#Class of 1953

[wutbju]

Richard J. Heigl, Sr., a native of Buffalo New York and long time resident of Houma, 93, was called home to spend eternity with his beloved Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ on Saturday, April 16, 2022.

Visitation will be held Tuesday, April 26, 2022 from 10am to 12pm, with the memorial service to start at 12pm, at Samart Funeral Home of Houma, West Park.

He is survived by one sister, Geraldine Sobarnia, two sons, Richard J. Heigl, Jr. and his wife Denise, Jonathan Heigl, his son in law, Riecke Schaefer; 10 grandchildren, Brittney Oldham and her husband Brad, Jake Heigl and his wife Ashley, Lindsay Cantrelle and her husband Jarrett, Tara Heigl, Jonathan Heigl, Jr. and his wife Sarah, Lauren Heigl, Rachel Heigl, Lee Arceneaux, Jr. and his wife Jessica, Brad Arceneaux and his wife Katie, Brian Arceneaux; and 21 great grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his loving wife, Connie, of 56 years, daughter Dixie Schaefer, his parents Joseph and Laurel Heigl, and his brother Joseph Heigl.

My Father's story "Mercy Bestowed on a Lost Sinner" taken directly from a letter he had written to his cousin his words.

Things don't "just happen," but all are related to our good by a gracious God. Don't ask me how, for providence is nearly as great a mystery as redemption. We have been preserved until now, and that's a blessing.

But, you would not believe the hills and valleys that I have traveled to get to this point. As I grow older, I can see God's hand in every situation. I can see mercy extended for no cause, grace intervening when justice was due. In early life I was very athletic, morally clean, because God controlled the situations in my life-mildly interested in church, read the Bible some, but never saw much in it except "don't do this," and "don't do that.

I had every intention to study for the ministry so I enrolled in Bob Jones University (Greenville, SC) in 1953-but just before I left for school the second greatest thing in my life happened to me. I was reading a sermon out loud to my Mom in the backyard as she was hanging clothes. The text was Jeremiah 17:9, "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked: who can know it?" That message was called "The Total Depravity of the Human Heart." As I was reading, how I hoped Mom would understand it! She asked, "Son, do you understand those things?" I said, "Sure I do! The harder the preaching, the better I like it." Soon I finished reading and walked down the driveway to go back in the house when a voice heard only by my heart said, "You really don't know what you are reading. What you've read is true, but you are a total stranger to all of it. You are the lost, ignorant sinner you were reading about!" All I could do was quietly admit, "Yes, Lord, I am lost." Then I figured I'd quickly "get saved" and get on to my preaching, but to no avail.

I arrived at Bob Jones University as scheduled. The first week they had assembly every day to get everybody "saved" before school got underway. Three thousand preacher boy students, all of them "saved" except me. You see, all they had to do was make a decision, say they believed that Jesus was the Son of God, and by this simple believing they were told that they were saved. I had done all of this several years before God awakened me to the fact that I was still a lost sinner. Now God was teaching me a few things about this heart of mine which I thought was so "righteous." I now knew that to be saved, God the Spirit would have to do the work. That same voice which told me I was lost must also speak peace to my heart and reveal Christ to me (II Corinthians 4:4-6).

I did fine in all BJU classes except in religion. There, instead of really learning anything about God's Word, they wanted small groups of us to go out and find children playing in their yard or in the streets. We must force them to say they believed in Jesus, get their names and hurry back to class with a "convert" to our credit! My soul totally rebelled against such a bunch of foolishness and I skipped every session after the first one! What a horrible deception and trafficking in souls! I gave out a few sermons by old Puritan writers and it nearly caused a split in the school, so I graciously bowed out after one semester. A short time after that is when Mom, Sis and I moved to New Orleans, LA. to be under sound preaching. That was in 1954. My only desire now was to know the Lord who died for sinners. Mom endured it, Sis hated it, but God was bringing me down.

Soon I met Connie, a girl who worked as church typist and had actually typed the first message God used to awaken me. God had revealed Christ to her heart when she was only 17. The Lord gave her a love for me and me for her; her special beauty to me was that she was in Christ.

Self-righteous hearts have the most to learn, and slowly but surely the Lord was teaching me that first lesson-that the heart truly is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. In the following years we were poor, with a growing family, and I cried unto the Lord continually and wore out several Bibles.

Read till your eyes water, pray till you fall asleep, but you can't make God save you.

In October 1968 a preacher from Michigan held services in a country home near where we lived. Many of our friends and neighbors were there. After the message, I felt such a desire to know Christ that I stood up and said so, in the presence of everyone who knew me. (Feeling myself such a lost sinner, the one desire of my heart was to be joined to Christ.) Those people all thought I was a saint, for I had talked often of things in the bible, and I lived the best life outwardly that I could. But I knew at the time that I could no longer play games. I was serious and didn't care who knew it! That part of the battle was won.

