Summer 3rd Quarter Journal 2022 July-September

 

JULY

1 July 2022 Friday

I am exhausted from all the labor Kyle Foote, and I did today. I mean muscle sore and I can hardly move so exhausted. We started at 9 this morning making 3 more wire baskets for the retaining wall, one which was thirteen feet long and the others about 9 feet. Kyle wanted to work on the back yard patio where it was cooler because of the shade from the house but as the hours ticked by the sun kept creeping higher in the sky, heating up the patio but we managed to get them done by noon.

 Kyle then left to go get a load of pea gravel to fill in the corner parking strip but before he could do that, I first had to shovel out all the bark that was just placed in there a year ago and find a spot to put it all as it was a lot.

Besides all that I had to help Kyle fill crushed stones into the wire baskets with one of them, having to basically do it by hand as the bob cat scoop would not reach it over the 13 feet one, we had just filled. It was labor intensive, and my hand were so stiff and sore from that job.

            I checked my Credit Union statement while on a break and was upset that Verizon charged me nearly $500 on my credit card for what I have no idea. I was upset but Kyle kept me at laboring so I couldn’t get to the bottom of it at the time. Kyle said he had been paying the bill and I know Verizon has been taking $116 out my checking so I have no idea what is going on.

            Anyway, Kyle wanted to continue working using the bob cat as much as possible as that it has to go back tomorrow. It scraped out where the extended parking pad will go and piled mounds of dirt in the front side yard and in back. When asked how he was going to spread it without a bob cat he said by shovel and wheel barrow. This project has gotten out of hand. I am too old for Kyle to use me for such intensive work.

            We finally finished at 9:30 at night, too tired to do much more and even to move. The poor pups had been inside for most of the day as there is no fence to contain them and I could only let them out briefly.

            It was in the 90’s today but we had cloud cover for much of the day so we didn’t suffer from the heat as we would have if not for that.

            I also looked at my credit card bill and Kyle charged some of the expenses of renting equipment and getting more material from Huish. I wish he would just ask before doing so, so that I could see the expenses. I have $2500 on my card now and Kyle only gave $950 for the job we did last week to help pay for the rental, but I spent $400 of that for the workers yesterday who were well worth it.

            As we ended the day, Kyle was too tired to go ubering as he was sore and tired too, but I have 30 years on him and if he’s exhausted you can imagine how I feel.

            At one point neighbor Carlos Bahena came over to visit and see what we were constructing, and I introduced him to Kyle as I don’t think they ever actually met. Kyle told Carlos Bahena he was my son. I guess I am his Gay father as I love him as my own and I would never do the work Kyle asks of me for anyone else except out of love and affection but at my age there is a limit to what I can do and for that matter even Kyle. I noticed that Kyle’s beard is turning more white than before. He will be 43 in October, and I worry he might hurt himself to the point we don’t finish this project.

            Try not to get worried try not to turn on to problems that upset you. Oh, don’t you know everything is all right?

2 July 2022 Saturday

I went with Kyle Foote to take the Compacter back to Home Depot and I could hardly lift it, but we managed. It had to be back by 9 and when we returned to the house the fiber optic repair man was at the house already although he wasn’t scheduled until 1 in the afternoon. He put in a temporary line so we could have the internet back, but it will be two to three weeks before it is permanently installed.

            I made some chicken enchiladas this morning while it was cool so as not to heat up the house. I also had to go take Kyle to the airport to retrieve the Nissan Rogue.

            Kyle was still really sore from yesterday and rested most of the day from laboring in the yard while I swept the RV pad and sidewalks as well as swept the street on Dale Ridge to get the left-over dirt and debris out of the street. When cars drove by, they would raise a cloud of dust, so I wanted that cleaned up for the neighbors’ sake.

            Kyle said he got the job to clear another person’s yard of their grass for next week so hopefully that will bring in a little more money. The bob cat was returned today, and we took the dump trailer back down to Sandy at noon.

            I let the pups out several times during the day, but I have to watch them like a hawk because there’s no fencing and Taco like to make it into the front yard. When I carried Buster back upstairs, he had a hard time standing and his breathing was even more laboring. When Kyle left to go do ubering I told him that I thought Buster was on his way out, but we have said that so many times before and he bounced back.

            I watered the front and back yard flowers and plants really well this evening as it was up in the 100’s today and some of my flowers were droopy. People are setting off fireworks already in the neighborhood,

            It was nice to have the internet back for sure; especially in the evening when I am by myself. I watched the 1938 “Old Chicago” movie on the Criterion channel. Tyrone Power was such a handsome man; beautiful even. The Chicago fire scene was really amazing for its time.

            I finished watching Victor/Victoria before Kyle called and needed me to take the Nissan Rogue down to the airport where he would meet me to take me home as he was out ubering. That was about 10:30 and when I came home, I took the dogs for a late-night walk since I didn’t trust them in the back yard where I couldn’t see. TJ was really antsy for some reason.

            Before going to bed, I checked on Buster who was sleeping in his bed in the front room. It was nearly midnight before I actually turned out the lights and went to sleep.

3 July 2022 Sunday

Sweet Buster died during the night, a sleep in his little bed. I knew yesterday evening when I carried him upstairs from the yard that he was having difficulty standing. He didn’t eat any supper and he always had a good appetite. He just went and laid in one of his many beds. I checked on him before going to bed after taking the pups for a night time walk and his breathing was shallow.

I thought it was unusual that he hadn’t come to his bed in the bedroom like he always has before to be near us, and I found him lying quiet and still in his doggy bed in the front room where I left him last night. I thought at first, he was just asleep until I petted him, and he was cold to the touch. He looked so peaceful like in a deep sleep.

I began to weep when I realized that Buster had died, and I was upset that it being Sunday there wouldn’t be any veterinarian open near us where I could take him to be cremated. The house was cool, but I knew as the day heated up a decision had to be made with what to do. I was at a lost to where to take Buster to be cremated but I can’t think of that right now through my tears. Around 8 I took the other pups for a walk around the block so they could get some exercise before the day heated up and also something to do while waiting for Kyle Foote to stir.

            At 9, after letting Kyle sleep, as he had been out ubering until 2 in the morning, I texted him letting him know about Buster. I needed his help with what to do with him. Kyle came right up, and I could tell he was just as moved as I was and he gave me such a long deep hug, and we held each other and cried.

Kyle then helped me bury Buster by the south side of the house, shaded by a rose bush. Kyle dug a deep hole wide enough to place Buster and all my other pups’ cremains which I had on shelves in the house. I wanted them all together in one place. I had Oscar’s ashes for 20 years.

We buried Buster in his doggy bed with a lap blanket over him. The Kyle placed all the containers of the ashes of all my other pups all around Buster to keep him company. I then began to fill in the dirt that Kyle had dug out. I needed to do that myself as a final gesture of love for the old boy.

We then placed a two-inch-thick heavy marble slab stone on the spot where all my pups who have passed are now resting. I am weepy for the loss of Buster but knew this day was coming and I gave him a good life. I will miss his clown face. He had a good life in his senior years after I rescued him, and he became a part of the family.

The old boy is now at rest, and I am extremely sad even though I knew this day was coming. The vet told me six months ago that Buster was on his last leg, and it became a little joke between Kyle and me when I would say Buster’s on his last leg but he’s still kicking. Still my heart is grieving for the little guy who was abandoned in box in the canyon in the winter. I know I gave him a good life to make up for whatever trauma he had, and I will miss the little guy and his happy face who seeing it always made me smile.

Kyle wrote concerning Buster- “It’s a bittersweet day here at the house. Buster passed away peacefully in his sleep last night. Ben Williams gave him a wonderful life full of love, treats, and lots of cozy places to sleep. Buster loved exploring the back yard, although in his advanced years he needed to be carried up and down the steps. But once in the yard he'd get a big smile on his face and lumbered around smelling and peeing on everything. I always enjoyed watching him in the yard and imagining how things must look from his perspective. Buster was always a good eater and never turned up his nose at food, unlike the rest of the pack who are more finicky eaters. Ben told me yesterday something was off because Buster didn't eat his supper and just stayed napping in bed. I was in denial and told Ben that he's just old and will have good days and bad.... just like the rest of us. I said he'd bounce back like all the other times and be back out in the yard grinning ear to ear and living his best life. Alas yesterday was his last day with us and was the last time he got to wander the yard.

Ben and I decided on a shady corner of the yard next to a beautiful rose bush as his final resting place. With tears streaming down my face, I went to work digging a nice big hole, one large enough to fit him, his favorite bed so he would always be comfortable, and the wooden boxes with the cremains of his fellow pack members who had preceded him in death. We then wrapped him in a blanket and placed him in the cool shade of a rose bush in the yard he so loved to explore. I placed the cremains of his brothers and sisters around him and gave him one last scratch. I just held my hand on his furry back, not so secretly hoping he'd wake up and wonder what all the fuss was about. After a few moments I stood up and got out of the way to watch Ben fill in the hole. We both had a good cry and exchanged hugs. I placed a big stone on top of the hole to mark the final resting place. Afterwards I took Ben to breakfast where we traded stories about Buster.

He had a great life at Ben's home. Before he came to live with Ben he had been abused and abandoned. But in his final years he never wanted for food, comfort, love, or something to bark at. His smiling face will always be missed. Stepping in the puddles of pee he liked to leave everywhere will not. Rest in Peace, Buster. You were loved.”

The spot we picked out was between the pink rose bush and the stairs leading down to the back yard. It was where the old Sprinkler system valves used to be that Kyle removed. It was a good spot as nothing should disturb it and it will always be shady. Buster was the first pup I ever buried and had not been cremated. Seemed strange to be covering his little body with dirt although it was resting in his doggy bed and covered with the lap blanket he used in the bedroom. It was very hard, but you don’t let grief keep one from doing what has to be done in the moment.

After the burial Kyle asked if I wanted to go out for breakfast and we went to Our Kitchen in Foxboro. It was the first time in a long time that we ate breakfast together, but this was what was needed to decompress some from crying all morning.

The place was super busy, which is a good sign as the place will stay in business as it is a good place to eat at. I just had one biscuit and gravy plus one egg while Kyle had the Chorizo Breakfast with eggs and black beans. The place was so busy that we sat at the counter, which was kind of a novelty in of itself as we usually always have a table or a booth.

Afterwards, since we were out this way Kyle drove the Honda FIT to Quick Quack for a quick wash but upon leaving there was the sound of something scraping beneath the car as we drove away. Back at the house Kyle looked beneath and a plastic shield had come loose and was dragging. Much later in the evening when it was cooler, he put the FIT up on a ramp a fixed it. It was any easy fix just needed new clamps we bought at AutoZone.

For much of the rest of the warm windy day Kyle went back down stairs to rest as he didn’t get to bed until after 3 in the morning and I just needed to rest from the grieving of losing another beloved pet. I had not lost one since Buddy and Harleigh two years ago.

I watched a science fiction movie called Geostorm which was entertaining but mainly as a diversion.

When it was time to fix supper for the gang, I threw away Buster’s little bowl. It was too painful of a reminder that he’s gone. It seems strange that only a few days ago I was feeding 5 pups and Buster had such a good appetite until yesterday. It then kind of hit me that he’s gone for real while fixing supper for the rest of them and him not just lying in his doggy bed near the air conditioning vent. RIP Buster no amount of time can erase the memory of a good dog.

Among the things in my life, I thank God for most, is the love he gave me for animals. My heart would be emptier, and life would be less without them.

Some of the sweet condolences written by my friends were as follows.

Bobby Smith wrote “I grieve for your loss my brother. You have always been the most loving of our companions and guides.”

Stephanie Williams: Ben, I am so sorry for your loss. We love our furry ones that give such unconditional love. And you are a wonderful doggie dad, such love you give to them. Hugs Cousin.

Kimberlee Gile-I am so sorry about sweet Buster, Ben. I am writing this through tears for you. No amount of warning time can prepare us for how much our hearts hurt when we lose them. I know you are an angel in disguise sent to watch over the furry babies and give them the best life. Thank you for reflecting the best of humanity and showing animals how much they are loved and cherished. Sending you love and a big hug, my sweet friend.

Randy Gile-Ben, so sorry to hear that. It’s always painful when we lose one of our fur babies. You gave him a great life full of love and so many furry friends. Again, so sorry my friend.

Richard P. Butler Keep him wrapped in a towel in a box until you can take him. So sorry to hear. You gave him an amazing final day he never would have had if not for your kindness. R.I.P. Buster.

T.J. Otaka-So sorry, Ben. We got to know Buster right after you adopted him. You gave him a loving home in his final years. He was one lucky pup like all your other pups. So sorry for your loss. Buster was and still is loved and cared for until his final day and beyond. Glad to know you guys have each other to share these difficult moments with.

Alan Anderson You were Buster's angel godmother. From what he was when you got him to his final days was amazing. Rest in peace, little man. Many hugs to you,

Richard Harmston- Sweet memories may comfort you, Ben, but the loss is still heart felt. I know Buster was loved, and I was delighted to see how Buster emerged from his traumas under your care.

Roland Ron Holmgren Ben, I am so sorry for the loss of your sweet puppy, Buster. You gave him a good home and lots of love. He was truly blessed in his later years.

Dan Fahndrich-Ben, my eyes are watering. Hugs to you. You gave him a good life.

Melissa Sillitoe Bocarde Oh Ben, I am so, so sorry. There aren't words for how hard it is. I am glad Buster left the world feeling safe and loved and home with you in his forever home and bed.

4 July 2022 Monday

I spent the holiday alone for most of the day except when Kyle Foote and I went to get a drink. He went out to brunch with Tim Hunter and was downstairs until he left in the late afternoon without telling me were. I watched “Independence Day” and some other television and walked the pups twice. The fireworks were really upsetting the pups tonight, so we just huddled together in bed. The last one went off at 2:30 in the morning.

            I have been revising and editing a historical novel I started a few years ago called Handmaid of the Lord about a fictional account of the family of Thomas and Albina Williams early Mormon converts told from the perspective of one of Thomas’s slaves.

            In Illinois, some lunatic shot and killed 7 people during a Fourth oof July Parade. Another white dude in his 20’s with a high-power rifle.

5 July 2022 Tuesday

This morning I went with Kyle Foote to America First Credit Union and had both my debit card and Visa Credit cards replaced with new ones. I also deposited $500 and had my Will notarized. So that’s taken care of. Kyle made an appointment at 4 this afternoon with a corporate office of Verizon to figure out what was going on with the account as I had been having $112 a month taken out of my account while Kyle had it set up that both our phones should have been paid from his account. Come to find out the $112 was fraudulent all this time so I will have to go back to America First to find out what is going on there. Since they had been taking it out of a debit card, I doubt whether I will ever see that money again.

            It was in the 90’s again and I took the pups for a walk early in the morning and in the early evening when it had cooled off a bit. I watered the arborvitaes really well this evening as they were parched from the heat and the weatherman said it will be up into the 100’s this week with a heat wave happening.

While Kyle was out ubering I finished shoveling the curb gutter in front of the house that faces Fernleaf and swept and cleaned that all up. I needed something to do rather than simply watch television. A little here, a little there, and progress is made. Each evening I will go work for about an hour shoveling. That is enough manual labor for an old man.

I look around at all the places where Buster used to lay and sleep, and I still miss his sweet self. It’s getting better and I am not so weepy as I know he had a good life and he died peacefully in his forever home and not up in some cold Utah canyon.

The stomach pills and iron pills must be working as I haven’t had stomach pains and gas since I started taking them. I don’t feel so tired either so maybe my anemia is being taken care of.

6 July 2022 Wednesday

After taking the pups for a walk, I went up to America First Credit Union at 9 to see about the fraudulent charges that I had been charged since last September when I was charged $198. I thought it was a legitimate monthly bill and I had no reason not to think so. In November through January, I was charged $118 and starting in February it dropped to $112. Since it was charged as a prepay autopay to my debit card, I doubt whether I will ever recover the amount stolen which was $960 over that period. While there I turned in the paper work designating Kyle Foote to have access to my accounts.

            When I came home, I worked shoveling part of the dirt and gravel in the street and curb at the corner of Fernleaf and Daleridge for a bit before it started to warm up. I had to do one shovel full at a time and throw it on a huge pile in the front yard.

            Afterwards I stayed in the house mostly until Kyle Foote and I went to get our drinks. Gas prices have come down from $5.27 to $5.07 I noticed.

            The rest of the day was uneventful just hot, and the weatherman said that we are going to have a heat wave for about a week of over 100-degree temperatures.

            Kyle was out the rest of the afternoon and evening. He’s helping some friend of his down in Sandy with getting a restaurant ready for inspection and I suppose he was out ubering the rest of the time. I watched a bit of The Dirty Dozen before heading for bed.

7 July 2022 Thursday

Kyle Foote asked me to go with him down to the Indian restaurant he has been hired to renovate in Sandy off of 90^th South and 7^th East. I helped him clear all the dining tables of glasses, utensils, salt and pepper shakers, and the table cloths that were under the glass tops. Being there and doing that little amount reminded me of my restaurant days of my youth.

            Kyle was mainly waiting for some building inspectors who said the bathrooms were not American Disability Act compliant. After 1 in the afternoon, I returned home but Kyle went back down there to work some more until 7:30 in the evening.

            In the afternoon I went to my Vietnamese barber and had a haircut and beard trim before going to All a Dollar Store which isn’t a dollar any more, but $1.25, to buy some cleaning supplies to clean up where the pups make messes in the house. I can’t blame them as they have no access to the outside anymore if I am not home to let them out and without grass the ground is really hot in the heat of the day.

            I took the pups for a morning walk and evening stroll as it was too hot in the midst of the day. It was 99 today and it’s supposed to be over 100 degrees for the next week.

            About 7 I went to work on shoveling the dirt from the sidewalk exits to the street on the Daleridge side. It was piled deep with silt as fine as talcum powder and when I tossed each load on to the pile in the yard the wind would blow some of the dust back on to me. I did as much as I could for about 45 minutes before going into the back yard to water the arborvitaes when Kyle came home. He worked with some Mexicans he hired to clear out the restaurant kitchen for a remodel so he was really tired but wanted something to eat so we went to Mod’s in Woods Cross so he could get a pizza.

            It was after 8:30 when we returned to the house and I went to bed around 9:30, tuckered out from working in the yard. A little here and a little there it gets done.

            The heat has sapped the color from my roses and is drying them out, so I had to cut them back. I guess they are done for the year, but my hollyhocks are in full bloom and so are some of my summer flowers, so I still have color in the front on my yard.

            I have an appointment July 20^th at 2 p.m. to meet with a folklorist and oral historian named John E Priegnitz who wants to interview me at 216 West Fern Avenue in Salt Lake. I think that is in the Marmalade district. He’s a graduate Instructor in the Department of English at the Utah State University.

