submit it through proper channels.”

“And then what happens?”

“I ignore it and make an Executive Decision.”

He seemed shocked and awed by my logic and I don’t know why, though I did make an Executive Decision not to have this conversation again.

This Tale of Tuxedo comes from March 2009:

A Sunday Tuxedo—clockwise from top let—raises his eyes toward Heaven and prays to the cat gods that there will be fish for dinner. And when he realizes it'll be a dish of dry stuff like every day, he pouts, and then does his best Camille impression. And lastly he poses as Tuxedo of the Jungle....or Bond, Tuxedo Bond. 

Camden is growing, though maintaining it's small-town appeal, and one of the bigger projects will be the King Haigler Hotel, a 51-room boutique hotel,  taking over the space where the old opera house and clock tower, built in 1886, stand.

That’s Broad Street up there looking south towards the Opera House and clock tower in 1951.

And here’s a view from Rutledge Street side of the building and the clock tower, also in the 1950s.

And here’s the building with just the tower standing and the hotel construction beginning around it.

I was glad they saved the clock tower and made it the focal point of new construction and cannot wait for the hotel to open.

Take note of the silence of the pro-life folks when their president threatened genocide, to kill innocent, civilian, men, women, and children and destroy an entire civilization.

The cult is real … stupid.

And then here we have a mural downtown that features the Kershaw-Cornwallis House, a Georgian mansion that dominates the grounds of Historic Camden and the Revolutionary War Park. Once the home of local businessman and patriot Joseph Kershaw who arrived in the colonies before 1748 and worked for a merchant in Charleston before moving to this settlement—then called Pine Tree Hill. The proximity to the Great Wagon Road and the Wateree River made for easy distribution of goods traveling between coastal Charleston and the backcountry frontier.

Kershaw established a store called Kershaw and Company and, in time, built flour and grist mills, indigo works, a tobacco warehouse, a distillery, and a brewery. His efforts helped turn the town into a commercial hub and he was instrumental in creating a plan of streets and lots in Pine Hill, which became the village of Camden, now the Oldest Inland City in South Carolina.

I was going through my phone and found that picture of the dear departed MaxGoldberg and Tuxedo napping in “their” chair in the sunroom so peacefully.

And then I found that picture of Max with his crooked mouth—after he’d had a couple of teeth removed—looking quizzically at me. Oh I miss the mug on that cat!

Garrett Swan is a 57-year-old actor and art director, known for Fashion House, Unusually Thicke, and Sex, Lies, and Sugar, all of which beg the question: Would You Hit It?

Death, Wills, Snow Days, Eggs

Well after the threat of snow and ice last weekend, which never materialized, the snow came this past weekend and made everything pretty for a couple of days. It was quiet and peaceful and c-c-c-cold way to spend the weekend and, of course, our trip to Asheville was cancelled—which I will reschedule in April for Carlos’ birthday—but it was nice.

We ran errands on Friday … we stopped by the attorney to have our wills updated which is never a fun thing to do, but its necessary.

After that we went to talk to a flooring person about changing out the floors. It’s part of the same company that built out cabinets so we stopped over at their offices and found a sign on the door. They are planning a move to a larger space so I thought that was what the sign said, but instead it said the man, Larry,  we were coming to see had suddenly passed away and the offices were closed for several days. Really shocking as we had seen him just last month at the Camden Christmas Parade and he seemed fine. We called our contractor and he said Larry had a massive heart attack last week and passed quickly.

It can all go so fast.

Switching gears … we decided to do our grocery shopping since the snow was coming Saturday and, of course, so did everyone else. Luckily, we weren’t stocking up on all the bread and milk and canned soup so those aisles were relatively calm. Then came the egg aisle and the crowd of people grabbing at the eggs. I stood back and waited until the herd thinned and noticed a woman watching a man check each and every cartoon of eggs before choosing one; finally he was done and she reached in, plucked a carton and off she went. I did the same and then Carlos and I  headed off to checkout where that same woman got in line behind me and so I said:

“I saw you watching all those vultures at the egg case and loved how you just reached in, grabbed a carton and left.”