Several weeks later, after crying and praying for days, I was in the center bedroom of our house. My books were stored in a closet, and as I looked at my vast library of Puritan writers I said to myself, "What good are these books doing me? I'm still a lost sinner." Then I read Matthew 11:28 I cried, "Lord, You alone know that I'm coming, I'm laboring and have a terrible burden of sin, and I need rest. How can I take thy yoke? I don't even know what that yoke is. I have no strength, no faith. Lord, just send me on to Hell where I belong, for I cannot believe." It must be for that moment I was truly sincere, for that blessed voice which said "You are lost," now spoke again, and He said "I died for you." My first reaction was to pray for mercy, but I couldn't; instead, my heart just wanted to reach out to Him and thank God for deliverance in Christ. I began to praise Him for His great salvation. But I dared not tell anyone for several weeks, afraid that I might yet be deceived.

I was bursting inside to tell everyone what God had done for me. Finally I did so, and have been telling it ever since. The learning process never ceases, for the more I learn of myself the greater my Redeemer is to me. I still want to sing praises to my precious Lord Jesus Christ. I sought Christ and knew not how real He is, but now I know and understand that the desire and strength to seek Him was given to me by His sovereign mercy.

The first thing the Holy Spirit does is to open the heart of the sinner (Acts 16:14) and reveal what is inside, then when the sinner is broken before Him and comes to the end of his fleshly way, the Lord gives him faith to believe on Christ as Lord and Saviour. Now we see that others are awakened and desire to come to Christ. There are none beyond God's power to save, but He and He alone must do the work!

(Words of Richard J. Heigl, Sr. beloved brother, retired custodian of H.L. Bourgeois High School, pastor of a little group of the Lord's people, known as truth Baptist Church)

MERCY BESTOWED In the beginning, the Father elected The Son became a curse on the tree The Holy Spirit called and convicted, And Mercy said, "Let that sinner go free." Judgment hangs low o'er that guilty sinner, The Law cries, 'He's never, never kept me." No hope in sight, but cannot quit pleading, Then Mercy says, "Let that sinner go free." Blinded by sin and Satan our father, Doomed and damned forever to be A Substitute died on Calvary's mountain, Now Mercy says, "Let that sinner go free." Mercy Bestowed On A Lost, Guilty Sinner, When that sinner faces reality. When justice declares, "I'll keep him forever," But Mercy says, "Let that sinner go free." --Song by the late brother Edward Hale

Samart Funeral Home of Houma, West Park is in charge of arrangements. To send flowers to the family of Richard, please visit our floral store. Published by Samart Funeral Home of Houma - Bayou Blue on Apr. 21, 2022.

[johnnydany]

Vintage 1953 Limited Edition Original Parts 70th Birthday Gift T-Shirt

Get yours now: https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/46814556-vintage-1953-limited-edition-original-parts-70th-b

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[forevergulag]

little know fact but standardized coin money only evolved from things such as livestock becoming the most commonly used currency for what we know as bartering

[goshyesvintageads]

Mars Inc, 1953

[carsthatnevermadeitetc]

What a difference 70 years makes juxtaposition of Mercedes-Benz 180 (W120 series), 1953 & Mercedes-Benz E 200 (W214 series), 2023. The Mercedes E-Class has only existed "officially" since the W124 series which was given the E-class designation in 1994. However the classic "3 box" Mercedes saloon goes much much further. The "Ponton" of 1953 was a technical and aesthetic milestone and the first Mercedes-Benz to feature a unibody. The new W214 series represents a bridge between tradition and digitalisation and features a MBUX Superscreen across the dashboard.

[lonestarbattleship]

USS NEW JERSEY (BB-62) in the Gaillard Cut of the Panama Canal. She and her sisters were the only active battleships to fight during the Korean War.

Date: March 9, 1953

source

[nando161mando]

5 marca 1953 roku Stalin w końcu zrobił coś dobrego i zdechł.

On March 5, 1953, Stalin finally did something good and died.

[ireadvintage]

This year marks the 100th anniversary of James Baldwin, an incredible writer and activist who fearlessly delved into the complexities of race, identity, love, and class. To celebrate Pride and the centenary, we teamed up with the talented @dtaphanel to create this incredible Tumblr artwork inspired by Baldwin's first novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain. Published back in 1953, Baldwin once said, "Mountain is the book I had to write if I was ever going to write anything else." 

This is the second image in Danielle Taphanel’s series which captures a gripping wrestling scene from the book. It shows the intense face-off between Elisha, a respected teen in the church, and John, the troubled stepson of a preacher. It's a scene filled with cruelty, curiosity, confusion, and even a hint of pleasure. Taphanel's artwork, done in the style of ancient Greek classical wrestling called Pankration, brings this moment to life. 

Made for Tumblr, the art is not featured on any edition of the book. 

[delusional-day-dreamer]

Last Friday Night - p.b

‣ paige bueckers x reader!