            He reached out to me writing, “I hope you are doing well and keeping cool with this oppressive heat. I wanted to reach out again to tell you how much I would love to interview you for the Intermountain West LGBTQ+ Oral History Project. I have had several informants urging me to get your story documented and preserved. That says a lot about who you are and what you mean to our community! My schedule is flexible with the exception of me being out of town from 9-17 July. Let me know when and where is best, and I will be there.”

8 July 2022 Friday

I spent this morning helping out Kyle Foote deliver kitchen equipment to the Indian Restaurant in Sandy that he’s been hired to remodel. I went with him to rent a U-Haul truck to go to Lehi where he bought a steamer cabinet and then back to Salt Lake where he got an industrial sink and a dish washer. That took most of the morning and it was nearly 1 by the time I returned back to the house. Before coming back home I stopped at a Deseret Industries in Sandy just to see what their selection of summer shorts were, and I bought two pairs for $10. I also went to Smith’s to get some treats for the pups and bought a few groceries for myself.

            I was up early to take the pups for their constitutional and to water my plants as it was 100 degrees today although I was inside for most of the rest of the day. It was too hot even in the evening to work outside.

            Checking my America First Credit Union account I was upset to see that $400 was taken out of my checking account for Capital One credit card which I don’t even have! Another fraud I have to deal with but being Friday Capital One can’t do anything until Monday.

            Richard Harmston posted that he’s moving to San Diego I imagine with Charles Bigo although he didn’t say. They spend a lot of their time there any way.

9 July 2022 Saturday

I went to America First Credit Union this morning at 10 to file a dispute about the $400 Capital One took out of Checking Account. The charge went in on the 4^th the day before I canceled my old cards. Basically, I think I am screwed. I will call Capital One on Monday to report the fraud, but I doubt whether they will do anything either.

            Before coming back home I stopped and got from gas at Smith’s in Rose Park. With my 10-cent discount I only paid $4.97 per gallon, and it cost $45 to fill my take so I saved 9ocents. Wow!

            The I went to the Rose Park Library and checked out 6 mystery books and decided to stay in for most of the day as it was supposed to be 104 degrees today. I walked the pups early at 6:30 this morning before the pavement heated up.

            Kyle Foote came home around 5:30 after a busy day going with his East Indian friend to buy a van for his restaurant. He came home to get the Sierra ready to go out again today. I went with him to Quick Quack and ash from the Stockton fire in Tooele County was falling here and back in Westpointe by the airport. Lots of smoke is in the air. I am sure it’s worse in the south part of the valley near South Jordan,

I don’t know if we made 104 today. I’ve been inside all day reading “A Murder of Magpies” ...I am sick of watching the tube and the books from the library should get me through this week’s heat wave as long as the AC holds out.

My neighbors two houses down had a fiesta, and I could hear the Mexican music in the house, so the pups and I sat on the hot tub porch and enjoyed the live entertainment. I was still in the 90s at 9 o’clock. The pups only have this bit of yard by the patio that is fenced in where I can watch them, so Taco and TJ don’t go exploring.

 

10 July 2022 Sunday

Kyle Foote and I were up at 3:30 this morning to go to the airport to retrieve the Chevy Traxx. This was the earliest we ever had to do so. I went back to bed but was up by 7 anyway to take the pups for their morning walk. Since I was up, I watered the shrubs in the back yard thoroughly and also the plants in the front.

            As it was going to be hot today and it was 99 degrees, I just stayed inside all day and finished reading A Murder of Magpies which I enjoyed but could not figure out what the title had to do with the story plot line.

            I then started a new mystery called The Dog Dish of Doom which was also a good read. In fact, I finished reading the second book as I woke up at 10:30 after going to bed and couldn’t get back to sleep worried about my checking account having been fraudulently charged $400. It’s like I was robbed only not at gun point. So, I read until 2 in the morning and finished the book.

            I did take the pups for an evening walk and Kyle was outside raising the flags that had been at half-mast because of the 4^th of July Illinois massacre and the assassination of the former Japanese Prime Minister this last week.

            I think reading has been a form of escapism for me to keep from being anxious over the security of my checking account and the yard being so unfinished.

            Kyle assured me that he’s going to hire some laborers to move the rocks into the wire baskets he’s intent on making now that the two new rolls had been delivered. I don’t think Kyle realizes how much I loved my flower garden and how much pride I used to take in people complimenting me on it and now much of the front yard is mounds of dirt and plants that are dying from lack of water. The backyard looks like a barren waste land except along the west fence where we planted the Arborvitaes. My Pink rose bush is the sole remaining plant in my back yard except for the Ash tree which I had to water really well as I think the leaves were starting to dry up from lack of water and from the heat.

            Today and tomorrow are supposed to be the only days in the 90’s and for the rest of the week it will be in the triple digits. It’s been a week since we buried sweet Buster. While I am not grieving as much as with Daisy and Lucky, I still miss seeing his little clown face. I am just so grateful he passed in his sleep.

11 July 2022 Monday

I walked the pups at 6:30 this morning and watered the front yard plants before going to Bountiful to talk to the America First Credit Union. It’s frustrating that $400 was automatic withdrawn from my credit union checking account by Capitol One when I’ve never had an account with Capitol One. I’ve since canceled my cards and changed passwords, but I probably will never recover the money. Being on a fixed income hurts. Well at least I wasn’t robbed with a gun. What is frustrating is that the money can be withdrawn without my notification and when I am, it’s too late.

            I spent the rest of the morning by starting to read another mystery book but after 3 chapters it was not grabbing me at all, so I stopped and picked up another one called A Peculiar Combination by Ashley Weaver. It takes place in WWII London, and it was so engaging that I read 18 chapters before I put it down for the night. The main character Electra McDonnell series, which is set in World War II England. She belongs to a family of safecracker and the British Intelligence needs her expertise to discover a Nazi mole in the government.

            Kyle Foote needed me to go to the airport several times today once to deliver the Chevy Traxx and later in the early evening to pick up the Nissan Rogue.

            After doing a load of dishes this morning, the dishwasher quit working. It just wouldn’t turn on so that was also frustrating that I might need a new dishwasher and this one is only 2 years old. Oh well as few dishes as I use any more, I certainly can wash them by hand.

            For lunch I ordered some Pork Chow Mein from China Delight and I know it will last me a couple of meals.

            I walked the dogs this evening around 7 p.m. and it was still quite warm out in the 90’s. It’s going to be a scorcher this coming week over 100 every day but I guess central Texas is going to be brutal.

12 July 2022 Tuesday

I was up by 7 this morning to take the pups out on this stroll before it heated up. I also watered all the arborvitaes as it’s going to be over 100 today. TJ the little shit sneaked out into the front yard while I was watering. There is no gate or fence to keep the pups in unless I keep an hawk eye on them.

            When I started to clean the kitchen, I was surprised that the Dishwasher was working again. Don’t know what that was all about. It’s still not working quite right so I have gone back to hand washing them.

            I went with Kyle Foote to drop off the Nissan Rogue at the Hyatt Hotel downtown but stayed home for the much of the rest if the day. I watched what I could of the January 6^th Committee where evidence was given how Trump incited the mob on January 6^th and earlier in December met with his “unhinged” supporters to plan a coup. Will Donald Trump ever be charged with conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and treason? If not, you might as well give a green light to his violent cultists

            I finished reading a Peculiar Combination tonight. It was 101 degrees today.

13 July 2022 Wednesday

When Kyle Foote came home at 6:30 he sat down with me and said that Naveen the Indian guy wrote him a check for $10,000. The bombshell was that Kyle then told me he had to pay the court in Tooele $10,000 in August to avoid going to jail! This must have been related to the incidence when we went out to the Tooele jail in the middle of the night for him to sign in. I had no idea that he ever had a fine like that hanging over his head. And then he said he also has to pay $2500 monthly in restitution also for the crime for which he went to prison. He wants to deposit the $10,000 in my money market account and pay off the visa, but I am reluctant to pay the visa off but just keep the money like in escrow, so I know he has it for his court. I then was anxious about what if there’s more, he’s not telling me, and something happens that I am left with an unfinished fence? That is my biggest concern for the pups to have their yard back.

            Walking 4 dogs on leashes in the morning and evening is getting tiresome and not the walking but how they get their leashes all tangled up.

This afternoon I went over to Mike Romero’s place to check on it and it seemed fine and then I drove around a little just to get out of the house.

            I need to really put my foot down about Kyle putting up the fence even if it’s a little bit every evening. I never would have let him do this huge project if I had known he had this financial burden coming up in August.

14 July 2022 Thursday

I worked on spreading out the dirt from one of the mounds in the front yard as it was only 93 today. I worked for about two hours one shovel full at a time. I had to do something rather than fret over Kyle Foote finishing his projects. He was gone early this morning and I didn’t get a chance to talk to him about the fence. He called me around 3 this afternoon and asked if I would drive down to 94^th South and State Street to meet him at an America First Credit Union there to deposit the $10,000 which I did. However, we only deposited $9500 into my Money market account as Kyle said sometimes depositing large amounts like $10,000 involves paperwork. I will deposit the other $500 sometime later.

            At the credit union I checked my account and saw that the $400 was placed back into my checking account and my Social Security had been put in my savings account so financially at least for now I feel more solvent.

Jacey Crawford Williams the Associate Investigative Reporter who interviewed me about Tony Adams’ murder sent me a copy of her report by email which I then posted on Facebook.

I walked the pups twice today and then went back to work shoveling the dirt left in the curb at the corner of my lot. I worked well into the evening until 9:30 before calling it a day. I accomplished a lot and just have little bit more to finish tomorrow if I can.

Not bad for a 71-year-old man who must still have a strong back as well as a good heart.

In the news Ivanna Trump, Donald Trump’s first tramp died falling down the stairs. She was 73. I wonder who pushed her. LOL

Inflation is at a record high of over 9 percent and while nationally gas prices are down to around $4.65 a gallon, here in Utah it’s still around $5.10 so we are still getting gouged.

15 July 2022 Friday

I worked clearing the rest of the dirt and gravel in the gutter this morning after taking the pups for a walk. It was cool and overcast so it was a good time to do it. I watered everything really well and later to my surprise we had a monsoon rain in the late morning that did wet everything but mainly only settled the dust.

            Kyle Foote said he needed my help as he needed to be in Sandy to meet the Comcast cable people between 11 and 1 but also needed to retrieve the Chevy Traxx at 11:30. So he took me to the airport at 11:15 and I spent some of the time going inside the terminal as I never had been in the airport itself. I walked around the concourse on level three which was departures and then went down to level two which was arrivals. I was kind of surprised by the lack of food spaces out where the public could be. May be there are more down the past the security gates.

            The people who had the Traxx were right on time at 11:30 so I really didn’t have to wait long, and I drove the vehicle back to the house.

            I was rather tired from all the shoveling this morning and having gotten up at 6:30 so after watching some of the afternoon news I took a nap. When I got up, I decided to sit in the hot tub to relax and because it wasn’t that of a scorcher out. That was heavenly on the old muscles, but the water level was down about 8 inches so after getting out I filled it to the brim for next time.

            I went to Lucky’s after feeding the pups to get some corn chips and other items to make enchiladas this coming weekend. While at the store Kyle called and said he was on the way home and wanted me to go with him to take the Traxx through Quick Quack as it was going back out in the evening at Sutherlands. I followed him in the Honda FIT which also needed a washing from the rain today.

            At the house Kyle said that Kray Casper wanted to come over to spend time with him but since we hadn’t eaten, we all went to Culvers in Bountiful for dinner. While waiting for Kray to show up I took the pups out for their evening stroll.

At Culver’s I gave Kray Jimmy Hamamoto’s Boston contact information so he would have somebody there he could connect with if he needed to. I shared what I enjoyed about my visits to Boston but then said that was 30 years ago and I am sure things are different now.

I really felt old at one point when I shared that I had gone to the oldest continual playhouse in America located in Jamaica Plains and saw the “5^th of July”. They weren’t familiar with the play and so I asked if they knew who Richard Thomas who played John Boy in the Waltons was and while Kyle said he heard of the Waltons, Kray had no clue. I halfheartedly said, I can’t talk with you guys” but I kind of meant it because our experiences due to our age disparity made it difficult to share. Kyle will be 43 in October and Kray just turned 23 I believe so there were three generations trying to relate to each other

            The Culver experience was not very good. I ordered the kid’s butter burger meal, and it seemed like it was premade and not fresh at all, and the French fries were soft and not crisp. When Kyle ordered a chocolate shake it came out very liquidly like soup rather than a shake and he sent it back. I think the quality really has gone down and I don’t really see a reason to go back. I only suggested Culvers in the first place as that Kyle could get a burger on a gluten free bun.

            It was after 9 when we returned home and after giving Kyle a hug, I went upstairs and left the two of them to have sex in Kyle’s room which I’m sure was the reason Kray came over in the first place. I think he has a crush on Kyle, and I am sure he enjoys his dick in Kray’s young butt.

            I was in bed by 9:30 with the pups as it was a long day. The heat wave is expected to grow even more intense next week with each day over 100 degrees. I guess that will be the new normal for summers in Utah and of course the drought also. I am not sure how Utah plans to sustain all the new growth but then I won’t be around to worry about it.

16 July 2022 Saturday

I went shopping today for the first time in a while for things other than groceries. I went to Wal-Mart first because I wanted to buy a new harness for Taco and some toe nail clippers. However, when I tried it on him at home, it was too small around the waist. Oh well I will just have to exchange it.

I then went to Home Depot to look at buying a wheel barrel cart to replace my old one that I have had for probably 20 years or more. It was trashed and I needed a new on to haul rocks and dirt around. I don’t care much for a regular wheel barrel. However, there was nothing at Home Depot than suited me, so I went to Lowes and there I found a perfect cart although it cost me $85. But I am sure it will outlast me.

            I took the pups for a walk once in the morning and once in the evening and then I started back on cleaning the crushed rocks that were still left in the gutter on Dale Ridge to get them out of the road. There was a lot.

While doing that this Polynesian guy named Lanie, who had poured the original pad, drove by and I went and got Kyle so he could go talk to him. Kyle explained what he wanted done so I guess he will be the one to do pour the concrete. It should not cost as much as it is less than a fourth of what the RV pad is.

            I made an enchilada casserole and some Spanish rice for tomorrow and ate some little Smokie sausages for my supper and BBQ beans. The coleslaw is about gone, and I tossed it, but I did make an English Pea salad that just sounded refreshing.

            It’s the middle of July and we are in a heat wave. Gas prices are slowly coming down. I saw that in Bountiful Gas was at $4.97 so below $5. It hasn’t done that yet here in Salt Lake City.

            I have been kind on horny lately wanting to be with someone. There has been some guys on Silver Daddies that have shown an interest but nothing definite.

Kyle bough a good brush for removing dog hair from Maxx so I guess I should invest in one as that Maxx is the one who sheds the most.

17 July 2022 Sunday

It was a long and super busy day, but a lot was accomplished. This morning around 7:30 Kyle Foote and I began the task of spreading the huge mounds of dirt left over in the back yard into the hole leading into where the new gate will go so, we could level it. With the two of us we managed in 2 hours to accomplish the task and we also cleaned up some of the residue dirt left on the parking pad. Not bad for a 71-year-old man.

            We quit about 10 this morning as it began to warm up and the only thing we did afterwards was deliver the Sierra truck to the airport. Kyle ate some of the enchiladas casserole I made yesterday, and he said he really liked it, but I thought it was kind of salty.

            I took a nap about noon as I had been up at 5:30 and had taken the pups for their morning constitutional at 6:00. Lulubelle was not feeling well and must have had an upset stomach as she was eating a lot of grass along the way and wanted out a lot even in the heat of the day.

            The news said the temperature was 107 degrees today the hottest I ever remember, being in Salt Lake City. We tied with Las Vegas. So of course, I stayed inside for most of the day until after feeding the pups when I went out around 6:30 to water the plants that hadn’t burned up. While I was sitting in my chair watering I was surprised when Kyle came out of his Casita with a Latino kid who followed him and who quickly walked away. So, Kyle must have had an afternoon “friend” over.

            Kyle was nonplused by seeing me outside watering and had I known I would have waited to water until after the boy left. Kyle thinks his encounters are embarrassed if they see me as an old guy outside. I should think in the 21^st century Gay guys would be more liberated about sex with strangers especially since they all use Grindr.

            I posted on Andy Dalrymple’s Utah Gay Forum the following, “Quick question. I see that the Utah Pride Center hosts a "neurodivergent support & social club". I never heard of this and am wondering if someone can inform me what it is and how it relates to being Gay or Trans? Just wondering as the Pride page is vague with no information on it.” Well, that generated 86 comments some informative and others just playing the “poor me” cards as if asking a question made it anti-Pride Center.

            Well, when Kyle was done with his afternoon delight, we started in on making a long wire basket container that will be behind the new concrete pad that will be poured sometime. Where that money is coming from I haven’t a clue. It was a long and tiresome process but amazingly a monsoon storm came in that cooled the temperature off to be comfortable and it rained enough just to keep us slightly wet and cool. We worked for two and half hours on it and finally quit at 9:30 when it was too dark to see much so Kyle said we’d finish tomorrow.

            So, it was a long 15-hour day. I noticed that the Capital One Scammers took another $175 out of my checking account at America First on the 14^th and that was after I had changed all my cards. So, I will have to deal with that tomorrow and get the credit union to stop automatically taking money from my account.

18 July 2022 Monday

Lots of errands for Kyle Foote and myself today. I walked the pups at 6:30 this morning while it was still cool out. I didn’t see any of the bunnies today. Yesterday I saw six of them. Kyle needed me to take him to the airport at 10 this morning to retrieve the Nissan Rogue. Afterwards I went up to America First CU in Bountiful to straighten out the Capitol One Fraud. I filed a dispute over the $175 withdrawal and then put in a stop transaction with anything claiming to be Capital One legitimate or otherwise.

            After taking care of that business, I went down to Sutherland’s to retrieve the Chevy Traxx as that Kyle asked if I’d take it into Precision Auto Glass in Centerville to have a rock chip repaired which I did at noon. From there I went back to Sutherlands to drop off the Traxx and pick up the Honda FIT where then I went down to the Redwood Clinic to have some blood drawn for my appointment with Dr. Stoneburner this Thursday.

            Finally, around 1:30 I was able to come back home and relax except poor Lulubelle has had diarrhea and I had to clean up that stinky mess. I knew her tummy had been upset and, on this morning, walk she had the runs also. Oh well it’s what you do if you have kids or pets.

