OCTOBER
1 October 2006 Sunday
Today is the first day of October
the Gayest month of all, perhaps because its a twilight month neither light nor
dark. It is Gay History Month, AIDS Awareness Week, National Coming Out Day,
and the Gayest of all holidays-Halloween! On the last day of September I sent
Billy Bikowski a belated birthday card. He's been on my mind so much lately. I
was able to Google an address for him in SLC and although he's not in the
phonebook I am pretty confident that the card will reach him at this address. I
just wrote that I hope he had a nice birthday and I was thinking about him. Mike and I drove up Big Cottonwood Canyon
to see the fall foliage. Everyone must have had the same idea because the road
was pack and it was a gorgeous day to be out. The leaves were brilliant more
colorful then I remember in years with all the vibrant warm color hues
contrasted against the dark green lofty pines. It was a good communion with
nature even in an automobile. My days of hiking with the lambda Hiking club is
long gone. In the evening I went to Todd Bennett and Ron Hunt's Bear Hug Party
and I was glad I did. I brought along my Faerie skirt which I haven't worn in
years. While most every one was sky clad I twirled around ala
2 October 2006 Monday
I just read Jere Keye's rant on
David Nelson and QSL over gun rights versus gun control. Most people, even
David N, knows my opinion about it. I don't have a gun in my house but if David
or other Gays feel a need for that type of protection I say groovy. The way
Korporate Amerika is heading I am thinking a cute little pearl handle derringer
might come in handy. However my personal
belief is that those who live by the sword will die by the sword. My deity says
to love my enemies not shoot them no matter the great satisfaction that might
be derived from it. I posted a comment to Jere's blog but being the computer
techo-illiterate, who once thought white out was the greatest invention of all
time, I don’t know if it came with my name attached. I certainly wouldn't want
to be included in the "anonymous hate mail" category he's expecting. I
have never been trained and raised to be a passive aggressive Mormon and my
Texan heritage and Southern California upbringing has taught me to be pretty
forthright which is why I seem to always be pissing off native Utahns. So
here's my take on Jere's disparaging words.
·
"I take umbrage with calling David N a
bully and nothing more than a publicity machine. I've known David for 20 years
and for most of that time we have taken adversarial positions. However David is
not a bully and simply a publicity machine. He, like you , believes its
important to get his point of view out into the public. David is a single issue
guy- "Gay Rights" and if he goes about this differently then you or
I, so be it. Your childish name calling will not erase David's contributions to
building a strong Gay presence in SLC long before resume builders flocked to
the scene to disappear. SLC is behind the enemy line and to me David N will
always be a hero if even a pain in the ass most of the time. And since when was
a pain in the ass such a bad thing?"
I heard from Todd B that he is
thinking about seeking a position on the board of Trustees of the Center and
that they are considering moving to a larger facility perhaps partnered with
UAF. That sure would be making a complete circle since the old USC and UAF
first shared the same facility on 9th East back in 1991. (NOT 1992) . Those who
have been around and stuck around to fight the good fight know that. Not everyone from that generation is dead so
sorry to the revisionists who think everything started when they say it
started. I brought my ladder over to Chad K and Mark T's place yesterday.
3 October 2006-4 October 2006
No Entries
5 October 2006 Thursday
Are you as sick of closet case
Republicans as I am? They join the party of the oppressor, embrace the snake
and then act shocked when they are bit!
But it sure didn't prevent them from partaking of what the country club
set had to offer while it lasted.
"I'm only Gay if I get caught!" Then blame it on some old
religious soddy sot. GOP Gay Oppression
Perpetrators. Ernst Roehm had fun
prancing around with his brown shirt goose steppers until they lined him up
against the wall. Then where were all
the pretty boys? How many times do we have to hear LOG heads say, "Oh I am
only on the inside to infiltrate and make a change from the inside- BULL SHIT-
swill that champagne and gobble that caviar while you can girl friend because
when the Revolution comes I myself will hate to be known as a collaborator?
6 October 2006 Friday
No entry
7 October 2006 Saturday
It’s a rainy Saturday morning and
I woke to find that my pups had a great time shredding a Gay Movie Catalog all
over the front room and down the hall. I needed a rake! So after cleaning that
up I fixed a cozy breakfast of Potato O’Brien, crispy bacon, fried eggs,
sourdough toast served with butter and my homemade peach jam. I topped it off
with a good cup of coffee. I shared my bacon with Priscilla, Daisy, and Chaz.
Smokey the lazy bum was still in bed.
Mike left before I was out of bed to meet Tom Folks for the Invenio Gay
Men's Wellness Conference. They attended the opening session last night when it
was pouring rain. I didn't want to out into the dank air. I saw where Jerry
Buie and John Contrell are holding a Gay Men's Retreat down in Spring City this
month for $350. Since I am not a CEO nor
care to take out a small loan, I will pass.
Does make our cost for Beyond Stonewall '07 seem rather reasonable but
then we are not trying to make a profit off of the Gay community. I wrote my
column for QSL on Gay History Month. Sounds like Michael Aaron is under the
weather also. I have a bug of some type
and my tongue is coated. Yeech! So been gargling a lot. Probably caught something at the smooch party
last week. So I just typed my memoirs from 1986, downloaded some music from the
40's and 50's for this guy at work and kept my babies company. Last week I had
to attend a two day conference for my ESL endorsement plus a night class so I
am pretty worn out from workshops. I wouldn’t mind them so much if they were
something that I enjoyed but these classes are just so the federal government
won’t pull funding. The chicken hawks have come home to roost
with GOP closet case Mark Foley being the poster boy for Republican hypocrisy.