“Honey, I’m from New York. I am not playing.”

“I’m not from New York and I’m not playing either.”

Kindred spirits.

The Girls, Rosita and Consuelo, had zero desire to step outside in the snowfall so I found an old photo of Tuxedo with snow on his head, ... doesn’t he look happy … and one of Ozzo the Pocket Dog nesting in the snow ...

And now a little Casa Bob y Carlos looking quite peaceful and lovely yesterday…

Up the driveway …

The roads were covered and quiet …

The house through the trees …

Down the driveway …

Into the backyard …

And finally the shed which I am trying to turn into a music room so Carlos can practice his trumpet at least 75 feet away from me ... I kid, or do I …

After breakfast Carlos went out into the yard and came back in and said it was nice outside. I reminded him that, yes, the sun was out and it felt warm, but it was 19-degrees which is roughly 11-degrees lower than his What The Fuck threshold.

So yesterday was peaceful and sunny and snowy, and we had a delicious Ham and White Bean soup with crusty bread, but today is back at work, then a day off, then two days working, then my usual three-day weekend.

It’s a cycle. 

Bobservations

So we were watching the Oscars the other night and they announce that Mick Jagger is coming out to present an award and Carlos says:

“Mick Jagger?”

“Yes, sweetie, Mick Jagger.”

“Is he related to Mick Jagger the singer?”

“No, sweetie he IS Mick Jagger the singer.”

“Is he English? Because he has a funny accent.”

This is from Carlos who has the funniest accent ever.

And imagine what he might do in 2025 to fix the economy rather than focusing on taking control of the Post Office.

The more things change, the more we get the same stupid from The Felon.

Say what you want about Naomi Campbell but the bitch can rock a runway … even at fifty-four! Just don’t make her mad when she’s holding a cell phone!

Isn’t it funny how the GOP denigrates Volodymyr Zelenskyy for coming into the Oval Office and not wearing a suit, but then say not a word about Leon Skum, the Ketamine Kid, entering the Oval in a t-shirt, jacket and baseball cap?

It's almost like they don’t see their hypocrisy.

He’s shaving his upper cheeks now that he’s finished with the lower ones. Smooth cakes, baby.

I woke up Saturday morning and was doing some internet surfing when I saw a notice of Extreme Fire Danger in South Carolina. What? I’d never seen that in all the years we’ve lived in and was surprised. Cut to four hours later when I said to Carlos:

“Call the fire department.”

There was a fire alongside the road from three houses down and it was headed our way. It was coming down the hill toward our neighbor’s house so we got our hose and helped spray the flames while other neighbors ran with buckets.

Luckily, the fire department showed quickly and put all the fires out—no damage to any structures—and then Carlos and I had a nice chat with the fire chief and thanked him and his team them for their service.

Now, as I write this on Wednesday morning, we are awaiting tornados and heavy rain.

0y.

A couple of weeks ago singer Sheryl Crow, disgusted by Leon Skum’s presidency, sold her Tesla and donated the money to National Public Radio [NPR]

This week Cassandra Peterson, AKA Elvira, actor and media personality, followed suit and sold her Tesla to NPR and then gave the profits to NPR. But first she wrote ‘Elon SuX’ on the side of her car.

For anyone, and I mostly mean the people on the right who only believe what a convicted felon says, here are some facts:

Between 2014 and 2022 Ukraine held over 200 talks with Russia, reaching 20 cease-fire agreements.

Russia promptly violated all those agreements and invaded Ukraine on February 22, 2022.

Anyone, ANYONE, advocating for negotiations are either misled, uninformed or aligned with Russia.

That’s all.

I was visiting blogs the other morning and I found this on Voenix Rising and for some reason my mind went right to Maddie …

Silvester Ruck is a 36-year-old German born model who was discovered by agent David Todd of DT Model Management at a Coffee Bean in Beverly Hills; coffee is nice, but Would You Hit It?

