Spring 2nd Quarter Journal 2010 April -June

 

APRIL

1 April 2010 Thursday

It was a long day today because I stayed at school until 8:00 this evening due to the school wide dance program that was held at Bountiful High School.  As that I had to be there at 6, I decided not to go home to avoid hitting rush hour traffic back into Davis County but had Mike Romero feed the dogs. I stayed at school to plan for tomorrow which I am taking off.

            The kids did a good job dancing but it was cold almost all day and it was sleeting when I drove home. 

            I saw that Michael didn’t take the enchiladas home I made for him so I called him and he said he had forgotten but he did rip the ‘Mary Hartman Mary Hartman’ DVD for me. He’s thinking of going to Cheyenne, Wyoming for Easter to see Troy Ryan.   So looks like I will be spending Easter alone this weekend.

I actually thought Easter was later then it is this year so was I kind of taken by surprised.  I bought a ham for it but froze it instead.   

Since discovering how HULA works on the internet I have been watching a lot of TV. I Watched Ugly Betty and all the episodes of 30 Rock.  I really don’t mind the 20 second commercials either.

            Matia Lumaca sent me an email today saying, “Hi Ben this is Matia, I was wondering if we can meet me and you at your house one afternoon, so I can talk with you about what happened. I swear that neither me nor Ben, wanted that happened. Sometimes person act in ways in which they really don't want to act, because they are coming from a stressful situations or because they have higher expectations about their project than what real life can give them. Bye Ben and let me know. Ciao”

 

2 April 2010 Friday

It was a ‘Mary Hartman Mary Hartman’ Marathon Weekend;  so very ethereal it was watching all these late night soap opera episodes again with Louise Lasser as a housewife dealing with her dysfunctional family.  It was only on TV from 1976 through Spring of 1977 and I hadn’t watched it since back then.

 

3 April 2010 Saturday

I spent much of the day cleaning the house for Easter Dinner tomorrow. I also  watched ‘Who do you think you are?’ and then worked on my cousin Chris Johnson’s Carlisle family genealogy .

 

4 April 2010 Easter Sunday

I had Chuck Whyte and Tom Folk over for Easter dinner. I scrubbed the house this morning and then made baked macaroni and cheese, steamed broccoli, yams and sweet potatoes, deviled eggs, spiral cut ham, and banana pudding.  We had a good visit.

            I called Mom in Arizona and she said that my sister Charline was bringing the grandkids over from California to stay Easter Break with them. I’ve noticed that Mom is starting to repeat herself not remembering what she had already told me.

 

5 April 2010 Monday

I had my dental appointment at 8 this morning with Dr. McKay and when I went to the old place, they had moved to a new location in Bountiful but I wasn’t late, just miffed that they hadn’t told me.

            It was cold and windy today and in the later afternoon it began to rain. It sure doesn’t feel like spring.

            I worked on my 1st cousin once removed, Chris Johnson’s Carlisle family most of the day. It was too wet and cold to do much else.

 

6 April 2010 Tuesday

I woke up to snow on the ground again. I worked on Chris Johnson’s Carlisle genealogy and wrote an article for QSalt Lake on the 1893 Hunsaker’s homosexual accusations in Honeyville Utah. Mike Aaron put me on a VIP list for Club Edge that is having a remodel grand opening Saturday. I asked Mike Romero if he wanted to go and he said sure.

 

7 April 2010 Wednesday

I had a very intense dream about Chad Keller last night.  I guess I still profoundly miss him.

            The weather is improving finally. I didn’t do much but go out in the evening with Mike Romero to the Family Dollar Store in the city on 8th East to see if it was different from Centerville’s but actually it wasn’t as good.

            Mike and I split a pizza from Pizza Hut and I went back to researching Mrs. Sullivan’s family tree at home. She’s my Aunt Pauline’s mother and a Pedigo.

            I got banned again from the Salt Lake Tribune Comment section. Ha!  There were too many complaints regarding my opinions. Oh well it will save me time not having to voice my opinion on everything.

 

8 April 2010 Thursday

I was up all night with a gaseous stomach from eating pizza yesterday.

I promised Chuck Whyte that I would bring my computer over to his house so he could get into his old work account. I guess he lost his job at Intermountain Health.

            Anyway, when I got there, come to find out, he didn’t have any Wi-Fi connections, so I just brought him back to the house where he set up a new Yahoo email account.

            We then went up to Centerville where he bought some house slippers and a DVD player.  We also went to Applebee’s in Bountiful for lunch and I made him buy lunch for all the running around I was doing for him. Gas is at $3.00 again.

 

            In the evening called up Mike Romero and told him about the close out sale of HDTV antennas at Target in Centerville and we went up there after feeding the dogs.  I bought two more antennas and he bought two really good ones too. They were regularly 30 dollars marked down to $7.

We then went over to Costco in Bountiful where I bought myself a birthday present of a 42 inch flat screen TV for $600.  Mike came over and helped me set it up.

 

9 April 2010 Friday

I had my tires rotated and oil changed in the Chrysler PT Cruiser today.

 

10 April 2010 Saturday

I turned 59 years old today.  Mike Romero and I went to Ambers for breakfast.  Afterward, I cleaned some of the house and later worked in the yard. I mowed the lawn and was surprised how easily the mower started up.

            In the evening Mike and I tried to go to Club Edge off of 6th North and 4th west but it was so busy that we ended up going to a coffee shop downtown called Nostalgia instead. It’s located where the old Cosmic Airplane used to be near the Blue Mouse.

 

11 April 2010 Sunday

This morning I had my lawn power raked and aerated.  Some kids in the neighborhood had asked me yesterday, after I had mowed the lawn, if I wanted it done. I paid them $20.          

Then I met Darren Solomon, Chuck Whyte and Tom Folk for lunch at Jim’s Restaurant on Redwood Road.  Darren looked a mess, hair not combed, shirt opened to his navel. What was he thinking? And then Chuck and Tom didn’t show up to 12:30 so I had to sit and make tortuous small talk with Darren until they came. I knew that Darren isn’t all that bright but when we were all talking about the 2010 Census, Darren leaned over to me and asked, “What’s a census?”   Even the food was lousy but since I didn’t pay for it, I can’t complain.

 

12 April 2010 Monday

I am back at work after a long Spring break. I called Bountiful Electric to make arrangements for our walking Field Trip. We will be going on April 26.

 

13 April 2010 Tuesday

I went over to Mike Romero’s in the evening to give Mike a credit card that came in the mail and some beer that Randy Gile had left here. I guess Randy is looking at an apartment to rent in South Jordan.

             It was cold and kind of snowy this morning. When I came home this evening Priscilla was at the bottom of the back stairs in the yard and hardly could come up because her legs were so stiff. I am worried that her little legs are going out on her.       

 

14 April 2010 Wednesday

It’s finally warming up. It got up to 70 and things are finally beginning to bud.

            At work today a student gave me a little stuffed ‘Gator’ and said I was the best person she knew. That was really sweet.

            I guess next year we will all be teaching the ‘Enoch School’ style whatever that means. So I guess I should just shut up and be happy, if I even have a job next year.

            I invited Mike Romero and Randy Gile over for dinner tonight. I fixed Spaghetti and Meatballs and a salad.  I even had a glass of Chillable Red.

            Priscilla is feeling so much better. The warmer weather is probably helping her. Daisy had a butt washing and now I am watching who will get kick off of American Idol. Is Ryan Seacrest putting on weight or is he just lost his boyish figure?

            My upper molar is hurting again. I hope I’m not getting a cavity.

 

15 April 2010 Thursday

I watched the last episode and finale for ‘Ugly Betty’. It was really well written and gave an emotional satisfaction to those who spent years invested in the characters.  I made BBQ beef tonight for supper.

 

16 April 2010 Friday

I had my classroom auction today but I kind of got mad at the kids for doing such a poor job in practicing the skit Ghost of Plymouth Castle.  I am about the only teacher who still teaches speaking skills that goes along with our drama curriculum that nobody does any more.

            After school I went over to Mike Romero’s and did some yard work at his place by putting a tree ring around his tree in his side yard and putting a scalloped brick border in by his front door.  I also planted some pansies for him.

            The rest of the evening I watched the 1970’s sit-com ‘Soap’ by putting the Roku Box in the front room.  The weather was nearly 75 today. The trees are finally blooming.

 

17April 2010 Saturday

I went out to breakfast with Mike Romero to Ambers where I had French toast and then went over to his place where I finished putting the scallop bricks in the front yard and picked up all the grass I had dug up.

            Then we went to Centerville where I bought some summer clothes, and some sandals. My old ones are at least 5 years old and worn out.

            The dogs needed a ride so we also went out to Daybreak to see the area where Randy and Kimberly want to live.  It’s on old Kennecott land and a pre-planned community. It looked huge, but pretty much like California, all new but no character.

            In the evening I went up to the Genealogical Library to see if I could find a baptism record for John Lewis who was born in September 1864.  No luck.

             I guess all the airplanes in Europe are grounded from the ash from the Icelandic volcano.

 

18 April 2010 Sunday

I bought tickets on line this morning to see 42nd Street at the Pioneer Theater. I bought front row seats for the May 6th performance.  Then I mowed the lawn this morning and moved the stones rocks I had between the driveway and front steps where they had been for the last 14 years. They were always catching the leaves and trash so moved them out to the parking strip where I have xeriscaped. I planted Irises and day lilies in the spot instead.

            I invited Mike Romero over for Sunday dinner and made had a salad and cooked a pork loin. After Mike left, I spent the rest of the day watching the 2nd Season of Soap, the show from the 1970’s that introduced a Gay character played by Billy Crystal.

 

19 April 2010 Monday

It’s back to work, but at home this evening, I worked on some McLeod genealogy for some distant cousin.

Michael Aaron of the QSalt Lake offered free tickets to go see 42nd Street today after I had already bought mine yesterday for $105. It makes me mad that he doesn’t offer me free tickets first, since I am never paid for what I write and I have been writing for his magazine since 2004 twice a month.

 

20 April 2010 Tuesday

I took the kids out to play kick ball because the weather is so nice and they needed to burn off some energy.

            I wrote a column for QSalt Lake tonight on Earth day 1970 which Stephen Holbrook was involved with here in Utah.

            I called mom today because I knew she just needed to talk. I think living with my sister and brother in law, Charline and Dennis, is depressing some times for her because she doesn’t have her independence anymore. Mom had always been so self-reliant like me.

            In the news the Deepwater Horizon drilling-rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 workers and spilled over 200 million gallons of crude oil into the ocean.  It’s the worst petroleum spill in history.

 

21 April 2010 Wednesday

Daisy jumped into bed last night about midnight, distressed because she had a dirty butt so I had to get up and hose her down and clean her up. I felt Buddy and he was a little crusty too so I cleaned him too. Daisy had dirtied my bedding so I slept in the TV room but had a restless sleep. I stripped the bed when I came home from work.

            It rained really hard today; keeping the kids inside, and on top of that we had to keep the computers off all day because a virus had hit the district system.  So it was a long day.  I wrote Faye Romero a long letter today since there wasn’t much I could do during our recesses.

            I went after work to pick up my drugs from Smith but they didn’t have the needles I wanted in or lisinopril so I will have to pick it up tomorrow.

            After feeding the dogs, I fixed some spaghetti for dinner and had a glass of wine.  I’m watching the 3rd season of the 1970’s series ‘Soap’ when Bert was abducted by aliens.  Then I watched the Madonna episode of Glee.

            I went to bed early.