‣ nika's version of this fic

‣ wc: 1953; sorry this is so short and lowkey not that good?

‣‣ synopsis: you and paige have kept your relationship on the dl for a while now, but what happens when your inebriated selves slip up on kk’s live? pretend the ncaa's lift on cannabis for athletes happens before the start of the 23-24 season!

‣‣‣ a/n: guys i'm so sorry for the utter lack of content but I just got back from camp and i am ready to feed y'all, i got a lot of ideas cooking up and i'm really hoping i can post a lot more while i have the time. also for the multiple versions, i genuinley couldn't choose who to write this about, so i just did both!

8:42 am

To say that you and Paige were in trouble by the events of last night was a little bit of an understatement. Both of your phones were blowing up by your respective coaches, teammates, close friends, and all of your social media accounts.

As you scrolled through your tiktok, text messages, instagram tags, and just about everything else on your phone while laying next to Paige's sleeping figure in her bed, it only reaffirmed one thing in your head.

You and Paige majorly fucked up.

12:07 am; where it all went wrong

With your volleyball season and Paige's basketball season being in their respective peaks during this time of year, you had barely gotten a chance to spend time with your girlfriend alone. The two of you were either travelling for away games, at practice, in class, hanging out with your friends or teammates, or busy studying. Needless to say, you missed Paige. A lot.

Which, combined with the weed pen you were hitting periodically, loosened your inhibitions to a whole new level inside of Ted's fairly crowded bar.

It wasn't jam-packed, but there was a decent crowd of older college students for a Friday night in October, especially since Halloween was soon to be approaching in two weeks.

Normally, you and Paige weren’t big on PDA, at most you would hold hands or give small pecks around the team, considering the fact that the two of you kept your relationship very much on the down low, not so much a secret as very private. You never denied any allegations but basically never posted together on your own, unless the two of you ended up in the background of someone else’s pictures.

Social media had a lot of speculation, edits, rumors, etc, surrounding the two of you, as you had no connection to the team as a volleyball player yet still hung out with them regularly. But either way, you and Paige always just minded your own business and kept everything very hush hush. Except for tonight.

Paige was sort of sober, she had done two shots with some of the other girls while you mostly just smoked a few times, not wanting to get super high, but just enough to let the tingly sense of giggly euphoria wash over you.

Yet one thing you failed to consider when choosing weed over alcohol for tonight was the fact that it made you incredibly horny. That, combined with the fact that you and Paige hadn’t spent any time together in the last three weeks, let alone have sex, were the leading factors of tonight.

The rest of the basketball team was spread throughout the bar, some were at a table not far from the two of you, messing around on KK's live, while others were dancing, drinking, or mingling with their other friends.

Which left you and Paige alone, squished together in the corner of the bar top. You were leaning with your back against the wall, standing in between Paige's spread legs from her position facing you atop the stool. Her hands were holding onto your bare thighs, occasionally removing her left to take a small sip of her drink before dutifully returning to your legs.

"I'm just saying P, we could definitely sneak out without anyone noticing, everyone's too busy doing their own thing," you attempted to convince your stubborn girlfriend, sweetening the notion by rubbing your hands up and down her jean-clad thighs.

As D1 athletes, it was obvious that the two of you had toned and muscular bodies, but one of Paige's features you found most attractive were her muscular thighs she built from her time in the gym and on the court, especially the way they would wrap around your head while eating her out.

"We'll leave soon baby don't worry. Besides," Paige leaned into your ear, her warm breath sending shivers down your spine. "I already promised I would make up the last three weeks to you tonight yeah? What's another hour ma?"

You bit your bottom lip as Paige pulled back, thudding your head on the wall behind you as your eyes trailed over the small smirk Paige held, now using her fingers to draw small circles on your thigh.

"Fuck, you're driving me crazy like this Paige," you reached your right hand over to the bar top, desperate to take another hit of your pen to ease the influx of horny thoughts running through your mind.

Before you could bring the vape up to your mouth, Paige grabbed your waist and pulled you into her, and despite her sitting position, you still only had a good two inches over her.

"You're not gonna share baby?" Her teasing eyes gleamed up at you as she licked her lips in anticipation.

You immediately knew what she meant by that, the two of you doing it all the time whenever you're smoking or vaping together (let's be frl, they're college students, it's NORMAL).

You smirked at her suggestion, leaning into her before taking a deep inhale of the weed, allowing as much of the smoke to enter your lungs as possible before using your left hand to grab Paige's jaw, pressing your open lips against hers to shotgun the smoke into her mouth.

You didn't even wait to finish exhaling all of the smoke and taking another breath before enveloping Paige's lips into yours hungrily, eagerily gripping her waist with the hand still holding the vape.

You kissed her passionately, deepening the kiss as you slipped your tongue into her mouth, the mixture of the rum and coke she was drinking earlier and the earthy taste of weed making your head spin.