            I took a late nap around 3 in the afternoon and I must have been tired as I slept until nearly 5. I had just gotten up and let the pups out into the back yard when Kyle surprised me and came home. We went back to Sutherlands to retrieve the Traxx as it goes out tomorrow at 8:30 in the morning.

            I watched some of the news, just record-breaking heat in Europe and the United States though it was only 101 today compared to yesterday. Steve Bannon is being tried for refusing a Congress subpoena. Why they just don’t hang him and the rest of those traitors like Eastman, Roger Stone, and their ilk I don’t know.

            A monsoon wind blew in around 7:30 when I walked the pups around the block. There was no moisture, but the winds did cool off the temperature considerably, so it was comfortable to be working with Kyle finishing up the wire basket for the side front yard. It was nearly 9:30 when we finished but it is down and this one was about 15 feet or more long. We will have to excavate where it goes in tomorrow evening. Kyle wants to get it all in place before our cement guy pours the new section of the parking pad.

            Kyle wanted a Sprite, so we went to the Rose Park Smith’s, which was completely out of the six packs that were on sale, so he bought a liter bottle. I wanted to see how much Caesar dog food had gone up. I looked on Amazon and they were nearly $1.50 a small carton while at Smith’s they were a dime cheaper. Just a year ago if I paid more than 90 cents which I thought too expensive even then. So, I guess Lulubelle is going to have to eat chicken and pork like the rest of the pups. I guess she will eat when she is hungry.

            Victor next door final mowed his weed patch. I wonder if someone complained to the city. It was overgrown with three-foot-tall milk weeds and other plants. Not a bit of grass. He sure let his yard get trashed compared to how the Hall’s kept it up.

19 July 2022 Tuesday

It was not nearly as hot today as has been when it was only 95 degrees. I took the pups for their walk shortly after getting up at 6 this morning and around 8 Kyle Foote wanted my help putting the wire basket into place that we constructed last night before he went off to work in Naveen’s restaurant for the day.

            I then went to Smith’s in Woods Cross to see if they had any of the 6 pack Sprites which Rose Park was out of which they did. I really don’t like that store as it’s way too big and I am unfamiliar with the way it’s laid out to be able to quickly find anything. While there I also bought the pups some chicken jerky strips, they seem to enjoy.

            I then went to Lee’s Market in North Salt Lake to see if they had the artisan cinnamon bread I enjoy and also bought some caramel corn and Fat Boy Ice Cream sandwiches so I kind of indulged myself today.

            Shortly after getting up from a nap, I was surprised to see that Kyle was back at the house but said we needed to go pick up the Sierra Truck from the airport at 4:30 which we did. His friend Kray Casper came over later to go with Kyle back down to Sandy to show him the restaurant space and around 6:30 I took the pups on their evening constitutional.

            As it was not nearly as hot as it has been, and it was relatively cooler in the evening I thought I’d get to work filling up the wire basket with the crushed rock that was piled on the parking strip. It took two hours of hand picking up the rocks into buckets and my Gorilla Garden cart I bought the other day and just by steady work cleared them all off the parking strips where they had been dumped.

            I was down to my last bucket full when Kyle came home around 9 and he was really delighted and surprised that I had filled up at least a 4^th of the way of the wire containers so that the concrete guy when he comes will have that much done and out of the way. I told Kyle not bad for a 71-year-old dude. I went to bed tired but feeling accomplished.

The House of Representatives passed a bill to protect marriage equality and the shocker is that all of Utah’s Representatives voted for the bill when 8 years ago Utah was adamantly opposed to marriage equality. It’s doubtful that the bill will be passed by the Senate due to the MAGA Republicans there who thwart all progressive legislation.

20 July 2022 Wednesday

Little TJ is not feeling well and yelps a lot like he’s in pain. He had this affliction some years ago and I hope with rest it will go away as I have little money for vet bills right now. Kyle Foote informed me that it will cost $3200 for the concrete pour and Loni needed $1200 of it today. Kyle wanted me to have had paid off the Visa bill with the $10,000 he gave me to hold for him in my America First Account, but I said hell no I am not touching that money, so he won’t go to jail and leave me stranded with no fence up to contain the pups. I took the $1200 from the cash I had been stashing here at the house and now I only have $400 of it left. Well, there went my rainy-day fund on this hot July day,

            I walked the pups at 6 this morning as soon as I got out of bed then after fixing me some breakfast, I went to work filling the wire bucket from the huge pile of crushed rock left on the parking pad. It’s all hand work, one rock at a time to fill my buckets and transport them to the corner and empty them in the wire baskets. Very tedious work but I just thought I am good at this kind of piece work and I though how my ancestors picked cotton the same way one boll at a time until it made a bale.

I've been super busy this past couple of days with building the Great Wall of the House of the Barking Dogs one bucketful of rocks at time. I also finally finished cleaning the southside gutter and curb of left-over dirt. There was at least two-wheel barrow full of dirt I had to shovel and find a new spot for it. I wanted to clean the street because I think the street sweeper will be coming down Dale Ridge soon. On Niles Street just to the north they regraveled from Fernleaf to Newton Park and my guess they will be doing the same soon around my corner.

            At 2 in the afternoon, I had my appointment with John Priegnitz a folklorist at Utah State University in Logan but lives down here a street over from Michael Aaron. He is a young man perhaps in his early 30’s very queer tribal looking with a nose ring and lots of tattoos. I just don’t get how anyone finds that attractive although he would have been a good-looking young man without all the body art and piercing.

I think I went over my allotted time, imagine that! I spoke for two hours, and I was asked to come back later for more questions about the building of a Gay community here in Salt Lake City over the past 50 years. At 71 years I have a clearer perspective on events than I had at 21.

As Pioneer Day is fast approaching, I have to remember all the Gay and Lesbian Pioneers of yore. Over a lifetime, an amazing cast of characters came and went which to mention to the folklorist took more than two hours to discuss, how we all are working together changed Salt Lake from a provincial homophobic mindset to one of the most Gay friendly cities in America.

It took a lot of fearless souls working together to bring it about and contrary to what maybe some young queers today might believe no one in Salt Lake back in the day said to us faggots bring us your "tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

We fought for every square inch of freedom against a homophobic church which dominated all aspects of politics and the culture in Utah. We had no allies, just ourselves, and had many setbacks, especially with the AIDS epidemic, and later with the high school Gay and Straight Alliances but we persisted with new people coming along to carry the torch when others died or became too weary.

I am so incredibly lucky to have been part of the struggle for the freedom to love. When I am gone, I will rest know we fought the good fight to extend freedom and not to curtail it.

When Kyle came home to meet up with Loni and to give him the money to buy the cement for tomorrow’s pour, we had to wait for him to get here so I worked on hauling more buckets of rock and helped Kyle put in place four posts where the new gate will go in. I can visualize it a lot more now with the posts in place.

Loni didn’t show up until nearly 8 this evening, which was okay because it gave us time to work on the fence posts.

It was only 99 degrees today, but I guess Texas is burning up with 110 temperatures and with the humidity it must be totally miserable. I hear Europe is even worse. But Republicans say climate change is all a hoax.

21 July 2022 Thursday

TJ had fairly good sleep although he woke me up several times with his yelps of pain. When I rose at 6 this morning, I took the pups all for their constitutional. For the first time I walked TJ without a harness or a leash so as not to constrain him where he is sore. He stayed right with us the entire time without any problem, so I was proud of him.

            By 7 Loni and his work crew showed up to prepare the space for the cement pour. They had it all poured by 8:30 and were just doing the finishing touches. I went to Lee’s Market’s  America First Credit Union to withdraw $2000 that I put on my Visa Card to pay for the work.

My doctor’s appointment was at 11 and surprisingly I got right in to see Dr. Stoneburner as the appointment before mine was a “no show”. Doctor Stoneburner said I was weird as he was mystified that while my iron intake had really improved, my hemoglobin count went down when it should have gone up. So, he wants me to go see a hematologist to find out why I am being so weird.

I have a dermatology appointment also to see about skin damage on my arm. Spoiler alert I never wear sun screen lotion or long sleeves. While at the doctors I had another Vitamin B-12 shot and also a tetanus shot because I was due for one. Now I won’t get lock jaw I suppose. I weighed in at 182 pounds.

I came back to the house by 12:30 and fell asleep with TJ in my lap until I was wakened by Kyle coming home at 2 wanting me to go with him; I thought for the company. He was in a large U-Haul truck, and we went to the Restaurant Equipment Supply place off of California and Pioneer. I thought he was just checking in to pick up some equipment, so I stayed in the cab, but he was in the office for over a half hour while I sat in the hot truck.

I finally was getting sick, so I went inside to set in the cooler building, but it was still another half hour before he was able to get what he needed. I had him take me home as I was not feeling well. Maybe from the tetanus shot or maybe from the heat as I was damp from the sweat. Sometimes I think Kyle forgets how fragile a 71-year-old man can be.

At the house I laid down for a while and began to feel better and started watching the last of the January 6^th hearing for the Summer. It was basically a time line of what Trump was doing when the capitol was invaded, and Pence’s life was in danger. They were building a case of dereliction of duty.

Much of the phone records and other White House records for during that period of three house disappeared as did the Secret Service’s emails. Call me crazy but I thought the job of the Secret Service was to protect the president not to cover up for him. Shades of Nixon’s 18.5 minutes of deleted white house tapes.

In the evening Kyle called and asked me to meet him at the 21^st South U-Haul rental lot where he had returned the truck. Then I took him down to Sandy so he could retrieve the Sierra Truck which he had left there.

While driving back home Kyle called and said he was picking up Chinese Food and wanted to know if I wanted some chow mein which I did so he brought me home some.

 When I came back to the house at 9, I took the pups for a walk as Lulubelle really had to go badly and had already started to poop in the house. I walked TJ without a leash, and he is really good to stay with the pack and come when I call him. I didn’t want to put the harness on him because he had been in such discomfort that I didn’t want to add to it.

I then stayed up until almost midnight watching a couple of episodes of “Feud” a series about the making and “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane” and the feud between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. Jessica Lang as Joan and Susan Sarandon as Bette were excellent.

I guess President Biden has Covid19 as does Salt Lake Mayor Mendenhall.

22 July 2022 Friday

I took the pups for their morning walk at 6:30 and then had coffee and a donut for breakfast. Around 7:30 I had to go to Lucky’s to get some chicken and pork for the pups as I hadn’t anything in the house for their supper tonight. I saw that Lucky had Caesar dog food for a $1 compared to Amazon’s $1.50 and Smith’s $1.40 so I bought 10 of them for Lulubelle.

When I went outside round 8:30 it was already quite warm, and I knew it would be too hot of a day to haul crushed rocks so instead I worked in the front yard spreading out mulch and bark where the google fiber line was repaired yesterday. I also rolled some of the large landscaping stones into the parking strip to make kind of a rock garden. I spent two hours making the front yard look more like a yard than a work site.

            In the afternoon Kyle Foote wanted me to go with him while he went shopping for items at Lowes down in Sandy for the Indian Restaurant that he had Naveen Kumar Pavuturi rename The Curry Connect. I think he mainly needed my help with lifting some cabinets and sheet rock into the bed of the truck as he couldn’t do it by himself.

Before shopping we stopped and had some lunch at a shopping strip right near Lowes. Kyle went to Zuppas but since I saw that next to it was an Iceberg Restaurant I went there and ordered their Onion rings which I ate back at the restaurant. I always enjoyed Iceberg’s huge onion rings which are at least 1 to 1 and ½ inches wide when breaded but this time I had difficulty eating that much so this is probably the last time I will ever order Iceberg Onion rings again. Another closure.

            At Lowes, a monsoon storm came in and dropped a little bit of wind and rain, but it passed quickly. However, it did cool the temperature down from 101 to 91. After dropping off the sheet rock and the 2 by 4s and other things at the restaurant we came home around 4:30 in time for me to start fixing the pups their supper.

            Kyle then asked if I would go with him to clean the Sierra at Quick Quack as it goes out tomorrow at Sutherlands. We stopped at Arctic Circle in Bountiful and had a snack. Kyle wanted some fries and a Moose tracks Blizzard while I ordered a Raspberry Blizzard. Even though we got the small ones I couldn’t eat the entire thing without getting sick.

            So, after that bit of adventure, when we came back to the house, I took the pups for their evening walk and still walked TJ unleashed. It was nearly 8:30 before I was settled in enough to watch two episodes of Feud before calling it a day.

23 July 2022 Saturday

After walking the dogs around the block this morning, I went back to work hauling rocks into the wire basket while it was relatively still cool out. I had to quit at 10 when it just became too warm on the verge of getting hot.

            In the afternoon Kyle Foote woke me from a nap and had me go with him to clean the Nissan Rogue that was due to go out, but the people’s flight was canceled. We cleaned it anyway and had it ready if they still needed to book it. He went back to the Indian restaurant with a bunch of equipment afterwards.

The Days of 47 parade was held today because the 24th is on a Sunday. People who posted about it on Face Book said it was mediocre. I enjoyed the holiday a lot more in the 1980’s when a Neighborhood Fair was held at Liberty Park. That was where I fell in love with Billy Bikowski the heart break kid.

When Kyle Foote came home again from Curry Connect around 5:30, he wanted help putting up a fencing around the back yard with some of the wire mesh left over that was tall enough to keep the dogs in the yard so they can have free range of the doggie door again, so I don’t have to sit out in the heat to watch them use the yard to do their business.

            After putting up the containing fence I helped Kyle load up the GM Terrain with equipment he will need down at the restaurant to do the construction he is doing for Naveen Pavuturi. We also reorganized the garage some that was a mess with his tools and construction stuff just scattered about. I was tired but around 9 I took the pups for a walk around the block which they enjoy so much even though they have a fenced in back yard once again.

            Before heading to bed, I watched the last of Feud which I really enjoyed as that Ryan Murphy did a kinder portrayal of Joan Crawford than in Mommy Dearest. Both Joan and Bette Davis were shown their more vulnerable human side as they were used up as commodities by the Hollywood studio system.

            People started setting off fireworks around ten which of course made the pups nervous, but it didn’t continue well into the night I suppose because tomorrow is the Mormon Sabbath

            I posted a reminder on Facebook that David Sharpton died 30 years ago on July 21^st at midnight. Like Joe Redburn Bruce Barton and Bruce Harmon, he should not be forgotten.

24 July 2022 Sunday

Today is officially Pioneer Day although the parade was yesterday, and the holiday will be observed tomorrow. I took the pups for a 6:30 walk around the block and as it was much cooler today than it has been only around 90 degrees, I went to work hauling buckets of crushed rock to continue to fill the wire baskets. While working on the pile Kyle Foote asked if he could borrow the Honda FIT to attend a Spin cycle class. The GM Terrain was filled with power tools and such. Of course, I said yes as he looked so cute.

            I worked for about three hours until 10:30 and called it quits not because it was getting warm just that I was getting tired out. About that time Kyle came back to the house and we took the Nissan Rogue to the airport for those people who had their flight cancelled yesterday.

            When we came back to the house at 11, Kray Casper was here waiting to go with Kyle down to Curry Connect and to work on some design element.

            I rested in the house although I did a load of dishes in the dishwasher that seems to be working again. I did go to Lucky’s to get some hamburger meat because I was in the mood for a hamburger. I also went to the Dollar Store to buy a new pair of gardening gloves because I had worn holes in all the fingertips of the one I had been using and my fingers were getting sore.

            After that I took a nap with the pups for two hours, not getting up until around 5 in the afternoon. Kyle and Kray barely came home a little after I was up and feeding the pups. Kyle brought me a whole packet of gardening gloves because I had told him earlier how my old ones were worn out.

After Kray left, I later saw that the GM Terrain was gone so Kyle went somewhere. I decided to go back to work on the rock pile but at first, I walked the pups around the block at 7 in the evening.

            I worked on hauling the stones for 2 and half hours and I finally finished filling it to the top. What a major accomplishment for an old dude. I bet I moved at least a half a ton of stones, or more, a handful at a time. My Gorilla cart I bought sure made it easier to carry the three orange buckets I filled, but still I had to lift each one and pour into the basket.

Kyle came back to the house at 8:30 and played with the pups who were outside for most of the time I was. He was surprised that I was still at it, but I am like the tortoise and the hare. I might not be fast, but I am persistent.

            It was a little after nine when I dumped the last load of stones and I looked at the wall and thought this will be here long after I am gone so I have made some something that truly will last a very long time. You would have to have a bull dozer to knock it down.

            I went to bed around 10 when the rocket red glare started bursting in the air with the boom of cannon fire. Lulubelle was terrified and hid in the bathroom between the toilet and shower stall but the rest, while nervous, just joined me in bed.   

25 July 2022 Monday

Pioneer Day was weird this year. The parade was on Saturday, Sunday was the actual 24th of July, and today is the State Holiday. I am a pioneer on Fernleaf Street, the second settler 1996 in the Reliance subdivision and the only one still here. Lots of changes since then.

My summer 2022 yard is suffering from the heat, the drought, and the construction. The roses are all gone, hollyhocks almost gone, just a few droughts resistant plants and the front yard grass has gone dormant. That little patch is all I have left of the sod Rich Butler, and I laid back in the summer of 1996.

I moved my large landscape rocks by rolling them into the east side parking strip and it took four days to hand fill the wire retaining wall, a bucket full at a time working mornings and evenings. The new concrete stairs to the backyard and the extension of the parking pad was completed last Thursday. The Great Wall of the House of the Barking Dogs along the south side of the property will be here long after I am dust in the wind.

I made a little resting place for Buster and for the rest of the pups we interred with him. Robert Cross gave me a statuary of a little dog angel when Daisy died, and I think it's a perfect marker to let people know not to dig here by the stairs. I hung up the casting of the Saying “I hope to be as good a man as my dog think I am” and spread bark around the grave site.

I walked the pups early this morning before the sidewalk heated up. Even though the back yard is fenced in so the pups can come and go as they please again through the doggie door, they have come to expect a morning walk around the block.

I moved the arborvitaes that are still in their containers out along the south side of the yard in preparation of putting them in the ground. They are still fine but stressed from the heat and need to get put in to soil.

Kyle Foote was with Kray Casper all day at the Curry Connect working on a project there and around 4:30 Kyle called and said would I like a “hot date” meaning would I come back to the restaurant and help him this evening. So, I fed the pups early and when Kyle brought Kray back to the house where his car was parked, I went with Kyle down to Sandy.

He mainly wanted me to cut up all the boxes there and take them to the trash bin while he worked on projects. Another guy named Willie who is going to be the main dish washer came to the restaurant to help Kyle move things and to work with Naveen Pavuturi who was also at the restaurant.

