Vaya Con Dios
HEADS UP! It is my considered advice that you do NOT post your email address here. Please email it to me. You will get a ton of junk mail if you post your email in public. Email it to me at susan@brazosriver.com I have removed email addresses from any comments so far. Also, if you have ever commented at any time, please go on and send your email to share with the regulars.
They say that all good things must end. Juanita Jean’s, The World’s Most Dangerous Beauty Salon, will be closing around January 23rd.
This has been a hard decision. I will miss all of you but mostly I fret that the regulars will miss each other. If you will email me your username at Juanita’s, your first name, and your email address, I will compile the regular users into a list and email it out to everyone who sends theirs. My email is Susan@brazosriver.com If you don’t comment at least once a month or so, don’t even try to get on the list.
I’ve had fun here for 15 years and that’s about as long as any hobby lasts. Recovering from Don‘s death has been hard. I was 25 years old when I married him and 50 years later, I lost him. I witnessed his life and that was an amazing gift.
And then there’s politics.
The night of the last election, my baby son sent me a text message that said …
I know there’s a part of you that was hoping to end your days on earth knowing this weird authoritarian threat had been put to bed and now it must feel like that won’t happen. But remember that the struggle you lived and taught me was important has been nurtured and carried on by fellow travelers long before you were born and will continue long after you’re gone. And you know that you’ve personally done far more than most to caretake that flame. And that flame will inevitably melt the candle.
I know he was talking about you, too.
I will miss all of you, but the door shuts on January 23rd or thereabouts because it’s just gotten too expensive and time consuming to keep the doors open.
However, I do have something else I want to share with you.
If you feel disgusted about politics, you are not alone.
.
Somewhere in those numbers is my name. I turned off the teevee news the day after election and have not turned it back on. It has improved my life significantly. I will admit that I have been tempted this week to go look at the hair pulling and spitting going on between Steve Bannon and Elon Musk. I just find it funny that Trump predicted a civil war after the election and sure ‘nuff, he’s playing the role of Robert E Lee among his own troops.
I could be wrong. I have been wrong before and it didn’t kill me, so here goes. I think we need to be listening to young people. I think we shouldn’t even give a big bear’s butt about who is the new leader of the DNC because screw ‘em, they are not viable any longer. They spent 1.5 Billion dollars and lost. They lost to Trump twice. I guess they’re waiting for three’s the charm but, frankly, I don’t have that kind of time.
I’m making an effort to pay attention to young people about politics. For example, I listen to David Pakman https://davidpakman.com/ because he’s young, progressive, and while he takes his reporting very seriously, he doesn’t take himself too seriously. I also subscribed to You Tube to hear what the young progressives are thinking.
I’m going to try some fancy stuff to keep this post on top so everyone can see it, but El Jefe, Half Empty, and Fenway Fran will keep posting underneath this one until we slide off in the sunset.
I love you all.
Thanks for all you’ve done. Happy trails….
1“This one’s for you, Chip” will continue.
Much gratitude for Susan and all who have made this possible.
2Speaking only for myself, the hole in the zeitgeist that’s gonna be left after this is gone is gonna be….a bottomless pit.
3But the hole that’s left will be a helluva reminder of what was here. And how amazingly lucky I was to have found it to begin with. Susan what you’ve done here was a gift to everyone lucky enough to have found it. And you can already see the gratitude of those that did. Nobody deserves a rest more than you because of it. Here’s to wishing you good times with the folks you love.
4Phil.
Thanks for all the good posts and related conversations! The Salon is shuttering but the memories remain. Best to you!
I’m reminded of a song by Lyle Lovett called “Closing Time.”
https://youtu.be/1C7vQNKKuBw
5Dear Susan: I have no connection to TX except that my father was once a CO out of San Antonio before I was born, but since happening on the Salon of Worthies here at the beauty shop, I have enjoyed the TX-themed pieces by everyone. I thought something was up when JJ sort-of disappeared– so sorry for your monumental loss. Life changes, all good things come to an end, and the other platitudes are no comfort for OUR loss of this column, but we have all benefitted from it, and will miss it dreadfully. I recommend Reality Chex and the Esquire Politics column of Charles Pierce for all of you seeking a new home. I love them both, but neither equals the humor and wryness of this one, so this is sad for us. Happy trails with the littles– life continues.
