Banter Bites

A Presidential Motorhead?

Anyone can be a car guy, even a woman.

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: Red had no idea why President Biden was driving at all, let alone a weird looking truck, but she knew who would … her sister, who has loved cars since childhood.

The first thing that grabbed Red's attention was that strange paint job that looked like bad wallpaper from the 1960s. But, at least, she felt like she was in good company when Black said,

I heard some of the White House press corps had questioned the camouflaged test vehicle, not realizing that it is standard to keep parts of a new car's design "secret" before they make their public debut. But in the journalists' defense, they are used to covering politics and the president, not cars and trucks.

And before Red could even say anything about whether presidents are forbidden from driving or it's just presidential protocol, Black sent her an article explaining why presidents (and former presidents) aren't allowed to drive, but told her to watch the associated video of Jay Leno with former President George W. Bush through to the end … as it proves President Biden is a car guy. Of course, Black was more than happy to send more car videos, including the "sneak peek" of Jay Leno and then Vice-President Biden at a Secret Service Training Facility and one where Biden and Julia Louis Dreyfus are both VPs (one real and one a sitcom character), that shows his great sense of humor (and a wonderful cameo appearance by Michelle Obama)!

The various images of then Vice President Biden with his Corvette brought back memories for both of us. Black always dreamed of owning a Corvette one day (she still never has, although she has owned Porsches and Ferraris – both street versions and race cars), and Red remembers her constantly talking about them. So, it made sense that once a car guy – always a car guy.

But what about President Biden driving this specific vehicle? Well, he was speaking at the Ford plant in Detroit that's producing the all-electric F-150 Lightning on May 19 (the day before the truck was officially introduced), and according to Ford CEO, Jim Farley, in the Detroit Free Press article about the factory tour and surprise joyride,

At the end of his speech, he kinda turned to everyone, he goes, 'You know I'm a car guy. And I want to drive this truck.' Everyone politely laughed. Because presidents don't drive vehicles.

But then he did. The rest, as they say, is history. But the clip of him on the test drive shows not only what the truck can do, but what a true car guy President Biden is, as his first words after driving it were,

This sucker's quick.

This is one of Red’s favorite Banter Bites in large part because of Black’s “corny” puns, but also because fresh corn is a summer staple – whether cooked on the grill or in the microwave, whether eaten on its own or as a primary ingredient in refreshing summer salads


This may be one of the corniest things you’ll ever read.

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: It’s just a vegetable, so how can it possibly elicit such a strong reaction from Red, while, for Black, it’s more a source of amusement and even, it turns out, admiration?

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Think you can avoid artificial intelligence? Think again …

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: Red already fights technology at every turn, preferring to keep her ostrich head in the sand, plus, she finds Artificial Intelligence (AI) scary; whereas Black knows ignoring reality merely postpones the inevitable, so she’s started playing with AI to understand it better …

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A man better known for his death than his life, although Red, the straight-A student and history lover, immediately thinks of the costly and controversial movie of his life. (Well, technically, it was the life of Cleopatra.) Black, of course, focuses on business – leadership lessons, including the power of words, although she surprises Red with some food trivia. But the fact July’s named after him is the perfect excuse to rerun one of Red’s favorite Banter Bites …

Quick! If someone says "Julius Caesar," what comes to mind?

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: Almost everyone has heard of Julius Caesar, but how many of us really know much about him, or at least that's what Red starts to wonder when she receives the usual flippant, but still accurate, reply from her sister, after feeling very proud that she knew that July was named after the famous Roman.

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