 

22 April 2010 Thursday

            I sent Mike’s mom Faye Romero a letter today and it rained really hard today.

 

23 April 2010 Friday

The Weather was rainy again in the morning. The Air smells so fresh with all the rain we have had this week. In an arid state like Utah moisture in the air is welcomed.

            I am looking forward to going to Utah Symphony at Abravanel Hall tomorrow featuring ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by Prokofiev which is one of my favorites! Thanks to Michael Aaron who gave me some free tickets!

            I had my kids work on a paper Mosaic Art Project and practiced their play, the Ghost of Plymouth Castle.

            I think next year is going to be a whole lot more work for less money with this ‘explicit lesson program’ we will be doing for a Title One School but hey I might not even be teaching next year.

            I came home and cleaned the front room and kitchen some before Michael Romero called and asked if I wanted to come over and watch ‘Avatar’ with Randy Gile and him. I said sure, and before heading over I also dropped by Michael Aaron’s to pick up tickets to the symphony for tomorrow.

            I finally saw Avatar and was probably the only person on the planet who hadn't. It was like ‘Fern Gully’ meets ‘Dancing With Wolves’ but it was a stunning beautiful visual film.

 

 

24 April 2010 Saturday

I really had to clean the house today because it had gotten kind of beyond what I can put up with. I had to clean the carpet where Daisy had rubbed her dirty butt and mop the kitchen floor. I also cleaned the kitchen, vacuumed the front room, and scrubbed the bathroom.

            Also I dug up some irises and day lilies from the front yard and brought them over to Michael’s and planted them in his yard.  I brought the dogs over with me and because the weather is wonderful, the dogs jumped out of the back and took off running. They were so excited to enjoy the weather but Mike and I had to go run after them.

            After that I came back home and got ready to go out with Michael to the Utah Symphony.  We first went to Macaroni Grill at the Perry Hotel and it must have been prom night because there were lots and lots of high school kids there, all dressed up. It was obvious that the boys were more interested in showing off their dates then being with their dates. 

            So it was a wonderful time tonight with dinner at Macaroni Grill, seeing lots of prom dresses and boys in tuxedoes and then off to the Utah Symphony which was marvelous.

            The only thing that marred my evening was that Dallin Oakes sat in my row and I had to get up to let him pass by. My how I was tempted to put my foot out to trip him for all the mean things he has said about Gays over the years. Then after intermission, he gets up, takes his wife and sits in an aisle seat behind Mike and me away from other people. I guess he's too hoity-toity to sit with the plebes. Then during the last 2/3, he and his wife bolt out, with him having his wife trail him to keep up... no taking her hand or helping her out. When you actually see him up front and personal you know he’s a toad.

 

25 April 2010 Sunday

It's hair clipping and butt washing day! Oh joy! For a big old fat thing, Daisy sure can run.  After clipping Buddy and Daisy, they and Smokey all were dying for a ride so we went over to Michael Romero’s.

            Then Michael came with me to go shopping so we took the hounds back home and went to Sugar House to Wild Oats, Bed, Bath and Beyond, and the Bookstore.  Since it was lunch time we went to Lone Star and had BBQ sandwiches.

            Afterwards we went north to All a Dollar up in Centerville and to the Costco in Bountiful so I could get more treats for the hounds.

            It was a beautiful day although the breeze made it cooler then yesterday. Gas is jumping high again. It’s a nickel over $3.00 almost everywhere.

            I called John Reeves in Boston and Mom today but no real news from either of them.

            You can take the boy out of Southern Christianity but you can't take the Southern Christianity out of the boy. I heard on Prairie Home Companion someone singing "Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling" and I started bawling thinking how often I heard grandma and Grandpa Johnson sing that hymn.

 

26 April 2010 Monday

I took my kids on a walking field trip to the electrical power plant in Bountiful. The presenter, Matt Young, was super-hot but I don't think the kids noticed. They just liked the big work trucks!  It was a beautiful day to be outside.

 

27 April 2010 Tuesday

            They were drilling through a concrete wall by my classroom today and I’ve had the worse headache from it. I could hardly hear myself teach

 

28 April 2010 Wednesday

The wind howled like a banshee last night and the temperature dropped and it rained much of the morning.  The Butterflies eggs were deliver today so the kids will watch them grow and hatch over the next couple of weeks before we release them in May.

 

29 April 2010 Thursday

I found out at our faculty meeting that it will nearly be impossible to do buyouts for early retirement after next year.

            I had a horrible headache yesterday because the district decided to replace the drinking fountain outside my room this week and they have been jack hammering through the brick and concrete. Since it was rainy, I couldn't even take the kids outside to get away from the noise...

            I forgot how much I enjoy watching “Some like It Hot” featuring Tony Curtis and Jack Lemon.

 

30 April 2010 Friday

We put on our play The Ghost of Plymouth Castle all morning at school.  The kids have so much fun dressing up and acting out the 15 minute 2 act skit.

            I had Mike Romero and Randy Gile over for dinner as I had made an enchilada casserole.

Mark Andersen texted me and said he wanted to bring his daughter Audrey, girlfriend Jessica, and her boys over to work in the yard to make some money. I don’t know if I am ready to handle that so I texted him back and said it will be too wet this weekend.

                My niece Denise Wachs is down in Mississippi with the company she works for spraying the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. So far she has been doing maintenance on the planes that are flying in and out but she is also a load master. She is might get to fly this week end. This is all part of her job and her training. I am so proud of her.      

            Actors who died this month are John Forsythe from Charlie’s Angels and Dixie Carter from my favorite sit-com from the 1980s Designing Women.

 

 

MAY

1 May 2010 Saturday

It rained much of the day off and on. It certainly doesn’t feel like May weather. I met this kid named Mack Brown today at the Pride Center. He wanted to meet me because he is a fan of my column. While there, I read the latest QSalt Lake issue. Donald Steward won best columnist in the Fabby Awards. I was second place, and Joselle Vanderhooftt third.

            I worked a lot on John Cunnigham’s genealogy today.  His patrilineal line comes from Prestonpans, East Lothian, Scotland. I guess this is my way of staying connected with him.

                Five things I am grateful for today are Buddy letting me sleep in till 7, Daisy not stealing everyone's chicken strips, old Priscilla still able to make it down stairs, Smokey allowing me to brush out his tangles without snarling at me and being complimented by a new friend on the writing style of my QSL articles.

 

2 May 2010 Sunday

I kind of had a sour stomach last night but went out to breakfast at Big Ed’s by the University with Randy Gile and Mike Romero. I had never eaten there before and it’s been around since 1968.

                I finished my article for QSalt Lake. It's my ode to May Day and the radical progressives that helped us get to where we are today. It was fun connecting the dots between Emma Goldman, Oscar Wilde, Roger Baldwin, Harry Hay, Crystal Eastman and Joe Hill.

 

3 May 2010 Monday

I finally decided to face the task of mowing the backyard. It took an hour because it hasn't been mowed since last fall and it's been so rainy this year. My Globe willows dropped so many branches from the incessant wind this spring and Daisy sneakily had hidden empty food containers in the foot tall grass that I had to gather up. Oh the joys of home ownership.

            Now it’s time to sit back and enjoy a ‘Fuzzy Navel’ one of my favorite cocktails. I only drink as a tribute to Judy Garland.

It’s sad that ‘Georgie Girl’ Lynn Redgrave has passed away

 

4 May 2010 Tuesday

I met with my financial planner, Tyler Ferguson, after school. He said I can retire in 6 years instead of 8! Wahoo! Of course I'll probably be dead in 5 so why worry?

            I voted for Donald Steward to receive for the Kristen Ries Award. These are the nominees for 2010 Dr. Kristen Ries Community Service Award this year.

            Troy Williams Nominated by Lucia Malin: Troy Williams is a smart, young leader who is always pushing the envelope by raising the hard questions. He challenges the status quo while at the same time respecting the community elders. He is tireless and outspoken. His ability to bring Sister Dottie to life in such a big way to create a kind, funny and poignant character who disapproves of and works to eliminate discrimination against gays and lesbians is phenomenal. He delivers strongly needed political messages raising the level of debate about LBGT issues within the LDS community to a higher level. He uses his voice to reach many people who otherwise have no conduit to learn how to accept differences in lifestyles or even to realize that different ways of living are an option. He realizes the privilege he has as a good looking, smart, white man and at the same time he is aware that sometimes he needs to compensate by sitting in the back of the bus.

            Christine Johnson Nominated by Lucia Malin: Christine Johnson has given her all to represent the LBGT community at the legislature. She fearlessly initiated conversations and successfully created liaisons with very unlikely old, white, male, LDS legislators - those whom we most need to be on our side. I believe we need activists who push back at the system and refuse to go along such as Troy, but we also need leaders who work to change the system from within. This is a much harder task because so many don't recognize this as an appropriate political strategy. Making alliances though negotiation necessitates compromise. Walking on egg shells comes to mind as to how one has to behave when attempting system change from within. Christine has weathered attacks from all sides but remains steadfast in her convictions that it is possible to improve the attitudes of many Utahns who are uneducated about the realities of the lives of LBGT people. It could not have been fun to create these pathways with the likes of Howard Stephensen and then get lambasted by the very people she was working for. If you make people mad at both ends of political spectrum that means you are doing something right. Christine has exhibited the utmost in personal sacrifice by agreeing to carry a baby for a gay couple who could not otherwise have a child. I was shocked when I first read about this in the Tribune. But as I have seen Christine so matter of factly proceed with her life in a totally open way that I only have admiration for her integrity, courage and resolve. I saw her exhausted and discouraged at the end to the 2010 legislative session but never beaten down. She is even now, in her last trimester, working hard to make sure her vacated seat is filled by a dedicated progressive who will vocally support LBGT issues.

            Mark Swonson Nominated by Lucia Malin: Mark Swonson is one of those behind the scene guys who is everywhere. Mark is at every event, volunteering his time, manning a booth, selling tickets, always contributing to make LBGT events a success. He never seems to say no. I can’t imagine the number of hours he dedicates to various organizations but it’s a lot. The community needs leaders but it also needs the pack mules that steadfastly plod along and provide the elbow grease it takes to get the job done. He uses Face book to great advantage and constantly disseminates information and publicity for events. If just a few other community members would show half as much dedication to taking on the unglamorous tasks that need to get done, imagine how much work could get done!

            Kerry Bell Nominated by Brook Heartsong: I have known Kerry Bell for at least 15 years. I first knew him as an out lesbian police officer. He is now an openly transgendered police officer. Kerry belongs to the LGBT Public Safety Committee which is an informal group of representatives from several police agencies. These committee members work to help LGBT and transgender people understand the police but more importantly they coach police on how to respond to cases of same-sex domestic violence and other related issues. In November Kerry was profiled in the Salt Lake Tribune. The article was in depth and contained pictures of Kerry. Kerry is performing an invaluable service by living openly and honestly and volunteering to educate people about our community. Kerry also serves as a role model for the youth in our community. Kerry truly does “exemplify everything that the award has stood for: compassion, leadership and courage.”

            Donald Stewart (aka Ruby Ridge) Nominated by Ben Williams: Donald Steward (aka Ruby Ridge) has been an active member of the community for 25 years and personified the meaning of community service. Few in this community have given their time, energy, and money as unselfishly as Donald. Among his contributions to our community are: · One of the founders of Horizon House for People With AIDS · One of the founders and organizers of Camp Pinecliff for People With AIDS and their families · One of the founding member the CyberSluts- a fundraising group that raises thousands of dollars for charity · Chair of the Utah Pride Parade for 5 years or more · Organizer of 3rd Friday Bingo Fundraiser which has raised tens of thousands of dollars for Gay and non-Gay non-profits. Donald Steward is long overdue to be recognized as a Dr. Kristen Ries Award recipient, an award that epitomizes unselfish service to building and nurturing our Queer Community.