We were only going to stay until 9:30 but Jason the Indian guy who is going to be the manager of the restaurant for Naveen came about 9 to discuss the layout of the construction of the kitchen. Kyle had to be there to go over all the details so while they did that, I rested on one of the couches there and actually dozed off. It was after 10:30 when Kyle finally said he had to leave to take me home. There I went right to bed.

The actor David Warner died at the age of 80. He was the valet villain in the movie Titanic among many other roles.

26 July 2022 Tuesday

I went to my Garff’s Honda appointment to have the oil changed in the Honda FIT at 8:30 this morning. They were busy so it was nearly 10  before they were done, and I could come back to the house.

Kyle Foote was up and about and wanted me to go with him to retrieve the Chevy Traxx at Sutherlands and take it to Quick Quack which I did.

            After the Traxx went back out to Sutherland’s, Kyle left for The Curry Connect and that was the last I saw him for the day.

It was too warm to do any yard work, so I just rested inside and only went out once again when I was bored  to drop off some books at the Rose Park library before driving around. I saw that the LaFrance and Del Mar court site was completely cleared of bricks and any remnant and was leveled flat so that it is all a memory now.

On Second South and Sixth West at the corner, the huge apartment complexes there dwarf both sides of the street and I also noticed that the old Sun Club property was being used to store construction site material.

            When it cooled down in the evening, I hauled a bunch of bricks I had saved to build a small border around Buster’s grave site to keep the other pups way. I also planted 7 of the Arborvitaes in the ground along the southside. I measured each one for the right distance from each other using the ones Kyle and I planted on the west side as a guide. Kyle was going to help me space them at least but never found the time so I did it the best I could.

            This afternoon this man named Andy, who I had met on Silver Daddies, contacted me, and asked if we could get together tomorrow afternoon. Nothing ventured nothing gained.

Tony Dow aka “Wally Cleaver” of Leave It to Beaver died at the age of 77. Everyone should have had a big brother like Wally.

27 July 2022 Wednesday

I took the pups for a walk around the block this morning before commencing on planting the rest of the arborvitaes along the south fence line. I am not sure if two will make it as their leaves had really been stressed by the heat. I only stopped once to talk to this neighbor lady named Debbie who walks her little yorkie each morning past the house also. I gave her a bunch of irises a while back. She and her husband have lived here almost as long as I have.

After getting all the trees into the ground and watering them good I went to work in the front yard, transplanting what I could from where Kyle eventually wants to raise the level also. I have so many Irises that I saved by digging them up but have no place to put them anymore.

            Kyle Foote left for Sandy early as he had to let some people in at 9:30 this morning but came back around 11:30. He thought he had to pick the Nissan Rogue up at 12:30 at the airport but read it wrong and it was supposed to be at 3. He was so frustrated with himself as he had an appointment at the restaurant and was upset that he would have to cancel. I told him it was all right and that I could help him. I said that I am here to help where I can. I just can’t do heavy lifting. I said it will give me a break from house and yard work.

So, I went on an adventure today. I took the Trax Green Line to the airport to retrieve the Nissan Rogue. I had never ridden Trax to the airport before, so I looked up the schedule and saw that a train came by every 15 minutes. I left the Honda FIT at Sutherlands and walked to the last boarding station at 1940 West North Temple. It cost me $1.50 for a one-way ticket being as I am a senior.

I was way early at the airport as I arrived at 2 but I didn‘t know how far I’d have to walk on anything.; I waited inside the terminal and played Spider Solitaire on my iPhone to pass the time. Closer to three I walked over to the Turo pick up and drop off location but still no Nissan Rogue. Finally at a quarter past 3 I notice that the Nissan Rogue was way down by the turn around circle so I had to walk to the car and inform the lady that she ought to drive up further so she would have an easier time taking her luggage to the terminal.

            I then finally was able to leave the airport and take the Nissan Rogue back to Sutherlands so I could retrieve the FIT.

Well, I Survived my first Trax Green Line experience without a scratch. The only hitch was the ticket screen is so faint in the sunlight its truly hard to read. It should be shaded or back lit I think but all in all very pleasant and air conditioned. It was 101 degrees today and the weatherman said we tied the record for the most 100 degrees days in July. Sterling Poulson the KUTV weatherman said we would probably break it.

The guy from Silver Daddies canceled our noon get together because of work so that worked out as well.

This evening I watched “Harold and Maude” as I hadn’t seen it in a while and it’s one of my favorite movies from my youth.

28 July 2022 Thursday

I don’t even get to have a cup of coffee before the pups want to go on their around the block walk. I let TJ run free in the morning because no one is out and at about 6:30 but in the evening I leash him with the rest of his pals. He is so happy and almost bounces as he runs. He still has some painful moments when he yelps.

            About the only time I saw Kyle Foote today was in the afternoon when he came back to the house to drop off some lumber and return a counter top to the restaurant equipment supply place off of California Street. He needed my help unloading and loading.

            I worked mostly this morning until 10 in the front yard digging up irises mostly and clearing out the rest of the plants. I also trimmed back all the irises in the small space between the steps to the house and the driveway. I filled up the yard waste bin before taking the trash bins to the curb for pick up tomorrow.

            It was 101 degrees today and the 16^th day in in July over 100 and it broke the record for the most extreme temperatures for Salt Lake City which had been 15 days.

            I took Maxx down to the Pet groomers to have his nails clipped but they said he needs to come back next week also because his nails were too long to cut them without hurting him. I dropped off the rest of the library books I had checked out last week as I knew I wouldn’t be reading them. It was a series that I couldn’t get into.

            I had a bit of a scare this afternoon when I went to log on to the computer and it wouldn’t come on. I checked all the cables and replaced the batteries in the keyboard until it finally dawned on me that the power had gone off for a bit as the clock in the stove panel was blinking. I found the on button for the Lenovo computer and it powered right up. I was worried that perhaps I had lost all my journal for July. I had backed up the earlier months on my Yahoo Email account to save them in case my computer ever does crash.

            I made some green jello this morning which I later mixed with cool whip as a parfait which was a light summery dish. I also made some enchiladas which while looking for the recipe I noticed that my computer wouldn’t come on. All’s well that ends well I suppose.

            Kyle was home by 7:30 tonight which was early for him as he had been putting in long days at the Curry Connect. When I went to Smith’s earlier in the day to pick up my prescriptions, I bought some more soda pop and a large box of Lucky Charms which Kyle had wanted.

In the late afternoon I dug a small trench in front of the arborvitaes as kind of an irrigation ditch to hold water.           

Well, this long hot July is nearly over. There’s talk of us going into a recession and Monkey Pox is the new virus de-jour. It seems to more contagious among Gay men for some reason, but it isn’t sexually transmitted so they say.

            Chuck Whyte wants to go out to lunch so tomorrow I will probably meet up with him. I haven’t heard from anyone else. My health seems to be good right now. No more stomach pains, constipation, and gas. My energy is better I suppose from taking the iron supplement, but I still haven’t heard from the hematologist clinic.

29 July 2022 Friday

After walking the pups, I worked in the front yard for much of the morning transplanting irises and watering while it was still cool out. Kyle Foote left for work at around 9:30 and I came into the house at 10 to do some housework. My dishwasher still won’t finish a cycle, so I have to wash the dishes by hand but since it’s mostly me I don’t mind.

I picked up Chuck Whyte at 12:30 to go to lunch. We went to Village Inn on 4^th South and 900 East. I was in the mood for Fish and Chips and since I knew I would be buying our lunch I wanted to go someplace I liked. While it was the noon lunch hour, the place was not busy at all with just one waitress working. If there were 10 people in there I’d be surprised.

I had a good lunch but of course couldn’t eat all of it as I mostly concentrated on the fish and tartar sauce. Chuck ordered the breakfast platter which had sausage, bacon, ham, hash browns, scrambled eggs, and pancakes. He ate every bit of his meal.

While there we saw a person, I knew by sight that Chuck new fairly well named Doyle Clayburn, a long-time flamboyant character within the community. Usually when I eat at Village Inn, I, or the person I am with will see someone we know.

            Chuck and I didn’t have a lot to say as neither one of us get out much anymore and Chuck doesn’t recall much anyway and having a conversation with him is tedious but that is what one does for longtime friends I suppose. I paid for our lunch which was nearly $35, and I remember when you only paid that much for an upscale restaurant.

            After we left Chuck wanted to go to the dollar store on Second South and 8^th East, but we were surprised that it had closed and the building vacant. It had been there for years and years.

We then drove around to see some of the changes to the city. I showed him where the Greek Apartments are now leveled and is a vacant lot and we then went to Second South and Sixth West to see all the apartment construction going on there in the old Gay neighborhood of the 1980s. I told Chuck it’s the “New Salt Lake City” as the old one is quickly disappearing.

            After taking him home I was back at the house by 2:30 in the afternoon and tried to take a little nap during the heat of the day. Then I got up when a wind storm blew into the valley. I didn’t know whether it was going to rain or not, so I rolled up my car windows and moved all these boxes that had been delivered by UPS into the garage.

            Kyle came home around 6:30 really looking tired and he had some of the enchiladas for his supper and then went down into his Casita. After taking the pups for their evening stroll, I went into the back yard and watered the arborvitaes after spreading some Miracle Grow around them. That took much of the evening as well as cutting back some of the over growth along the east fence next to the house. Kyle said he wants to take down the rest of the old fence perhaps this weekend.

            I watched a documentary on D.B. Cooper the skyjacker from 1971, which was all anyone talked about in the 1970’s. There once was a club called D.B Coopers on the north side of 2nd South between Regent Street and Main Street though I never went in there.

Am I the only one appalled and disgusted with Mike Lee's vicious ads attacking President Biden. He doesn’t even mention his own plans to make the economy better just tries to scare his deplorable base. The fact that his ad appeals to some Mormons is pathetic. I will vote for McMullin just as a protest against Lee...I certainly hope Utahns will not respond to such a vile attack message, and it will backfire, but I am not holding my breath.

The hematology clinic finally contacted me and made an appointment for October 11 at 9:30 in the morning. It will be a zoom call so not sure what they can tell over the computer without any blood work. Oh Well. It only made it up to 99 degrees today.

30 July 2022 Saturday

Another busy day after Kyle Foote came up and needed me to go with him. About six large boxes were delivered yesterday for the Curry Connect so he wanted to take them down to Sandy and while there we went to Lowes where he bought $600 worth of lumber and other building supplies we needed for the fence. Kyle wanted to take down the eastern cedar and chain link fence this evening. All we did this morning was take down the chain link fence.

            He had a luncheon with two former inmates he was friends with down in Gunnison, Jeff Kitchen’s and Todd Milliner who was in town from California.

            It was another hot day at 100 degrees and the weather report said this was the hottest July in Salt Lake City ever with the average daily temperature being 99.7 degrees. It never cooled off much at night either as it was on the average in the high 70’s.

            I took the pups for their evening walk around 7 and when I returned Kyle came home and wanted to start in on dismantling the rest of the fence. While taking down the panel sections Kyle was short with me from the way I was dragging them, and I told him he wasn’t clear how he wanted them moved and he then got pissy and said to go inside and he’d do it without me. Of course, I knew he needed my help and I managed to calm him down. Sometimes the least little thing can set him off.

            Anyway, I helped him with his cutting away the metal posts, helping him with digging the post holes for the new wooden posts which were then filled with concrete. I mostly was a retriever and holder while he did most of the very physical work. At one point I could see he had sweated through the back of his shirt.

            I also took a tumble when I slipped and fell on to the ground. I must have bruised my rib cage as I had to take some Tylenol so I could sleep after I went to bed but at the time it didn’t seem to bother me. It doesn't hurt much. Only when I breathe.

            Kyle got the last post in at 9:30 when we called it quits. It was dark anyway. I have to block the doggy door again because there is no confinement for the pups. They will have to use the patio area which is blocked off by a gate.       After coming back into the house, I finished watching Jumanji before hitting the crack around 11. That’s when my chest began to ache, and I couldn’t get comfortable and had to take some Tylenol for the ache.

            Someone in the neighborhood was setting off sky rocket fireworks which lit up the night sky. Lulubelle was hiding for much of the display. It was mostly a light show without any loud explosions. Will be glad when July is over, and the fireworks cease.

31 July 2022 Sunday

Kyle Foote had one of his dark outbursts toward me this morning. I never know what brings them on, but I have earned not to engage or take them personally and that he usually feels remorseful later.

            After walking the dogs and having a bit of breakfast I went out to the front yard to do some watering. I also decided to use my gorilla cart to move the metal fence post that had the concrete bock attached from the backyard to the front yard to make it easier to when we take it to the dump.

            When Kyle came out around 9:30 to start working on building the fence and told him how I had moved the post thinking he would be pleased with my effort but instead he went off on a tired yelling at me for doing things without him saying that fuck you and throw stuff and saying he was tired of my “bull shit” and stormed back into his room to. To tell the truth I was more flabbergasted than angry and then came back out and told me to get in the house that he would put up the fence without me interfering. That did kind of hurt my feelings as I have done nothing but try to be a help to him.

            So, I went back into the house and waited for the inevitable apology, well more of an explanation then an apology which is his way. He came up around 11 and said that he gets upset with me for trying to do too much and that my injury from falling yesterday remined him of his mother falling when he was 16 and injured herself from which she never really recovered. He said he was upset with himself for reasons that had nothing to do with me except that he was mad at himself for having a project that involves me at my age.

            I didn’t say much but just listened and responded by saying that I know my limits and what I can and can’t do like helping him with the flag pole but as I saw that he had tears welling up in his eyes I said to him, just remember Kyle, I do love you.

            I imagine some would say that these occasional outbursts are a form of elder abuse but as he also goes off occasionally on others, he is close to I think it’s just a form of mental illness that surfaces at time. He is never physically violent just loses his temper.

            As a way of recompense Kyle asked if I wanted to go with him to Lowes where he needed to get some more material for the fence. The storm had blown over and he was back to his caring senses. He bought some more fencing boards and a new garden spigot and water hose.

            He had framed in the fence line by himself this morning when he was upset with me and dragged all the old fence panels out to the front where I had suggested yesterday.

            Kyle said Kray Casper wanted to come over to go down to Sandy to work some more on a project he is doing at the Curry Connect. I was glad he was going away to collect himself and forget about his temper tirade this morning. I just watched a lot of movies today because I knew that Kyle didn’t want me to do a thing outside. I watched Bruce Willis’ the Fifth Element, Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and the Witches, as well as an episode of Perry Mason.

            I walked the pups around 6:30 because they were antsy from being cooped up for most of the day and when I returned Kyle came home and asked me to help him finish the front yard fence which I did. I mainly handed him the fencing boards as he nailed them into place. I didn’t do a thing except what he asked me to do not to cause a problem again.

            It was dark 9:30 when he finished with the front side of the fence. Kyle wants to do the back side also with fencing for aesthetic reasons. So, while the beginning of the day was hurtful, we both were over it and the fence was done enough to confine the pups again.

            The news said it was the hottest July on record with out here at the airport it being an average of 88.9 degrees which took in account the high and low for each day. Nichelle Nichols who played Ly. Uhura on the original Star Trek passed away yesterday. She was 89 years old.

            My rib over my right breast was more sore tonight but I still think I strained it rather than broke anything. Gas prices are finally dropping down now to $4.75, which is still higher than the national average.        So, I survived another July in Utah. I must have been conceived in July for me to have been born in April.

 

AUGUST

1 August 2022 Monday

I’ve always liked August. It means that the oppressive heat of July is winding down and today was no exception when it was only in the 90’s and a lightning and thunder storm brought in a good shower after I went to bed.

            I didn’t see Kyle Foote all day. After taking the pups for their morning promenade around the block I came back home and actually went back to bed as I must have been tired and needed some rest. I actually slept in until nearly 11 which I haven’t done all summer. When I finally started to get on with my day, Kyle had already left for Curry Connect and was still there when I went to bed at 10 at night.

            My chest ribs are still sore, not getting any worse but not getting any better either. It hurts when I lean forward or try to lift anything.

            In the afternoon I got a call from Kyle saying that his lawyer said his court appointment is tomorrow not next week and he asked me to go to America First CU to have a cashier check drawn for $10,000 to the Tooele Court. I don’t know why he was fined but it had something to do with the Build Team fiasco.

            So that is what I did and while in Bountiful I stopped and filled my Honda FIT up at a Shell Station for $4.69 a gallon. It’s funny how anything below $5.00 a gallon now seems like a bargain.

            This evening I was out watering when a Mexican Family from down the street asked if I was willing to sell the old cedar fence sections out in the front yard. I said they could just have them if they wanted them, and it would save me from having to take them to the dump.

When the husband named Aaron came home from work with a truck, he loaded them all up and also the two in the back yard. I didn’t lift any except for a large section from the back yard that had to be carried over the wire fencing that confines the pups. I would have helped more but was afraid of injuring my already sore ribs. I introduced myself to them and they were Aaron and Maria Flores who live just down the street in the old section of Fernleaf Street. They had a new boxer puppy I guess they wanted a fence for. I was happy that the old Cedar fence was being repurposed and also, I didn’t have to go to the dump with them.

            When I finally went to bed a storm blew in with loud thunder clap and flashes of lightening which was refreshing the stale air.

 

2 August 2022 Tuesday

My ribs still ache some, and I wonder whether or not I should go to Urgency Care to check it out. It rained really hard last night, and I know we must have had at least a half an inch of rain out here by the airport. The ground was saturated, so it was a good down pour. I walked the pups around 7 this morning and the neighborhood was still damp from the good watering we received.

Kyle Foote took the Sierra truck to Quick Quack first thing this morning as it went out at Sutherlands at 11. I picked him up from there and drove him out to Tooele for his court hearing. We were there by 9 but it was nearly an hour wait before his case was heard so I had to sit through a lot of arraignments. Some of the cases were in person but I think most were through Zoom. There were lots of drug cases and a few assaults.

 When Kyle went before the judge it was mainly to pay the court the $10,000, I think as good faith money as he has to pay $2500 a month in restitution. I can’t worry about that.

It was hard to gage how Kyle was feeling, being back in court, but it must have been anxiety producing. I wonder if it’s going to be my lot from now on, with me being involved with Kyle’s legal issues. I had mine 30 years ago when I was arrested for “lewd” conduct up at the U of U one Saturday night in Orson Spencer Hall which has since been torn down. That and the thought of going to jail was enough to never want to deal with a courtroom again in my life. Kyle has to deal with the court again on the 16th, but he will be able to do it through a Web camera, so we won’t have to go out there again. I hope.

We were back home by 10:30 and Kyle took with him the metal stools and chairs, which were being stored in the garage, with him down to Curry Connect to let Naveen Pavuturi use them in an apartment he is renting for his Indian help which he is bringing over from India.