While I have no empathy for his fall from the hall of power, I sympathize with
the great homophobic disease that makes someone like Foley feel like the only
protection he had was the closet. Could
coming out and admitting he was Gay have been any worse then being the face of
on-line predators? He has to be one truly dysfunctional puppy where because of
the closet his emotional growth was stunted in adolescence. Madmen across the
country have been shooting school children at such an alarming rate that some
are proposing arming teachers! I can just see it now, “Mr. Chips is that a
pistol in your pocket or are you just glad to see me?” YUCK! Perhaps if we spent even a fraction of
what we pour into
8 October 2006 Sunday
9 October 2006 Monday
No entry
10 October 2006 Tuesday
Well
11 October 2006 Wednesday
No entry
12 October 2006 Thursday
Don't Fear the Reaper. I swear
the Grim Reaper is out to get me. First I am stung by a swarm of hornets and
yesterday I had a tire blow out on the freeway. I was going out to get
something to eat and on I-215 near
13 October 2006-15 October 2006
No entry
16 October 2006 Monday
Well UEA weekend is over and
let's see what I accomplished. Not a whole lot! The pups got their schnauzer
cuts Thursday for $100 and I got a haircut Friday for $10. Hmmm. What's wrong with this picture? Did
putter around the house puttying. Spackled up some of the wall boards that the
hounds chewed on when they were much younger, mowed the lawn, put up Halloween
decorations in the yard, and bought some throw rugs to fresh up the inside.
Pretty domestic weekend all in all. I
did go to Dr. Stoneburner’s Friday about the thrush I had and he gave me some
pill to take care of the yeast infection, so I guess I did pick up something
from the Smooch party after all. Both
QSL and the Pillar were out so read them over the weekend. QSL was a pretty good issue and the Pillar
was a love fest to Steven Fales, who puts on the Mormon one fag show. I think Todd Dayley the owner must be
infatuated with him or something. He does have two fun columnists, Rhett
Barney, who is just insane and Travis Labrum who is this young kid who has a
fun non politically correct attitude towards sex. He use to write for Michael Aaron. I wonder
why he jumped papers. Maybe to have his
own permanent column anyway I think its QSL's loss because he has this fresh
perspective. I guess the GLBTCCU has
finally dumped that monstrous moniker for the simpler Utah Pride Center which
seems to me they could have kept the former name of Utah Stonewall Center. Oh
well no one asked me. I helped Chad K on
Sunday trim his roses bush and he's going hyper on planting bulbs for the
spring and going for Homes and Gardens look. Nothing feels as good for the soul
as digging in the dirt. Faerie energy deluxe connecting with Mother Earth. Mark Thrash was ferrying faeries from
Saturday nights Miss U.S.A, Drag Contest which Nova Starr won I hear. Good for
her. She has always been the bride maid but never the bride. I hear that Kim Russo who's the Red Ribbon
Empress hardly made a dime for the Courts AIDS Awareness Week fundraiser and
former monarchs have had to bail her out. Lack of Pzazz is what I heard from
Rope may be
considered a homoerotic movie, even though the film version never indicates
that the two murderers in the film were having an affair. Even though
homosexuality was a highly controversial theme for the 1940's the movie made it
through censorship. However, many towns chose to ban it independently, memories
of child killers Leopold and Loeb still being fresh in some peoples' minds.
Both John Dall and Farley Granger were actually gay in real life, as was
screenwriter Arthur Laurents — even the piano score played by Granger
(Mouvement Perpétuel No. 1 by Francis Poulenc) is the work of a gay composer.
Granger's role was first offered to another homosexual actor, Montgomery Clift,
who turned the offer down, probably due to the risks of coming out in public.
Cary Grant turned down the part of Rupert Cadell for similar reasons. Leopold
and Loeb, whom it has been suggested that Philip and Brandon are based upon,
were also gay. In Hitchcock's Films Revisited, critic Robin Wood points to
several instances in the film that could be interpreted as homoerotic. He
suggests the opening strangulation reflects the euphoria of an orgasm and the
subsequent limpness; and Wood sees masturbatory overtones to the scene in which
Brandon excitedly fingers the neck of a champagne bottle. In Hamilton's play,
the dialogue is much more homoerotic, as is the relationship between the
students and their teacher. Many of these "risky" elements were
removed from the script as the play was rewritten for the film, due to the
censorship of the time. Despite this, Hitchcock managed to supply much subtext
which made it past the rigorous tests of the censor. Three other films,
Compulsion, Swoon and Murder by Numbers,
were also based on the Leopold and Loeb case.
17 October 2006-19
October 2006
No Entries
20 October 2006
Friday
Jane Wyatt, the actress who for
six years on "Father Knows Best" was one of TV's favorite moms, died
on Oct. 20. She was 96. Wyatt died in her sleep at her Bel-Air home. She
experienced health problems since suffering a stroke at 85, but her mind was
sharp until her death, her son Christopher Ward said. Wyatt had a successful
film career in the 1930s and '40s, notably as Ronald Colman's lover in 1937's
"Lost Horizon." But it was her years as Robert Young's TV wife,
Margaret Anderson, on "Father Knows Best" that brought the actress
her lasting fame.
21 October 2006 Saturday
It's been a crazy week with
Diversity Training for two days as part of my ESL endorsement. After the first
day I wrote on the feedback survey where does Sexual Orientation fit in with
the district's policy of respecting differences. The next day I was surprised
that they addressed it with one of the facilitators telling the group of her
Lesbian Aunts and a Gay grandson and how we as educators must be respectful of
differences even if we disagree with them. It's been a blustery week with
showers, winds, and much cooler weather. Friday night Mike went with Tom Folk
to the "Utah Pride Center" for the Ball Room dancing sessions that
were suppose to be provided there. Anyway the dance instructor, who was only
19, had conflicting engagements. He was helping with a fundraiser at Heads Up
for Michael Aaron's broken hot tub! LOL! Well at least that what they said.
There were about six people who showed up for the dance lessons that were
canceled so Mike had Tom, Dan Fahndrich, and their friend Miles come over to
the house for pizza and to watch "Bad Education" on the big screen.
However Mike forgot to record the English subtitles so we ended up watching
Rocky Horror Show instead. Both Mike and
Tom spilled dark red wine on the carpet so I spent this morning using club soda
to try and soak it up. Drunken Sots!
Watching Rocky Horror Show just sends waves of wonderful nostalgia sweeping
over me. How many great times did I have driving to the Balboa Theater in
22 October 2006-23 October 2006
No entries
24 October 2006 Tuesday
I am completely absorbed in
getting my 1986 Journal on line so that's been taking up a lot of my time. It's
175 pages long and only up to October.
