Constitution of the United States:
Article II
- Clause 8 Presidential Oath of Office
- Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:– I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
Yet, we have a president who has said in an interview in answer to the question–“Don’t you need to uphold the Constitution of the United States as president?” This is in the oath of office he’s taken twice, and yet he replied, “I don’t know. I have to respond by saying, again, I have brilliant lawyers that work for me, and they are going to obviously follow what the Supreme Court said.” Excerpt from the Atlantic Daily May 5, 2025.
So, is this ignorance, lack of comprehension, or the answer of a wanna be dictator? Or all three?
I don’t want to talk about the corruption, ignorance, stupidity that dominates the news cycle. How many non-presidential acts in violation of the constitution does this administration have to commit before enough is enough? When does the subject of the executive orders become germane? The Courts are saying that many of them are unconstitutional. When does malfeasance, misfeasance, and non-feasance of office come into play? When do we bury Richard Nixon’s corrupt thinking that just because a president commits an act, that act becomes legal?
As I’ve written in previous posts, I’ve been watching the original Perry Mason series. In the closing credits, I noticed that the sponsoring products for the telecast were pictured. That got me to remembering the products that were taken for granted when I was growing up. Below is a collage of some of the products that could be found in my childhood home:
I probably should have put the above photo as the lead, but the first product that came to mind was Lava Soap. Why? Don’t know, except I was wondering whether it was still manufactured. And maybe, because the only household that I knew watched Perry Mason was my grandparents’. We didn’t watch Perry Mason because it was on Saturday opposite Bonanza and the brother who controlled the TV preferred Bonanza. So, when visiting my grandparents, I watched Perry Mason. And one of the things that was always at my grandparents’ home was Lava soap.
I’m surprised it is still manufactured. I bought some and the packaging is basically the same as it was back in the 1960s. But, it didn’t pass the smell test. Maybe, over the years the aromatics used to create the soap’s aroma have changed. It may be the same, but my nose didn’t recognize the scent. I now have three bars of a soap, I probably won’t use. I’m economical. (On Amazon, the three bar package was more economical.) I might use the soap in a display at our next family reunion.
My grandparents bought Lava soap because my grandfather, out of necessity, had to repair the tractor, the plow, the truck, etc. when they broke down. And he was always repairing something. His hands were calloused and grimy with oil/grease and dirt. He needed Lava soap.
Back then, the Watkins man would regularly come around. I don’t think the Watkins man came around where we lived because I remember my grandparents buying the products for my mother. We used the liniment and salve–that’s what I remember was always in the house. They may have bought some of the extracts, but I don’t have a clear memory of that because I was not and am not today that interested in cooking.
Also, my grandparents always had Feen-a-Mint and Ex-Lax. Always hidden in a drawer that we would rummage through and find. I remember eating it and I don’t remember having diarrhea. One was chocolate and one had a minty flavor, if I remember correctly. Both were candy as far as I was concerned.
There was always Black Draught in the house. Always on a shelf out of our reach. I remember, I kind of liked its taste. I only found the tablets available on line so the syrup has been discontinued?
I just now noticed the name “Palmolive“. It’s a combination of the words” Palm” as in Palm Tree and “Olive” as in Olive oil. Maybe, that’s why it was so popular with us–the soap wouldn’t have stripped our skin of oil. We did use Dial Soap, but not as often. Probably, whichever soap was on sale was the one that was bought.
Up until high school, my mother would press my hair and she would use Hair Rep or Queen Bergamot. Funny, but after that I don’t know what I used. I know I went through a Sulphur 8 phase, but I don’t remember what I used in college and afterward. Did I just use Afro-Sheen? I’ve never been a hair person and, at some point, I stopped oiling my scalp.
I forgot that we used Pepsodent Tooth Powder. Toothpaste didn’t become a regular purchase until the mid to late 1960s.
My father and brothers used Wild Root for their hair. We used Tide and only Tide detergent for washing clothes. I wonder if I still have a hot comb? Not long ago, someone posted a picture of a hot comb and asked what it was. I couldn’t believe some of the answers. Only one person got it right. Sad, how clueless white people are about Black people, but yet we have to know about them in order to safely navigate from day to day. Found it!!!
I’m glad I’m watching the original Perry Mason series. It’s brought back and continues to bring back memories of my childhood.
A long time, I remarked to an acquaintance who was looking at college era pictures with me that we looked so small. She laughed and said we were. I laughed along with her, but she had missed the nuance of what I was saying. It was the same feeling I had when I visited my childhood home that had once seemed so large and full of hidden nooks. Now, my childhood home seemed small and too few steps were needed to walk from the front door to the back door. Me
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