Bob Knows
The Maundy Monday Newsletter - This Week in History April 20 - 26.
We remember the passing of Pope Francis, who died this week on April 21, 2025. Francis was an Okay Guy of the first order.
I remember feeling that his passing was awful for a variety of reasons, most notably his direct opposition to the policies of the Trump Administration Part II: Bring the Cruel. Francis’s advocacy for migrants and his desire to create a Church that was more inclusive and centered on service to the poor stood in stark contrast to a government that sought to cleanse the country of these very people, enrich itself and the insanely wealthy, and to do all this quickly.
With the Trump sequel in place, Vice President JD Vance, the recent convert to Catholicism, took the opportunity to meet with Pope Francis during the Easter holiday. At the time of the visit, Francis was in poor health. Their official meeting did not last long, just an exchange of pleasantries and Francis gifting chocolate to Vance’s children, while VPJD presented the Holy Father with the awkwardness he is now famous for.
Soon after, Francis passed away.
Charged with the immense responsibility of replacing Francis, the College of Cardinals shocked the world when they elected Robert Francis Prevost, the next Vicar of Christ, on May 8, 2025. Pope Leo XIV is the first American to become the head of the Catholic Church, and is only the second, following his predecessor, to hail from the Americas.
Almost immediately, my anxiety about the uncertainty of who would lead the Church has been calmed greatly. Pope Leo is continuing many of Francis’ priorities, including placing women in more prominent positions within the Vatican bureaucracy, while continuing to advocate for migrants, the poor, and, lately, peace. Sure, Leo is a Chicago White Sox fan, but we all have flaws.
I dislike the phrase “we are living in unprecedented times” because it tends to be overly dramatic. But we are living in a world where the President of the United States is a convicted felon (whether you agree with that or not), cannot form any coherent policy position, and is generally considered the cruelest man ever to hold the position. At the same time, St. Peter’s Chair is occupied by a guy known to his friends as Bob, and who used to play priest with his brothers as a kid.
We have entered the dawn of a new era of what it means to be an American Catholic. I won’t get into everything that has been exchanged between Trump/Vance, and Pope Leo over the past month, that would take a longer essay. There’s going to be a reckoning for Catholics in this country, who, as a voting bloc that had experienced Trump for well over a decade, chose to bring him back.
Now in Rome, we have someone who understands our country’s politics very well. Leo has a large platform to shine a bright light on the direction our leaders take us, and cannot be easily dismissed like Francis was. Leo has already experienced Vance’s awkwardness in person and lived. You cannot brush Bob off by claiming he doesn’t understand the ways of American politics and people.
Bob knows.
The conflict we are seeing between the Trump Administration and the Vatican is only beginning, and I pray we find ourselves motivated by love for others rather than by what we have been forced to witness.
Okay, let’s highlight what else happened this week. As a reminder, these events mark their anniversary, ending in 5 or 0. Here’s what I got:
1. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the practice of busing for racial desegregation on April 20, 1971. In the case of Swann vs. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, the Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision that allowed the city government of Charlotte, North Carolina, and its suburb of Mecklenburg to bus black children to the white-dominant schools, where people fled after the landmark decision of Brown vs the Board of Education forced schools to integrate their population. Busing has been a controversial topic, and there is debate over whether it has had the positive effects intended.
2. New York became the first state to require license plates on cars on April 25, 1901. Governor Benjamin Odell, Jr. signed a law requiring car owners to register their “unnatural” vehicles with license plates. The plates displayed the driver’s initials, and there were no restrictions on their size, color, or material. It formalized a process that allowed cars on certain streets and placed car drivers on the same level as horse drivers. George Chamberlin would be the first person to receive the license plate. I can’t help but think his license plate read: GeorgeC#1.
3. Speaking of Number 1, Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel” reached #1 on the Billboard on April 21, 1956. Down at the end of Lonely Street sat Heartbreak Hotel. It was a place people went to when their baby left them, and they needed a new place to dwell. The song was written in an hour by Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Durden, with rumors that it was inspired by a guy who tossed himself out of a window because his lady left him. In November 1955, they presented the song to Presley at the Andrew Jackson Hotel, and he eagerly agreed to perform it as he moved his recording from Sun to RCA. Heartbreak Hotel was released at the beginning of the year and quickly shot up the charts, where it stayed for eight weeks. I once performed this song in a college variety show to critical acclaim, even though I cannot move my hips.
I finished an audiobook over the weekend. Factory Man, by Beth Macy. This New York Times Bestseller was published in 2014 and follows the life of furniture producer family icon John Bassett and his fight against the emerging globalization of his industry to save his Virginia community from ruin.
It’s a great book, and I recommend it to anyone. Macy is an author I discovered last year while reading Paper Girl, which was one of my favorite books of 2025. Even though Factory Man was written first, it doesn’t match the subject matter of Paper Girl.
I’m glad I finished the book, because I have concluded that I have been consuming too much negative news for months now and need to cleanse myself with something funnier. I’ll take any suggestions on audiobooks. Just FYI, I use the library app, Libby, so I don’t have the option to grab the most recent publications. Thanks for any recommendations for my mental health improvement!
Anonymous and I have a bunch of travel plans over the next several weeks, and this weekend begins with a banger. Good friends and subscribers to Okay History are getting married this weekend. I have the privilege of being the Officiant, while Anonymous is the Matron of Honor.
Because of that, I will be off from posting the next edition of VP rankings this Saturday and the next round of Monday Maundy Newsletter. If I can get something up, I will. But for the next few months, I will be more realistic about my schedule. I apologize for any disappointment and appreciate the support and patience!
Join me in wishing the best for our friends Catherine and Michael!
They will not be honeymooning here:
See you soon.
Okay,
Chris
Mae Boren Axton was the mother of singer/songwriter/actor Hoyt Axton, who would have his own #1 hit as a songwriter when Three Dog Night's version of his song "Joy To The World" went to that spot in 1971.