            Michael Nabor Nominated by Rev. Bruce Barton: From before the beginning of the Court in Ogden Utah, Michael Nabor has worked tirelessly for all kinds of programs and fundraiser's to improve the LGBT community of Utah. I have watched him as he spent many hours and personal finances to meet goals and enact change. I have seen him tired and not really ready to try again, yet he did-and does-try and succeed. I believe that one of the areas Michael has been influential and highly successful has been in raising funds and awareness for not only for Northern Utah but our whole state has been for HIV causes. He has been involved in the formation of organizations or supporting organizations that have made a huge impact on the challenge that continues in our lives and with our friends. This has been for the most part without recognition and without expectation of being recognized. I sincerely believe that OUR people like Michael Nabor gives us the guidance and role models for your next generations to follow. We are helped and guided by examples like Michael, and I, for one, am humbled and blessed by him.

            Jude McNeil Nominated by Jackie Biskupski: Although Jude McNeil isn’t looking for recognition, she certainly deserves it. She began her career working with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) people 10 years ago when she completed an internship with the University of Utah LGBT Resource Center. During graduate school, Jude worked with Pride Counseling as a therapist serving LGBT clients of all ages. She volunteered with the Utah Pride Center for two years before being hired on as the Director of Youth Programs in 2006. That same year she completed the Master of Social Work program at the University of Utah earning her MSW. In her time at the Center Jude has been responsible for a very successful training programming regarding homeless LGBTQ youth. According to the Volunteers of America Homeless Youth Resource Center, 42% of Utah’s Homeless youth identify as LGBTQ. In an effort to prevent youth homelessness Jude played a leadership role in establishing a collaborative effort with the Department of Human Services to deliver youth safety trainings to professionals working for DCFS, Juvenile Justice Services, and with foster parents statewide. Very few states are doing this work and are slow to acknowledge the over representation of LGBTQ youth in out of home care. As a result, LGBTQ youth are not receiving equitable care and often end up homeless. Jude has trained over 2,000 professionals and has presented at several local and national conferences including the National Foster Parent conference. Jude has been a visionary with the programs she has created at the Utah Pride center to meet the needs of LGBTQ youth. In her first year at the Pride Center, Jude started and facilitated a support group for transgender youth and a support group for parents with transgender youth. Due to the success of the program she has been able to greatly expanded resources for the transgender community and their families. Jude has helped many professionals working with transgender youth gain a better understanding of how to best support and create safety for transgender youth. Following this effort she pioneered two more support groups, one for LGBTQ youth and one for their parents. Now all support groups are facilitated by licensed mental health professionals. Jude also supervises a youth activity center that serves LGBTQ youth ages 14-20. The youth center offers a safe place for LGBTQ youth to socialize with peers, receive positive adult support, and positive feedback about who they are as people. Her work does not end there. Jude created a gender variant play group for children and a gender activist group, known as 'TransAction'. ‘TransAction’ has gone on to be the community voice for transgender people living in Utah. Transaction had its first annual gender conference in 2009 and is they are organizing the first annual trans march in the State of Utah during Pride 2010. In addition to her work at the Pride Center, Jude’s compassion for homeless youth has led her to co-found Operation Shine America (OSA) and currently serves as the board chair. OSA is an organization that works to raise awareness of the homeless youth epidemic in America. As part of her work with OSA, Jude helped to organize youth nationally to participate in a conference and successful march on Washington which took place in October 2009. Jude’s outstanding service extends even further and she currently serves on the Salt Lake County Commission on Youth (COY) to advocate for and develop a 5 year plan to improve services and education for youth. She also is a member of the Volunteers of America Homeless Youth Task Force. A committee that addresses youth homelessness by bringing together community members and organizations that work with homeless youth to look at existing services, identify potential gaps in our community, and find ways to fill those gaps. Last but not least Jude is on a committee that is looking for alternatives to youth incarceration through prevention and effective interventions.

            Josh Newbury Nominated by Matthew Siemionko: I began formally working at the Utah AIDS Foundation two months ago; prior to that I was a student intern, and before that a general volunteer with the organization. During my two years of experience at UAF, I have seen Josh Newbury in two capacities: as a case manager and now as our HIV Prevention Specialist. Volunteering in the office, I was able to see Josh working with clients, many of whom are gay or bisexual, to obtain critical services and access to medications and medical care. His ability to work with people living with HIV/AIDS to face the unique challenges they encounter as a result of a dual stigmatization (for being gay and being HIV+)in their daily lives was remarkable. The number of times I saw him interact with a client not only as a professional, but as a caring and compassionate person made me come to respect and admire him all the more. Now that he is our HIV Prevention Specialist, his primary job is to work with young gay and bisexual men to reduce the risk of HIV infection in young people. Through innovative programming and coordinating our Test Site for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, Josh comes into contact with a variety of people, again, many of whom are lesbian, gay, or bisexual. Through his coordination of the Test Site specifically, he works with a group of dedicated volunteers (again, many of whom are LGB and our allies) to promote healthy sexual behaviors to keep Utahans safe from infectious disease. Being a gay man myself, I have always felt at ease with Josh and feel that he is a strong advocate for members of my community. In addition to the work I have seen him do with people regarding healthy sexuality and behavior with primarily gay and bisexual men, I know that Josh is also extremely passionate about his volunteer work at the Inclusion Center. He has been involved with the center since his early teen years, first as a participant in their 'Camp Anytown' program, and then moving on to become camp counselor and eventually a camp director for the program. He continues to this day volunteering time for the organization, facilitating workshops and raising funds to help support the program. His dedication to an agency whose core values include confronting oppression, building community, and fighting for justice makes him a strong candidate for an award that is focused on community service. The Inclusion Center's determination to confront prejudice includes heterosexism and homophobia; it also targets racism, classism, sexism, etc. He is determined to work towards reducing the stigmatization of LGBT individuals, but also to reduce prejudice against people of color. This again shows Josh's dedication to working with communities that might face a dual bias (for being LGBT and a person of color). To me it is a great strength of a person to not only care strongly for and about people in the LGBT community, but for those at potentially greater risk of oppression, prejudice, and discrimination because of their HIV status or the color of their skin. His hard work and dedication to this agency and a community partner makes him a truly amazing person, but also a passionate, dedicated member of our community working towards a brighter, less prejudiced future for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in Salt Lake. I am grateful to be able to work with him, and I feel he is a strong candidate for this award.

            Gary Horenkamp Nominated by Barry Gomberg of the OUTreach Resource Center The OUTreach Resource Center nominates Gary Horenkamp for the 2010 Dr. Kristen Ries Community Service Award. Gary is a tireless and courageous pioneer in creating a stronger and safer GLBT community in Northern Utah. In the past six years, he has served as the only paid Program Director of OUTreach. During that time he has implemented programming for the GLBT community three nights each week. Activities include a youth drop in center, an adult drop in center and a youth focus group. He has mentored countless teens, many of whom do not have other supportive adults in their lives. A measure of his compassion is the invitations he accepts every year to attend high school graduations of OUTreach participants. Gary has also facilitated longer stays at the homeless shelter for youth whom he refers. Gary has established strong ties with local gay organizations - Weber State University's Gay Straight Alliance, the Imperial Rainbow Court of Northern Utah, and Ogden's new PFLAG group. He was awarded Board Member of the Year by the Northern Utah Coalition, HIV/AIDS Project. Gary has faithfully facilitated a twice-a month gay/bi men's group at the Pride Center. Sadly, it still takes courage to be "out" in Ogden, but less so, thanks to Gary. He has joined a dozen community organizations, and in all but one of them, he is the only openly gay member. For example, Gary is a community presenter for NU Hope, a youth suicide prevention program. He was also elected Treasurer for the Ogden Area Youth Alliance. Finally, Gary was the first spokesperson for the sexual minorities in the Coalition for Tobacco Free Utah. These achievements would be admirable for a person supported by a staff. The amazing thing is that Gary has accomplished all this while working only part-time. These accomplishments speak to Gary Horenkamp's passion to improve the lives of GLBT people throughout Northern Utah.

 

5 May 2010 Wednesday

Michael Romero went with me to the Q Salt Lake’s Fabby Awards. Thanks to Michael Aaron we had a nice time at the awards. The wine pairing was fun but was loss on me. I’m still a Mogen David kind of guy LOL.

            It was good to talk to David Nelson again. He said that there was a lull in his Gay Pink Pistol gun group because ammunition has gotten too expensive just to target practice.

            Afterwards Donald Steward, Courtney Moser, Mike Romero and I went out to Ambers on 33rd to get some hearty, real food. We had such a fun time dishing and bitching and laughing. It was good for the soul.

 

6 May 2010 Thursday

It was a busy day at work trying to get ready for a substitute on Friday. So I barely got home in time to feed the dogs before getting ready to meet Mike Romero to go to the play at Pioneer Memorial Theater. I bought tickets last April and then the next day I was offered free tickets from QSalt Lake.

            We went first to Big Ed’s for supper and parking was a bitch up at the U because of some convocation that was already going on. I think Big Ed’s is Mike’s new favorite hangout because of all the college boys.  At Big Ed's we had French Dip sandwiches and then off to the U of U Pioneer Theater for 42nd Street.

            The musical began at 7:30 and I had tickets for Row A seats 1 and 2 so we were really up close and personal. I bought front row seats for Mike and I, so we really got to see those tapping feet! The part of Peggy Sawyer was weak in the singing department but boy could she dance. I loved the costumes from the 1930’s. The two greatest words in the English language is “Musical Theater!”

            In the news The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged by over 900 points in a record-breaking “Flash Crash,” only to right itself within minutes.

 

7 May 2010 Friday

I am grateful I still have my mother and Mike Romero’s mom to send flowers to for this Mother’s Day. As a genealogist I know for a certainty that there's a beginning and an end for everyone so make sure you are telling those people who are in the here and now that you love them. I only have one aunt, Mattie Lee Williams, and my mom left from all the great women who helped raise me.

            I went over to Mike’s with the lawn mower after work, because I knew he’d never get over here to pick it up. After mowing the yard, later we went shopping at Lowe’s in Bountiful and ate at the Iceberg that is there on 5th South. It’s not as good as the original on 39th but it’s closer. I still love their giant onion rings.

            I went back over to Mike’s later in the evening and watched ‘Planet 51’ with Randy Gile and him.  I cleaned a lot of the house today for Mac Brown’s visit tomorrow.

 

8 May 2010 Saturday

Our three term Senator, Bob Bennett, the conservative grandson of a Mormon Prophet for God's sake was tossed out by Utah's Tea Party for being too liberal! Representative Jim Matheson, a Democrat and son of a former Governor of Utah, has to go to a Democrat Primary because he came up short against Claudia Wright a Lesbian. Boy are we gonna have mud and blood in Utah this year!

                I've got a serious case of the 'tireds'. I must be coming down with something. I just want to sleep or pass out... or both.  I decided not to have Mac Brown over tonight because I was so tired.

 

9 May 2010  Sunday Mother’s Day

I am feeling nostalgic this weekend...I watched ‘Easy Rider’ from 1969, ‘Joe’ from 1970, and ‘Top Gun’ from 1986...I stayed in bed most of the day. I did call Mike Romero’s mom Faye and had a nice talk with her as well as my own mom.