I was home for the rest of the day after going shopping for some groceries and dog treats. When I returned from the store 6 arborvitae shrubs had been delivered that Kyle had ordered for the back yard. I am not sure what he paid for them, but they were a bit taller than the ones we bought in the spring although not as full. I uncrated them and watered them but won’t plant them until Kyle says so. That was about all the excitement I could handle. Other than walking the dogs in the evening that was about the extent of my day. It only warmed up into the high 80’s today because of the monsoon clouds.

This 45-year-old man named Andy from Silver Daddy still wants to meet me once his work schedule is figured out. That would be nice since it’s been a while since I’ve had some physical affection.

3 August 2022 Wednesday

It warmed back up into the 90’s today but at least it’s not in the triple digits. I went to the Rose Park library and checked out 6 books. I started reading one about the London Zoo, but it was kind of boring and I gave up on it after one chapter. I started in on a mystery by James Kestrel called Five Decembers which was extremely good and a real page turner. The story begins in November 1941 in Honolulu with a grisly murder. I read over 200 pages before going to bed.

            I didn’t do much else today except straighten up the house but no yard work except unpackaging 4 more arborvitaes that came today that Kyle Foote had ordered.

            This evening Kyle called and asked if I’d follow him up to Kaysville to drop off a vehicle for Kray Casper who had sold his own car in preparation for his move to Boston this month. He needed transportation to get to Sandy to work on the project for the Curry Connect. I said I would, and it was around 9:30 at night when we went.

            I called to make an appointment at the Pet Groomers for Lulubelle but the earliest they can get her in is September 14 at 10 in the morning.

            My chest is still sore but I am able to sleep with it not waking me up so that is good. When I went to Common Cents for a drink, I filled my container with Mountain Dew which I haven’t tasted in probably 15 years. I was kind of tired of Dr. Pepper and thought it might be a nice change after all Mountain Dew is the preferred drink of a million Utah Mormons. I was wrong. It was horrible and I poured it out. Another reason why I am not a true Utahn even if I have lived here off and on for nearly 50 years.

4 August 2022 Thursday

Kyle Foote needed me to take him down to Sandy this morning as he was going to use the Curry Connects company van as he needed to have me take the Nissan Rogue to Quick Quack as it goes out late and he doesn’t have the time.

While at Curry Connect, Mike Romero finally contacted me saying he was coming home tomorrow as that he contracted Covid and also had a stove fire in his trailer that needs to be repaired. I guess I will hear all about it tomorrow.

            I finished reading “Five Decembers” which was a good diversion for a hot August day and being inside. I only left the house today to aid Kyle either by taking him to Sandy, going to Quick Quack, and at night picking him up at the airport.

            The only yard work I did today was water all the arborvitae shrubs and a little of the front yard. I haven’t heard a thing from Jim Dabakis since last Spring. I hope he’s okay. Chuck Whyte is the only person I have heard from in a while. I suppose everyone is hunkering down during this long hot summer.

            In the News, Alex Jones of Info Wars garbage was found guilty in a trial that awarded over $3 million to a Sandy Hook Family who sued him for saying the school massacre was a hoax.

            Monkeypox is all in the news with a shortage of vaccines and its infecting mostly Gay men, so no one cares I suppose.

5 August 2022 Friday

I woke up at 7 this morning which is late for me and took the pups for their walk and saw that it had rained last night although I didn’t hear any of it. It looked like a good soaking rain. Kyle Foote had to deliver the Nissan Rogue to the airport at 2 in the morning but had left the company van in the short-term parking last night so I wouldn’t have to mess with it.

I didn’t hear from Mike Romero today, so I don’t know whether he came back to Salt Lake City or not. Kyle Foote was gone all day and I stayed home because the air flow undercover of the Honda FIT has come loose again and I didn’t think I should be driving it until it gets repaired.

About 4, Kyle called and asked me to meet him at the Restaurant Supply store off of 13^th South and bring with me the Chevy Traxx keys and an instrument to detect computer issues in the car. I guess the Traxx, that is out being rented, was in Bountiful with the AC/Heater stuck again and he needed me to take him there to fix it, which I did.

We then went to Bountiful around 5 this afternoon and the streets were flooded from a quick down pour. The gutters were overflowing from rushing water because the drains could not keep up. We had some rain here in Westpointe by the Jordan River but nothing like Bountiful.

            Kyle needed to borrow the FIT to return to the Curry Connect in Sandy, so I was without a car all evening, but I wasn’t planning on doing anything but reading from a new mystery novel called “Danger on the Atlantic” by Erica Neubauer set in 1926 on the Olympic Ocean liner which was the sister ship to the Titanic. It’s entertaining at least.

            I made a blueberry cheese cake today to use up the sour cream and cream cheese I had but I guess it was too rich for me for after a slice I was kind of nauseous the rest of the evening.

            In the news Red China is saber rattling over Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan and economically the job report said that more than a half a million jobs were added in July putting us back in the same job market position as before the pandemic. It down plays the fear of a recession.

6 August 2022 Saturday

I had to take Kyle Foote down to Sandy this morning around 10, but down there he had the company van, so I didn’t have to retrieve him later. It was pretty out today and only around 80 degrees. When I took the pups for a walk this morning, I even wore long pants.

            In Sandy I saw one gas station listing gas at $4.53 a gallon but when Kyle filled my tank up, he paid $4.70 at Maverick.

            Coming home I stopped at Smith’s in Rose Park to buy few breakfast things, but they didn’t have any hash browns and their eggs were really expensive, so I just bought some dog treats and then went to Lucky’s where I found hash browns and eggs a little cheaper but still $3.50 a dozen for large ones. Even with inflation, I am grateful to be able to buy groceries and not depend on Soylent Green which the 1973 movie predicted corporations would be turning people into food in the year 2022

I called Mike Romero later in the afternoon to see if he got in and he said he came home around 5 yesterday after dropping the Ember Trailer off at Bish’s so they could do the repairs. He said that he thinks the propane line was faulty and leaked which caused the fire to his stove and counter top. The trailer is still under a 3-year warranty so they will fix it.

He said he had a nice summer on the most part even going down to Santa Fe New Mexico, but he thinks he caught Covid 19 at Frontier Days in Wyoming.

I wrote on Facebook “People should not let their guard down with the new strain of Covid. Mike Romero caught the virus while vacationing in Wyoming and he’s had the two shots and booster. They put him on that medicine that President Biden took, and Mike said he immediately felt better but at first had difficulty breathing before taking the pills. He came home yesterday and is almost done with his quarantine. It ain’t over yet.”

Kevin Scott wrote in response, “I am on Paxlovid right now and it messes with the diabetes, also has the side effect of rebounding. So glad my employer demanded that we all go back in the office so I could catch it from a coworker the first day back.” And Roy Zhang wrote, “I have had it two times in the last 6 months, it has been awful!”

On top of the new variant of Covid, there’s Monkeypox affecting primarily the Gay men’s community, and now polio is reemerging in New York State.

Mike said he’d come over tomorrow to retrieve the mail I saved for him and that his quarantine is almost over. We will mask up anyway.

I then took a nap after reading for a while. There was nothing much I could do outside anyway and no place to go.

In the late afternoon I was wakened from my nap by a thunder clap, and it was like a cloud burst over Salt Lake. I looked outside and rain was coming down in buckets. One big thunderclap and the skies opened up. I had left my window to the Honda FIT down and I was soaked the few steps it took to roll it up. Maxx went outside with me but quickly ran back up the steps when he realized he was getting soaked. Anyone caught outside like the homeless or animals are going to be soaked through and through.

            The downpour lasted about 30 minutes and left large puddles in the backyard. It continued to rain and sprinkle some even more but by 4:30 it seemed to have stopped. I am not sure how much rain we received but the weather person said the U of U had ¾ of an inch. They didn’t say how much the airport had but I imagine close to that amount. It was the first real heavy rain we had all year, and I am sure all the plants that were parched in July appreciated it.

            I spent the rest of the evening finishing reading “Danger on the Atlantic” which was pretty good for that genre.            

7 August 2022 Sunday

Anyone wanting some escargot, come over to my neighborhood. After the rain we had, while walking the pups this morning, there were so many snails sliming along the side walk. I wonder who was the lunatic who first looked at a snail and thought I wonder how they would taste? Gag me with a spoon.

I started a new mystery novel today called “Front Page Murder” by Joyce St. Anthony. It takes place in 1942 during World War II in small town in Pennsylvania.

The weather cleared up today and it was mostly sunny probably in the low 90’s. Mike Romero came over this morning to pick up his mail and visited some although we kept our distance due his being quarantined. He said he had a nice summer even if his propane hose was faulty and caught his stove and counter top on fire and he also caught Covid19 probably at Wyoming’s Frontier Days.

Times really have changed about how people regard inoculations. In 1971 I had to have a smallpox shot and a T.B. Test before I could attend college. I never thought my rights were being violated. What is wrong with people today? No wonder so many viruses are spreading everywhere. They say polio is probably in New York State.

            Kyle Foote was downstairs most of the day and only came up around 3 to ask me to go with him down to the Curry Connect to help him with some projects. So, I did, and I took my book with me. I mainly helped with him installing the lamps over each of the booths. We were there until 6:30 but got them all up which was not difficult just labor intensive. Kyle said Brian Deveraux is coming tomorrow to help get the place ready for a soft opening on September 15^th.

            On the way home, we stopped at Arctic Circle on State and 72^nd South for some supper as we hadn’t eaten since noon, and it was nearly 7 in the evening and after that when we finally came home for me to feed the pups.

8 August 2022 Monday

I didn’t see Kyle Foote all day as he left for Curry Connect early until he came home at 10 tonight.

I walked the dogs twice today as they have come to expect it when I first get out of bed.

I finished reading Front Page Murder this morning and then went to work cleaning up the garage. Kyle is going to just give away for free the large desks that take up most of my side of the garage, so he asked me to clear off anything on top of them. While I was doing that, I decided to organize the mess of tools and stuff scattered around on the garage floor to make access a little easier. I moved all the office panel dividers away from the utility closet which was the most difficult for me to do by myself, but I managed. I finished clearing a path for anyone who wants the desks to be removed from the garage except for moving the large 8-foot industrial sink that I will need Kyle’s help in moving it over to the side.

            I was done by 12:30 and Kyle called and asked if I would go take a picture of the Chevy Traxx’s odometer that was down at Sutherlands. Since I wanted to get some pork chow mein from China Delight anyway it was no problem.

            My left calf muscle is sore for some reason and aches quite a bit. Not sure why. The left side of my body is giving me fits as my rib cage is still achy too from the fall, I had a while back. Even if I cracked a rib there’s nothing, they can do for it.

            I started the last of the books I checked out of the Rose Park Library. It’s called “Diamond Bessie” which is more of a historical novel than a mystery. It’s about a young girl becoming a demimonde prostitute in the 1870s.

            I sat in the hot tub hoping it would help my sore leg but didn’t much. Old age problems I suppose. It was a beautiful day much like Sunday and hopefully our 100 degrees heat wave is over. Still supposed to be warm in the 90’s but we might get some more monsoon moisture.

Singer Olivia Newton John died today at the age of 73 from breast cancer. So, I finished watching Grease in her memory. She will always be Sandy. Funny how they casted her as a teenager when she actually was 30 years old and six years older than John Travolta at the time who was 24. Actually, when I married Fran, we were also six years apart.

In the news the FBI raided Trump’s home in Florida on the 48^th anniversary when Tricky Dick Nixon resigned his presidency. The Republicans are hollering like stuck pigs about “politicizing” the FBI.

9 August 2022 Tuesday

I only left the house at 6:30 in the evening when I went to the Rose Park Library to return all my books except Diamond Bessie which I finished reading before going to bed. That book surprised me that it was based on a real person who was murdered in Jefferson, Texas, a town near Cass County where my Williamses, Carters, and Persers lived at the same time. She was murdered by her husband who only married her to take possession of her diamond rings. He was a black sheep member of the Rothchild family, and the trial was sensational for East Texas so certainly my family would have heard of it. The book was a novel, and it was surprising as in the first half I thought it was just a fictional account of a courtesan prostitute but then in the middle of the story she is shot dead by her husband without any warning to the reader. The second half of the story is a fictionalized account of Diamond Bessie becoming a ghost remaining to see vengeance on the man who murdered her. I was surprised in the epilogue to read that most of the story was based on a true account that the author gleaned from newspapers and other historical records. Diamond Bessie as the folks of East Texas knew her is buried in Jefferson where she was murdered.

            At the library I checked out five more books. Three were part of a series called Trash ‘n’ Treasure mysteries by Barbara Allan that look light and easy reading. The others are Harlem Sunset by Nekesa Afia a mystery novel that takes place during the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920’s and The Shadow of Memory -A Kate Hamilton Mystery by Connie Berry that takes place in Suffolk, England. So, they should keep me busy for a week or so.

            Kyle Foote had several large packages delivered to the house and I stayed home mainly to put them in the garage rather than risk them being taken by porch pirates.

            The Republicans are going berserk over the FBI visiting the Mar- a- Lago residence of Trump. Doesn't the FBI have the decency to not persecute a man who just lost a third of his wives and buried her on his golf course for a tax break? New meaning for a hole in one I suppose.

10 August 2022 Wednesday

Another stay home kind of day except in the morning I had to pick Kyle Foote up at the airport after he dropped off the Chevy Traxx. I started reading some of the Trash and Treasure series. Not sure if I like it yet. I did clean the house some, especially my bedroom, which needed it. I washed my bedding and swept and mopped the floor. Four pups sharing my bedroom keeps it from being pristine. Mom always said you can have pets or a clean house, but you can’t have both.

            I did go to Lucky’s, coming back from the airport, as I wanted to buy some hamburger meat and a bag of potatoes. I wanted to make a shepherd pie for supper. Since I also bought some ground pork, I also made a meat loaf. I know Kyle sometimes comes home hungry and want to have some supper for him when or if he does.

            Lots of Amazon packages came again today for Curry Connect so I was able to get them off the porch into the garage to keep them safe.

            When I took the pups out for their evening constitutional it was sprinkling but not enough to keep me from walking them around the block.

            I watched a documentary on Don McLean’s American Pie which was pretty good and nostalgic for me since I am typing up my 1971 journal. Kyle didn’t come home until after 10 and he said he was too tired to eat anything.

            In the news Trump is being ridiculed by my friends and others on Facebook for pleading the 5^th in his indictment in New York City for his financial crimes. His supporters all said he did the right thing even though he always claimed that only guilty people plead the Fifth against self-incrimination.

11 August 2022 Thursday

I am kind of down in the doldrums. With Kyle Foote gone all day working getting Curry Connect ready I am not doing much around the yard except watering. I don’t do much with the house as it doesn’t get too filthy just need regular floor mopping and dishes done. General house work. I don’t see anyone, and no one sees me, so I have been spending a lot of time not being very active. Then again, my chest ribs and leg is still sore. I think I have sciatica in my leg left after taking that tumble last week.

It's getting cooler in the mornings walking the four pups at 6:30. I have to wear long pants now and long sleeves. Summer isn't over yet but I can tell it's winding down. The cooler weather and monsoon moisture has some of my roses blooming again after the oppressive heat of July. Some days I feel like I am winding down also.

I have been transcribing my journal from 1971 when I was 19 and 20 years old and in College at Cypress and Cal State Fullerton. Lots of memories I had nearly forgotten in the past 51 years. There were lots of family interaction with my folks, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. In that year, my mom and dad celebrated their 25th Silver anniversary and both sets of Grandparents, the Williamses, and Johnsons, celebrate their 50th Golden Anniversary. Kind of unusual to have all that happen in the same year.

I wrote a lot about my anti-war sentiments, and how much I despised Governor Ronald Reagan and President Nixon. The flaming liberal I am today had its early start in Southern California among all the John Birch Society loonies.

One thing I never wrote about was being openly Gay, although the journal is filled with references to John Cunningham and other boys I had crushes on. However, I did become friends, because I was "liberal", with several out Gay kids at Cypress like Kent Larson, Bob Wimberley, and Gary Bassin. We do seek out our own, don't we? It was a time of extreme internal conflict between wanting to be the perfect good boy that God would love and my inner nature of being a Gay soul.

I never saw Kyle today as he must have come home after I went to bed. Bye, Bye Miss American Pie.

12 August 2022 Friday

Another day that I didn’t see Kyle Foote at all as he left at 7 this morning to head off to Curry Connect. Again, he didn’t come home until I went to bed. I took three books back to the library that I didn’t care for called the Trash and Treasure mystery series. I don’t know whether they were all that bad or whether I was tired of reading books unless they are entirely engaging. I did not do much of anything thing except I went out of the house around noon and got a Dr. Pepper before driving around see how things are developing along Second South and Third South.

I took a picture of the vacant lot where the LaFrance had been completely leveled and posted it on Facebook. Then I went to Warm Springs Park to read a bit and walk around for some exercise. Not sure whether I was bored or horny. Perhaps a bit of both.

I did take the Honda FIT through the car wash even though it sprinkled some in the early evening. I also went to Del Taco in North Salt Lake for a late lunch or early supper.

I then mainly watched some news for the weather report and spent the rest of the evening watching several episodes of “What We Do in the Shadows” which is one of my favorite shows because of the vampire character Nandor the Relentless. In the news Trump may have violated the 1917 Espionage Act but taking Top Secret documents from the White House. Author Salman Rushdie was stabbed by a Muslim fanatic and is in critical condition as he was beginning to give a talk, and the actress Anne Heche died from injuries due to her car crash. Congress passed a major climate crisis bill without any help from Republicans.

13 August 2022 Saturday

Last night around midnight, Taco woke me up barking like crazy, so I got up to see what he was so excited about. Looking out the bay window I saw a firetruck and ambulance parked in front of the Polynesian house across the street. There were no police cars so it must have been a medical emergency. Eventually a 24-year-old, one of the girls who lived there, was taken on a gurney, and placed in the ambulance. They didn’t seem to be in that much of a hurry so it couldn’t have been too serious. So, I went back to bed.

At 6:30 this morning Kyle needed me to take him to the airport to pick up the Chevy Traxx. I know he is exhausted as he couldn’t have had too much sleep either. I noticed that he was wearing shorts and a t-shirt so he must have just grabbed something quick to put on. I also noticed he was sporting a chubby in his crotch which I had a hard time myself from not looking at it. Morning wood I suppose.

Back at the house I walked the pups but had to cut it short when a neighbors’ little chihuahua was running loose and following us. He was just too interested in the gang, and I was afraid he might follow us entirely around the block and get lost, so I picked up TJ and we just returned the way we came back down Daleridge.

While I was typing up my journal, around 8:30, the house shook with a loud rumble and boom. At first, I thought we were having an earthquake but it only lasted seconds and there was no damage. Later the news reported that it was a meteor falling across Utah that caused the sonic boom that shook the house.