I've added anecdotal material from other sources as addition
material. I really didn't start going
bar hopping until late September that year.
What a Golden Era it was for the bars with the In-Between, The Sun, and
Backstreet all being within walking distance from each other. It was not a
stretch to even walk to the Deerhunter either just about 5 blocks. Saturday we
brought in Mike's grandma's twin bed that I had stashed in the tool shed back
into the house to turn into a day bed for the movie room. Friday I realized we
just didn't have enough seating for people. I went and bought a new bed in a
bag for it and some nice throw pillows so it’s all set up for company now. Anyway,
Mike and Tom Folk went out to some old queens place down south for a wine
tasting party. Mike was crashing it but did bring two bottles of wine with him.
Carla and Debbie had planned to have attended but Mike said they didn't make
it. It was a small group of about 14
people. Mike said it was supposed to be limited to 16 people because that is
the amount of samples you can get from a bottle! LOL I say then break open the
booze in a box! Jeez... piss elegant fairies.
Mike came home afterwards but I guess Tom went to the underwear night at
the Try-Angles. He said it was packed. He saw Steve Fales there and Steve gave
him free tickets to his Mormon Boy Confessions show for Sunday. So on Sunday
Mike and Tom went to that at the Rose Wagner's Plan B Theatre. I stayed home
and really cleaned the house. Took the fan blades off the ceiling fans and
washed them, took every thing off the kitchen cabinets to get the grime that
builds up all them so that every thing sparkled and shined again. Waxed and
polished all the cabinets and all that so it was an Autumn house cleaning day
for sure. But everything looks so clean and nice. I told my mom when I called
her in Vegas that I don't know why any one would live in a dirty house when
there's so much personal satisfaction in having a clean house. Chad called
about whether there were any articles on AIDS Awareness Week in the October
Issue of the Pillar. There weren't and neither were there any in the QSL so I
guess Mark Thash and he are doing their column on that. Chuck Whyte called me
and he wanted me to meet him at the Try-Angle this coming weekend for his
birthday. I said I would since the Bears are hosting a Costume party. He tells me about all the bizarre escapades
he's been having on the sex phone line. Tom thinks he's addicted. I think he's just going through a phase. Mike
bought a copy of Pedro Alvamardo's Bad Education to add to his four hundred DVD
collection. It is really good in an Gay Alfred Hitchcock manner. I fixed tequila chicken enchiladas, with a
creamy white sauce, and Spanish rice for dinner and when Mike and Tom came back
from the theater they were hungry. Tom
devoured the rice but only sampled the enchiladas because he doesn't care for
onions and peppers. They said they were
excellent and asked how I made them. I said why do you guys care? You don't
cook. Which is true. But perhaps I should post it.
- Thinly
slice about two pounds of skinned and boned chicken breasts. Marinate in a
1/2 cup of tequila, 1/2 cup margarita mix, 1/2 cup lime juice, cilantro
finely chopped, teaspoon ground cumin, and two tablespoons brown sugar, Sauté
1 large Spanish yellow onion, 1/2 red bell pepper in oil. Add the chicken and cook thoroughly. Add
salt and white pepper to taste. Fry about 24 corn tortillas in hot oil
just so they are soft Slice a can of large block pitted olives. Assemble:
place tablespoon of shredded Kraft Mexican cheese blend, three olives and
a spoonful of chicken mix in tortilla and roll. Place in long baking dish.
You will need 2 baking pans. Mix a
cup of sour cream with 1 jar of Ragu Alfredo Sauce spoon over assembled
tortillas pans and cover with about 2 cups of pepper jack cheese. Cover
with aluminum foil Bake in hot oven 350 degrees for 40 minutes! Voila. And
Mike and Tom wanted me to explain that! LOL
Monday was another long day with
a new ESL class so I didn't get home until around 7. I received an e-mail from the uncle of Mel
Bailey asking if I have any insights surrounding her death. I haven't responded
yet. Really don't know what to say because I only knew her as a member of the
community and was in no way a confidant in her inner circle. Like all of us she
wore different hats depending who she was around. I think he wants some
information on the investigation she was doing on the death of her Olympic
committee friend whom she felt was murdered in some type of cover up.
25 October 2006 Wednesday
I posted that I received an email
from someone who said that they were Mel Bailey's uncle. When I wrote him back
and pushed reply my sysop said the message was undeliverable and that it was a
bogus email address. How could he have
contacted me and not have a legitimate address? Strange. I guess I got poor
Michael Aaron into hot water and I don't mean his hot tub. Randy Holliday of
all people was pitching a fit because I mentioned in a column that we had slept
together, twenty years ago mind you. It
really astounded me because I always thought he and I had an amicable
relationship. Well I guess not. Any way
Michael is taking some heat for it. Did
piss me off that Randy basically said that I was some type of sexual predator
forcing myself onto people and he had warned me to cool it. LOL! I was so screwed up back then I didn't
know which way was up...I was in love with basically three different people
then, John Howell, Russ Lane, and Billy Bikowski and I was about as sexually
naive as one could be. I can count on
both hands how many times I had sex that entire year! Shit! I was too busy with the organizing of Restoration Church, Affirmation, Married
and Divorce Gays and Lesbians and juggling my feelings for my ex wife, Russ,
John, and Billy. Randy must be in his 60's now and perhaps
"respectability" is important to him. Well I will show him my journal
if he will show me his and see who's actually correct. Sometimes I get so tired
of the bitchiness that I want to say the hell with it. I should just press delete
on my Gay history files, burn my journals, and let people conjure up any
fantasy they want about me and the history of the Gay community. Tom Folk asked
me the other day what I was planning on doing with all my files when I am
gone.... I am not sure whether it even matters. Everyone seems so intent in
forgetting the past... may be I should too.
I know it wasn't easy pulling the plug on my history web page, but who
misses it now? No one. I should save
Michael Aaron some grief and hang up my
column also... it seems to only upset people.
26 October 2006-29 October 2006
No entries
30 October 2006 Monday
Well it’s been a busy few last
few days and the month is about over.
