#Probably one of my very favorite favorite bobby anecdotes

[strryhaze]

Kennedy could be sensitive while others were unfeeling.

Actress Judy Garland—Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz—came to Hickory Hill when her career was waning. She looked unwell and seemed to be a little lost, sadly standing off to one side. No one seemed to speak to her, or even notice her, until Kennedy took her in his arms and began to dance. The past-her-prime actress and the shy dancing-class dropout performed a gentle soft shoe together. Garland lit up, touched by Kennedy’s kindness.

— robert kennedy: his life, evan thomas .

[icarusbetide]

On the topic of people with whom hamilton had.. interesting relationships with, do you think him and bobby troup had something going on in college

hey anon! i'm going to be a spoilsport and say that i don't think there's enough for me to suspect anything between them. but the flip side to "we don't know enough :(" is "we don't know enough ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)". they could've been going through the girls-kissing-for-fun-at-sleepover experience as roommates and we'd have no idea, would we?

but what i do know is that they had a life-long, deep relationship that survived a war and all the interpersonal hurdles that comes along with their new york circle being 10 people in a trenchcoat. undergrad roommates at king's college, similar orphan-background. they formed a debating club together, and troup probably saw hamilton's political thoughts on the british-american conflict mature firsthand. later, he had thoughts on philip, on hamilton's financial situation, on how much hamilton charged his clients - he was very intimate and close with the hamilton family at large.

there is recent speculation on whether or not troup "losing" hamilton's youthful poetry that he had been gifted might suggest that the poetry had suggestive material, à la laurens letters. but i don't know why troup would have even brought it up if he had destroyed or tampered the poetry. it seems more likely that he genuinely lost track of the papers and regretted losing them.

i do find it superbly interesting that troup was close to burr as well as hamilton, although i've heard conflicting things on the period and overlap of the friendships, and how troup felt about burr after the duel. there is a very dramatic theory that troup might have been involved with both hamilton and burr.

two of my favorite anecdotes are about them fussing over each other.

troup giving ham updates to rufus king in his 1802 letter, where he goes "Hamilton is closely pursuing the law, and I have at length succeeded in making him somewhat mercenary. I have known him latterly to dun his clients for money, and in settling an account with me the other day, he reminded me that I had received a fee for him in settling a question referred to him and me jointly. These indications of regard to property give me hopes that we shall not be obliged to raise a subscription to pay for his funeral expenses."

i love it because it's so very clearly a close friend fond and amused, you know? "he reminded me that i owe him his fee! the progress!"

2. the fact that troup was the last visit ham made before the duel, and it was him being a mom friend again? troup himself was very sick, and he later recounted that ham showed up and basically gave health advice with such cheerfulness that troup had no idea what was about to happen the next day. it's so very tragic.

"But the whole tenor of the General’s deportment, during the visit, manifested such composure, and cheerfulness of mind, as to leave me without an suspicion of the rencontre that was descending."

tldr: at the very least, a decades long friendship between two people that seemed to have complimentary personalities - the calm to hamilton's storm, in some ways. one of ham's steadfast friends who contributed greatly to the subscription for hamilton's funeral and support for his family. was there more? youthful experimentation, perhaps? let's bring them back and ask.

[ravenadottir]

How would the LI's react and help the MC when she just breaks down crying from so much built up stress? Cause this was me two days ago, and I want to see them being all soft for her.

🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 i hope you’re ok, anon!

alright, let’s get fluffy in here! i might be really selfish and do it for the li’s i like, so i hope yours is in the list. fair warning, all of them would try something with food along with other tactics.

bobby. is not a secret he would bake for hours to make you feel better. but i might add here, while he’s in the kitchen, he would convince you to join him by making jokes and puns, try to get you to participate, such as “can you measure the flour for me? pleaseeeee? 🥺🥺🥺’

and when you do, he would probably ask you to sit on the counter so you can supervise his work, ‘because he has been distracted. in reality, is just a way of making you forget all about the sad time you just had.

i might add here: music is playing in the background, and he’s singing along, making you do it with him. and if the coreography of ‘WAP’ is what it takes to make you smile, he’ll deliver it in front of the sink, rapping along to cardi b.

carl. aah, he’s so bad at this stuff, it kinda hurts! but let me tell you the first thing he would do: call your best friend. let’s say her name is ‘chelsea’. so he calls chelsea for advice on what to do, and she gives him a list. carl wouldn’t just push you to talk to someone else, and definitely would try to stay quiet while you talk.

he listens. TO YOU. he doesn’t care for other people. he knows he can’t give advice, so his way of cheering you up is to show you a place he loves going, to get some silence and thinking done. he wants you to feel reassured in the process. you might ride bikes to get there. “pumping those endorfins, right?!” he would say, handing you a helmet.