  I pulled some weeds along the fence line this morning before they get established among the arborvitae trees.

At 11 Kyle Foote called me and asked if I would drive the Sierra truck down to the Curry Connect as they needed to haul some things to Naveen Pavuturi’s place. So, I did.

 While there I visited a little with Brian Devereaux who I hadn’t seen since last year. Kyle hired him to work on some of the plumbing at the restaurant. It sounds like life is going well with him. I helped Kyle some while I was there while he was up on a ladder; handing him things, but at 1 in the afternoon I left. Kyle had me take the Truck to Quick Quack for a wash and vacuum as it was going out tonight.

I became fixated on wanting to get a deep fryer as I had never had one and wanted to fry food like French fries, onion rings, shrimp, fish, spring rolls, okra, and other foods rather than just bake them. I went to Target on 300 West, which street was under construction all the way from 9^th South to 13^th South and was quite a mess. There was nothing at Target, so I drove down to reliable Wal-Mart and bought an appliance that also acted as kind of an electric cooking pot as well as a deep fryer. Since I was down that way I stopped at Dickey’s BBQ and ordered some fried okra and a pulled pork slider sandwich. I have been craving some fried okra for a long time which prompted me buying the deep fryer for $30.

After running around, I stayed home for the rest of the day and watched some shows on TV until Kyle came home at 9 to get the truck ready to go out to the airport.

I am falling apart. While we were visiting something weird happened. I felt this hard thing roll around in my mouth and when I spitted it out into my hand, a portion of my right incisor eye tooth had broken off. It just fell off and I wasn’t chewing anything. It didn’t hurt and I didn’t see any cavity for why it would have split off. So weird. I was just sitting there in my lazy boy. The tooth however is in my smile line so that is going to make me self-conscious about smiling until I can get it fixed if I do. I shouldn’t be so vain at my age, but I guess I still am.

At 10 I drove to the airport to pick up Kyle after he dropped off the truck. When he called up to say it was time to go, he called me “Benji-boo boo.” He had never done that before. That was the term of affection I hadn’t heard in years, and it took me by surprise. It’s what the kids at the YMCA camp called me back in 1972 to tease me. I adopted Ben as my name because of it as I wanted a new identity back then.

Kyle said that perhaps tomorrow someone will come by in the morning to take the panel partitions that he is finally giving away for free to get rid of them. They would probably be hard to sell but are worth hundreds of dollars.

14 August 2022 Sunday

It rained during the night as when I Took the pups for a walk before 7 this morning the grass and yard was still wet. Grateful for the moisture. For breakfast I had some of the rice I cooked last night in my new electric kettle as it said it was a rice cooker also. Then around 8 I heard Kyle Foote up and about and I went outside and saw that a man had come to take the office panels that Kyle was giving away. I helped where I could, but they did most of the heavy lifting.

            At 10 I went down to Curry Connect to see where I could help out Kyle by just being a go-fer for him while he was up on a ladder installing light fixtures. There were a crew of cute Mexicans doing some wall painting and Willy the dish washer was cleaning grout in the bathrooms. Brian Devereaux was installing the seating booths where they should be. I was just volunteering my time to be out of the house and to be with Kyle. He did buy the crew lunch at Rio Café, even me, although I wasn’t all that hungry.

It felt good to be busy but at 5 I left Sandy to go back home to feed the pups. After feeding them, I took the Chevy Traxx to Quick Quack to wash and vacuum it for Kyle as it went out at 10 tonight. It was only in the high 80’s today so it felt cooler after the brutal July heat. I see that gas prices are finally coming down, but they say we are still way above the national average of $4.00. Common Cents where we usually get our drinks, Exxon is at $4.49 but most places are a few cents more. The other day I saw that Sam Club was selling gas at $4.38.

            Seditionists are calling for “civil war” because of the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago and a few lunatics have tried to storm FBI headquarters in Ohio and Phoenix stoked by Republican rhetoric.

15 August 2022 Monday

This morning I walked the pups around the block. I let TJ off his leash only in the morning and the little scamp just loves running and a hopping about but mainly stays with us. Kyle Foote wanted me to stay home until a girl came by to buy the small refrigerator he had replaced. He sold it for $50. So, I stayed home this morning, and I dug up the Yucca plant’s shoots that were springing up through the corner parking strip and replanted them along the Fernleaf side.

I also called Roseman Dental and made an appointment for this Wednesday to see about my broken tooth. I am not sure what they can do for it. Afterwards I drove down to Curry Connect to be of assistance where I could. Kyle had two Mexican lads doing a lot of the cleanup and moving tables back where they should be in the dining area where Kyle was adjusting the hanging lights. Brian Devereaux was working in the two gender neutral bathrooms putting in fixtures like soap dispensers and paper dispensers.

 I mainly assisted Kyle with his projects and was wiping down the booth seats and tables. The dining area really has come together compared to the construction site it was looking like yesterday. Kyle was happy when the Coca Cola delivery truck came by and swapped out the diet coke canister for Dr. Pepper.

I stayed until 5 when I left to go home which was a mistake as I should have waited longer because I hit rush hour traffic and Kyle had inadvertently left the GM Terrain car keys in the Honda FIT. Rather than having me return, which would have been tedious with the southbound traffic Kyle said he would take Naveen Pavuturi’s company minivan home later tonight.

            So, I fed the pups on time, took them for a walk and spent the evening watering the arborvitaes with the rainbow sprinkle that that I moved every 15 minutes to rotate the watering. It was a warm day compared to the past few days. I think it got up to 97 degrees.

            The handicap emblem, that Bill Poore gave me 2 years ago when I was driving him around expired today. I guess I will finally have to go to the DMV and get one for real from the recommendation Dr. Stoneburner gave me a while back.

16 August 2022 Tuesday

Kyle Foote needed my help with Turo today. The Sierra truck came back at 11 this morning but the Nissan Rogue wasn’t coming back in until 2 in the afternoon. To keep him from going back and forth from Sandy to the airport I said that he could drop me off at the airport after retrieving the truck and I would sit around waiting for the Nissan Rogue.

Today was stressful enough for him as he had a court appearance. At first, I thought I was going out to Tooele with him so I dressed nicely in long pants and a shirt but then he informed me that he could do it through Zoom, so I didn’t have to leave the house. He had to make an 8:30 appearance but I think he was one of the last on the docket became he up around 10:20 and said that everything was okay now and he did not have to make restitution payments until October. Other than that, he didn’t tell me anymore.

            So about 11:30, Kyle dropped me off at the airport and I took a book for me to read while waiting. I sat in the waiting area set apart for returning Mormon Missionaries’ family because I needed to charge my cell phone. The screaming and yelling at the return of each missionary by family members was extremely annoying but I suppose I am being a curmudgeon. But the cheering was like they had been conquering heroes coming home from battle.

            When the phone was charged enough, I moved to a far part of the perimeter of the terminal to not be disturbed and at one point I looked up from my book and I saw a police officer with a K-9 police dog on a leash. The German Shepard came up to me and started sniffing me up and down. He walked away but then came back and sniffed some more. I finally told the officer that I have 4 dogs at home, so I am sure I smell pretty good. The way the pooch was acting I thought I was under suspicion.

Kyle called shortly after that and said the Nissan Rogue was returned a bit early so I walked over to the car rental area out to the drop off spot for Turo and drove the Nissan Rogue back to Sutherlands to pick up the Honda FIT so I could go home and change.

 I then drove down to Sandy with a container that was delivered to the house for Curry Connect. I wanted to see where I could help Kyle. I was there about 2:30, helping clean and sort out tools for him. Only Brian Devereaux and he were the ones working down there today. I was kind of tired and later when Kyle criticized how I had sorted some material most of which I had no clues what they were, I said I was going home and left.

 I wasn’t mad,  I just thought here I am volunteering my time and he is being sharp with me instead of thanking me. He knew he was wrong because as I left, he off handedly said Thanks for all your help.

It was 5 o’clock when I left, which is a bad time to be leaving Sandy because rush hour traffic is horrible going north but even worse going South. I took 700 East going north to 7200 South thinking could avoid the mess on 9000 South, but it wasn’t any better. In fact, it was probably worse as it took me almost an hour to get home.

There I fed the pups and fried some okra in my new fryer. It was pretty good but actually I didn’t have much of an appetite and I must have been exhausted as when I sat in my lazy boy, I nearly fell asleep at 7.

Even though I was weary I walked the pups around the block, came back and straighten the kitchen and then decided to lay down in bed. I must have been really tired as I fell asleep around 8:30.

Depending on one’s time zone 77 years ago WWII in the Pacific came to an end with victory over the Japanese Empire. The Japanese surrendered on August 15 after two of their cities were obliterated by atomic bombs but due to the international time zone the news on the surrender was on August 14 in America. The official signing on the peace treaty was September 2. My dad was 20 years old and in the navy in the South Pacific. My mom was 16 years old in Hart Camp Texas and she was overjoyed with the end of the war. Seven months later when Dad was discharged from the Navy they were married.

The sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis in July 1945, just two weeks before the end of the war, resulted in the greatest loss of life at sea from a single ship in the history of the US Navy. The Indianapolis completed a top-secret high-speed trip to deliver uranium and other components for "Little Boy", the first of two nuclear weapons ever used in combat. On 30 July, the ship was torpedoed by the Imperial Japanese Navy and sank in 12 minutes. Of 1,195 crewmen aboard, approximately 300 went down with the ship. The remaining 890 faced exposure, dehydration, saltwater poisoning, and shark attacks while stranded in the open ocean with few lifeboats and almost no food or water. The Navy only learned of the sinking four days later, when survivors were spotted by the crew of a PV-1 Ventura on routine patrol. Only 316 seamen had survived.

17 August 2022 Wednesday

The 100-degree weather for the past two days have wiped out my roses which had started to bloom again in the cooler weather. It’s supposed to be 100 again tomorrow. Today broke the record for the most triple digit days in Utah. We have had 23 and tomorrow it will be 24 days. Time to plant cactus instead of roses as Salt Lake becomes North Phoenix.

            This morning I had a 10:30 appointment at Roseman to see about my broken tooth. Kyle Foote called prior to that and asked if I’d drive the Nissan Rogue from Sutherlands to my appointment so he could have the vehicle down there to get it ready to go out in the afternoon. I said I would and, on the way, down, the low tire pressure warning light came on that worried me all the way to West Jordan.

At the Dental school, when they took by blood pressure it was 165! But they took it again with another cuff and it was 128 so those machines vary widely. They made me take a blood sugar test because my chart says I am diabetic, but I haven’t taken insulin since my bariatric surgery. They just did a finger poke, and I was at 158 so they said I could be seen.

Anyway, they took some X-Rays which showed that the tooth was actually healthy, and the fracture didn’t go into the pulp, and I wouldn’t need a root canal, however they recommended a buildup of the tooth for a crown. So, it's going to cost $800 for me not to look like a gap tooth hillbilly. Sheesh. I have an appointment on August 24 at 8:30 to begin fixing my eye tooth.

            I then drove over to Curry Connect and there I let Kyle know about the tire pressure and he called Burt Brothers to have four new tires put on the Nissan Rogue. Burt Brothers was in the vicinity so I drove the car over there so the tires could be replaced. Next door was a Dairy Queen and since it was noon time, I went there to get some lunch. I ordered an Alaskan Fish combo meal but actually only ate the French fries before looking out the window facing Burt Brothers where I saw that they had finished switching out the tires. So, I called Kyle to come pay for them, which was $780, and I said that’s about what it is going to cost me not to look gap tooth.

            From there Kyle had me follow him over to Quick Quack on 94^th South where we had a situation. The kid having me drive between the rails could not get my tires aligned and I had to pull forward than back up and it was a mess. Never had that problem before but I don’t think I ever drove the Nissan Rogue through Quick Quack either.

Anyway, I was being pulled through the car wash when I felt a bump and the car wash stopped while I was in the middle. I had no clue what was happening until one of the attendances came over and said that the car behind me bumped me. How in the world can you be hit in a car wash? I was told to finish the car wash and then park in the vacuum parking area to make an insurance report.

Kyle was not having it and told the kid he didn’t have time to mess with it as the vehicle had to be out at the airport, but the kid was insistent that he needed to report it for insurance reasons. I was caught in the middle of their squabble and Kyle told me to just drive back to the restaurant. So, I don’t know how the issue was resolved. I couldn’t see any damage to the Nissan Rogue.

 Anyway, I could tell Kyle’s anxiety level was mounting so I said I would drive the Nissan Rogue to the airport and take the Trax Line back to Sutherlands so there was no reason for him to go all the way to the airport and then back down to Sandy again.

            So that is what I did and the people renting the Nissan Rogue were there shortly after I arrived at 2 so it all went without a hitch. I then walked over to the light way station, paid my senior $1.25 discount, and rode Trax back to the 1940 West North Temple stop. I liked taking light rail as it seemed like a little adventure and kind of reminds me of being back in Boston. Speaking of Boston Kray Casper posted on Face Book that he had arrived in Boston where he going to go to school. I doubt whether I will hear any more about him although he did a wall art project for Curry Connect.

            While on the Trax line, I received a call from the Dog Groomers saying that an opening for Lulubelle was available tomorrow at 10:30. I said I would take it.

It was really hot walking back to Sutherland’s to retrieve the Honda FIT. I then drove back home to pick up an Amazon delivered package that Kyle said he needed. I drove it back down to Sandy to drop it off but only Brian Devereaux was there. We visited a bit as he was winding down for the day and I asked about Zane Baum, who Kyle knew from the Fortitude half way house and had worked at the house as part of the Build Team crew. He said that Zane had fallen off the wagon and got a few DUI’s that almost sent him back to jail but the court gave him two years in a rehabilitation program which Zane seems to have turned himself around.

            I left at 3:30 because I didn’t want to hit any rush hour traffic, but I am convinced that if I want to avoid traffic, I must stay off the freeway between 3 and 7. Between 6^th South and 6^th North the traffic came to a crawl because of some accident in the middle lanes. It took me nearly 20 minutes to get to the 6^th North off ramp. I was beat when I finally came home from a busy day.

I was too tired after watering the arborvitaes to take the pups for an evening walk and besides, it was still 98 degrees at 7 so I just stayed in. I didn’t have much of an appetite either. I watched a Hulu show called “The Fool” about an East L.A. Mexican family and more of “What we Do in the Shadows” before calling it a day.

In the news Liz Cheney of Wyoming lost her Republican primary to a Trump backed sycophant. I hear she is a real whack job.

18 August 2022 Thursday

It was another extremely hot day at 101 degrees, and it broke another record for 2022 being the hottest summer ever. I took Lulubelle down to the Dog Groomers on 10^th West and North Temple and took her for a quick walk before taking her in which was a good thing as she pooped a lot on her walk.

I decided to do a bit of shopping since I was out and about, so I went to the Deseret Industries at Welfare Square. There I bought a dish rack and some colorful soup or cereal bowls. Since I was in the neighborhood of 8^th South and 9^th West I went to the Smith’s there and bought some dog treats. The store doesn’t carry as much discounted meat and pastries as they used too, or they are bought up by people before I get there due to the higher food prices now.

I then went to NPS store off of Redwood and 13^th South and bought a few grocery items; not a whole lot. I was simply browsing. It was getting really hot, and my last stop was at Lucky’s to buy some Lactaid Milk for Kyle Foote and regular milk and some orange juice for me.

My last stop was at Common Cents to get a Dr. Pepper where I saw that gas prices were down to $4.39. Incredibly that almost seems cheap after the record highs last June but at least a dollar more than last year. I returned all my books back to the Rose Park Library because I couldn’t get into them enough to care about the characters. Characterization for me is even more important than plot development.

            It was too hot to do any yard work and while I tried to lay down for a nap, Jim McMullin called just to chat as we hadn’t spoken for a while. They are preparing for their trip to the Greek Islands in September. I said that if I am up to it next Wednesday after my dental appointment at Roseman I would drop by to see him and TJ. About the time I was off the phone the Groomers called and said Lulubelle was ready to come home. I gave the groomer a $5 tip and Lulubelle looked like a new dog with all her shaggy hair gone.

            Kyle Foote called me after I fed the dogs. He asked if I was okay, I suppose because he hadn’t heard from me all day. He offered to pay half of my tooth bill, but I said I would just put it on my credit card and make payments on it. He also said that the Chevy Traxx comes back at 9:30 tonight and then out again at 1 in the morning. Quick Quack would be closed by then so he will just have to take it to a regular manual carwash. I suppose he’d figured out a way to make it work without my help.

            In the evening when the temperature cooled off some, I took the pups for their walk around the block at 8. I am a bit worried about TJ. While out walking all the pups this evening, at one point he collapsed at the corner of Niles and Fernleaf. He was just limp when I picked him up and I carried him home. I let him rest in the lazy boy, but he seemed wobbly and disoriented a bit. I know he's much older than what they told me when I adopted him. He seemed fine earlier today until this evening’s walk. I guess I will see how he fares and if he’s not better I will take him to the vet tomorrow. I squirted water into his mouth and let him rest on my lap. He seems better by the time I went to bed. Perhaps it was still too warm out for him even at 8 and he had heat exhaustion.

19 August 2022 Friday

It was much cooler today, only in the high 80’s but I am afraid that the blistering heat has damaged or killed about $100 worth of Arborvitaes. The soil they were planted in weren’t the best either and Kyle Foote has stopped doing anything since he has been working almost 15-hour days at the Curry Connect. I water as much as I can, but I fear it is never enough.

The weather was cool enough for me to work a bit in the front yard cutting back sunflowers and pruning some overgrowth as well as watering. The temperature of 101 degrees yesterday really damaged the blooms.

Kyle asked me to bring the truck keys down to Sutherlands but that was the only time I saw him all day. On the way back I stopped at Exxon and filled the Honda FIT’s tank since Gas there was at $4.36 the cheapest, I had seen it. This was the only time I left the house except to walk the dogs in the morning and evening.

The only real news is that there is concern that there could be a nuclear disaster at Ukraine’s power plant with all the shelling going on around one of the largest in the world.

My leg and rib cage must finally be healing from the fall I did a couple of weeks ago as they don’t bother me as much as before. TJ seems back to his normal self very clingy to me. I think perhaps he had heat exhaustion yesterday.

Otherwise, we are in the doldrums of mid-August. Schools are starting back up with a major teacher and bus driver shortage nationwide. The far right have succeeded in harming public education.

20 August 2022 Saturday

I went down to Curry Connect this morning to get out of the house and to see if I could assist Kyle Foote any. He had asked me to organize his tools that were brought to a utility room back in the kitchen area which I did. It might sound like not a lot, but it was helpful for him in finding quickly items he needed. Brian Devereaux was working there also.