6Thank you for all the blessed relief you’ve given us for all these years. Love you, Steve
7This is sad news and I don’t think I can take any more. Thank you for your company all these years and best wishes.
8Susan,
It has been a pleasure to know you and Don these many years. The Texas twang in your writing will always be special. If this site comes down, I guess we will lose the archives too 🙁 That’s kinda sad.
You and the Beauty Salon aimed to be humorous, and you exceeded all others, but ya’ll always have a smart comment on politics and politicians in there. I loved it, especially when you delivered it in just few lines. In the end, Ted Cruz’ hypocrisy and foolishness perhaps just became too easy. Fun with Guns was another good series. Often you reported on local news/gossip that other outlets skipped.
Thank you for making me smile when I wanted to cry, and bringing us together. Happy trails!
James Cargas
9Susan, I will miss you as well. Will need to find another daily “go to” Best wishes from an infrequent commenter but faithful reader.
10‘Gonna miss this place.
Thanks for all you’ve done to keep us sane and informed.
11… or at least as close as we can approximate.
I rarely comment here or anywhere else for that matter but I have to thank you for all the sanity and humor you have provided over the years. I always saved the WMDBS and PM Carpenter’s posts to finish each day and yours will be sorely missed.
I’m an old California guy but my mother and her family were Texans so I’ve always appreciated the attitude and humor of Texas women. You fought the good fight with dignity and grace and deserve to rest. I have to believe the new ‘administration’ will make such a colossal mess of things that they will finally destroy their brand and hopefully young people will step up and take control of their futures.
Anyway, thank you so much and do take care of yourself.
12Dag-nabbit–I’m going to kick some can down the road.
Enjoy your retirement; you’ve been a stalwart in a long fight.
Lots of hugs,
13Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
14I will sure miss this beauty salon.
I returned home in Dallas from a 3-week stint babysitting my 2 grandbabies in Denver, only to find my days checking in at the salon are numbered. There is a hole in my heart. Susan, you and all these posters and commenters have kept me sane the last many years since I stumbled into this site. I will miss this place enormously. I did email my info, and I hope that, even though I don’t comment that often, you will add me to the list. Y’all are like friends to me and I really, REALLY don’t want to lose touch. And I totally agree that young people are are best hope for the future, especially if large numbers of them are like my two 30-something sons and their wives and their friends, and like your son and his family. We so desperately need a new, progressive, road out of the tar pit we’re in now.
15God bless, Kathryn
James Cargas touched on something I’ve been thinking about as well. Is there any way forward where the archives remain available?
16With the situation now being the right completely rewriting history and even reality, a record of some conversations pointing it out as it happened in real time would sure be helpful.
Totally agree with the hope that we can somehow access the archived conversations.
17How much would it cost?
18I’d chip in.
This has been a community I’ve been honored to have been part of.
19I don’t comment much, but I’m a regular reader. I will miss you. You were a ray of sassy, smart humor in my life. As an Okie, I appreciated the political commentary on Texas, since it mirrored the political idiocy that surrounds me. It seems Okies try to follow in the footsteps of Texas on the worst political trends. I’m also at an age when the end is much closer than the beginning, so I appreciate your struggle. You raised a good one in that boy of yours. I like the way he beat up Alex Jones. I wish you many blessings.
20I love you too Juanita. Thank you for all the work and passion that you invested into this website. Now, I also stopped watching the regular news networks and only watch some progressives on YouTube as you suggest. Please keep well and focus on what makes you happy.
21Thank you for all the work and passion that you invested into this website. Now, I also stopped watching the regular news networks and only watch some progressives on YouTube as you suggest. Please keep well and focus on what makes you happy.