You continued to make out for a few minutes, gently pulling away while tugging her bottom lip with your teeth, gazing down at her closed eyes and blissful expression.

"You finally ready to go home P?" You teased, licking your swollen lips at her finally needy expression.

"We're getting the fuck out of here, right now," she rushed out, flagging down the bartender to pay off her tab and the second she got her credit card in hand, interlocked her fingers with yours to drag you out of the bar.

Completely unbeknownst to the two of you, KK and her live had been at the table diagonal to you the whole time, and while her body covered the two of you behind her while sitting, the only shield you had quickly disappeared when she stood up, leaning over the table to steal some of Ice's food when it had been set down, completely exposing you to her two thousand viewers, who were no doubt screen-recording.

The camera clearly caught your lips against Paige's blowing smoke into her mouth before leaning in to kiss her, and despite the two of you being on screen for less than a minute, it was enough to cause an internet commotion.

KK's eyes scanned over the comments as she sat back down, blocking your frames as she shoved a few fries in her mouth. Her eyes widened at the sudden influx of comments about you and Paige, leaning in to figure out what was going on.

"I, what? There's no way y'all," she whispered to the table of Nika, Ice, Carol, and Jana. Aubrey leaned in from KK's right side, trying to figure out what had happened.

Covering the camera slightly, KK, and everyone else, turned around to witness you and Paige's little makeout session ending and the flirty whispers exchanged.

"Unfortunately tonight's live is gonna have to end here girly pops, and if you think you saw something, no you didn't!" KK exclaimed as she quickly turned off the live, the table erupting with laughter at the situation. The whole team had placed bets on how long it would take you and Paige to fumble, and half of them had just lost a hundred dollars at your shennagains.

The walk back to Paige's apartment was brief, filled with flirty touches and short pecks to tide the two of you over until you finally entered home, Paige immediately pushing you up against the front door, moving her lips down your neck and around your collarbones with gentle grazes of her teeth and soothing licks.

"P please, stop teasing," you breathed out, grasping Paige's hair tightly from her scalp with your hand, pulling her face up to yours to gaze down at her with a pleading expression.

"Aw, my poor baby," she cooed, mocking your horny desperation for her, but thankfully Paige wasn't that cruel.

She led you over to her bedroom, slamming her bedroom door behind her as she pulled your shirt over your head, unfastening the bra clipped behind your back all while reconnecting your lips as she laid you down onto the bed.

You moaned into her mouth as her long fingers bunched your skirt up by your waist, rubbing gentle circles on your clit through your panties.

Before you even had the chance to ask for more, she slid the fabric to the side, running her fingers through your slick before inserting two of her fingers, curling them up into you as you let go of her lips to throw your head back, moaning loudly at her ministrations.

"Oh my god Paige, right there baby, fuck," your leg wrapped around her waist tightly as you clenched around her fingers, bucking your hips up to match her movements. Your hands making their way around her neck and back, pressing her body firmly up against yours.

Normally you wouldn't be so close to finishing within a few minutes, but the weed from earlier created a delirious fog that clouded your brain and with the way Paige's fingers were both pressing into your g-spot and rubbing your clit, your orgasm was quickly approaching.

"Fuck I'm so close P, please just need a little more," you whimpered into her ear, moving your lips down to nip at the sweet spot under her ear.

Her other hand responded quickly to your begs, twisting and tugging firmly at your nipple as she mindlessly muttered every dirty thought that crossed her mind, knowing how deeply her praises affected you.

"Doing so good for me ma, always such a good girl. You gonna be my good girl and come for me? Just let go for me baby."

Her words were the final thing to push you over the edge, the tight coil in your stomach snapping as you immediately arched your back into Paige, an endless string of moans and curses falling from your mouth as you let your orgasm wash over you fully.

"God Paige, I don't think I can even feel my legs right now," you giggled in her embrace as she slowly eased her fingers out of you, sucking the remnants of your orgasm off them before wrapping them around your waist, laying you over her as she laid onto her back.

"Hm, fucked you that good huh?" She smirked, using her clean(ish) hand to brush the slightly sweaty strands of hair that had fallen in front of your flushed face.

"I don't know why you're getting so cocky Bueckers, haven't even had my turn with you yet," you teased, running your fingers over her stomach, tugging at the remaining fabric on her body.

"Thought you just said you can't even feel your legs?"

"Good thing I don't need them to fuck you then yeah? Don't you think my fingers and mouth will be enough for you P," you retorted, shuffling your body down the mattress so you could finally have your way with Paige.

9:13 am

Instagram

y/n l/n posted a story

[marzipanandminutiae]

would you have any reading suggestions to learn more about the earrings are evil era??? I've never heard of that aspect of fashion history and I am curious

Oh man, it was wild

you saw the first stirrings of it in the 1890s, when you started to get (mostly white and middle-to-upper-class) proto-feminists arguing that ear piercing was barbaric- keep an eye on the racist undertones there; they will come up again-and forcing women to suffer for fashion. I cannot emphasize enough that, until that point, ear piercing had been pretty much normal for this race/class/gender group. For centuries. You see criticism of the practice here and there, but nothing that really stuck.