Repost: Black History, Y'all

I stopped in at Lo Imprescindible this morning and Sixpence Notthewiser, AKA Six, to me, had posted about Black History Month; it reminded me that I did 28 days of Black History Month posts back in 2009 and realized that, given the times we live in now, and the racism that has grown over the last many years, fueled by bigots in a quest for power, that I would revive those posts:

I was going to talk about this a couple of days ago, but it slipped my mind. That happens a lot, my mind slipping, but then yesterday, I was confronted with this:

I was at the Wachovia, the Smallville branch, doing a little banking, and they had a television on the wall. It was on CNN-MSNBC-FOX-CNBC or some such, and they were discussing Black History Month. Someone in line, in public, in full earshot of everyone, said, Why do they need their own month?

They? God if that isn't an offensive term when used like that. They. Not me. Them. I really loathe that word.

So, this Black woman in line, turned to this moron, and said, Well, we were sort of left out of most history lessons, at least when I was in school.

Why do you need your own 'month?'

Can you name me somebody, anybody, of color, that you remember from history lessons?

He said—and I'm not making this up—Slaves.

Can you give me a name of a Black person? Just one person?

I don't know. Obama?

Wow, he got one. Ding-ding-ding. Tell him what he's won, Johnny!

Well, Bob, what he's won is a lesson in Black history, provided by the I Should Be laughing blog …

Now, I'm not a Black man, or woman, at least not in this lifetime, but we need to know who did what and for whom, and when and how, and what color they were, and where they lived and how they lived and died and why.

Whether they're white, black, yellow, red, or gay so I’m going to be doing my own little Black History Month for y'all.

Because I can.
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Slavery began in about 1619—before the Pilgrims, people—when a Dutch ship brought 20 Africans into Jamestown, Virginia. It spread quickly from there, y'all; there are no actual numbers, but estimates are that some 6 to 7 million slaves were imported to the New World in the 1700s alone. African men, women and children kidnapped from their homes and brought to a place where they looked like no one, spoke like no one, and were treated as less than everyone

By the end of the 1700s, a lot of northern states had abolished slavery; but it was vital to the South because of cash crops like tobacco and cotton. Now, get this, although the US Congress outlawed the import of new slaves in 1808, the slave population nearly tripled over the next 50 years. Slaves were often smuggled into America, and bought and sold, as farmhands, ranch-hands, housemaids, gardeners, concubines, and whipping boys.
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Nat Turner

August 1831: Nat Turner led the only effective, the key word here is effective, slave rebellion in US history. A slave himself, he hated the idea of slavery, of men and women as property of men and women; he fully believed that God wanted him to lead his people from slavery.

In the late summer of 1831, during a solar eclipse, Turner found his 'sign' that rebellion was near. On August 21, 1831, Turner, and a group of fellow slaves, murdered his owners, the Travis family, and then began a march toward the town of Jerusalem, in order to find weapons and recruit more followers. Turner's tiny army of slaves grew to some seventy-five people, and they murdered sixty white people before being captured by a group of locals with the aid of state militia forces. Over 100 slaves, many simply standing on the sidelines watching, lost their lives in the struggle. Turner, himself, escaped capture and spent over a month running, until he was captured, tried and hanged.

Of course, reports of the rebellion had hundreds of whites killed, and so many southern states held special legislative sessions to enact new slave codes; these codes limited education of slaves and assembly of slaves. Slave-owners and traders used the Turner rebellion to convince people that slaves were 'inherently inferior barbarians requiring an institution such as slavery to discipline them.'

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With slaves desperate to be free, and some white settlers—like the Quakers—opposed to the idea of slavery on religious or moral grounds, the abolitionist movement began. It was an established movement as early as the 1700s, but by the end of that century, the fire had died for many abolitionists. As the cash crops of the south exploded, slavery became a more vital part of the economy.

Yet in the early 1800s, abolitionism rebounded with a fever, partially because of the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 and the tightening of slave codes in most southern states. William Lloyd Garrison, a journalist from Massachusetts, founded the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator in 1831; he was then known as the most radical of America’s antislavery activists.

Antislavery northerners—freed blacks among them--began to help runaway slaves escapes the plantations of the south using a network of safe houses. This organized effort, known as the Underground Railroad, helped almost 100,000 slaves reach freedom.