Last Thursday I met with Karen Fisher a former co-worker from Orchard to
gather up all our Monster Mash props since that school is no longer doing that
Halloween Talent show. I had no connection with Orchard any more and am glad
that I moved on. We had a ton of costumes, masks, scenery, and props to go
through and discard. I took home the wooden Dracula coffin since she couldn't
fit into her jeep. Friday the 27th of
October was Chuck W's birthday and he had asked me to help celebrate it with
others at the Paper Moon and at Try-Angles. I thought about going to the Bear's
Halloween party at the Try-Angle but when ten o'clock rolled around, I shimmied
into my red skirt thinking I'd wear my old lady's costume but damn if it was
snug and I couldn't get the zipper up so I threw it back into the closet and
jumped in between the sheets where I really wanted to be anyway rather then out
in some smoky bar on a cool autumn
night. I guess my Halloween Bar hopping
days are officially over. Chad K later
told me that a true drag queen would have just flipped that zipper around to
the back and wore something to hide it and gone on with the show! LOL Glad to
know that I'm not a real drag. Saturday I decorated the front of the house with
the Halloween paraphernalia dragged home from school. First time I've actually
decorated for Halloween in years and I'm going to hand out candy. Mike will
just keep the pups in the entertainment room with a movie going. That evening we went to the Grand Theater to
see "the Secret Garden" because we have season tickets. The theater
was only about a fourth filled and I'd say a third of that were little kids. We
sat through half the show, and while I will not fault the performers for they
were on the most part outstanding, the show was simply boring. There were no
sets to speak up, and the music was rather bland. Nothing was thrilling, the
costumes, the dancing, the backdrop. Nothing. So we left. Sunday Mike and I
invited Chad K and Mark T out for breakfast since yesterday Chad was whining he
had no one to go to Sunday Brunch with since Kevin H was out of town. Poor baby. You know how Gay men and their
brunches are. So we all went to Jim's Restaurant on 41st South and Redwood and
had a really good time. Both Mark and
31 October 2006 Tuesday Halloween
Happy Halloween everyone....Being
a school teacher Halloween is still the BIG event! I actually handed out candy for the first
time in years and now I remember why I don't.
I have a split level house which means I either sit on the stairs for
two hours or keep running up and down....And then there is the dog issue.
Keeping the pups shut up for that time with them going wacko each time someone
came to the door was a major pain. But
the kiddies were cute. A few Junior High
boys came in drag... that was nice. One even was dressed as show girl.....Miss
Gay US of A 2012. I try not to be the cranky old man but it bugs me when it
gets later in the night and you see all these cars driving through the
neighbor, dumping out a load of kids, to forage. When did Halloween stop being a neighborhood
deal? The whole point was to walk your
neighborhood where you know most of the people.
Then there's the adults who ask for candy too.. I guess this is the land
of the free. The cute daddies were worth the time and effort too. Like to trick
with their baby maker. My spooky house-I had spooky music going, a strobe light
flashing, a skeleton handing from a tree, a coffin, a stuffed bird, pumpkins,
and colored lights so my house was HALLOWEEN. Mike stayed in his entertainment
room with the dogs and a bottle of wine watching Harry Potter. Trick or Treat!
NOVEMBER
1 November 2006 Wednesday
No entry
2 November 2006Thursday
Well gone are the Goblins and up
with the Gobblers. Took down all the Halloween Set and changed over to
3 November 2006 Friday
After work, Mike and I went to
the
4 November 2006-9 November
2006
No Entry
10 November 2006
Jack Palance, the craggy-faced
menace in "Shane," "Sudden Fear" and other films who turned
to comedy at 70 with his Oscar-winning self-parody in "City
Slickers," died on Nov. 10. Palance died of natural causes at his home in
Montecito, Calif., surrounded by family,. Palance was 85 according to
Associated Press records, but his family gave his age as 87.
11 November 2008-14 November 2006
No entries
15 November 2006 Wednesday
Well here it's the middle of
November already! It's been a very hectic time for sure. Parent Teacher
Conference was the week of the 6th through the 10th and it’s a time to hunker
down. I only had one loony parent but
after all these years I am still gun shy, and now that Utahns can pack heat to
conferences I am very conscious of what might set someone off. It's just makes for a long week and 12 hour
days. It's all consuming. Barely get
home, unwind and it’s time for bed. I knew I wouldn't get to vote on election
night so Mike and I voted early at the Northwest Multipurpose Center and when I
knew that the Democrats were taking back Congress there was a glimmer of hope
again in my heart for America. Here in Planet Utah however it was an Elephant
Walk again but with all these Blue Dog Democrats who cares except that it
helped on a national level. Is it me or does it appear that Mormons are
infiltrating the Democratic Party? An old friend, Jimmy Hamamoto, who use to be
in the Sacred Faeries and was a DJ on KRCL came to town last week but I was too
exhausted to even go out to dinner with him. We caught up on the phone but feel
kind of guilty. The weather has been real yucky too lately. It was damp and gloomy last Saturday. Chuck
Whyte called me last night late with news that he found a suitcase with all
types of minutes from the old community council, from Utah Stonewall Board
Meetings, Unity Show flyers and all other old records. I had bugged him a few days earlier about
whether he still had the minutes from GLCCU meetings. At the time he said he
had gotten rid of all that but while going through his drag trousseau which he
was donating much of it to the Cyber Sluts he came across that suitcase. What a treasure. Chad Keller and Mark Thrash
invited Mike and I over for Thanksgiving Dinner. I think of all the dinners I put on and
community dinners also it’s amazing that we had the energy to do so much. Re reading my 1986 journal I had 15 people
over for dinner in my tiny basement apartment. I cooked a 23 lb turkey made
four pies, 2 banana breads, and all the other trimmings by myself. What I think is funny this woman named Helen
came with her husband and two sons to what was basically a Gay and Lesbian
party and I can't for the life of me remember who she was and how I knew her.
Pretty liberal of her however for 1986 to be attending that kind of soiree. I
guess the chickens are coming back to roost for the Republican closeted chicken
hawks! In a way its really tragic that they bought into a system that would
only destroy them in the end. Of course I am a Democrat and have much more
compassion for them then they would ever have for me. I got my flu shot on the
3rd and maybe that is why I've been kind of feeling low. More likely it's because I am an old bear and
nature is calling me to hibernate. Well
I guess I will try to be more dutiful in blogging. It helps me focus on what is
important in my life. Briefly looked at the QSL on line. It looks pretty good especially the shopping
guide. Issue was dedicated to Genderfreaks.