 While sorting in the Utility Room, Alan Anderson called to see how TJ was and he informed me that Roseman Dental takes his United Health Care Insurance and most of the time he pays nothing out of pocket. I better look into that and see how much if any they will pay for my crown on the broken tooth.

On the way down to Sandy, it began to rain at about 72^nd South and it rained and drizzled for most of the time. I was down in the South Part of the valley but upon coming back north I could tell that the storm missed us. It was quite cooler where it was raining around 65 degrees but even still the high for Salt Lake City was 77 degrees after the brutal heat we had earlier in the week.

Kyle ordered pizzas from Mod’s in Midvale which I went and picked up for him and Brian. I just had a slice of each of theirs rather than my own pizza. Bringing the Pizza home from Mod which was located in the old Media Play shopping center off of Fort Union I got turned around and kind of lost because of all the weird winding streets. Mostly I realized I was glad I live in Salt Lake City as it made me realize that Salt Lake City is no longer part of Utah any more than Austin is part of Texas. There are more Mike Lee Mormons in Utah than there are Evan McMillan Mormons and not enough Mormon Democrats to even field a candidate for Senator.

After lunch, Kyle and Brian began assembling the artwork display that Kray Casper had created. They were gluing wooden block pegs in the corner of each frame, so they won’t be flat against the wall. I stayed and painted most of the wooden pegs brown for them but left around 3 as I was getting really tired. While at the Curry Connect Brian said something about me having a sweet spirit and Kyle and I both laughed because Brian, not being raised Mormon, didn’t know that “Sweet spirit” was a euphemism for a fat ugly Mormon girl.

I woke up at 5 this morning so when I came back home to Fernleaf, I took a nap and slept until 5. I didn’t take the pups for an evening walk because I had actually put on my flannel night shirt since it was kind of coolish in the house.

            Kyle came home early for him around 7. He came upstairs and we visited a bit before he descended down into his Casita. He said the Nissan Rogue comes back to the airport at 2:30 tomorrow afternoon and I said that I would take the Trax light rail to the airport to retrieve it for him so he wouldn’t have to leave Sandy. He said that would be helpful and also, I knew it would break up my day and get me out of the house.

In the evening I watched a documentary on Netflix called the “Minds of Cats” which was rather informative about cat behavior especially for me now that we have a cat living on the property once again. Kyle won’t admit it, but Persephone’s former owners are never coming to take her back. She is nice kitty and affectionate. I also watched Del Shore’s “A Very Sordid Wedding” whose wacky Texas characters are so affectionately portrayed and an episode or two of “Sandman” a fantasy show about a character named Morpheus King of Dreams. I am not sure if I like it or am just needing a diversion.

I am still typing up my 1971 Journal in the morning and parts of its are really painful as that I was a 20-year-old college student conflicted by my desire to please God and be the “best little boy” and by my homosexual nature. I was searching for love and acceptance in all the wrong places, replacing my deep emotional attachment to John Cunningham, who rejected me, with the idealized concept of Jesus Christ who I believed loved me unconditionally. It was a pivotal year for me as that my desire to overcome my homosexuality by becoming immersed in religion would eventually lead me to Mormonism and Utah and away from my California and Texas roots.

21 August 2022 Sunday

There wasn’t any rain today like yesterday and about the only thing I did today was take the Trax Light Rail to the airport to retrieve the Nissan Rogue and drive it back to Sutherlands. Kyle had an Amazon package at the house that he asked if I would take it to him to Sandy which I did and that was the extent of my journey out of the house.

I typed up a lot of my 1971 Journal and I can almost pinpoint the day in which I became a religious fanatic in a feeble attempt to control my homosexual feelings which 50 years ago I thought were sinful and a curse rather than a blessing.

            Kyle was home at 6:30, which I think is the earliest he has been in weeks. The weather has been in the high 80’s, which is a lot cooler than it has been for sure.

I watched the original 1954 Japanese Godzilla movie tonight and it is interesting to see how Japan portrayed its self just 9 years after losing World War II. Godzilla was a metaphor for the Hydrogen Bomb that was first exploded in 1952 in the South Pacific. The Japanese version of the movie was turned into a highly edited American version in 1956 which started Raymond Burr.

            I also watched a few episodes of Sandman which I have come to kind of enjoy.

22 August 2022 Monday

When I came back from walking the pups this morning, I saw a cute man park across the street, and I was surprised to see that he was heading towards Kyle’s door. He nodded to me as I was on the porch unleashing the pups to go inside. So, Kyle was getting some nookie this morning. He must have liked this kid as he walked him out to the boy’s truck after they were done fucking.

I called Roseman this morning like Alan Anderson suggested and asked if they took my United Health Insurance and they did so I had them sign me up. I will see if that will save me any money.

My Dermatologist appointment was at 1 pm at the Sugar House clinic on 5^th floor. It was easy, quick, and just cost me $30. I had some spots burned off my face, but the cute doctor said my arms were fine. He said just to come back within a year.

Nothing else is worth writing about, like if any of this is. I only saw Kyle briefly when he came home about 9:30 and came upstairs to look for something to eat but then went back down without really visiting.

23 August 2022 Tuesday

I was wakened at 4:30 by Kyle Foote coming up stairs and turning on one of the lights and then off. I got up to see if anything was going on but looking out the bay window, I saw that the GM Terrain was gone so either he had an early Turo delivery or a bootie call. Probably the Nissan Rogue went out early.

 Later in the morning Kyle said that he had tried to wake me up at 4:30 because the Chevy Traxx came back to the airport, and he had to go and pick it up by leaving it in short term parking. So, he needed me to go with him this morning to pick it up.

Going by Sutherlands to retrieve something from the GM Terrain, he was freaked out that the Sierra truck was not there and was worried that it had been stolen but come to find out it had been towed at it was not parked at the Turo spots.

Sutherland had started enforcing their towing policies. So, Kyle had to have me go retrieve it as he was down in Sandy. I drove down to Curry Connect to get the $350 that it was going to cost to get the truck. Wow I thought that was exorbitant. Then I went back to Sutherlands and parked the Honda FIT in a Turo spot and waited for the Uber Kyle that had ordered for me to take me to where the Sierra was impounded. So, I took my first Uber ride today. I had only ridden in a Taxi once before in Albuquerque. I am not that savvy.

Anyway, the impound lot was way out by 72^nd West and 21^st South and then we backed tracked on a frontage road to 6551 West in West Valley which was the address for the Swift RV Storage and Towing Company.

It ended up costing $327 to get the truck; $179 in towing fee, $40 in storage fee. And $71 in a fuel Surcharge. The release invoice said it was towed at midnight. What surprised me was that the invoice said that I was the vehicle owner! Kyle must have purchased it in my name, which I never knew.

After paying off the truck’s property violation, I then had to walk about a quarter mile to the impound lot to retrieve the truck before I could drive it back to Sutherlands to get my FIT.

However, Kyle then said the truck goes out at 2:30 so I said I’d take it to Quick Quack to clean it. I then drove it back to the house rather than down to Sutherlands and had Kyle come home to detail it before it went out.

Around 2 I followed Kyle in the GM Terrain, and he dropped the truck and the dude renting it was there at the airport about the time we arrived. Kyle took me back to Sutherland’s so I could retrieve the FIT. So, it was a very busy day.

Sutherlands had just started enforcing no parking and Kyle said it was his fault because his app said for people to just park near Sutherlands and not exactly in the Turo designated spots. Well, that was an expensive mistake, but he said it was better than thinking that the Truck had been stolen. Sometimes I think Kyle is horrible with money while I am so thrifty.

            So that was my big adventure of the day, and I stayed home for the rest of the day watching programs and taking care of the pups’ needs.

While watching this German Spy Thriller series called Kleo, I started hearing this weird beeping and it turned out it was coming from the fire detector down in Kyle’s Casita. I went into the room but could not see anything that would have set it off. Persephone was down there wanting out, but I didn’t let her but held her while I opened the front door to let some fresh air into the room thinking that it was the Carbon monoxide warning. I managed to reset the alarm and keep it off.

            Kyle did not come home until after 9:30. He asked if there was anything to eat but I hadn’t fixed anything for myself that he could eat with glucose restrictive diet. I finally went to bed around 10:30 after an adventurous day.

24 August 2022 Wednesday

            I had my Dentist Appointment at 10:30 at Roseman to rebuild my broken tooth. I was in the chair for an hour and half having to cut back some of my gumline and rebuild the fracture. It didn’t really hurt at all except for the Novocain shots they gave into the roof of my mouth to deaden my nerves. Also, the retainer they put in to hold my lips back was uncomfortable from the amount of time I was in the chair.

When I went to check out, I reminded the receptionist that I had called in earlier this week about having insurance and she said she had put it in the system just earlier and she said I had a substantial credit built up so I didn’t have to pay for today’s work which would have been $243. But not only that, I still had $538 credit! I was shocked. But thanks to Alan Anderson’s advice which had me let Roseman Dental school know I had United Health Insurance, I saved so much money that I had just been paying out of my own pocket. I go back in one week for a crown. I will be interested how much my credit will pay. Originally, I was quoted $800 to repair the tooth and put on a crown.

            After leaving Roseman at noon, I went to Daybreak to visit with Jim McMullin and T.J. Otaka to just catch up with our lives. I told them about how much of my summer was working with Kyle Foote landscaping the yard before we stopped when he was hired to work at Naveen Pavuturi’s Curry Connect. Also, I told how much Kyle depends on me for his Turo business.

They said that they haven’t been out and about either but are going to Greece in two weeks for a 10-day vacation. I stayed and visited until after 2 then came home to Fernleaf. However, Kyle wanted me to check the Nissan Rogue that was left at Sutherlands for a CD that was left in the player by a car renter.

After retrieving that, I went to Lucky’s to buy ingredients to make some enchiladas since he came home hungry last night, and I didn’t have anything in the house.

I was kind of worn out due to being at the dentist for so long that I didn’t do much of anything else except walk the pups in the evening and water the arborvitaes, many which I can tell have died already.

A gusty wind storm was blowing in about that time, but we didn’t get any rain out of it. I guess Moab was hit the other day from a downpour from the Monsoons hitting Southern Utah. We don’t want that much water but certainly we could use some more up here.

            I finished watching the Netflix series Kleo, a former East German assassin, which I really liked though at first, I had my doubts.

In the news Biden did a student loan forgiveness executive order with the Republicans screaming their heads off. They can give tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans but scream Socialism when working and poor people are helped.

25 August 2022 Thursday

Up at 6:30 to walk the pups and outside, I noticed there was a car parked in front of Kyle Foote’s GM Terrain. I figured he had either an overnight guess or a very early bootie call. I was right when I saw this young Asian kid come out of Kyle’s abode.

I wanted some donuts this morning, so I drove into North Salt Lake to go to JJ Donuts to try them again. I didn’t like their apple fritters so I thought I would try their regular donuts. I bought a half dozen and was surprised that it came to over $9 so they were like a $1.50 apiece. I won’t be going back there again. That’s way too much for donuts that were just okay. Afterwards I went to Quick Quack to have the Honda FIT washed and then came on back to the house to eat breakfast.

The rest of the day was quiet until Kyle came home around 3 to have me help him get the Chevy Traxx ready to go out at 6. We went to Quick Quack and then I told him to just go back to Curry Connect and I would deliver the Traxx to the airport and take the Green Line back to Sutherlands.

Kyle never called to say that the people had arrived, so I just took the Traxx to the airport Turo pick up spot and waited. A woman with two young daughters showed up right at 6 without Kyle ever calling me so I was glad I decided to be at the airport.

However, after giving her the vehicle and while walking to the Trax Line at the airport, Kyle calls me all frantic saying that he was supposed to have put two children booster seats in the Traxx and asked me to go to the house to get them and bring them to the lady. I was perturbed at Kyle because he should have paid more attention to his renter’s requests if he’s going to run a business and it put extra pressure on me.

I was a bit frustrated as I couldn’t get the ticket machine to take my visa card but after about the fourth try it did, but when I entered the coach, we just sat there for about another 10 minutes. I texted Kyle and said I hadn’t even left the airport yet. Kyle then said the woman whose name was Julie, a pretty woman probably in her early 30’s, went to the Arby’s located within the Love Gas station on Redwood Road near North temple.

 I called her when I reached Sutherland’s and said it would be about 20 minutes for me to go retrieve the boosters and return to Arby’s. She didn’t seem upset as she was feeding her girls there anyway.

At the house I found the one booster seat in Kyle’s studio however the other one was buried beneath the stairs behind a lot of boxes and electronic stored there. It was an effort to retrieve it and the more upset I became at Kyle for not following through on the booster request in the first place. The one beneath the stairs was still in the box and I had to unpack it before hurrying down to deliver it to the woman.

 It was nearly 7:30 before I finally was back home. Thankfully, Julie never seemed to upset by Kyle’s SNAFU. I guess that is my lot in life to clean up Kyle’s messes like going to retrieve the Sierra Truck from being towed. But it’s my mantra “You serve those you love.”

Even though I was bushed, I took the pups for their evening stroll around the block. It’s not their fault I had a hectic early evening. Then I went downstairs and reorganized the space beneath the stairs to make it more accessible especially for Persephone’s cat crawl space.

 It was still very hot today in the high 90’s. Strange that the 90’s don’t feel so hot after the slew of hundreds we had.

Kyle came home around 9 and I could tell he was chagrined about what he put me through because of his not paying attention to details. He said he was sorry, and I said I knew that he has a lot of his plate, and I am here to be of help. Can’t help loving that man of mine.

Earlier, for some reason, horny or lonesome, not sure which, I texted Kimball Edwards and asked how he was doing. We messaged back and forth some and he was particularly interested when I told him I have a cat named Persephone and he wanted me to send him some pictures. Again, he said we ought to get together again sometime but without setting a time or date, so I won’t be holding my breath.

26 August 2022 Friday

Around noon I drove down to Sandy to see the work being done at the Curry Connect. Kyle Foote was away running errands, but I spoke with Brian Devereaux for a bit. Kray Casper’s art work design was installed on a wall and all the kitchen area’s walls were taken down to reconfigure the kitchen.

Since Kyle was not there I just stayed for a bit and then left. I went to the Deseret Industries that is basically next door and went looking around. I bought two long sleeves pull over shirts for the coming cooler weather and some kitchen items.

On the way home, I stopped at the All a Dollar Store at 17^th South by Costco because it has a much better selection of items than the one here in Rose Park. I wanted to buy some extra pairs of reading glasses as that the Rose Park had such a poor selection. I also bought a whole lot of snacks too that the Rose Park store doesn’t carry.

Finally, I stopped at the Rose Park Smith’s to get gas as I was nearly empty from all the running around, I did this week. Gas was at $4.36 a gallon, which is still much higher than the nation average which is well below $4 now. Utah still has some of the highest gas prices in the nation.

            I tried reading a couple of the books I checked out of the library but after reading several chapters in each I couldn’t get into them so gave up. Why bother if they don’t grab your attention right away? I watched some television instead; an episode of “What We Do in the Shadows” and “Archer” which started its new season.

Kyle came home at 8 which is rather early for him as he said he was “going out to see a friend.”  He said that he also went to the County Health department today and received a vaccination for the Monkey Pox that is going around. As sexually active as he is with a variety of young men it’s better to be safe than sorry.

            I tried to watch several movies on the Criterion Channel and mainly ended up watching “Come and See,” the 1985 Russian film about the Nazi atrocities in Belorussia. Ironic that Belorussia is collaborating now with Russia in its invasion of Ukraine and committing atrocities there. I first saw this film in 1986 or 87 at the then art theater called Cinema in Your Face that once was located on 300 South between Main Street and Second West. It stayed with me all these years as it was such a graphic depiction of Nazi genocide in Europe.

            My lower back began to ache and was sore this evening and I couldn’t understand why as I haven’t done anything more strenuous today than cleaning the front room and mopping.

Poor Lulubelle when I went to walk the pups this evening, her harness collar slipped beneath her front legs, and I had a devil of a time trying to bend her legs back into position without hurting her. I thought for a moment I might have to cut the harness off of her, but I managed.

Another bit of excitement happened tonight when Taco and Maxx kept running in and out of the doggie door and barking. I imagine they were barking at some dog going by the fence. Taco wouldn’t shut up, so I put all the pups in my bedroom and then stepped out on the veranda to assess what dog was barking in the neighborhood. To my surprise the barking was coming from my own backyard.

 I went out to investigate and some poor dog was barking like crazy because his retractable leash was wrapped around one on my arborvitae shrubs. I manage to untangle him but was afraid to approach him in the dark as he was scared and might bite me. Once freed he jumped over the wire fencing and ran away.

 I can’t imagine how he could have gotten out at 10:30 at night, dragging one of those fishing line leashes. I hope he didn’t hurt himself on the wire spokes of the temporary fence. I heard him dragging the leash out in the front yard when I checked, and I hoped he knew how to get home. I didn’t see anyone out looking for him poor guy, but he could not have gone out with that leash on without someone. Never a dull moment but now all is quiet on the western front. So much for national dog day.

My back was really hurting when I finally went to bed around 11 and I later got up and took two Tylenol pills. I must have been hurting for me to take pain medicine for I rarely do. I also noticed that Kyle had come home and behind his car along the curb was another vehicle so he must be entertaining a gentleman caller.

27 August 2022 Saturday

I made some burritos for supper today and the only time I left the house today was to go to Lucky’s to buy some flour tortillas and food for the pups. Kyle came home at 5 which surprised me, but he said that the Monkey Pox vaccine has really affected him, and he need to go to bed. He asked if I would keep the dogs from barking, so I kept them in my room until 7:30 in the evening as I read from Janet Evanovich’s new novel about a new character series, she is developing apart from her Stephanie Plum series. Then I took them for a stroll around the block and we watched some TV until going to bed at 9:30 because I have to get up early tomorrow to help Kyle retrieve the truck from the airport.

28 August 2022 Sunday

I was up at 4 this morning because I thought Kyle Foote said that the Truck was coming back to the airport today at 4:30. I was worried that he wasn’t answering my text message so at 4:30 I was worried also that he may have over slept due to complications from the Monkey Pox vaccine but when I knocked on his door downstairs, he informed me that it isn’t until tomorrow so now I am wide awake.

 I didn’t do much today except read Janet Evanovich’s new book The Recover Agent. I didn’t see Kyle all day except when he came up to say he was going off to get a haircut and some people were coming by to take the desk parts that had been stored on my side of the garage since last April. Kyle finally is giving it away free just to get rid of it.

The people came by around 3:30 with a pick up and trailer. They were two men and their wives, and they all were pretty beefy people and they managed to lift the four parts and take the desk sections away with them. They were glad to have it and I was glad to finally have it gone.