after getting there (which i imagine to be a low hill with the view of london) he’ll ask you to sit next to him, just to watch the city work down there. “do you wanna listen to something? maybe some classical, to calm you down?” here’s where he does a bit and puts something ridiculously unexpected and upbeat.

gary. nothing makes this man’s heart break more than seeing you sad. gary is not very talented in the kitchen, but he’ll still try to make you something to eat. “every time i got sad, it was food that would comfort me, and my nan would always make a killing sandwich.” so he would make an attempt with her recipe.

also, he’ll drive anywhere to pick up flowers or candy, or both. he has good intentions, but he knows if he talks to you about it, he might make it worse, so giving little presents it’s his way to try and comfort you.

a snuggle in the couch or in the bed is also part of his routine to cheer you up, while he runs his hands on your upper arms and hair, trying to distract you with ridiculous stories from when he and dicky used to go to pubs. expect several embarrassing anecdotes about dicky’s failures and one or two of himself being the hero. “sure, gare, sure.” “what?! i’m serious! i’m telling you, that’s exactly how it happened!!”

henrik. henrik’s way to make you feel better is to sit you on the couch and listen. he’s a great listener and will give you his full attention.

might add here, he’ll cook something nice, something you really enjoy, or your favorite dish to try to get you smiling.

also, a foot rub. and drawing a bath. to henrik, those little gestures might not fix it, but he’ll do anything to relax you.

kassam. he’s surprisingly thoughtful about the person he loves. he’s in no way the touchy-feely type, but he would still go a long way to make you feel better. music is always the way to go, and trying to get you involved in it just as much. perhaps he’ll hand you a ‘drumstick’ (probably a metal straw) and drum on the counter, in hopes to lure a smile. he might do ridiculous things and gestures, faces and lyrics to go with it, just to get a laugh.

lottie. what better way lottie knows to cheer her girlfriend up than sitting her down in fron if the mirror, telling her how much of an incredible girl she is, and wipe her tears with a tissue? i’ll answer it for you. nothing!

to add to lottie’s ways, an aloe-vera wipe to help with your puffy eyes, and then, makeup. it’s nothing like “ooh, let’s make you look fierce!” and snap her fingers. no. something quiet that she can do while she listens to you. she has a light hand and would love to do your makeup while you talk to her.

“you can cry, babe. that’s what makeup wipes are for.” she just wants to spend some time with you and try her best.

lucas. lucas can be tough, but there’s nothing in the world that will soften him more than seeing you upset. he’s very protective, and after threatening the person or place that made you crumble, he’ll send you to the shower.

his plan involves getting you out of the house, for a nice dinner and movie date. the whole shebang, including this: when you’re ready, he’s nowhere to be found in the apartment, but the doorbell rings and it’s him, waiting to take you out to a nice place.

he’ll encourage you to talk about it during dinner, and after, the movie. when you get home, a shoulder rub to make you relax.

marisol. marisol is really bad at comforting people. she can be blunt and a little over the edge about psychological contributions on how you’re feeling. the way she knows how is to make something for you to eat. she wants you to open up, and she’ll promise to just listen lol

definitely, after you’re finished eating, she’ll take you to the couch, lie your head on her lap and caress your hair. if you want, she doesn’t mind displaying her amazing voice by reading to you. either that, or listening to some music and having some wine. she won’t go to bed until she makes sure you’re ok.

noah. noah is the best at comforting people. he always knows what to say and how to make someone feel better. he has that calming voice and tender touch that makes everything else disappear. he’s a great listener, and will have you in the kitchen, talking about what happened while making dinner for you. yes, your favorite, or a close second.

candles, wine, sitting on the rug, around the coffee table, next to each other. after that, shoulder rub and possibly, if it’s possible, brushing your hair. or braiding it. he might use this as a way to make you laugh, so he’ll try ridiculous mohawks and other do’s.

priya. priya’s way to make herself feel better is shopping. that’s definitely something that lifts up her spirits. after you tell her what happened, she’ll send you to take a shower, all excited about cheering you up with a new outfit.

she can’t wait to drive to a store and make you try every possible outfit.

“babe, do the movie montage!” she might goof around the store, looking for horrible pieces to give it you while you’re in the dressing room, just to have you laughing.

and having lunch or dinner somewhere nice, like a dessert place.

hope this is what you were looking for anon. thank you for the ask, and i hope you’re feeling better!

[marcellusbitsandpieces]

Bits and Pieces   The Great Depression and COVID-19    5/10/20

Being in the head of a history teacher during this historical time in life is not a pretty nor uncomplicated place to be. I have already written about how my family members have survived epidemics and pandemics; however, many of us also have family members we vividly remember who lived through the Great Depression and the rationing of WWII.