The objections slowly increased until roughly the mid-1920s, when everything reached a tipping point and pierced ears became largely taboo for most white Americans and Brits of northern/western European descent. If that sounds HIGHLY specific, it is- communities from southern and sometimes eastern Europe retained cultural practices of ear piercing, to the point where it was often used as a point against them by mainstream society. It was also associated with Latino people, Black people, and the Romani, which. Yeah. I don't need to tell you how that went down.

It also developed associations with sexual immorality and/or backwards thinking. One newspaper letter I read came from a teen girl in the 1940s, wondering why she shouldn't pierce her ears if her very respectable grandmother had piercings. The response was something like "well, they did all sorts of things in the Bad Old Days that we shouldn't do now." True in many ways, or course, but...piercing your ears? That's the hill culture decided to die on as far as antiquated behavior that we should leave behind? Apparently yes.

Earrings themselves never went out of style, which led to the birth of clip-ons and screwbacks. Ironic that the "don't surfer for fashion" crowd was so eager to embrace screwing tiny vices onto your ears, but there we are. My own mother (born 1953) remembers her mother (born 1926) always taking off her screwback earrings immediately after getting home from a party, literally in the foyer of their house the second the door shut. There had been adaptations for unpierced ears before- Little Women, published in 1868, describes Meg March hanging earrings from a flesh-colored silk ribbon tied around the base of her ear -but they'd never caught on like this before.

However, the pendulum was soon to swing back. After just 40 years of Piercing Panic, in the 1960s, girls began piercing their ears again in droves. As piercing moved from the slumber party or summer camp back to the professional jewelers whose families had been early professional piercers in the 19th century- and to befuddled doctors who had no idea what they were doing yet still received piercing requests -cultural commentators had no idea what to make of it. Some decried the new trend while most took an air of bemused neutrality. My personal favorite article expressed surprise that "Space Age misses" were adopting these "Victorian traditions."

(In 1965, my grandmother took Mom to the anesthesiologist down the street who was offering to pierce his young daughter's friends gratis, and got it done. My grandfather had strongly disapproved of the idea, but in the end it took him a week to notice the new earrings.)

As to sources...honestly, I've just gone to Google Books, specified a time frame, and typed in "ear piercing," "pierced ears," "pierce ears," etc. Tons of primary sources at your fingertips, though I'm not always great about documenting or saving what I find. There's not much written about it formally, I've found- no books or scholarly studies. It may just be too close in history to attract much academic attention, though I find it fascinating.

This little blip where something that's been normal for most of western history suddenly became taboo for a hot second.

Also my ear piercings just turned 20 five days ago, commemorating the date that I was taken with much ceremony to Piercing Pagoda (and that horrible gun; it's a wonder I didn't get keloids) to get me out from underfoot while the Thanksgiving feast was being made. Grandma got hers pierced on the same day, at age 78. Happy Birthday, Marzi's ear piercings!

[starshideurfics]

Thirsty Thursday - Loose

steddie, omegaverse, first time, unwed mothers’ home steve

It’s 1953, Steve is 16, Nancy is older, getting ready to leave for college early. Steve only realizes because he’s throwing up every day and Carol says it’s just like Tina before she went away last year. Steve is scared, but excited, because Nancy is so smart and pretty, he knows she’ll be able to take care of them, that they’ll have such beautiful babies.

But when he tells her, she immediately says, “We can’t keep it, Steve. It’s not like I’m going to marry you, like I’ll throw away my entire future!”

Steve just cradles his belly, murmurs, “But pups are the future…”

“I’m not having pups now. Everyone knows how desperate you smell all the time, how do I even know it’s mine?”

Steve cries. “I love you, Nance.”

“No, you don’t. We’re just kids.”

Steve doesn’t know what else to do after that, he tells his mother. She yells and throws things, asking, “God! What did I do to deserve this whore for a son?”

She’s mostly calmed down by the time his father comes home from work. Together, they make plans. Steve is sent away to an unwed mothers’ home two days later.

They take away his scent tokens. He doesn’t even get to keep the clothes he brought with him, wearing the same smock dresses as all the other residents.

He befriends a fellow omega, but Chrissy is already 7 months along, so he knows she will be gone soon.

Steve writes letters, begging to be brought home; his letters go unanswered. In reality, they are never sent.

He and Chrissy cuddle, approximating sharing a nest on her slim twin bed, scenting each other. Steve marvels at the feeling of Chrissy’s baby kicking and longs for the moment he will get to feel his own baby move. It happens the day Chrissy goes into labor, and Steve cries at the feeling. Then he cries again three days later when Chrissy comes home from the hospital, her pup taken from her, never even getting to hold him.

Her parents come to take her home that weekend. She promises to write to Steve, but the home matron intercepts those letters and burns them.