 

11 May 2010 Tuesday

My shoulders really are achy and I feel out of sorts.  I wonder if a cold settled in my back.

 

12 May 2010 Wednesday

I am feeling better.

            Valarie Larabee from the Pride Center sent an email out saying that Christine Johnson, Donald Steward and Mark Swonson were the top vote getters for the Kristen Ries Award and she said that Johnson will get the Pete Suazo Award for politics anyway so it’s really between Donald and Mark.

            She wrote “Dear Members of the 2010 Dr. Kristen Ries Community Service Award Selection Committee, According to our published guidelines for selecting this prestigious award (attached), we have not reached a clear winner from our first round of voting.  The top three nominees from the first round of voting were Rep. Christine Johnson, Donald Steward (Ruby Ridge) and Mark Swonson with 23 of you submitting your vote.

            Adding more complexity to our process, Rep. Johnson has been selected (Note: she has not been notified) as the recipient of the 2010 Pete Suazo Political Action Award (the other prestigious award given annually at the Utah Pride Festival Grand Marshal Reception).

            This award is chosen annually by the Board Chairs of 5 organizations (Equality Utah, Utah Pride Center, Stonewall Democrats, Log Cabin Republicans and the Utah Human Rights Campaign Steering Committee).

            We would like to suggest a course of action that includes conducting a second round of voting for the Dr. Kristen Ries Community Service Award that lists only Donald Steward and Mark Swonson as nominees.

            Rep Johnson, as an elected official, will instead receive the Pete Suazo Political Action Award that honors the work of the late senator and clearly represents the leadership and passion that Christine has brought to her role in government as well as our community.

            Note: Only elected officials are nominated for the Pete Suazo Award. If you agree, please cast your vote for one nominee – either Donald Steward or Mark Swonson by replying to this email by Friday, May 14th at 5PM.  If you disagree and want to have Rep Johnson considered this award too, please feel free to cast your vote for either of the three nominees Donald, Mark or Christine.

            Thank you in advance for your flexibility and quick response!  Please feel free to call if you have questions. Valerie”

            What a dilemma.  Oh my hell bells.... Mark Swonson or Donald Steward? What a Sophie's Choice... That's why I hate awards. Someone wins and someone loses. Can't they share...can't we get past recipients to tell Pride we want both?  

            UGH! I got into a squabble with Brad Di Iorio the QSL sales rep. When I got home he had sent out an email that some tickets to the opera were available. I emailed him back and said I’d like the tickets and then he replied that they were already given out which pissed me off because he didn’t even send the first email out until after I had already gone to work.

             I wrote back, “I can't check my mail between 8:00 and 4 because I am at work.  Please allow time to respond before giving them out if they are being offered. That's kind of lame.”

            I also emailed Mike Aaron and Brad Di lorio the email that Michael sent me saying I could have first dibs on tickets since I have written for him for 7 years without a dime in compensation.

            I wrote him, “I thought your loyal unpaid columnists were going to get first dibs on comp tickets? It's impossible to check my email while I am at work on a district computer. Brad Di lorio offered these at 8:30 a.m. and then said they were already given out by the time I got home and checked my email.

            I really don't ask for much but simple courtesy from Brad Di lorio would be nice. Since the concert wasn't till the 15th  it didn't seem like Brad Di lorio should have been in such a hurry to give them away.

            The only reason I wasn't in the very first issue of the Metro was because Brandon Burt didn't include me although I had sent him several articles.

            I am not mad really just kind of disappointed the way tickets are distributed willy-nilly.  It's like look here's a treat and then sorry you can't have it. I just think it’s a shoddy way to distribute tickets”.

 

13 May 2010 Thursday

After work, I Came home and mowed the front and back yard and pulled some weeds in the front yard. Tomorrow I am going up to the district to have my finger prints done again so I can be relicensed.

 

14 May 2010 Friday

After school let out, I went to the district office in Farmington and had my fingerprinting done. They say that it will take three weeks at least for the results.  So by the end of the school year I should know whether I will have a teaching job next year.

            I then bought about $35 worth of flowers at Smith’s Marketplace in Bountiful.  I need some color in my life.

 

15 May 2010 Saturday

I worked in the front yard for most of the afternoon after going out to Amber’s with Mike Romero and Randy Gile. I guess Randy is going back to Florida on June 4th to help the girls pack.

            I planted flowers along the front steps and cleaned out the weeds and leaves from the flower beds from along the driveway and curb.

            In the evening I went back to Mike’s to watch ‘Pirate Radio’ with Mike and Randy.  It was about rock and roll music being broadcast from a ship at sea because it was illegal to compete with the BBC. The music was great and the story was good.

 

16 May 2010 Sunday

I drove my truck over to David Alder’s apartment on 13th East to help him move. He had a couple of guys there to help him. I remember being so poor when I was his age so felt like I needed to help out. It took about 2 trips. Jeremy Koyei Yamashiro also was there.

             David and Jeremy are the creators of the Oral History Project but I don’t think it really took off because they are young and not really focused on history.  Anyway they both are moving from Utah at the end of the summer.

            After that I wanted to take the hounds on a ride because it was a beautiful spring day finally. I called Mike Romero to see if he wanted to go up to Centerville so we took a little trip up there with the dogs.

            Back at the house, I worked on some black history for Alice Keaton, my Grandma Williams’ great uncle CB Danforth’s African American companion. I finally found her in the 1870 census with a different surname, Merriweather. That was a major breakthrough.

            Later I made some popcorn and watched ‘In the Heat of the Night’ on the big screen before calling it a day.  I had all the windows open today which heated up the house in the evening. Daisy was panting so I turned the air conditioner on for the first time.

 

17 May 2010 Monday

I am so tired today.

 

18 May 2010 Tuesday

We canceled the field trip to the Bee’s Game because it was raining off and all day and I didn’t want to sit in the rain.

            This evening I wrote my QSalt Lake column on the Kristen Ries Awardees so I was able finished another article for the Lambda Lore column on time. I hope Joselle Vanderhooft proof reads this one because I was tired when I wrote it but I made the deadline!  

 

19 May 2010 Wednesday

I woke up with a twitchy right eye that wouldn’t focus. I was so tired yesterday and today my right eye was blurry and I had a bad head ache and when I checked by blood it was sky high... I took my blood sugars level and they were way out of whack 245. It’s probably why my eye is twitching. I took more insulin. I guess just taking insulin and pills are not enough if I want to stick around to outlive my hounds.

            I felt tired all day at work but I was surprised by a former student named Eva Montag who was a student of mine at Orchard years ago who came in to see me. She’s in 11th grade now. I think she must have been my student in 2004.  She just wanted to say hi and let me know that she enjoyed my class.

            All my butterflies are out of their cocoons so will have to release them soon.

            I left for home as soon as I could afterwards. I read my email and learned that Mark Swonson is the recipient of 2010 Kristen Ries Award. Good choice but I’d like to have seen both Donald Stewart and he both get it.  Am I just being bitchy or shouldn't the Ries Award winner been announced first and the political award 2nd in the press release that the Pride Center sent out??  Kind of tells you what their priorities are...other than that I am happy for Mark.

            Before going to bed my sugars were down to 171. I need to get more serious about controlling my blood sugar levels.       

 

20 May 2010 Thursday

I felt even worse this morning then last night with my one eye running with tears. I felt like I was having a stroke and when I looked in the mirror my whole right side of my face was dropping. It scared me to death. I called Mike Romero who was at work to check on the dogs if something happens to me and he called Randy Gile to come over and take me to the hospital.

            I called Dorothy Pratt to come in and sub for me but I also went to work to tell Jeny Petersen where the kids’ tickets are for the CRT testing. Then Randy drove me up to the U of U medical Center where I was admitted to the emergency room.

            The doctor had me checked to see if I was having a stroke even though it felt just like the Bell’s Palsy I had a few years ago but on the right side of my face and not the left. After being given an IV to lower by blood sugars and give me some antibiotics they decided that I had Bell’s Palsy again but it was rare only 16 percent ever get it again on the right side.

            Randy Gile stayed with me the whole time, which helped a lot.

             At home I called school and said I need a sub for Friday and Monday and Tuesday and I also called for an appointment see Dr. Stoneburner but I can’t get in to see him until June 11!  I also called mom to let her know I was sick again with Bell’s Palsy.

 

21 May 2010 Friday

It rained and rained. I made some soup but I swear more soup is on my shirt than is in me. I slurp it like a cat and it still drains out of my mouth and forget eating anything more solid then Jello. Thanks to Randy Gile I won't starve because he’s been taking me to the store.

 

            I think ‘Belle Palsy’ will become my new Drag Queen Name. I've earned it having been hit twice with this malady. A  "pretty girl is like a malady" will be my theme song... I think I am delirious...

            The old gospel hymn, Each Day I'll do a Golden Deed keeps playing in my head, “each day I’ll do a Golden Deed to help someone who is need… my life on earth is but a span so I must do the best I can.”  I'm grateful today for this reminder of my mortality and to focus on what is important and not what is vain.

 

22 May 2010 Saturday

It was a very damp day. Every time I put Smokey in the ‘time out room’ before I know it Buddy throws himself against the door and lets him out...talk about true love. My puppies are begging to go for a ride but I don't dare with only Univision.

            Some people drink, some people do drugs, some people have wild sex to ease the pain...I do genealogy... I’m a weirdo...

            I've only got one good eye, my mouth taste like metal, everything falls out of my mouth but I’ve traced Randy Giles family pack to the 1500's in 2 days! A distant relative of his is the poet Longfellow but he's too butch to be impressed.

 

23 May 2010 Sunday

I am going to bed at all odd ball hours. I am getting to bed at 2 in the morning. I just stay at the computer all day doing genealogy research. I created a family tree for Randy Gile and I have over 200 people on it already since Friday. It keeps my mind occupied as my body is too tired to do anything else.

            Randy Gile, Mike Romero, and I went to Ambers on 33rd South for breakfast.  At Ambers I had biscuits and gravy because they are easy to chew... food for the chewing impaired...Oatmeal is good too! We went to LaFrontera’s on 4th South for lunch because I thought I could eat cheese enchiladas.   

I want to smile at people but my face won't let me. My Irish eyes can't even smile... but I can do a happy dance with Buddy my dancing dog. He won't let me feel sorry for myself because it's all about him!

            ABC’s sci-fi-mystery series “Lost” ended after six seasons and 121 episodes, answering only a few questions and hurriedly explaining the story away with existentialist death/limbo hippie-isms.

 

24 May 2010 Monday

Matia Lumaca, of all people, came over today. I hadn’t dressed on bathed or anything when he came over. We visited and he basically apologized for how Ben Anderson treated me last January.

            We watched an episode of ‘AbFab’ and we found Ben’s walking cane and Matia’s jeans hanging on the back of the door in the downstairs bedroom. I am sure that was one of the reasons he came.  Matia gave me a long hug before leaving and I felt like I needed that as much as anything.

             I made a Cream cheese pie and chili and roasted chicken because it was so cold out today. It even snowed this morning! I saw it snowing outside my window and it's May 24th... I never saw it snow so late in the year... Climate change is not a theory any more.

The Salt Lake Tribune said the storm set “a record for the latest date measurable snow has fallen at the Salt Lake City International Airport.  The storm was pretty wet.

                Dorothy  Pratt said a tree limb came off  at her house under the weight of the snow in Bountiful.  The rain, coupled with 0.2 inches of snow, totaled 0.86 inches of water at the airport. The previous record was on May 18, 1977, when half an inch of snow fell at the airport.