I will peruse it more when I pick up a copy. I am more a newsprint and
ink kind of guy. Like the feel and sound of a paper as I am reading it. It's a
sensory as well as intellectual experience for me. Lots of stuff is going on
this month. Carolyn Pearson is back on the Gay wagon after 20 years since
Goodbye I Love You. We have three fags in the state legislature now because of
last election and still
16 November 2006-17 November 2006
No Entries
18 November 2006 Saturday
Today is
19 November 2006 Sunday
No Entry
20 November 2006 Monday
Robert Altman, the caustic and
irreverent satirist behind "M-A-S-H," "Nashville" and
"The Player" who made a career out of bucking Hollywood, died on Nov.
20.
21 November 2006 Tuesday
No Entry
22 November 2006 Wednesday
Monday I took my hound Priscilla
to the veterinarian to have her anal glands checked. She had been dragging her
butt lately. Maybe I need to have mine checked! LOL. Well I have been busy
stringing Christmas lights, and shopping, and cooking.
23 November 2006 Thursday
I hope everyone had a wonderful
and scrumptious Thanksgiving. I didn't
have to cook dinner today and for that I am truly thankful. After getting up this morning I baked a pumpkin
pie and a mincemeat pie for my neighbors' dinner. I told them I wouldn't be
staying for dinner because of a prior invite by Chad K to the Memory Grove
Memorial House but Mike ate dinner with them.
Tried calling people today to wish them a Happy Thanksgiving but
couldn't get a hold of my mom, Mike's folks, or my friend Darren Solomon. I was
able to make arrangements to the movies tomorrow with Ben Anderson. Talked to
my friend John Reeves in Boston who at 72 is still fixing Thanksgiving Dinner
for about 20 Gay strays. I told him that
my community Thanksgiving days are over! Chad called and said that I wouldn't
have to go pick up Auntie D because she wasn't feeling well so I brought my
corn bread dressing over to Chad's. I thought he said dinner was at four, but
at his place he said it wasn't until six.
I thought that was kind of late to be having dinner but I was just along
for the ride. Mark Thrash fixed me a cocktail I called the Thrasher. It had
rum, raspberry strawberry concentrate and orange juice and was pretty tasty. Well
it was nearly 5:30 before we left to go to Memory Grove and upon arriving it
looked like dinner was already over. Half empty platters, and empty bowls
greeted us! Jane Ericksen said that she told
24 November 2006-25 November 2006
No entry
26 November 2006 Sunday
I wanted to go to the Library on
Friday but they were closed alas! So I told Ben Anderson to come over to the
house and I’d fixed left overs, and we
watched Ice Age Melt Down that Mike rented from Red Box. We stayed home on Black Friday rather then
fight the angry crowds of holiday shoppers. What has
Had a really
nice time visiting with Ben but could have done without the “show and tell”
Tracheotomy gizmos. I guess Ben said he
had his first heart attack climbing eight floors to visit Erick Meyers flat in
Our friend Mark
Angus married a guy from the
I suppose Chad
survived the holiday. I haven't heard from him since Thursday. He's probably
playing Thanksgiving Turkey and getting stuffed.
Yesterday Mike
and I went out for breakfast at Jim's in Taylorville’s and Mike overheard these
guys from California ask the waitress if Jim's has mineral water? She said no
but they had orange juice! We laughed and thought welcome to Utah!”
I finally made
it down to the main library and looked through the Salt Lake Tribune on
microfilm for the month of October and first of November 1986. It took nearly 5
hours but found info on AIDS Awareness week and an article on David Nelson's
push to get the Salt Lake City Council to adopt a Human Rights Commission for
Salt Lake.
Read an article
by a RN from San Francisco who said the average stay of a Gay man checking in
to the city's General Hospital was 11 days! Because they were dead after
that. One of the first things asked when
checking was being asked what code status you wanted and whether you wanted to
be resuscitated. Gays today have no idea
what we went through 20 years ago.
Encountered Ben
Anderson at the Library working on his blog I showed him how to set up. We started laughing when on Craigs List there
was a kid saying he wanted to be a houseboy. He described himself as a floppy
haired boy who likes to wear pleated skirts and be strangled! Then he wrote as
an after thought...(just pretend!) LOL
Treated Ben to
some lunch at Chile Verdes on North Temple then had him take me home. I gave
him the extra DVD player I had so he could hook it up to his TV up at the VA
hospital. Ben just makes me feel Gay all over and we just laugh and have a good
time mocking the absurdities of life.
Tom Folk came
over to watch a movie he brought, and Ben was tired and went home. I went over
to see my friends Darren Solomon and Merrill Jensen in West valley. Darren
called me while I was at the library and asked if I would come over.
Darren is such a
darling man and it’s nice to be with people who build you up instead of tearing
you down. Darren and Merrill lost their
little black lab puppy last July when someone left their gate open and he ran into
the street and was hit by a car. So they lost two dogs this year, Smokey their
Great Dane who died of old age and this little dog they got to help them get
over the loss of Smokey. They now have
this beautiful English Sheep dog with on blue eye and one brown eye and a
Beagle female puppy. So they have their hands full.
Speaking of
puppies our Schnauzers have formed a pack and where one goes, they all go. We
renamed Chaz to Buddy because honestly it fits more because Buddy is a buddy to
everyone. He's such a sweet natured thing. They don't know what to think with
both Mike and I home together for the entire week.
27 November 2006-30
November 2006
No Entries
DECEMBER
1 December 2006 Friday
No entry
2 December 2006 Saturday
I'm not a well woman. I started coming down with something
Wednesday when I had a tickle in my throat that made me have a series of little
coughs. The weather has been dreadful also, with a winter storm blowing in, dumping
about 3 inches of snow and turning bitterly cold. Thank Providence that I bought a snow blower
a couple of years ago so don't have to shovel the white shit any more. I had promised Ben Anderson I would meet him
at the Pride Center Thursday for a Bear Club meeting to give him a nice warm
jacket I don't wear any more otherwise I wouldn't have gone out into the bitter
cold 22 degrees. I can't imagine life on
the streets in this weather. That night, Thursday, I wanted to write in the
Blog to reflect on November and wrap up the month but I was so tired I went to
bed at 8:30 instead. I woke up on Friday
morning suffering from a really sore throat that kept me up for most of the
night. Strep is going around school but
I am hoping its just a cold settling in my throat but probably not since I am
not congested and am not really coughing.