22Susan, I’ve been lurking in the WMDBS since right near the start, and are going to miss your insights, particularly on the wacky world of politics in Fort Bend County and Texas, such as Catherine Engelbrecht’s shenanigans. I’ve long thought of you as a successor to the late, great Molly Ivins, and there’s few higher compliments I can pay you than that. I’ll also echo Mary Smith and say kudos to Mark’s fight for his clients against Alex Jones. As she said, you definitely raised him right. Vaya con Dios.
23PP @ 18, 1st somebody would have to do it. I can barely turn on the PC that’s 15 years old. I’m in for the annual preservation fee.
24I will ask Anna this question and let you know. The odds are that it’ll take them a month to fully shut it all down after the 23rd. But in case they don’t, I wanted to let you know.
25This makes me sad. Thank you Susan for building this home, this vibrant community, for all of us. In many ways, it reminded me of ‘Cheers’, the bar where everybody knows your name. It has been a great place to hang out. I will miss it.
26JJ, I’ve been a loyal weekly lurker, albeit infrequent commenter, for years and was so sad to read this post. My warmest thanks to you, El Jefe, Fenway Fran, and Half Empty for your wit and insights. Also, thanks to Alfredo at the Dairy Queen for all his sleuthing ;-). Hug your grandbaby and the rest of your family and know you will be sorely missed by many!
27I’ve been lurking for a very long time, and have absolutely loved this place. Thank you, thank you, for all the writing, insights and inspiration. You all will be sorely missed, but Happy trails!
Take care of yourselves.
28Thanks for all the good years, Susan. God bless.
29This is so sad. I’ve loved the Beauty Salon for years and will miss it dreadfully. Thank you for the years of laughing and crying, sometimes alternately!
30One bit of good news from today, drumpf will take the oaf of office as a legally and perpetually branded convicted felon which should be his legacy.
31Moar good news, Fake Noize Corpse loses bid to quash 2.7 billion dollar defamation suit filed by Smartmatic after repeated lies told about 2020 election.
32Sorry to see this venue shut down, and want to I send off to JJ and all the online friends here at least one encouraging thing [in spite of my carefully cultivated Grumpy Old Man image].
Although I’m retired, I’m still peripheral to the education racket, and meet scores of young college students every year. Most of them are typical idiots, like many Americans are. Frat boys who think women are for using, not voting. College women who don’t vote, or vote for Republicans unaware they want to outlaw abortion, prohibit no-fault divorce, etc. Or less excusably, college students who are convinced they need to support billionaires because they’ll be ones themselves in a few years. Plus the liberal loudmouths who belive that a single failure to use someone’s preferred pronoun means that person should be fired and shunned, or that differing from a candidate on a single issue requires never voting for them.
But … there’s still a cadre of articulate, sensible young women, who continue to fight the good fight and do so with humor, compassion, and savvy. They organize, work hard, and sometimes convince a few in their cohort. In short, the kind who will become the Molly Ivins and Sue Bankstons that we all love and admire. So while we’ve all been crushed by the recent turn politics has taken, don’t think we’re the last reasonable generation, leaving only a herd inevitably headed towards Idiocracy. There are some who will be opening their own Salons, poking holes in overinflated self-important jerks, and educating the politically ignorant.
So don’t give up hope. The shuttering of Juanita’s is saddening, but it’s not the end of the politics she advocated. I think all of us here know this, but as one of the few Grumpy Old Guys with close contact with young folks, I guarantee there’s a few jewels among them who will keep the fire going.
33Thanks for that Prof.
34Well said.
As usual.
I just want to say thank you to you for hosting this site and for all those like minded souls that post their insightful and interesting words.
Thank you
35Gonna miss y’all. A breath of sanity in Texas politics.
36Speaking of Texas, you can expect more magat governators to follow in Abutts move to disrespect Jimmy Carter if they haven’t already. Hope when he dies they burn his flag.
37