            Oh well I'm not going anywhere... I had Randy Gile and Mike Romero come over in the evening and I gave them a roasted chicken, the pie I made and the chili to take home.        

 

25 May 2010 Tuesday

I finally got my lisinopril meds from Smith’s today after fighting with the druggist yesterday.

            It was a beautiful day today. I mostly stayed at the computer all day working on Randy Gile’s family history. Randy ancestry is mostly German although his paternal line comes out of New England. A great uncle of his and a great uncle of mine both died at Corinth Mississippi during the Civil War. His was on the Union side and mine on the Confederate side.

 

26 May 2010 Wednesday

It’s been a week since I became ill with Bell’s Palsy again.  I am still lacking any energy.            I called work today and said I’d won’t be back for the rest of the year but will come in on Friday to see my principal Liz Beck and will pop in next week to say good bye to the kids.  

I decided I can't go back to work for the rest of the school year. There's just 7 more school days anyway but I'll pop in to see the kids, say good bye and hand out report cards. I just don't have the vitality to be in class all day. I still can't pronounce  my ‘b's’ and  ‘p's’ and my right eye brow is about an inch lower then my left. I am not ready for my close up Mr. DeMille!

            I watched an episode of Glee on Hula TV which allows you to watch an episode the following day on the computer. Glee is fun.

            I just worked more on Randy Gile’s genealogy. It makes my days go by but I am getting a little stir crazy. I asked Mike Romero to take me to Costco to get the dogs some chicken strip treats and that’s about all I did outside today.

            Randy left for Las Vegas today and Mike said he was glad to have his house back. He said he likes living alone.  

            I watched the ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’ and ‘Sunshine’. Neither movie was memorable.            Mark Anderson posted that he was frustrated over lack of work and I wrote him back to call me if he needs money because I could use the help in the yard. I never heard back from him.

 

27 May 2010 Thursday

My sleeping schedule all out of whack. I didn’t go to bed until nearly 3:30 in the morning. I have insomnia and working on the Giles genealogy keeps my mind busy. I can’t just be passively entertained.

            I fixed some bran pancakes for breakfast and didn’t do much else before giving the dogs a ride. I wanted to get out of the house and pick up a QSalt Lake but the Pride Center had no place to park so I went over to the Trapp.

 

            It seems odd to see the old North Temple Overpass to downtown torn down. As I was going into the Trapp, Joe Redburn was coming out and he said “Ben?” like he didn’t recognize me with my droopy face. I told him I had Bell’s Palsy and he said he was sorry to hear that.

            I also bought a grilled chicken burrito from El Ranchero’s because I wasn’t up to fixing anything. When we got home decided I had enough energy to mow the front yard before another storm hits this weekend.  My flowers are starting to bloom especially with my beautiful golden irises. The Orange poppies are also just starting to burst.  I do have a pretty yard.  Chad Keller had a pretty yard too the year he died. 

            I fed the dogs and watched a film ‘In the Loop’ a political parody that I think I would have enjoyed better if I felt better. 

            I talked to mom today. We talked for a good hour I think or at least she talked and I listened.  She fell last Tuesday going outside to get the paper and couldn’t get up until Charline and Dennis found her.  I told her she needs to keep a whistle around her neck she could blow if she needs help. 

            In the Art Linkletter the television personality who had the show 'Kids Say the Darnest Things' died.

 

28 May 2010  Friday

It’s 2:30 in the morning and I can’t get back to slept. I am having panicky dreams. I’ve realized I never scheduled the bowling alley for the kids for next week. Also I am thinking about how long this illness will take? My eye and jaw is starting to hurt, throb again.  I’m getting a little scared from all the what if’s?  What if I don’t get my relicense? What if I can’t get hired by Kimberlee Gile’s company?

            I didn’t want to lie and in bed and stress out.  I wish I had someone in my life to lean on and say to me ‘it will be alright’. The last time I had Bell’s Palsy, Mike Romero was living here even if he was not capable of any emotional support. 

            I just need someone to pat my hand but I guess I will just have to man up and do that for myself.   I can see why Chad Keller did what he did. Suicide becomes attractive at times when I think about facing it all alone at my age.

            When I was up this morning, I went in to Washington today at mid-morning to check in with my principal and to check on my class. Liz Beck was good to me and just had me sign my evaluation. She said she would fill it out later. The students learned everything about Bell's Palsy from my substitute, Mrs. McNeil, who is the daughter-in-law of our old 2nd Grade teacher,  so I showed them what it looks like, always a teacher. Mrs. McNeil said she’s good to substitute for the rest of the year for me. I also called Bountiful Bowl and got that taken care of for the 5th graders’ last day activity.  

            Now I am wiped. I get about a 1 hour burst of energy and then I'm all done in for the day. But it's a beautiful day and my orange oriental poppies are simply stunning.             Mike Romero took off for Cheyenne Wyoming for the weekend because his friend Troy Ryan is in the hospital with ulcers.        In the news Gary Coleman who was a child actor in the 1980s died.

 

29 May 2010 Saturday

I am starting to wonder who's the greater threat to America al-Qaida or British Petroleum? Old Big mouth Dick Cheney sure has been hiding in his bunker again.

            It’s the First time in a week that I have slept for 9 hours in a row now that I am off the steroids.

            I created a family tree for the Giles and added 730 people to it within a week. I was like a speedball genealogy junkie or just one major snoop. You do strange things when you can't sleep like document other people's civil war ancestors. Are there interventions out there for me?   The actor from Easy Rider, Dennis Hopper died.

 

30 May 2010 Sunday

Today is the Royal Court’s Coronation but my days of going to it are over I think. I hope everyone has dusted off their tiaras and tucked everything in because it's show time at the Golden Spike Coronation... have fun and congrats to the new Emperor and Empress. I hope Chuck Whyte’s tux still fits!

 

31 May 2010 Monday Memorial Day

I mowed the lawn on my day off. People who died in May were Actress Lynn Redgrave, actor Gary Coleman, actor Dennis Hopper, singer Lena Horne, and TV personality Art Linkletter.

 

JUNE

1 June 2010 Tuesday

Well this is the day I knew was long time coming. I got a letter from the State Board of Licensing saying that my credential is being held for review because of the two arrests I have on my record from 1976 and 1991. 

            I need to do a QSalt Lake column but have little inspiration with a virus shutting down a side of my face... I will think of something... or maybe just go back to bed.

            “June is bustin' out all over The feelin' is gettin' so intense, That the young Virginia creepers Have been huggin' the bejeepers Outa all the mornin' glories on the fence! Because it's June...”

            I  did finish my article. It took 3 hours.

 

2 June 2010 Wednesday

I am so depressed and scared about losing my job. I called the State Board of Education like Randy Gile suggested and the woman there, after pulling up my record, was not very hopefully that I could retain my license.

            I planted some flowers in the backyard so when I sit out there, under the shade trees this summer, I will have something pretty to look at.

            My energy is slowly returning from having Bell’s Palsy if not my smile.

 

3 June 2010 Thursday

Today is Mom’s 81st birthday and I sent her flowers.  I called her in the evening and we had a long talk. I told her that I was quitting teaching. She doesn’t need to know that I am actually losing my license.

         I went up to school today and held an auction for the kids like I said I would. That nearly wore me out in of itself.  I didn’t really talk to anyone there. I gave Jeny Peterson 22 dollars for slurpies at 7-Eleven for the kids today.

         So this is how I go out. No fanfare no farewells no parties no goodbyes. I kind of like it this way.

         Randy Gile took Mike Romero and me for dinner at Ambers although I didn’t have much of an appetite.  On the way over to Michael’s I was pulled over by a cop for not using my signal when I made a right turn but I think he mainly pulled me over because I wasn’t wearing my seat belt.  He must have seen how pathetic I was with Bell’s Palsy and let me go with a warning.

         I sent my Cousin Kay this email: “Today's Mom birthday so I gave her a long call. I also sent flowers. Her arthritis is hurting her pretty bad she said. We had a good visit. Talks about all the old times. Good thing I know about the people she was talking about. JW asked mom ‘what was their uncle Charlie Burl's son's name and she couldn't remember. It was Bobbie Jack Johnson if your dad still wants to know.

            Well I got my letter today from the Professional Relicensing office. It doesn't look good. It showed an arrest in 1976 for Lewdness and one in 1991 for Sodomy and Lewdness giving false info and yadda, yadda,  yadda.

            They said that I have to get police documents and court documents and write an explicit letter detailing everything by June 11 and that my certification is placed on hold.

            I came down with Bell's Palsy again about the 20th of May and I have been off work ever since. Tomorrow is the last day of the year. I am really tired and weak and just don't know how I can run around to get all this done.

            They have the arrest records from the finger prints I think they just want to discourage me from even trying. I called the relicensing office about where to send the information and the woman there wasn't very encouraging that even if I do all the hoops... that the board would not recommend me being relicense.

            Well a part of me says enough if enough... I don't want to have to justify my life to a bunch of strangers who will probably not reissue a license with that on my record no matter how many years ago.

            So I am going to have to take a leap of faith and believe that there is something else I can do to make a living that will not be so stressful and that I can be myself without living in fear. It's not like I will be walking away broke. They will have to give me what I've paid in to state retirement all these years and I will have a pay check until September 1st.

            But I am a Johnson and a worrier and negative and fear I will be living on the street with my dogs holding a sign saying will work for food. Well I know that won't happen... maybe things will be tight and I will have to budget and adjust my lifestyle but I can't live in the fear anymore.

            Good friends that use to live next door for 12 years are moving back to Utah from Florida and she is coming to open a branch of a title company here in Utah.  She loves my butt and I am hopeful that a position will open for me there.

            Anyway teaching has been slowly killing me for years and my health has gone to crap because of it so maybe it's Providence or my higher power saying if you won't leave on your own I will have to push you.

            I hate change in my senior years. I hate it... but what can you do? I am not ready to curl up and die yet... Got too much in me to write and record and document before my time is through...

           What is the serenity prayer again? God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference? I am such a control freak that it's hard for me to just let the universe unfold...

            Next year, if I stayed in teaching, It would really be hard because they are changing the way we teach and they want me to take classes all summer just to learn the new way.  So perhaps it’s a blessing.  I know I am grateful that I was able to finish out the year and say good bye to the kids.

            I turned 59 in April so I only have 6 years until Social security and Medicaid any way. I suppose push comes to shove I could retire at 62.  Any way I know you probably wonder if I heard anything so this is it.

            Sorry for the typo's but I only have one good eye with this palsy. Love  Cuz  Jr.

 

4 June 2010 Friday

I went up to school this morning to drop off grades and say goodbye to the kids who were at the bowling alley.  Well that officially ends my 2009-2010 year and probably my career as a teacher.

             I then went over to see Randy Gile and visit with him before he had to leave for Florida to pack his family up. I went with Michael Romero to take Randy to the Airport to go home. The Giles will be back in Utah in three weeks.

            I am still kind of shell shocked and depressed about the thought of losing my job after all these years.  I am almost paralyzed by the fear of financial ruin.

             In the evening Michael and I went up to the Jewish Community Center up by the Medical Center for the Grand Marshal Reception. I gave Michael a free ‘Sponsor Pass’ I received from Michael Aaron and I have a VIP pass for being a Kristen Ries Award winner.

            The view of Salt Lake City from the Jewish Center was incredible and the evening was just perfect. I visited some with Dr. Patty Reagan and her friend Brent Marrott before the reception began.

            Mark Swonson was being given a Kristen Ries Award, Christine Johnson was given a Pete Suazo Political action award, and Charles Lynn Frost aka Dottie Dixon was chosen Grand Marshall for this year’s parade.