Just tired. But at 55 I am always tired LOL! I also wanted to write
something on December 1st since it's World AIDS Day, my nephew James's 38th
birthday, and the kick off of the holiday month. Oh Well. Best intentions. Heard on a NPR program that 900 people a day
die of AIDS in
3 December 2006-4 December 2006
No Entries
5 December 2006 Tuesday
Well either Our Lady of the
Perpetual Flagellation cured me or I never had strep. Monday I called my cute doctor and was able
to get in to see him at 3:00 and the throat culture came back negative so I
just have a Plain Jane Viral Cold. But
it will do. I Spent most of Saturday and Sunday in bed sleeping and that
probably was as good a tonic as anything. Slurping down the codeine doesn't
hurt either. It's been nasty, I mean red state Sen. Brownback nasty, with
an inversion keeping the
6 December 2006 Wednesday
Kind of a frantic and hectic
day...I was up at 5:30 this morning to let Mike know that I have a faculty
meeting at 7:30 so its going to be hectic getting Priscilla to her vet
appointment. Since he was taking Smokey to the groomers anyway he said that he would
just drop her off. Today was my student's teacher's last day, and I know she is
glad and sad that it's over. About 10 I went to the store to buy some punch for
the kids' party this afternoon and I noticed that my front left tire seemed
awfully low. I thought crap I bet I picked up a nail somewhere and since I
didn't want to be changing a flat tire I headed over to Big O Tires. Luckily
there was one just across the street from my school. My kids were still at recess so I thought it
shouldn't be long to change the tire but the mechanic showed me that I
virtually had no brakes- that my brake pads were gone. He was as surprised as I
because I never heard any squeaking, chirping, or anything else that would warn
me that I had no brakes. However they were the original brakes and I have
86,000 miles on the car. I said that I
have to pick my dog up from the vet at 4 and if they can get it done by then I
would have them do a brake job today. He said he would so I did. I had to walk
back to school in the inversion chill and it did not help my own chest cold
either. Needless to say I was stressed about that all day and didn't have my
cell phone with me to let Mike know about picking up Priscilla if I couldn't.
However the kids said goodbye to the student teacher, and as soon as school was
out headed back to Big O. They kept
their word and the brake job was done and my pocket was $320 emptier. Headed to
- Email
to Mike Romero-I don't have my phone with me but this morning at 10:00 my
tire began to go flat so I took it to big o on 5th north across from
Washington. While there the guy said my one brake pad was gone done to the
metal and I had to have new brakes. The tire had a nail in it. Any way I
told them to fix my brakes only if they could be done by 3:30 so I could
go pick up Priscilla. If you get home and I am not there call the vet and
see if she is still there and not with me. The vet closes at 6 and I don't
want her to have to spend the night there. It's 3:45 now and I am leaving
to walk over to see if the car is fixed. Hopefully it is and I can just
get priss myself. Ben
7 December 2006- 10 December 2006
No Entry
11 December 2006 Monday
Here it is Monday again, I have a
cold sore, and a residual cough but am about over my nasty cold. This past weekend, I did nothing but sleep,
clean, and write. I finally felt well enough to write my QSL column. It was
days late, I'm finished with editing my 1986 Journal so I can post it. I took out all the names except for people
who are dead or have made their sexual orientation public. I don't want someone whining that I outed
them because we fucked 20 years ago. I
am also compiling my year in review for 2006 to store in my archives. That's
taking some time but I am up to March already. Hopefully it will be done before
the rest of the year is. I haven't heard much gossip but have been sick. I
guess Michael Aaron is having another "Save Our Hot Tub" Fundraiser.
He's so creative. Ben Anderson came over
Friday night for Chinese food and Mike Romero, Ben and I spent the evening
listening to show tunes and debating the merits of Dream Girls. Do Straight men
sit around on Friday nights singing to favorite show tunes and torch songs? Do
Gay men do that anymore? Feel like a dinosaur but hey I don't care. I will take
listening to Ethel Merman belting out Edie was a Lady She had Class with a
capital K -anytime. Of Course Ben A. had
to listen to his favorite "That old Devil Moon" from Finnian's
Rainbow. It was a toss up between Judy Garland and Petula Clark but I gave a
slight edge to Judy...well....just Because! She's Judy for Gawd's sake! So we had fun singing to the Sherrells, the
Chiffons, Marvelettes, Martha Vandelis and all the rest sassy and sexy sixties
girls. Gawd I am so Gay! I even know all
the words to Glen Miller's Perfidia!
12 December 2006
Tuesday
Peter Boyle, the actor known for
playing everything from a tap-dancing monster in "Young Frankenstein"
to the curmudgeonly father in the long-running TV sitcom "Everybody Loves
Raymond," died on Dec. 12. He was 71. Boyle died at New York Presbyterian
Hospital. He had been suffering from multiple myeloma and heart disease.
13 December 2006 Wednesday
I've got some bad news about
Beyond Stonewall from the YMCA and I am so pissed about it right now that I
can't process it. Well maybe the
universe is trying to tell me something. Some Mexicans kids doing drugs stole a
car in the neighborhood and doing 70 miles an hour clipped a pickup truck,
flipped and took out a neighbor’s tree. The fuckers bailed and when the cops
arrived they said they couldn't do a thing because no one got a good
description. Randy next door said he almost was hit by the car as he went to
get his mail. Another fine day in the
hood.
14 December 2006
14 Mike Evans, best known as
Lionel Jefferson in the TV sitcoms "All in the Family" and "The
Jeffersons," died of throat cancer on Dec. 14 at his mother's home in
Twentynine Palms, Calif. He was 57
15 December
2006-17 December 2006
No Entries
18 December 2006
Joe Barbera, half of the
Hanna-Barbera animation team that produced such beloved cartoon characters as
Tom and Jerry, Yogi Bear and the Flintstones, died of natural causes on Dec.