Steve rarely comes out of his rooms after that. Which means he’s in there when the janitor comes in to clean. Wayne Munson can’t stand the pain these poor omegas go through. He helped a few omegas procure illegal abortions in his youth, but now he does what he can for these unwed mothers. He sneaks little treats into rooms, especially chocolate. And he listens, offers a sympathetic ear, and to send letters for them.

Over the summer, he gets his nephew, Eddie, a job in the gardens, cutting the grass. And he tells him about Steve, how much the poor boy needs a friend.

Wayne convinces Steve to get outside and get some sunshine. Eddie is quiet, a perfect gentleman, simply waving hello.

Steve waves back, can’t help smiling. “You like going to the movies?” Eddie asks.

“We’re not allowed to leave the property,” Steve answers with a shrug.

“But do you like movies? Because you’ve missed some good ones, and I thought, maybe I could tell you about them.”

“I’d like that.”

Everyday Eddie tells Steve the plot of a movie or a book. He sneaks in the funny pages so they can laugh at the jokes together.

And then one day, Steve’s gone. He had his baby, and the nurses took her away and gave her to a nice, middle class, *married* couple.

Steve’s parents come to fetch him right away, so he doesn’t even get to say goodbye to Eddie. But he leaves a scrap of paper with his address in his room, hoping Wayne will find it.

He does. Eddie’s first letter comes barely a week later. They keep up their correspondence until Steve finishes high school. Then he packs his bags, steals $5000 from his father’s safe, and gets on a greyhound bus to Eddie.

Steve’s heart is in his throat as the Greyhound bus pulls into the Forest Hills station. What if Eddie doesn’t meet him? If he came all this way for nothing. He knows he shouldn’t think that.

But he’s scared. He’s just got a suitcase, and a decent chunk of it is taken up by all the letters Eddie has written him for the past 20 months. So much ink spilt over telling Steve about going out with friends, his job at the mechanic’s garage, all his plans for their future.

Steve wrote just as many letters back, telling Eddie everything as their friendship blossomed into an honest to god romance. He shared every important thought, every hope and dream, and only a little because he didn’t have anyone else to confide in.

He was a loose omega. No one talked about where he’d gone or why, but they all knew. Or their mothers kept them in the dark, simply saying the Harrington boy wasn’t allowed over anymore and they’d do best to stay away from him at school.

It was a lonely life, Steve can’t help worrying that Eddie will abandon him too, no matter how many sweet words and declarations of love are stuffed into his suitcase.

It doesn’t matter. All his worries fly away when he sees Eddie, waiting impatiently, holding a simple bouquet of white carnations, breaking into the biggest smile when Steve gets off the bus. Steve smiles and runs over to him, laughing when Eddie picks him up by the waist and spins him around, relieved to be wearing a girdle to contain the squish on his tummy.

“I missed you,” Eddie says gently, cupping Steve’s cheek.

They haven’t kissed yet, not being ready the last time they saw each other, and now… Steve feels like he’s spilled his very soul to Eddie, but the thought of touching lips has him suddenly shy.

Not Eddie though, he stares into Steve’s eyes, his own dark pools of devotion spilling over with want and holding him in place. Then he leans in.

The kiss is soft and sweet, lips closed. Steve is the one to push for more, to delicately trace his tongue along the seam of Eddie’s lips. That’s all the permission Eddie needs, the hand still on Steve’s waist pulling him in tighter.

Steve would happily kiss all afternoon, but Eddie pulls back with a grin and says, “We’ve got an appointment to keep, Sweetheart.”

Eddie takes him to the courthouse, and they meet Wayne there as their witness. Getting married is almost too easy, and Steve can’t help crying when he finally gets to sign his name as Mrs. Steven Munson. To have a family to love him rather than see him as their deepest shame.

From there, Wayne takes them out to dinner to celebrate, insisting that the newlyweds share the most expensive dessert on the menu. Steve keeps thanking Wayne for all he’s done, the old beta waving him off and assuring that it’s what he’d do for anyone, Steve just comes with the added bonus of making his nephew happy. Eddie squeezes his shoulder, silently promising that it’s true.

Then Eddie brings Steve home to their little apartment. “We’ll start looking for someplace bigger, once you’re settled. I didn’t want to pick a place you didn’t like; I know how important it is for an omega to feel comfortable at home, like it’s the right place for your nest.”

Steve practically pounces on Eddie at that, his desires overwhelming his nerves as they hurry to get out of their clothes, then Eddie freezes, staring at Steve in his bra and panties.

He presses his legs together, moves a hand to cover his soft belly where the elasticated waistband cinches in, flesh spilling over the top, stretch marks faded, but still visible.

He feels loose, and Eddie is just staring until suddenly he’s not. His hands pull Steve’s to the side as he murmurs, “Oh, Stevie, you’re beautiful. More beautiful than I ever imagined.”