            Mike and I sat at Mark’s table with Chuck Whyte and there were at least 100 or more people there from the ‘A-Gay’ list attending. They served petite hors d’oeuvres and chocolate covered strawberries that were divine.

            Dottie Dixon was as wonderful as ever and even mentioned my Lambda Lore article in the Salt Lake about the history of Pride Days. It made me feel kind of special and that what I do is worthwhile; especially after so many people there said they read my column.

            There were several politicians at the event, including Rep. Jim Matheson, Mayor Peter Coroon, and Mayor Ralph Becker. I also saw Joel Briscoe there who is running for a state office and is my DEA rep for Davis County. I went up to him and asked if I could meet with him next week because I may be losing my job.

            At the end of the event all the Kristen Ries Award Winners attending were asked to have a picture taken together. I saw so many old friends during the evening all in one place; Patty Reagan, John Bennett, Val Mansfield, Kevin Hillman, Marlin Criddle, David Turner, Todd Bennett, Ron Hunt, Becky Moss, Donna Land, Kim Russo, Luci Malin, Matt Landis, and Chuck Whyte, just to name a few.

            Funny, this one woman named Marilyn Johnson, came up to me and asked if I remembered meeting her and her partner at Jeremiah's in Jackson Hole in 1994! What a memory! Then I remembered her from old Affirmation Days also when she was like the only Lesbian attending the meetings at the Unitarian Church. It was like a family reunion.  I think Michael even had a good time.

 

5 June 2010 Saturday

I worked on getting my Gay history files together for most of the day before heading over to Michael Romero’s at 4:00 in the afternoon to go to the Pride Festival. We first went to the Mexican food stand Betos on North Temple and got some burritos for supper before getting to the festival. We both have VIP passes so it doesn’t cost us anything to attend.

            We hauled in some folding chairs and walking sticks and watched the Saliva Sisters’ last part of their act, and then the dancing DC Cowboys and comedienne Sarah Bernhardt.

            Sarah Bernhardt was funny but I felt like she only halfheartedly wanted to be in Utah.  It was a beautiful night out with lots and lots of straight people. They must have come to hear Sarah Bernhardt perform.

 

6 June 2010 Sunday  Pride Day

Today is the first Pride Day I went to in years.  I got up about 7:30  this morning to get ready to meet Michael Romero, and Buddy and Smokey were raring to go so I decided to take them with me to the Pride parade. Daisy didn’t want to go but I did try to coax her to come along.

            Michael took his SUV and I was worried this morning that I had lost my sun glasses but they were in Michael’s vehicle. We parked over on 2nd East in a parking lot beneath a tree for shade and pitched our folding chairs and waited for the parade to begin at 10.

            Ralph Goff came on by and we visited a while. He used to edit the old Triangle Magazine in by gone days. Tom Folks and Chuck Whyte also soon joined us. Even Darren Solomon popped by which was unusual.

            The street began to fill with lots of straight couples and their kids and babies as well as gay people. I’d say more than half the people I saw were straight couples. The parade took an hour and 45 minutes from start to finish.

            Mike Aaron’s gay super hero on top of the Q Salt Lake Jeep entrance was amazing.  Of course I think the DC Cowboys were our favorite. Who doesn’t like half naked dancing cowboys?

            After the Parade we took the hounds home and then we went to Big Ed’s at the U for breakfast. We saw Greg Hardin there from the old Lovebirds with his cute young roommate named Kyle. Greg’s drag name now is Tracie Aviary. LOL

            So after eating we went to the Pride Festival just in time to see the DC Cowboys perform again. Michael had a sponsor pass and I had a VIP pass because I am a Kristin Ries Award Recipient so we got in free. We sat for most of the day in the VIP booth that was sitting up higher so you could see the stage over the crowds better.  The VIP Booth also had free food and drinks. So I felt kind of special today even though I have issues with having a VIP Booth at all, but I know Michael had a good time.

            The Washington Square grounds were jammed with people and I know at least half, if not more, were straight people.  After seeing how much work went into making this event happen with over 800 volunteers alone, I kind of have changed my tune about the Center and Pride day. I think I was wrong for the past couple of years.  Lots and lots of people are affected by what they do in a positive way.

            Anyway Tom Folk who was with Chuck Whyte couldn’t get into the VIP Booth because only sponsors and VIP’s, could so Chuck stayed with him while Mike and I hobnobbed in the booth.  I visited mainly with Michael Aaron and Luci Malin but I did see Debbie Rosenberg and I gave her some T-shirts that we got from being in the VIP Booth. I didn’t want them.

            Well it was a lovely day and warm, very warm, at least in the mid-80’s but that just meant lots of guys took their shirts off.

            We left about 5:00 in the afternoon after seeing and hearing Martha Wash performing “It’s Raining Men”. I was kind of tired, just even from sitting.

            After coming home I took a nap, fed my dogs around 7 in the evening, and watered the flower garden I had planted last week. Now I have to face a new week and possibly the challenges of finding a new job.

 

7 June 2010 Monday

I emailed my Davis Education Associate rep, Joel Briscoe, this morning. He’s my union rep for Davis County. I wrote “Joel, this is Ben [Edgar] Williams we spoke briefly at the Grand Marshal event last Friday. I have been a member of DEA for 22 years and I really need someone I can speak to about having my relicensing held up due to arrest records from 1976 and 1991.

            I was informed that the Utah Professional Practices Advisory Commission is meeting this Friday the 11th to review my case and before I send them the information that they require, I could really use some advice.

             I also have no idea, if I do lose my license, what is Davis School's responsibility towards me?  I truly would appreciate meeting with you sometime this week before Friday.  Thank you.”

            He wrote back “Ben, Do you have any time restrictions on when you can meet this week? Joel”

            I responded “Friday I have a doctor's appointment at 10:20 but otherwise none. Whenever it best fits your schedule. I live in SLC by the airport. Thank you.”

            Joel later replied “Ben, I just got off the phone with Mike McCoy, who is the UEA attorney.  Please call him at 266-4461, ext. 115. Because your case involves past arrests, he is the best person to talk to about the UPPAC meeting on Friday.  You can talk to him and have patient-client confidentiality.  You would not have that with me.  However, I can help you best in dealing with your employment issues with Davis County.  Keep me informed about how things are going.”

            So I called Mike McCoy and  I have an appointment to see him tomorrow.

            I then went to the Redwood Clinic and had some lab work done for my appointment with Dr. Stoneburner this Friday.

            After that I went to the Salt Lake Police Department to retrieve a copy of my arrest and they told me that those records were at the Sheriff Department out on 9th and 33rd.  So I went out there and requested my record but they said their files were down and they would call me when they were back up.  It was very frustrating and embarrassing.

I wrote Randy Gile an email letter today: “Glad you made it back to Florida okay... Michael and I had a nice weekend. I go him a VIP pass to go with to me to all the Pride events free.  Sunday it was 90 degrees for Pride Day. I met Joel Briscoe, who is my union rep at the Grand Marshal's reception, and I asked to meet with him. He had me contact the lawyer for our teacher's union. I am meeting with him tomorrow.  He wants me to show him the letter I am writing before giving it to the relicensing board.

            I went down to the City police to get a copy of my arrest record but they said it was kept by the county so I had to go out to the Sheriff office and they said their file system is down and they aren't sure if they’d have a record of it since it was 19 years ago.

            I found my Sentence Judgment Form in my own files. I was only charged with lewdness, not sodomy, and giving false info etc. I had four months of therapy with Dr. Robert Card who had been an aversion therapy psychiatrist.  I was fined $500 back then and put on 18 months’ probation.

            So anyway I will write up a letter tonight after Mike and I get back from a free show he wants to see and then see the lawyer tomorrow. Tell everyone hi for me. We miss you all”

            In the evening Mike Romero and I went to Wendy’s Hamburgers for dinner then to a free movie showing at the Tower Theater. It was part of the ‘Damn These Heels’ film festival.  Even though it was free I doubt whether 10 people were in the audience. 

            This is the letter I had to write to the State Re-licensing board. “7 June 2010 Dear  Ms. Lear, This letter is to explain the specific circumstances of my arrests in 1976 and 1991. I apologize for not having completed this request sooner but I didn’t receive the letter dated February 23, 2010. Only after being finger printed again in May did I receive an email on June 1st  with the February 23, 2010 letter  as an attachment. 

            I have been ill with Bell’s Palsy for the past 3 weeks but have been trying to gather information from the various agencies.  I called Provo’s  police office and they informed me that they did not have information on  the 1976 incident. 

            I contacted the Salt Lake County Sheriff  office and they provided me a copy of the 1991 arrest record and I went to the 3rd District Court and received a copy of the court docket for my case.

            In 1976 I was a student at Brigham Young University and in May 1976 I was not attending school nor could I find a job. Nearly all my friends had left for the summer and I was without friends or family. I was lonely and I would go to a particular park to read and be outside. 

            On this particular day, while at the park,  another young man was looking at me and trying to get me to notice him.  After a time he beckoned me to go into the men’s restroom.  There he asked me what I liked to do.  It made me nervous being there but I said I didn’t know and he asked again what I liked.

            I felt his questions were trying to get me to admit to something and I asked him if he was a cop.  At that point he said he was and that I was busted for soliciting.  I was fully dressed and had not exposed myself but was in shock and felt extremely guilty for having gone in with him.  He told me that I was a part of a problem they were having and I was taken to jail.

            I called an LDS Social Counselor who I had been seeing from BYU and he had me released and went with me to court. The judge, upon learning that I was leaving Utah to go home to California and that I had no money, suspended any fine and jail time on the condition that I leave Utah.  I was convicted of lewdness on the word of the arresting vice officer but there had been no sexual contact nor exposure.  I pled guilty because of shame and guilt rather than any actual sexual contact.

            By 1991 I had acknowledge that I was a gay man and was active in my community serving on boards of several  LGBT organizations.  In August 1991 I had a severe lapse of judgment after attending a meeting of LGSU students at the University of Utah.  It was a Wednesday evening and I went to use the restroom in Orson Spenser Hall. 

            The facility was completely empty being at night but as I was at a urinal another man came in and stood next to me.   I should have immediately left and I regret to this day I didn’t.  No one was in the facility but myself and this other individual until a hidden security officer jumped out and said that we were both under arrest.

             I was charged with sodomy, with giving false information [because I told him that my name was Ben Williams before telling him it was Edgar], with Lewdness, and with loitering.

            Ben is a nickname that people have known me by since I was 20 and I was flustered at the arrest.  I never saw the charges until my attorney secured them and I contested in court what the security officer reported to the arresting officer of what had occurred.

            The charges of sodomy, giving false information, and loitering were dropped but Justice Eleanor Van Scriven insisted that I attend therapy sessions with Dr. Robert Card.  We worked on self-esteem issues and appropriate relationships for four months. He testified on my behalf and I pled no contest to the charge of lewdness.

            I know I made a serious error, one that I realize is completely wrong even if the offense was with another adult.  I am truly sorry that I had offended the law. I have tried to make amends these past 19 years by doing community service and working with LGBT youth to help them gain a sense of self-worth to avoid offensive behavior that I had done. 

            I became partnered with another man to build a healthy relationship. I have tried to be as professional in my career in education by keeping my private life out of the classroom completely.

            I did confide in my principals that I was gay when I thought appropriate and have always strived to not only instruct the state’s curriculum but to instill in the some 700 students I’ve  taught a sense of self-worth and high self-esteem.