18.
19 December 2006-20 December 2006
No entries
21 December 2006 Thursday
It's been a while since posting
and it’s been hectic. All weekend I worked on copying data on 2006 for a Year
in Review for the Q. Michael Aaron set a dateline for December 19 so I was
cramming. Monday I was at my ESL class late so I was quickly running out of
time so I sent it in as a two part article.
Last Friday Ben
Anderson came over for dinner and Mike said he was going out to get a pizza.
Ben and I sat around for an hour worried about where he might be since it only
takes about 1/2 hour to get to Papa Murphys in back. When he does show up, he's
pizza-less cussing out
Ben and I were flabbergasted! If he would have
called and said that he had changed his mind I could have whipped something up
in the time it took him to get back.
Anyway he goes
into his room and doesn't talk to either one of us like it’s our fault! What an
ass. And it’s been that way since, his not talking to me.
Saturday Ben and
I hung out and he taught me a new card game called Cantan which I guess is all
the rage in Europe. I was kind of bummed about Mike acting like such a jerk but
decided not to let him spoil my Christmas.
Sunday took the
pups in to the groomers in Sugar House through the snow and a $100 later I
still have rotten dogs but pretty. I love them to death.
School was
absolutely crazy this week with kids getting out for Winter Break on Wednesday.
They were just bouncing off the walls and I came home exhausted.
Tuesday when I
came home from school four patrol cars were lined up in front of my neighbors
and my drive way. I got out and asked the cops if there was anything I should
know about but they didn't tell me a thing. I know that there are gangs that
live a couple of blocks over in some townhouses and they have been recruiting
kids at Northwest Middle School.
I didn't have my
cell phone for the weekend either since I left it in Ben's truck last Saturday.
So today Ben went with me to Verizon to pick out new phone and to renew a
contract.
We then went to
Red Lobster with the gift card that my student teacher had given me. Last
Friday also a former colleague at Orchard El, Jennifer Lewis, said that the
bitch of a new principal had put her on probation. She needed to talk -she was
so upset.
I worked with
her for ten years and she's a fine teacher...but she's not LDS and the parents
are trying to get rid of her because she drinks coffee and wears a cross on a
necklace. I am so glad I got the hell out of that place.
Where I am now
the parents love how I interact with their kids. We just had a Christmas skit
called the bell that Couldn't Ring and the parents are grateful that I am still
doing plays with their kids and not just cramming them full of science and
math.
I heard from
Chuck Whyte that he got his job at Tesoro Gas Station down the street from his
house. It will save him so much time on a commute. I have finally made a
decision about Beyond Stonewall after talking to the YMCA director last week.
I've struggled over what to do until I've been sick over it and that's not what
I had in mind when I wanted to bring it back.
Ben Anderson
gave me some good advice and tomorrow I will post on the website what happened
with the Y. Ben and I have been discussing the Gay Spirit and what the hell it
is and why don't people have it anymore?
22 December 2006 Friday
No entry
23 December 2006 Saturday
I spent almost the entire day
getting my Journal from 1986 posted on Blogger.com. I wanted to finish it
before the year ended since I started typing it up back in January then added
anecdotal information. Yesterday Ben Anderson came over for dinner and we
watched Scrooge, the 1970 musical version of A Christmas Carol. When Mike took
Smokey to go look at Christmas lights we cracked up at the absurdity of it all.
We said that the song "I hate People" should be Mike's theme song and
then we laughed some more. Earlier in the day I made a batch of Banana Nut
Bread and a loaf of Date Nut Bread all which I glazed with Butter Rum syrup. I
am not going to let Mike's attitude ruin Christmas. The only time I got out of
the house today was to by some dog food and treats at Pet Co and I also bought
groceries to make a pot of Vegetable Beef Soup. I also want to make a batch of
Whiskey Cookies tomorrow as well as a pumpkin pie for my neighbors. I gave them
the spiral ham for Christmas since I don't plan on cooking it now. I saw that
Affirmation posted my Memoirs of a Utah Gay Activist 1986 on their web page
with a disclaimer saying that it contained "offensive language". LOL
I guess I said shit and fuck a few too many times in my journal as well as a
couple of sons of bitches. LOL. Its 265 pages long so it's not quick reading. Time
for bed....
24 December 2006 Sunday
Hope everyone is having a Merry
Christmas eve. After doing some last corrections on my Journal from 1986 I am
now done with it. It's kind of strange putting it out for the whole world to
see. I must be some type of exhibitionist. I did some more baking today. I
baked a pumpkin pie for Kimberly next door and some pumpkin cranberry bread,
and some Whiskey Balls that you don't have to bake. i think I got carried away
with the whiskey. Ben Anderson came over before going to see his son. We had a
good visited and laughed about what a poop Michael can be. I fed Ben Vegetable
Beef Soup that I made yesterday served with a crusty Baci roll. I called Mom today and she's very tired but I
guess all of my sister's kids and their families are there in Vegas for
Christmas with her youngest son and his family getting in tonight just about
now I suppose. Either Miss Daisy or Mr. Buddy pulled carpet threads out of the
runner in the hall way. What naughty puppies on Christmas Eve too! The other
day Buddy chewed a button off of Ben's new coat! Well I watched Romeo and
Juliet, the 1969 version and like an old fool I blubbered all through the death
scenes. The movie holds up well after all these years. Well it's the night
before Christmas and all though this house my puppies are sleeping so I should
go join them. Merry Christmas everyone. Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas Eve
and is now tucked into their beds.