“Eddie…”

“You are! My beautiful omega. My pretty wife. I love you no matter how you look, but you are too damn pretty for a fella like me.”

Now it’s Steve’s turn to praise. “You are my handsome husband. I don’t want anyone but you.”

“I love you,” Eddie murmurs, kissing him.

Things slow down as they remove their final layers, Eddie marveling at Steve’s naked body before finally covering him and sinking into the wet heat of him.

They make love, and Steve finally understands why people call it that, all his quick liaisons with Nancy focused on her needs as she pounded into him, the alpha coming as quickly as possible, never knotting him, to keep them from getting caught.

Eddie takes his time, uses his fingers to make Steve spill again after the first round, gently rubbing him from the inside and keeping him filled until they’re ready for round two.

Within the year, they have a little yellow house on a corner, flowers in the garden and a baby in the nursery named for his great uncle. Little Wayne isn’t a replacement for the pup that was taken from him, but Steve adores finally getting to be a mother.

Steve never stops missing his first baby. In 1978, she finds him, calling the house. Steve cries silently as she tells him about herself. Her name is Cathy (he always wanted to name her Marilyn), she grew up in Chicago, and now she’s studying to be a nurse. She asks if he would like to meet her, and he instantly says yes.

Eddie holds his hand as they wait in the little restaurant for her to arrive. They don’t bring the kids, but Steve has pictures to show of Cathy’s siblings. He has an old picture of Nancy, so she can see what her father looked like. Not that she needs one; Cathy looks just like Nancy, down to her button nose.

But all that matters to Steve is the fact that he gets to finally—FINALLY—hold his baby girl.

[wutbju]

Edna Louise Cowell Bartlett "Babe" graduated from this life to her eternal life in heaven on July 1st at the age of 93. Funeral Service will be held at 3:00 pm on Wednesday, July 5, 2023 at West Cobb Funeral Home and Crematory Chapel in Marietta, Georgia. Interment will follow at Mt. Harmony Baptist Church Cemetery in Mableton, Georgia. Edna was preceded in death by her mother, father, stepmother, brothers and sisters, her infant son and her husband, Ralph Bartlett.

Edna was born in Cleveland, Ohio to William and Elsie Edna Schmidt Cowell on April 19th. Following her mother's death when Edna was 6 years old, her father married Anna Josephine. At the age of 22, Edna attended a revival under the preacher, John R. Rice, came under conviction and surrendered her life to Jesus Christ. She attended Bob Jones University, where she would meet her future husband, Ralph Bartlett. They left Bob Jones University in 1953, returned to Ralph's home town of Atlanta, GA and were married. They had 6 children, their first child, John Edward Bartlett died at 8 months old. Eventually, they settled in Mableton, GA. Edna raised her children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. She assisted her preacher/evangelist husband of almost 63 years with his service in Youth for Christ, Atlanta Union Mission "Men", a couple of churches and other Christian ministries throughout their marriage. After raising her children, Edna re-entered the workforce, working 20 years for John H. Harland Company, retiring in 1992. Edna never met a stranger and loved to talk to anyone about her savior, Jesus Christ. She was a member of Mount Harmony Baptist Church.

She is survived by her daughter, Ruth Anna Bartlett of Mableton, son Steven David Bartlett (Sandy) of Talking Rock, GA, daughter Sharon Elaine Bartlett of Mableton, son Joel William Bartlett of Kennesaw, and Connie Renee Bartlett of Acworth. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Lisa Marie Woody, Aaron Bartlett, Tyler Bartlett, Sammy Dewey, Katherine Woody Comer (Trent David), Matthew Dewey (Michaela), Briana Martin, and her only great grandchild Bryson Brazil. Along with several nieces, nephews and friends.

The family will receive friends on Wednesday, July 5, 2023 from 1:00 pm until 3:00 pm at West Cobb Funeral Home and Crematory Chapel in Marietta, Georgia.

[ufonaut]

One of the most fascinating aspects of Joker: Folie à Deux (2024) is its in-universe use of media as a roadmap for the viewer. From the very first minute of the movie, we're cleverly told what to expect and what its inspirations are.

Sweet Charity (1966 stage musical, screenshot from the 1969 film) stands out as the biggest inspiration behind the movie, Arthur's character arc is practically beat-by-beat identical to Charity's -- she's a down-on-her-luck taxi dancer (an entertainer of about the same calibre Arthur was!) longing for love and affection, practically inhabiting a fantasy world. Charity firmly believes love is the only thing capable of making her a worthwhile person, and she attempts suicide after a break-up. Characterisation references aside, the film also uses If My Friends Could See Me Now from the very same musical.