            I truly am not a threat to any of my stewards nor would I ever be.  I have always regarded the safety and wellbeing of my charges to be my paramount duty.

            My yearly evaluations as an educator have always been positive and I have tried to be an asset to my profession.

            Pamela Park and Elizabeth Beck of the Davis School district both could provide references to my character as an educator. I will follow up by providing you with a copy of the 1976 documents as soon as I can find out where to obtain them. Thank you for your consideration in my behalf’ Sincerely Edgar H Williams”

 

 

8 June 2010 Tuesday

It was a very weird day. I went down to the Utah Education Association headquarters in Murray and met with Mike McCoy the Legal counsel for my union. He was very busy but did go over my letter and he called Carol Lear’s office and left a message to see if I could get an extension.  He told me that he didn’t think they would hold up my record but he’s doesn’t make that decision.

            After leaving him I went back to the Sheriff Office and they told me that they didn’t have my records from 1991 and that I’d have to go to the U of U, but then later in the afternoon they called me back and said to come down and pick up the records so I don’t know what was up with all that.

            I learned from the actual record that asshole U of U security office, who spied on me and that guy back then, said I was having oral sex. That was a lie as I didn’t have time except for standing next to that guy at the urinal before the security officer jumped out and busted us.  So he falsified that record. Oral sex is considered sodomy in Utah.

            I looked up on Google the asshole U of U cop Sgt. Brad Buckmiller that actually booked me and found out that he had been charged in 2000 with obstruction of justice and fired from the university. So he was a real piece of shit.

            Then later I went down to the Salt Lake court house and got a copy of my court docket. The actual records were shredded in 1998.

            In the evening I asked Mike Romero if he wanted to go out and get something to eat so we went to Ambers on 33rd South.  I feel so worn out.

 

9 June 2010 Wednesday

            I made copies of my arrest and court records and went down about 1 this afternoon to the State Education office and turned in my letter. I’ve done all that I can do so my fate is not in my hands anymore. Emotionally, it brings back the traumatic events from 19 years ago when for four long months I never knew whether I was going to jail or not.  It emotionally crushed my spirit and I still have trauma from that event even today.

            Today is my sister Charline’s 63rd birthday.  

 

10 June 2010 Thursday

I spent much of the day with Chuck Whyte who took me to lunch at Pat’s BBQ on Commonwealth down in South Salt Lake. It was delicious and I had enough left over to give to Mike Romero.

Chuck and I afterwards looked at the Broadway Towers Condos and no doubt they would be a lifestyle change for Chuck. He is thinking of selling his house at 2354 East 2100 South. Back at his place I showed him how to download pictures onto his computer, and from there on to different social networking sites.

            It rained off and on today and a lot in the evening. It’s been a wet June so far.

 

11June 2010 Friday

I had my appointment today with Doctor Stoneburner.  My appointment was for 9:20 but I wasn’t even called back until 10:30 and I had another wait of an hour before I even got to see him.  He said that my Bell’s Palsy was about over and everything seemed okay from the lab results except my sugars. They were still way too high. My A1c was over 9 when they should be at 7 or below. He wanted me to up the dose of insulin I take to 45 mm.

            I have an eye appointment this Monday at 8:30 in the morning, and I guess I will go ahead and get the colonoscopy test done while I still have insurance from my district.

            It started raining today again so couldn’t mow my lawn. I just made some green chili from a new recipe and in the evening watched ‘Stage Door’ featuring Katherine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers.  I then stayed up too late watching one of my favorite films, ‘DOWNFALL’, the retelling of the Third Reich’s last ten days.

 

12 June 2010 Saturday

Mike Romero called this morning and wanted to know if I still wanted to go out for breakfast and plan on going up to Logan. I did. It was a wet, windy day out but beautiful, kind of like Seattle. My Blood sugars this morning was 234 so I took 45 mm of insulin as well as my pills.

            We went to CJ’s that replaced Jim’s Restaurant over on 39th South and 11th East and had a nice breakfast. I gave Mike half of my potatoes for breakfast.  Mike enjoyed his breakfast and I paid for it since we were going to use his vehicle and gas for the trip to see Chad Keller’s grave.

            In the news a Chevron pipeline leak spilled about 500 barrels of oil into Red Butte Creek.

13 June 2010 Sunday

            Mike Romero and I were on the road by 10:30 this morning and were up in Preston Idaho by 12:30 but I didn’t know which way to go after that. So I called Courtney Moser and he set us on the right road to Thatcher.

            We turned off onto the road leading to Thatcher but I couldn’t see the Chapel anywhere and since I hadn’t driven to the funeral 3 years ago I was not sure where I was. We did take this one road and came upon a herd of Buffalo that was really fun to see. There were probably 50 to 75 bulls, cows, and calves.

            I said we better go on to the town of Niter and get some directions and there I learned from a counter girl that the Chapel had been torn down 2 years ago! She gave us some directions on how to find the cemetery and we were there by 2:00 in the afternoon but the gate was locked.

However a low fence was nearby Chad’s grave so we could easily take pictures. There was also this real cute cowboy grooming his horse just outside the cemetery also real near Chad’s grave. I thought how cool was that?”

            Chad has the Greek comedy and tragedy masks for on his tombstone as well as some musical notes. How appropriate! A drama queen for all time and eternity.

            We left as it was beginning to rain on us when we were at the Thatcher cemetery. We hit rain off and on all the way home. We stopped at Wendy’s in Logan and had a bite to eat about 4 in the afternoon. I had a salad and a burger.

            We finally got back to Salt Lake about 5:30. After that I just came home, fed the dogs their chicken supper and watched a movie called ‘Art School Confidential’. It was a dark comedy but had some good players in it.

            It was good to get away for the day but even better to be home.  I still haven’t had to turn on my sprinkler system this year.

            We had an oil spill yesterday here in SLC. An underground Chevron pipe leaked and the oil flowed into Red Butte Creek down to the retaining pond in Liberty Park which soiled all the ducks and geese there. The park is closed down and Chevron in working to clean up the mess.

 

14 June 2010 Monday.

I went to the eye doctor today and Dr. McCoy said that my vision had changed slightly from last year probably from the Bell’s Palsy.

 

15 June 2010 Tuesday

I worked on my column for QSalt Lake today. It was due today. I wrote about the origin of sodomy laws and how they operated in Utah as that June 26th is the 7th anniversary of the Supreme Court Decision eliminating the criminalization of Sodomy.

            I also sent Bill Romero a father’s day card with his letter- “Dear Bill and Faye, Hope you are well and are going to do something special for Bill’s day. The weather here has been really strange. Today it’s nice, about 77 degrees but on other days it’s been cold and wet.

            Last Sunday, Mike and I drove up to Idaho near Soda Springs to visit the grave of a friend of mine who had died about 3 years ago. It was a cool wet and cloudy trip but the countryside was green and lush.

            I went over to Mike’s yesterday to give him your birthday card. It came on Monday.  I guess I will just renew his Triple A roadside insurance for his birthday.

            Mike had our old next door neighbor Randy Gile staying with him for about a month.  Randy and Kimberlee are moving back to Utah from Florida and he was out here job and house hunting.  I guess the whole family will be back out in about a week.

            In the middle of May I came down with Bell’s Palsy again. I woke up and felt like I was having a stroke so I called Mike and he sent Randy to take me to the ER where they said I had an episode of Bell’s Palsy again but only this time on the right side of my face.

            I took off the rest of the school year with a substitute and only came in to do grades and say good bye to the kids.  I was in pretty bad shape.

            I couldn’t get in to see my doctor until last Friday and he said that it’s about gone away and I think so too but it lasted about 4 weeks with my face paralyzed again. The steroids and antibiotics they gave me for it knocked my blood sugars all out of whack so I am working on getting them back down.

            I took Mike with me to Pride Weekend because I got free tickets for service I do in the community so Mike and I sat in the VIP the whole time letting people think we were important ha!

 

            Actually I was grateful for Mike because he drove me around and helped me get around when my energy was so pooped.

            Mike’s friend Troy Ryan from Cheyenne was in the hospital too I heard. He fainted at work and they think he has a perforated stomach ulcer.  I know that must hurt.

            My yard is just busting with new growth from all the rain we have had and I have managed to mow the yard some to keep the grass down.

            Poor old Priscilla, I think, has done lost her mind. She comes out to the front room and squats and pees right in front of me.  I just keep towels around to soak it up.  I know she can’t see very well. Poor girl.  She’s 14 years old and mostly likes to sleep under my bed in the cave I made for her.

             Actually Smokey seems to be spryer then Priss but then he’s 2 years younger than her.  He’s still as growly as ever.

            Did you hear about our oil spill? A Chevron underground oil pipe leaked into Red Butt Creek and it flowed down into Liberty Park.  Hundreds of geese had to be taken to clean up areas to wash all the oil off of them.  I guess it’s a big mess But certainly not as big as the Gulf of Mexico.  My niece is down there in the Gulf with her company helping with the cleanup. Happy Father’s Day  Ben, Mike, Priss, Smokey, Daisy, and Buddy.

 

16 June 2010 Wednesday

It thundered all night long last night and windy but presently it’s a pretty morning.       

            My Doctor said I have to up my dose of insulin to 50 units and I will see if that helps.

            Poor old Priscilla has done lost her mind. She comes to the front room and pees on the carpet right in front of me. She's 14 years old and is getting forgetful. She's the oldest dog in the neighborhood. She moved in when she was four months old and the fastest thing on four legs. Not so much anymore.

            Today is my Grandma Johnson’s birthday. She was born in 1899 in Oklahoma Territory.

 

17 June 2010 Thursday

I was working late into early Thursday morning when about 1 a.m. thunder began to roll in and then lightening was flashing. The thunder and lightning scared Buddy and Daisy so much that they were just shaking; so we all hid under the covers and I sang to them.

             I worked on information about the Samuel Collins and Clyde Felt affair and the murder near Beck Street in 1902.  Ghastly but fascinating.

 

18 June 2010 Friday

Mark Andersen called in the afternoon and said he wanted to drop by and pick up his tire ramps and his fishing pole. I said I’d be home all evening and he showed up about 6:30. He said he couldn’t stay long so we didn’t really say much. I was glad to be able to give Audrey back some of her things too.  Well I wonder if I will ever see the kid again and I hope he’s happy in his new life.

            Michael Aaron emailed me and asked  me where I found the quote that Michael Archuleta has hallucinations of seeing Gordon Church so I gave him my source. I guess he’s doing a story on Archuleta since he’s the person that has been longest on death row now. The state executed Ronnie Gardner today by firing squad.  

 

19 June 2010 Saturday.

I went with Mike Romero to CJ’s again for breakfast because he likes the scones there. Then we did some running around up in Centerville. Mike wanted to buy a comforter for his spare bedroom and a food steamer to cook eggs.  We had to go into Sears in Salt Lake City to get the steamer but at Target Mike bought a small ottoman like I have in my TV room.

            I watched the ‘White Countess’ this evening, which wasn’t very good at all, even though it had exceptional actors in it.

 

20 June 2010 Sunday

Today is the last day of Spring. This morning my blood sugar levels were 144.  So I fixed sourdough French toast, sausage and eggs for breakfast and worked more on my Gay archives chronology.

            Yesterday I gave Buddy a haircut that was long overdue and then I did Daisy and Smokey today. That was a chore.

 

            Chuck Whyte called me about how to save his pictures off his camera onto his hard drive again. He had forgotten how since I showed him last week so I talked him through it.