25 December 2006 Christmas Day
Ben Anderson came over this
morning as I was baking an apple crumb pie. I called all my family and friends
this morning especially John Reeves, Chuck Whyte, and Chad Keller who had to
work today. I fixed a rotisserie roast, mashed potatoes, gravy, and peas for
dinner. Mike didn't want eat with Ben and I and had left over Pizza. Ho Ho Ho
Mr. Scrooge. He later lightened up when I left to say Merry Christmas to the
neighbors and was taking digital pictures of Ben so that Ben could post them on
his blog site. Ben gave me a pencil holder in the form on a man with his butt
up in the air and when you but a pencil in the guy would moan and act like he
was having the best fuck. It was really funny. It was my puppies first
Christmas and Daisy stole one of the socks that had a chew toy in it before I
could even give it to her. She was so cute. Ben and I went over to his son's Jared to
retrieve a card game called Catan and we played that in the afternoon until Ben
wanted to go bar hopping. I thought why not?” How pathetic is that to go bar
hopping on Christmas Day. We first went to Heads Up on
-'Godfather
of Soul' James Brown, died Dec. 25
26 December 2006 Tuesday
No entry
27 December 2006 Wednesday
It is a blustery windy morning,
and warm enough to melt all the Christmas snow in the yard. That's okay because
yesterday I tore down all the Christmas trees and decorations and packed them
up for another year.
My father died
three years ago on December 26 and former President Gerald Ford died yesterday
also.
I believe he was
93 years old. I was a young man going to BYU when Ford assumed office after the
resignation of Nixon. He was a basically bland man so it’s surprising that so
many people tried to assassinate him. The thing I remember most about Ford is his
lame WIN buttons, "Whip Inflation Now" while the economy was tanking.
Vietnam collapsed to the Communists, and the Swine Flu national Inoculation
program occurred under his watch.
I cleaned the house thoroughly after putting
up Christmas and even bought a new area rug to replace the ones that my pups
have been chewing on.
And now my back
yard is like a muddy swamp with the snow melt and guess who is tracking in
muddy feet? Rascals.
I spent much of
yesterday researching and typing up an article on Kelbach and Lance to send to
the Q for one of my future columns. Last week was the fortieth anniversary of
their mayhem in
I also watched John Ford's 1939 classic
"Stagecoach". I never get tired of that western melodrama and
especially cute and young John Wayne. My father in his youth resembled John
Wayne.
Ben Anderson
checked himself into the hospital this afternoon feeling some chest pains. He’s
staying over night for observations.
Mom called and
said that everyone has left or will be leaving in the morning from Vegas. Charline’s been sick the whole time her kids
were there but know she was glad to see them all.
Michael and I
had another blow out last night. He was
eavesdropping on my conversation with my mom and he threw a fit that I had told
her that I thought he had depression.
There’s no reasoning or talking to him. I am the one who is to blame for
making his life so miserable. I know he
doesn’t even like me anymore and I am not sure I can live this way.
While visiting
with Jennifer Lewis because she is having problems with her husband, I said you
have to decide whether your life is better, worse, or neutral with your
partner. If it’s better or neutral you might as well stay in the relationship
but if it’s worse then its time to bail and I think Mike’s relationship has
gone from neutral to worse.
28 December 2006 Thursday
No entry
29 December 2006 Friday
Well this old year is about
finished, and the new one is about to begin. I dread all the political hubris
that's a coming.
Yesterday Chad Keller
needed some help picking up some shelving so we were running around together.
We first went to lunch at The Other Place and got caught up on gossip.
My friend Ben
was still in the VA hospital being examined for chest pains so didn't get to
see him but did visit over the phone. Went to a coffee meeting with
Michael brought
with him copies of the Q just off the presses.
Saw David Nelson
at the Coffee House with an entourage of his friends.
When I came home
I was very discouraged seeing all the furniture that isn't Mike's piled in the
front room. I don't know how I am going to move things by myself or store them
or get rid of them. Felt like bawling. But just went to bed so I could get a good
night sleep to tackle it all today.
The other day
while talking with my mom, she was waxing on about old neighbors we use to have
on
30 December 2006 Saturday
I was so tired yesterday trying
to figure out what to do with all the furniture dumped in the front room. But
if there's a will there's a way. I put all the lazy boys back together, made a
day bed out of the twin bed, pushed the loveseat down the stairs and out the
door, and cleaned vacuumed and had my house back together by noon but
exhausted. Ben got out of the hospital yesterday and wanted to go to the Bear
function which we did. I am tooooo old for these kind of things anymore. Did
see s few people I knew like Brad W. and others but on the whole going to bars
just makes me see ghosts of Christmas past. Ben Anderson told me about some of
his life story growing up in
December 31, 2006 Sunday
Well goodbye 2006..You won't be on my
tombstone. Just got home from a different kind of party.
This morning,
Ben Anderson while at Nostalgia, this gay friendly coffee shop, calls me and
says that some guy named Tom emailed him on Bear 411 saying that he saw Ben and
I at the Bear Party at Tryangles last Friday and asked if we'd come over for a
little get together this evening. I told Ben why not so we agreed to come over
to watch a movie and have some pizza.
The rest of the
day I had Ben over for lunch and had quiche and a grilled cheese sandwich, and
a raspberry pie. Then we went over to
Chad said he was
staying home tonight to work on putting up the shelves we picked up last
Thursday and Mark Thrash had a date. Back at the house we played Catan for a
couple of hours when Tom Folk called and said two of his friends were coming
over also. I thought the more the merrier.
Anyway Tom lives
at the south end of the Valley and it took 40 minutes just to get there and
once we were there the whole night was pure boredom. There were absolutely no
queer energy among the three of them that were there. I tried to be social,
talkative, be a good guest but felt like for the whole time that we were at the
wrong house.
After eating and
visiting in the front room, both Ben and I just wanted to leave. They talked
about country western singers and when I was asked what kind of music I liked I
proudly proclaimed, "SHOW TUNES"! They all looked at me like I had
lost my mind but Ben was nearly ready to crack up.
So after
explaining the Gay man's affinity for the Broadway Musical and they still
looking like I was from the Gay Planet Blow-me, I just decided to throw as much
queer energy at them as I could muster! Take that and That. In the name of
Ethel Merman be healed!
They, however,
only wanted to talk about skiing and rollercoasters. Eventually I said that we
had to leave because Ben forgot his med's. It was as good an excuse as any. On
the way home Ben and I kept wondering why in the world did Tom invite us over
when he didn't show the least bit of interest in us, with no eye contact,
little arm pats, back rubs, a shy smile, a suggestive remark. Nothing! When we
left I even had to initiate a hug goodbye. Well Happy New Years...
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