Harriet Tubman, its most celebrated conductor, was a former slave herself, who had married a free Black man and escaped from Maryland to Philadelphia in 1849. She risked her own life to personally help over 300 other slaves escape, before serving as a scout and spy for Union forces in South Carolina during the Civil War.

Stick around, there’s more to come …

Bobservations

Y’all know I’m childish, right? I mean, you may say child-like, but it’s really childish.

Case in point: after taking a long hike along the river last weekend, as we were driving home I was tormenting Carlos as a childish person does, and he … well, I posted this on my phone to remind me:

“On Saturday August 31, 2024, and I am going to spot him a half hour starting at 11AM, Carlos Divid Harris said he was not going to speak to me for twenty-four hours. I laughed and said he wouldn’t last twenty-four seconds. He said he would not speak again until 11AM on September 1, 2024. We’ll see how that goes; I am writing this down so that when he fails, and he will, I will have proof.”

Carlos began speaking at 11:35 AM which means, with the half-hour I spotted him, he stopped speaking for about 9 minutes. And to be fair, that was longer than the twenty-four seconds I thought he’d last.

This Tuxedo Memory is from May 2019 and is entitled: Another Scorcher In Smallville ... Tuxedo Has The Right Idea

That cat always picked the most interesting positions in which to nap … he was just a chalk outline away from playing the role of roadkill on some animal show!

Well, roadkill or some totally adorable boy!

Here’s proof that just because you’re a relatively slender model, it doesn’t mean you can have the most delightful cakes.

Melanie has unveiled the cover for her upcoming memoir and despite its minimalist design, some critics claim it's a blatant act of plagiarism.

What? Melanie? Plagiarize? Like Michelle Obama’s DNC speech years back?

Melanie's book cover is an all-black with simple white text reading 'MELANIA' in all caps … and looks suspiciously like the iconic Chanel Catwalk book.

I haven’t read it, and won’t read it, but I’m told it’s the story of Melanie’s life on Chicago’s South Side and working hard to attend both Harvard and Princeton before marrying the love of her life and giving birth to Sasha and Malia.

Just sayin’.

In Camden, as it is in many small towns across the state, we have an opera house. Of course, it fell into disuse many years ago and when we moved here only the ground floor was being used as a secondhand store. Sad, really, for such a beautiful building. And for years there was talk about recreating the opera house interior but then a couple of years ago the talk turned toward making  the opera house a boutique hotel, and that’s apparently going to happen.

That photo up there is the opera house and its clock tower that chimes on the hour and the quarter- and half-hours. And down there are the renderings of what the hotel will be: four floors and 50 rooms, with a restaurant in the lobby and called The Haigler Hotel, so named for a noble Catawba Chief who befriended Camden’s pioneers. The clock tower, though not seen in the renderings will remain and still chime the hours each day.

Our little town is growing but it’s keeping its sense of history, and I am here for that!

You’ve heard of Weekend at Bernie’s but this true story is more Weekend at Wells Fargo.

There’s an investigation underway in Tempe, Arizona after a Wells Fargo employee—and I won’t post her name so as not to embarrass her family—died while on the job and no one noticed.

A timeline released by police suggests her body was there for four days before being discovered.

How does that happen?

The Venice Film Festival has been going on for a couple of weeks and here are some style icons, clockwise in no particular order … Angelina Jolie, Cate Blanchett, Eva Green and Nicole Kidman. Stunning, but there’s always room for a thirst-seeker and this year’s was Eva Herzigova wearing … God Only Knows™.

Last week I mentioned that one school district in Oklahoma was refusing to follow the order of State Superintendent Ryan Walters and his demand for Bible Study in all public schools.

Now, out of about 540 public districts and charter schools in the state, 54 superintendents responded to the survey and, when asked if their district was requiring educators to teach on or from the Bible, 46 said ‘No’ and just two said ‘Yes;’ others were unclear on the guidelines.

Taking a stand … even in Oklahoma.

This is Stefano Tomadini—sounds like a Delicious pasta dish—an Italian model. But this isn’t about food or models, it’s about a simple question: Would You Hit It?