We can easily recall their stories and anecdotes of living habits from this time. We grew up with them, some of us even have memories of our own.

My thought with this is that since that time we have raised generations who have greater expectations. For centuries before us, generations had no expectations of anything more nor different than what they were born into. Life was hard and it would always be hard…manual labor, little to no medicine, low life expectancy, hardships of food, clothing, shelter.

The Industrial Age following the Civil War was truly the beginning of a hope of a better life and even with that, it depended. Invention after invention was brought into the world…mostly with American inventors (Edison, Bell, Westinghouse, Tesla, Eastman, Upjohn, Ferris, Dow…to name only a few of the more well-known).

WWI brought some prosperity, but mostly to those who had enough money, or could scrape together enough money, to buy on margin with the illusion of having money. The very wealthy were most likely to put much of the rest of their money into some kind of a savings account or solid investment. The middle class bought automobiles and household time-saving appliances – on the installment plan, as it was called then.

With the Crash in October 1929 came a new reality that was to last nearly a decade. By 1930, 4 million American workers could not find work and that number would rise to 6 million in a year. The peak of unemployment would be 25% in 1933. (And remember most women were not in the work force at all or at extremely low pay and status.)

Also, in 1930, 744 banks failed and by the end of the decade about 9,000 would fail (not G.W. Jones, however!). So, whatever $$ one had was most likely on margin in stocks that were lost or bank accounts that were mostly gone, as well.

In 1929, my mother was 13 and my Aunt Bobbi was 10. On Bobbi’s 94th birthday, I interviewed her about many of her memories over her life.

When I asked what was probably her favorite time looking back. She said, “During the Depression because everyone was equal.” I thought it an unusual answer at the time, but as I live during this time of not going anywhere nor having many places to go – I understand. We are all restricted to homes, and it makes it seem more equal. I didn’t say “pleasant” – neither was the Depression “pleasant.”

Bobbi also told of the time that the family was down to the last 10 cents. Grandma sent her to town to get a loaf of bread. In the mail that day came a check for Two hundred Ninety some dollars. The heir to Grandma’s dad’s (my great grandfather’s) farms (5) in Janesville, Wisconsin had died. The farms were sold and the money was divided among the few remaining cousins. This doesn’t sound like much now for 5 farms in southern Wisconsin, but it meant the world to families then who had nothing.

Grandpa did various city jobs including city policeman. Bobbi said that Grandma sold her potato salad to the local department store in town at their deli. Grandma made her own homemade mayonnaise. Bobbi said that they didn’t have potato salad much at home because it always sold out.

Jobs started to come – not from big business nor corporations but from agencies like: Civil Works Administration, Civilian Conservation Corps, Tennessee Valley Authority, Works Progress Administration, National Youth Administration and the Rural Electrification Administration.

Much of what we have today came from that era to make our lives these last 80 or so years better. A forty-hour work week, minimum wage, no child labor, social security (so the elderly wouldn’t have to depend on family or have nothing to live on alone in old age), electricity throughout 90%+ of the United States and more that were considered luxuries then.

I count myself fortunate that I never had to struggle like this in my life span (except for grad school when I had nothing). But my upbringing helps me through this struggle. The word “want” wasn’t much allowed in our home. Making a Christmas wish list was more an exercise in penmanship and babysitting that an expectation.

I can remember when John and I were little – maybe me/5 and John/3…ish. Mom took us to the grocery store with her. As we were checking out, John wanted something in the check-out chute – those things put there to tantalize children.

Of course, Mother told him “no” – repeatedly, but John was persistent. He was only about 3 for goodness sakes.

Mom hauled him out of the grocery cart, took me by the hand, told the check-out clerk to tell Clas (owner) to put her cart in the back and she would return soon.

We went home, Mom called a babysitter, and she returned to get the groceries. She told John that if he couldn’t behave, he wouldn’t go with her again.

Not that I believe that my mother should be put up for Mother-of-the-year Award, and this is not recommended parental conduct, but it certainly has made John and me stronger to handle these imposed restrictions.

Personally, I don’t want to live through anything close to the Great Depression (nor the over 2 year-long Spanish flu pandemic). I am already tired of food: buying it, thawing it, planning with it, cooking it, plating it, eating it, cleaning up from it, storing it. With that said, my life as a whole has been good, and I hold close our core democratic values.

One of those values is: the common good. It comes from The Preamble to the U.S. Constitution…”to promote the General Welfare…” (common good).

These restrictions today might impede my personal “pursuit of happiness,” but as one of the common people – I’m all about “the General Welfare”/common good of our people.

Thanks, John for the material you sent on The Great Depression.

Readers, please stay safe, be healthy and keep positive.