            Also I talked to poor old mom for over an hour. She just needed to visit with someone. I guess she had a blow out with Nathan Ferguson, Denise’ Wach’s son, over his being rude to her on the phone.  He’s going down to Mississippi to spend about a week with Denise who is working in the Gulf on the oil spill.

            In the evening Mike Romero called and asked if I still wanted to go to that activity in Canyon Rim Park at nine and I said sure. It was a beautiful day today and I needed to get out and off the computer.  While out, he bought another brown ottoman at Target to match the one he got yesterday.

We then decided to go out for dinner and went out to CJ on 39th by Iceberg. It used to be a Jim’s Family Restaurant.  It wasn’t very busy and Mike had fish and I had marinated pork. They were good but I couldn’t finish it so I gave the pork to Mike to take home since he paid for dinner.

            Well we went out to the Canyon Rim Park and no one was there  so Mike looked at the date again and it was for the 19th which was yesterday. I wondered why they would have had a family event on a Sunday in this Mormon neighborhood. Oh well.

             Mike felt a little sheepish but we drove over to Chuck Whyte to see his computer and see if he had any more issues with it. We just stayed for a short while because his central air was not working properly and it was muggy in the house. So, it was about 9:30 at night when I picked up my cruiser in front of Mike’s place to go back home. It was still light out.

             I decided to make Mike a cheese cake for his birthday tomorrow so I stopped at Food Savers to pick up some chicken for the dogs and ingredients for the cheesecake.  I baked it tonight so it can set up in the frig for tomorrow.

 

21 June 2010 Monday

Today is Mike Romero’s 54th Birthday… We went over to the Northwest Community Center because it had its grand opening at the beginning of the month and lo and behold, Jordan Jones was working there. Jordan was Elyse’s friend all through high school when she lived next door. He still as perky as ever.  The facilities were great. I only wish they had a sauna.

            Then we went to the Other Place on 3rd South and Mike order a Greek Salad and I had fish. I wanted to treat him for his birthday. I also made his a cheesecake with fresh blueberry-strawberry topping.  My blood sugars were 109 this morning this first day of summer.

 

22 June 2010 Tuesday

I steeled up my nerve this morning and called Carol Lear’s office to find out what the board’s decision was. After putting me on hold and having to listen to Musak while my stomach was twisted in knots, they then told me they would call me back. 

            So I waited about an hour and then I got the call back. They said they would approve my license but was going to send me a letter of warning.  I was ecstatic! This has been wearing on my soul for nearly 20 years! This has always been a sword hanging over my head and never more so then last summer when I read in the paper that they were going to finger print all teachers. I was under so much stress last year wondering if I’d even have a job. 

            I am so grateful, so grateful and will vow to help others with money I receive from my job.

             I called Mike Romero to let him know the good news and then I went up to school but my principal Liz wasn’t there but I picked up my notebook that has all my ‘Cactus’ education re-licensing stuff.

            Then I asked Mike out for dinner and we went to Amber’s to celebrate. We also went to the Northwest Community Center and I bought Mike and me a month membership. We went walking around the walking track for a mile and then we went on the treadmill and I did a cardio mile. After that we did some of the universal gym equipment. We were there for a good hour and half.

            I came home and weighed in at 262 lbs.

            So this certainly is a Red Letter Day for me! Only downer was that my sugar level was 195 when it was good yesterday.

             Michael Aaron of the QSalt Lake said he secured the balcony at the Egyptian Theatre in Park City for the opening night of Hair and asked if I wanted to go? Boy did I! Michael Romero and I had been talking about buying tickets.  I asked if I could bring Michael and he said sure. Friday is going to be fun!

 

23 June 2010 Wednesday

 My sugar level was 103 this morning.

            I went into the Cactus Program today to renew my Professional Education License. On the copy it said I need my Principal Liz’s signature and since our secretary Judy Winegar yesterday said she’d be gone all next week, I thought I better get in to get her to sign it.

            As it turned out even though she signed the form, it wasn’t even necessary because you did it online after paying your $65 and they printed out your license. So that is taken care of… I can now teach as long as I need to although I will have to do this all again in 2015.  Hopefully I will retire by then.

            Later in the day I tried to fix the broken sprinkler head in the front yard and while it worked, I think I will be capping off some of the other heads.

            Michael Aaron is giving me two tickets for Mike Romero and I to go to the Egyptian Theater in Park City to see Hair this Friday. That should be a lot of fun.

            Mike and I went walking again at the Northwest Community Center. We walked two miles and did a few reps on the machines. After that we went to Smith’s Marketplace where I bought some pots and flowers. I then potted some planters for Mike’s porch.

            My cousin Kay Campbell on learning that my teaching license was renewed wrote, “This just made my day. I am doing my happy dance (picture it in your mind). Freaking awesome!”

 

24 June 2010 Thursday

My blood sugar was 97 this morning. I don’t recall it ever being that low before.

I just got back from seeing our old neighbors the Giles at their new digs out in South Jordan after coming back from Florida. Mike Romero drove us out there and I think they are about on 114th South. They looked happy, but tired, to be back in Utah.

            We also saw Sarah Chaffin, our other neighbor who had moved away. Elyse and Sarah were just in 4th grade when I met them in 1996 and 1997 and now they are grown women in their early 20's.

            It is a beautiful evening with a big shiny moon over the mountains.  We didn’t make it to the gym this evening because going out to see the Giles. We did stop at Del Taco on 72nd South and Redwood for dinner. We also looked around the Honk $1 discount store. It wasn’t anything special.

 

 

 

25 June 2010 Friday

My blood sugar level was 114 this morning. It was a very fun night attending the opening of ‘Hair’ in Park City with the QSalt Lake people. I took Mike Romero along with me and before the musical we all ate at the Loco Lizard in Kimball Junction. There our waitress saw my Gay button and we visited about her missing her girlfriend ha! So I guess it pays to advertise.

            I had my first Margarita of the summer and met Eric Ethington, a very bright and intense young man. He brought a friend with him. Bob Henline, who is straight and writes a column for the Q, was there with his wife. Tony Hobson was with Michael Aaron.

            Neither Mike nor I had ever been to the Egyptian Theater before so that was a new experience and we got to sit up in the balcony.  Some other Gay guys joined us at the theater but I didn’t get a chance to ask them their names nor did they volunteer theirs.  All in all it was a wonderful experience I just sang along to all the great tunes from Hair.

            Today is my sister Donna’s 61st birthday and it’s the 3rd anniversary of Chad Keller’s suicide.

 

26 June 2010 Saturday

My Blood sugar was 141 this morning. Mike Romero and I went to the Northwest Community Center at 7 this evening and found that they close at 7 so we had to walk our mile the old fashion way outside...can you imagine?  We then went to Smith’s Market Place today where he bought two huge ceramic pots and two corn plants for his place. They look nice and I’m glad I talked him out of getting artificial ones.          

 

27 June 2010 Sunday

My blood sugar level was 112 this morning. Mike and I went running around and shopping. We went to Target and bought some muscle shirts and sweat bands. I also bought a new water pick and some comforters for the bed that were on sale. We didn’t make it to the gym which closed at 2:30 but that was okay because we probably need a break from it. I worked on my Utah Gay chronologies for most of the day. It’s very time consuming.   

 

28 June 2010 Monday.

Today my eldest Uncle, R. L. Williams, turned 87 years old. My blood sugars this morning was 170 probably from the sugar free ice cream I ate last night before going to bed.

            Randy Gile came over this morning to pick up the two plants that they had left behind after they had moved.  I said they could have them back if they wanted them.

            The Umbrella Plant was over six feet tall and huge. I am glad they took it back with them because it does give me more room.

            I worked for about two hours pulling weeds and cleaning up my fence line along the south sidewalk. I usually do it long before now but I had other pressing issues.

            I filled an entire trash can but it does look a lot better. I have two broken sprinkler heads, the bane of every home owner's existence... I should just turn the whole parking into xeriscaping like I did the corner and half my yard but that’s too much work.

            In the evening went back to the gym at the Northwest Community Center with Michael Romero again. The indoor track seemed warmer then usually but we walked our two miles anyway.

            Michael said that Randy called him before coming over and said that someone had stolen his social security number and called his bank and transferred out all his money! He went to the bank and got the police involved but what a pain. We offered him money if he needed it but he said he didn’t. So I  hope it goes well for him.

 

29 June 2010 Tuesday

My blood sugar level was 113 this morning. I fixed waffles sausage and eggs for breakfast today. My nose is sore from sun burning it yesterday while out pulling weeds. Ouch.

            I took the hounds for a ride and then went grocery shopping. I had to get chicken treats for the hounds at Costco so also bought some treats for Mike and me.

            I called him when I came home to come over when he goes to lunch and I’d split the goodies with him. I bought some dried fruit, some beef jerky, Almonds, deli ham and cheese and some other things that I but in baggies and gave to him.

            He bought some Chinese Food at the Golden Pearl and brought it over for lunch. He ordered Moo Gai which I didn’t care too much for and Chinese Noodles which are always good.

 

            I worked a lot on my Gay chronology today copying old City weekly articles having to do with the Gay community.

            I took a nap about 4 this afternoon and didn’t wake up until 5:30 just in time to feed the dogs and get ready to meet Mike Romero at the Gym.  I had on a lime green tank top and bright yellow trunks and a... white sweat ban... I looked like a fabulous refreshing fruity drink.

            We were both kind of tired today and the indoor track was too warm and muggy so we went on the tread mills and stationary bicycles instead.  I think Mike prefers the bicycles and I prefer the treadmill. After working out I went over to Mike’s place for about a half hour to visit. He seems really happy with his life right now.

            Mike said that Mark Andersen sent him a text picture over his phone of his dick! I wonder what is up with the kid? Mike also said he saw him smoking in his UPS truck which is a major infraction. Oh well it’s his life.

            It was warm today about 96 and muggy.  But the evening while sitting outside was just wonderful.

            At home, I started thinking about what to write about HIV.  I didn't finish my QSalt Lake column until 1:30 in the morning past Tuesday's deadline. Oh well.

            Nova Starr aka John Griffin had asked me to do my column it on the rise of HIV infection among our younger population again, so I had to do some current research.

            The Salt Lake City Weekly printed my response to “The Blog I Am Not That Filth.” I wrote, “I wish I could sit down with this individual and explain our history to him. If not for the cross dressers and drag queens at Stonewall 41 years ago this month, he would not have the luxury of publicly criticizing members of his community that are finding another way to express themselves. He sounds like the homosexuals of the 1960's who wanted respectability at the cost of equality.  Pride is more than a party.”

 

30 June  2010 Wednesday

My blood sugar level was 157 in the morning. I got up late today because I went to bed so late so really didn’t work much on my chronology. This morning I also went back to Wal-Mart and bought some more bargains. I bought Mike Romero and I some sweat bands, and I bought some more muscle shirts and a pair of work out shorts. 

            Mike and I went out to dinner at Lone Star Steakhouse in Sugarhouse. I didn’t really have much of an appetite so brought some of the food home with me. Because we ate so late, we decided not to go to the gym tonight. But at least we are doing more than we had ever done before and that is a good start. It was a warm day; around 98 degrees.

            It’s the last day of the month and it sure was a roller coaster. I was so sick the last week of school and I also learned that my relicensing certificate was being held up so I thought I was out of a job. However working through my fears, I got all the documents I needed to satisfy the State Professional Licensing Board and they agreed to let me keep my license with a warning to be a good boy.

            The Giles came back home to Utah this month and Michael Romero and I are as close as we ever were it seems.

            People who died in June were the Golden Girls actress Rue McClanahan, and country singer Jimmy Dean the sausage maker.