The Band Wagon (1953) also stands out on a nearly meta level, That's Entertainment! comes up again and again throughout Folie à Deux and the most evident point it's making is that a musical is no less meaningful than a dramatic play/movie. If that's the message directed to the audience, then within the text of the film itself it speaks to the artifice of Lee's intentions -- "That, I can understand," she says during the screening of the film in Arkham. There also several interesting shot compositions during the same scene, especially with the line "the clown with his pants falling down" syncing up with a close-up on Arthur followed by a close-up on Lee starting the fire on "the dance that's a dream of romance/the scene where the villain is mean".

The first song (Slap That Bass) we hear in the film comes from Shall We Dance (1937), although the use of the poster in the introduction can also work on another level considering the plot of this Astaire/Rogers musical concerns a relationship made up by the tabloid press eventually becoming reality.

Modern Times (1936) primarily references the first movie, with the quote above thoroughly explaining Todd's point, but it also serves to remind us of Arthur's working class background.

Pal Joey (1957) contains Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered, performed in the film during Arthur's interview.

The one cartoon that keeps cropping up throughout the film is a Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies short featuring Pepe Le Pew, it's first seen right before For Once In My Life and then again at the end when Arthur is returned to Arkham for the last time. The meaning is plain by that point, after all Pepe is known for chasing a cat in the hopes of winning her over solely because he thinks they're the same -- that she's like him. It's a little detail straddling the line between comedic and tragic just like the rest of Arthur and Lee's relationship.

[jesncin]

Re: the whole Si Spurrier Bi/Pan Johnstantine debacle thing

For context, Spurrier (the writer of the current Hellblazer run) explicitly had John self identify as pansexual in narration despite John being canonically bisexual. The cover of the issue (I believe this was the artist's intention, but can't confirm) also evoked the bi flag colors in its colorscheme. When asked about this on twidder, Spurrier doubled down (paraphrasing: "John shouldn't have any queer label, he's bad representation"), deleted tweets, and just left fans in a mess.

My tldr take: John Constantine is bisexual. Spurrier didn't and doesn't know the difference between bi and pan, mixed them up and spouted respectability nonsense to cover himself. He's an old man who doesn't fyuck with gay people, simply. I don't think he has deep seated hatred for the bi community or anything. He made a mistake (still a bad one) and didn't apologize for it. Shame this is the author spearheading such a prominent queer character.

The long take:

I see a lot of people bringing up modern media that reaffirms John's bisexuality but I believe it's important to look at the historical context.

John Constantine in his original Vertigo Hellblazer run was an inherently counter-culture character. A working class guy growing up in the punk scene, aligning himself with queer people, explicitly ACAB, a rebuttal to the classic Superhero tropes, etc. It's only fitting that Constantine's bisexuality was revealed in a similarly counter-culture manner. Under guest writer John Smith (and artist Sean Phillips and colorist Tom Zuiko), John just casually mentions having "the odd boyfriend" in passing narration about his struggles with commitment. This may not seem like a big deal with today's standards, but it's important to recognize that this issue came out in 1992. Hellblazer already had a handful of queer characters at this point and suddenly after years of queer coding, the main character just reveals his bisexuality in passing.

So that's the historical context in our comics world, how about within the canon of Hellblazer? Well, John was born in 1953 in Liverpool, meaning he was a teen in the 60s, formed and toured with Mucous Membrane all over the UK but mostly London during the 70s (as a young man in his 20s). When we cross reference that with what's going on in the UK queer scene at this time, it's no wonder why John is presumed to be bisexual.

[From Stonewall UK]

In the same article, Stonewall mentions that the term "pansexual" became popular in the 90s. While this aligns with when issue #51 reveals Constantine's "odd boyfriend" comment, it's clear that the term "bisexual" would be the term Constantine grew up with during his formative years. While this distinction might seem unnecessary or even arbitrary to some people, these identities do matter in their nuance and historical context. Identities and histories are not interchangeable after all. With all this context in mind, to me, John Constantine will always be bisexual.

To Spurrier's comment on "John Constantine shouldn't have any label anyway, he's bad representation/role model for any identity" (paraphrasing, I know he probably said this in a defensive moment since if he truly believed this then he wouldn't have explicitly had Constantine refer to himself as pansexual in Dead in America #7), I think using respectability in defense of a character as counter-culture as Constantine is a demonstrable example of Missing The Dang Point.

[from Nerdist article written by Jules Greene]

Spurrier, the gays like John Constantine especially in his og Hellblazer run because he wasn't a walking Pride ad. We like that he's a mess. We like that he's working class. We like that he's messed up and painfully human. If you don't understand that about Constantine, then you fundamentally misunderstand why people find him so appealing to begin with.

[carsthatnevermadeitetc]

Porsche 550A Spyder, 1956. The 550 was a mid-engined race car produced by Porsche between 1953 and 1958 though only 90 were made. It was an incredibly successful racing car, winning the Nurburgring Eifel Race in May 1953 on it's first outing, and going on to win its class in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Mille Miglia  and the Carrera Panamericana.

[lonestarbattleship]

USS NEW JERSEY (BB-62) entering the Gatun Locks, Panama Canal.

Date: March 9, 1953

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