 Around 6, I took Kyle out to the airport to retrieve the Chevy Traxx but after that just stayed home and read before retiring to bed around 9 because tomorrow, I have to be up early for sure.

29 August 2022 Monday

 I woke up at 4 in the morning just so I wouldn’t over sleep, and Kyle Foote said the Sierra Truck was back at the Airport, so we left about 4:30 to go retrieve it. We were back by 5 but I didn’t go back to bed as Kyle did. I stayed up and worked on typing up my journal from June 1971 when I graduated from Cypress College with an Associate of Arts degree.

Around 10 I decided to go into the garage and try to find a way to pull out the partition panels that Kyle wants to get rid of next after the desk. They were lodged in pretty tight in the corner of the garage behind a lot of heavy boxes and containers. Kyle suggested that I move all of them to my side of the garage where the desk used to be, but I thought that would be a lot of work and then I would have to move it all back later for my car to fit in the garage.

So instead, I made a path along the north wall and dragged the partitions out and around setting them in front of the stacked boxes so they would be accessible from that side. It was hard work and trying to figure out the best way to move them all by myself. It took nearly an hour and I felt like I had really accomplished something.

About when I was finished, Kyle called and said he was on his way home to retrieve the 3-partition sink that’s been stored in the garage all summer since he had the Sierra truck to deliver it to a place that will cut it to the measurements he needs for the Curry Connect.

After helping him lift it into the bed of the truck he saw how I had moved all the panels and instead of thanking me for the hard work he criticized the way I had position them. That made me so angry because I worked so hard and only thought I was helping him and for him to dismiss my efforts and even get upset with it, I had enough and went upstairs rather than tell him off.

He lives here rent free by my good intentions and I try to be as supportive as I can, but he can only demean me so much. If he thinks what I do is so useless I’d like to see how he would manage Turo without me. I have a good notion just not to be available for him for the time being.

I sometimes forget that I hold all the cards here, not Kyle. It’s my house and if he is so unhappy living here, he can certainly leave, and I know I could rent out the basement to pay for any of the expenses I would occur to finish all the unfinished projects that Kyle has started but is yet to finish.

            I didn’t want anything to do with Kyle today and I was glad he never bothered me. He must have come home a few times as he brought the GM Terrain back to the house and the truck was gone.

I went to the library after feeding the pups and taking them on their evening stroll. I noticed this morning and the past few mornings that all the rabbits that have been in the neighborhood this past summer are all gone. Either they have been caged or made into rabbit stew.

I finished The Recovery Agent, so I needed something more to read as I didn’t want to just watch television. I started reading a mystery by Elle Cosimano called “Findlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead. It at least caught my interest and so I read several chapters before going to bed.

Before going to the library, I was thinking about going to a late movie just to get out of the house and I looked up on the internet for the remaining dollar movie theaters which apparently do not exist anymore. They are like $7.50 now compared to regular theaters prices at $11 or more. That’s about what I pay per month for some of my pay channels and there was really nothing I cared to see. Reading from my old 1971 journal I was back then a regular movie goer sometimes more than once a week just to get out of the house and have a theater experience. But that was 50 years ago.

Then I looked to see if anything was happening at the Pride Center that might interest me and on Monday nights, they had a Trivia Game Night. I thought about that for about 5 seconds and discarded that notion. So, I went to the library and checked out books to enjoy my solitude.

When I got up to pee around after midnight as my mind was agitated from being frustrated about how Kyle treats me, I saw lights on in car parked outside the house by my mail box. That seemed strange then a kid got out and went to the door downstairs. So, Kyle wasn’t so tired not to have a bootie call.

            The weather report states that starting tomorrow until Saturday we are going to have another heat wave of over 100 degrees. They said today was the coolest day of the week and we were at 96 degrees.

30 August 2022 Tuesday

I had a dream that Mike Romero was moving out of the basement to go live with some other Gay guys. I think Mike was a substitute for my feeling about Kyle Foote. I felt hurt and deserted in the dream.

After taking the pups for an early morning stroll, I came back to find someone had pissed on my bed. I imagine it was Lulubelle. So, I had to strip my bed and do several loads of laundry before I could make up the bed again. I have several mattress pads as well as a plastic cover around the mattress, so it never gets stained. I wasn’t to upset as the sheets needed washing anyway from dirt and dog hair. My life as a dog.

I ate some breakfast of cold cereal then while I typed up the rest of July 1971 from journal. Two main events that affected my young life both happened on July 9 and early morning July 10. I suppose the second was predicated on the trauma of the first. In 1970 I told John Cunningham I loved him, the only person up to that point I had ever said those words to. The ramification was emotionally and psychologically damaging.

On the first anniversary of that experience, while isolated in Texas and substituting the love of Jesus Christ for the love of John, I felt or dreamed an epiphany of a heavenly visitation that appeared so real that it eventually set the course for the rest of the decade of the 1970’s as being a religious fanatic. I was using religion as a type of resolution for my homosexual feelings and actions. Perhaps my low self-esteem needed me to have an experience that gave me a sense of worth and purpose. Coincidently my beloved Grandma Johnson died on July 9 nearly 20 years later.

Around 10 this morning I needed to get my mind out of the past and of my hurt feelings from Kyle’s words. I needed to do something physical, so I decided to clean the northside parking pad where the Sonoma had been parked ever since we had that issue with it in July. I pulled everything that was behind it away so I could move it down and thank goodness it started up okay and the battery hadn’t run down.

I finished cutting down the Virginia Creeper that was overgrown on the fence line between Carlos Bahena’s lot and myself. I then swept and pulled weeds really cleaning up the space. I moved all the items that were behind the truck to the top of the pad by the fence to the hot tub enclosure and then went to clean the truck.

I finally removed all the rocks that kept the tailgate from being opened completely and washed the dirt out of the bed of truck. I also cleaned off the windows from dirt and grime as well as took the leaf blower and blew out all the dust and debris that had gather in the cab. I didn’t have a vacuum, so this worked just as well. I even took some cleaning solution and scrubbed the carpet stains that had been there for years.

 I spent about an hour and a half on the side pad and the truck before I called it quits because it was getting hot, and I was pooped. It was a lot of work. Now I feel like I can ask Mike Romero to come over and see if he can determined what is making the scraping noise before I make an appointment at Lodders.

            I read from the “Finley Donovan Knocks ‘em Dead” novel for much of the rest of the day as it was too hot to do much of anything outside. It was 100 degrees, breaking another record for the most 100 degrees days in Salt Lake City.

I tried not to think about Kyle Foote too much and didn’t hear from him all day except I knew he came home around five this afternoon, stomping around downstairs but he didn’t bother to come see me. Part of me didn’t care and the other part of me, who has built my world around him, was deflated.

            Rather than sitting home moping I decided to attend the Gay Men’s Peer Support Group that is held at the Pride Center. Bill Blevins and man named Blair Bateman facilitate the group. I hadn’t attended a meeting since before the pandemic so it must have been back in 2019. I only knew a few people there like Paul and Dwight Wood who I only saw during the Pandemic via Zoom at a Gay men’s luncheon.

I really had a pleasant time just being around Gay people again and the group discussion centered on a topic predicated by Blair who had been a BYU faculty member and whose last day there was today. He was upset over BYU making its faculty members sign away their confidentiality rights when speaking to their Bishops.

While it seemed like it was kind of a Mormon bashing session and one kid even said that shouldn’t we just move forward away from Mormon issues and not talk about them so much; and I replied that while living in Utah, Mormonism isn’t just a religion but a culture and while we live in Utah we are affected by that culture even if we are not part of the Mormon Church anymore. All in all, it was exhilarating to hear and participate in the discussion.

 The meeting was from 6:30 to 8. I visited slightly with Dwight afterwards when leaving. I guess he’s trying to help this Ukrainian 25-year-old with his legal status problems and coming to Utah. He said that the boy from Turkey he was corresponding with two years ago turned out to be a scammer. He said he’s spent so much money on these two guys, but I said Well at least you can afford the loss and it has given you a purpose during this time. He agreed with me. I really like Dwight and he’s from the Wood’s Cross Woods family.

            Summer is winding down even if it’s still hot out because at 8:30 the sun had set, and it was already dark out. I took my time coming home and when I arrived, I saw the GM Terrain parked out front. I never took the pups for an evening stroll as it was still too hot out 90 degrees.

I went to my bedroom to read and then Kyle popped into my room and asked if I was, okay? That surprised me and I could tell that it was his way of saying he was sorry for treating me the way he did. I got up and said I was fine and asked about him. I said I had gone out to the Pride Center to the men’s group, but I think he really just wanted to just tell me about his day.

            We sat in the front room and visited with him telling me that Naveen Pavuturi was frustrated on how the restaurant is coming along and Kyle was frustrated with the long hours he has been putting in. I guess he also had taken the Truck back to Sutherlands by himself and I imagine he realized now how much I do for him although he never admitted it.

But it was good that we visited, and Kyle actually was sharing what is going on with him. He later asked if I had any food fixed but I hadn’t. I just had a left-over store-bought Pizza from Lucky’s that he could eat because of the gluten. So, he wanted to go to Chubby’s for a takeout order and I drove just to be with him. All is right in my world again.

31 August 2022 Wednesday

Another scorcher today and a record breaker at 102 degrees just one of a number of 100 degrees we are supposed to have all this week in this unusual end of August, first of September heat Wave. I was wrong when I wrote on the 1^st that August is a month when the oppressive heat is winding down.

 I don’t really have to be out in it and my house is very comfortable at 75 so the pups and I aren’t suffering any. At least we have water unlike the people in Jackson, Mississippi whose tap water is undrinkable right now due to flooding issues there.

            I had a 10 o’clock appointment at Roseman Clinic and was there barely on time but ended sitting in the chair for two hours! Instead of getting a crown on the tooth that was repaired last week I was told they wouldn’t do a crown until all my teeth were stabilized that needed fillings and since I was overdue for a cleaning that was done first before a filling was done on my left upper incisor. All in all, it wasn’t bad, but just tiresome having to have my mouth open for that long even though they used a dental dam during doing the filling to help keep my jaws apart.

While in the chair one of the Dentist instructors noticed a new cavity next to the one being filled so I have to come back next week on the 8^th to get that one taken care of. The way it’s going I may never get a crown. The good news is that I didn’t have any out-of-pocket expenses.

            Since it was noon, and I was down that way I stopped at the Curry Connect because Kyle Foote asked me to come see what they have accomplished so far. There was a young man probably around 25 or younger there with Kyle, who he introduced to me as Mac. Kyle then said he’s been to the house before which was code for Mac being one of Kyle’s twinks he loves to fuck. He seemed kind of shy and I couldn’t tell whether he was Latino or Asian, perhaps neither of both, but he was skinny and pretty the way Kyle prefers his sex partners.

            Anyway, I left after looking the place over and stopped at the Deseret Industries on the same street of 94^th South and bought a Hawaiian shirt and a pair of slip-on shoes that were in good shape and fitted well. As the weather will change eventually, I will have to give up sandals for being outside walking the pups.

            Anyway, on the way home Kyle called and said that the Sierra truck had a last-minute booking and he asked me to take it to Quick Quack car wash to get it ready. It was parked at Sutherlands, so I had to retrieve it from there and take it to North Salt Lake where I had to run it through the car wash twice because the front of it was coated with bug guts. When I was finished with that Kyle called again and said the person cancelled after all, so I took the truck back to Sutherlands. Well at least it’s clean when it goes out this Friday.

            I then took the Honda FIT to Smiths to buy some more dog treats and I also bought two Marie Calendar pies, a banana Cream and a coconut cream which were on sale for 2 for $10. I thought they sounded good for the heat wave we are having.

            In the late afternoon I called Mike Romero as I hadn’t heard from him in weeks and was surprised that he was in Cheyenne, Wyoming. A friend he always called “Dr. Jim” had a stroke at the age of 85 and Mike wanted to see him again before he passed. I guess he was very important to Mike when he was just coming out and Dr. Jim was kind of a sugar daddy to all the Wyoming young gays back in the 1980s. Mike also said he left to beat the heat and will be gone for about a week. When he comes back, I will have him look at the Sonoma.

            I was alone for the rest of the evening, and I watched another episode of “What We Do in the Shadows” and some others light comedies on Hulu. I didn’t read any today which was kind of unusual and I took the pups for an evening stroll at 8 when it was still 90 but the sun was going down.

This will be the last time the sun sets at 8 until next April 8 so the days are getting progressively shorter for day light. I didn’t feel like it, but I watered all the Arborvitaes because I know they are stressed from the heat and sterile soil. I think more than half will have died before it's all said and done, nearly $400 worth of shrubs.

            So August 2022 is history, and most kids are now back in the classroom, and I am so glad I am not. I pity the students and staff working in unairconditioned schools like I did my entire teaching career, but I suppose many schools now have air conditioning.

Sarah Palin lost her bid to the House of Representatives from Alaska. Trump supported her. A Democratic native Alaskan took the seat that had been controlled by Republicans for 49 years. That is hopeful.

A year ago, we withdrew the last of American troops from Afghanistan and the Taliban government that controls the country now is completely incompetent with millions starving.

The FBI posted pictures of the cover of documents that Trump had stolen from the White House and hid in Mar A Lago. Still no indictment, however.

 

September

1 September 2022 Thursday

I took the pups out around 6:30 before the day heated up and while out walking a little white poodle like pup came up to us and Taco got out of his leash and started chasing him as did TJ. They weren’t fighting but I didn’t want to have to be chasing the pair down the street as they were going after the pup on the loose. It upsets me how people can just let their dogs out to run rather than keep them on a leash. Anyway, that was the most excitement I had in the morning.

It really was another hot day 101 degrees but since I really don’t have to be out in it, it didn’t affect us much. I didn’t let Persephone out all day because of the heat.

            Around 10:30 I finally went to my Vietnamese barber for a haircut and beard trim since it had been a while and afterwards did a little shopping at the Dollar Store and at Lucky’s. I needed to buy Kyle Foote his Lactaid Milk and another whole chicken for the pup.

            In the afternoon I noticed that Taco was licking his left paw a lot and when I looked at it, I could see he had snagged it and it looked broken, so I went to the dog groomers on North Temple, and they were really good at trimming all his nails and trying to get as much of his sore dew claw cut back as possible without hurting him. He was a good boy and didn’t try to bite anyone. I think he knew they were trying to help him.

            I then came back home, read a chapter or two from the book I am reading now before taking a nap in the late afternoon.

            I watched the Sally Field comedy, “Soap Dish,” which I always enjoy except I am sure it’s not politically correct when the villainess is revealed at the end to have been a transwoman and everyone is aghast that she had been a man.

            I took the pups for a late stroll around the block without incident and around 8 I went and started to dig up the Yucca plant shoots that are sprouting in the parking strip where we laid down gravel. I saved as many shoots as I could, repotting them, when Kyle came home from work. He asked if I wanted to go with him to go get some BBQ at R&R in Woods Cross. He was hungry but I just went for the company. However, the Woods Cross location was all out of beef brisket, so we ended up going to the other location on 600 South and 300 West in SLC.

            Kyle was in a visiting mood and said that the boy I met with him at Curry Connect is a ballet dancer named Mac who is “an admirer” and is leaving soon to go to school in New York City. Kyle jokes that his favorite kind of boyfriend is one who is leaving. He also learned from Brian Devereaux that Zane Baum is managing Pat’s BBQ down off of 21^st South. I may have to go there some time.

            The weather reports said that this will be the hottest September on record, and it will be in the hundreds until sometime next week.

2 September 2022 Friday

Today was one of those days that it was too hot to do much else but what had to be done like walking the pups in the morning and evening and fixing their supper.

Kyle Foote wanted me to drive the Sierra down to Sandy because he needed the use of it, and I swapped it for the GM Terrain which I drove back to Sutherland’s where I had left the Honda FIT. That was about the extent of my day’s excitement.

I spent much of my time today editing the research I did on the African American Banks family that I completed a year ago because I had posted some material on Facebook that received a lot of comments. I wanted to email a copy of my research to Daniel Cureton who seems to be going by “Baron” Cureton these days.

It was over 100 degrees today and I think it was 102. I know all types of heat records were broken and actually the Freeway in Centerville buckled from the heat and traffic had to be diverted at rush hour to just 1 lane going north. I am sure that was unpleasant to say the least for commuters who caught up in it.

3 September 2022 Saturday

When I went out this morning at 6:30 for the pups constitutional I saw that there was a car parked in front of Kyle’s GM Terrain and that Persephone was outside. That could only mean that Kyle Foote had a “friend” over, but whether he spent the night or just came over for early an early fuck I couldn’t tell. But I imagine the boy spent the night as Kyle is not a morning person. I never saw the kid coming or going and he was gone by 8:30 and Kyle left at 9 to go to work. I suspect that it was his ballet boy.

            It was another scorcher of a day at 103 degrees and the heat wave keeps breaking record temperatures for September however my house is nice and comfy at about 75 degrees. I was kind of bored today after finishing editing the history of early black Mormon pioneers and in the afternoon, I went for a drive. I took the Honda FIT to Quick Quack for a car wash the drove around to see what changes are going on and to look for boys on the street hoping to see more shirtless young guys than I did. I am Gay after all.

Around 2 Kyle called me and asked if I would pick up a Pizza order from Moe’s on Fort Union for him and Brian Devereaux. I guess he didn’t want to leave Curry Connect in the middle of a project. I said I would, and it was crazy on the road, I imagine people were impatient due to the heat. It was this way in Las Vegas when I used to go there in the summer to visit mom.

            I didn’t stay long after delivering their pizzas which I didn’t have any because I don’t care for the cauliflower crust Kyle has to order and Brian had a chicken in white sauce with basil that I knew I would not care for, so I drove on home to be with the pups.

There must have been a major accident on Southbound I-15 as traffic was at a standstill all the way from 90^th South to 45^th South. Fortunately, there was no issues going north.

            I had made some Spanish rice earlier in the morning and had that with the tamales I had bought the other day for my late lunch.

            Kyle Foote came home while I was watching HBO’s bio-movie on Elvis Presley and Col. Tom Parker. He said the Chevy Traxx had been returned to Sutherlands and I said I would drive down there just to make sure it was parked in the Turo designation, so we don’t end up with another towed vehicle. I think I just wanted to get out of the house as I was kind of edgy, perhaps a bit randy, due to it being like a hot summer night and I knew there would be lots of people out. The Traxx was where it was supposed to be, so I just came on home, and I was in bed by 10.

 

4 September 2022 Sunday

I didn’t see Kyle Foote all day. He left for work around 9 and when he came home around 5, he went directly to his space, and I never saw him as he never came upstairs to visit. He even left around 9:30 at night and was still gone when I went to bed at 11.       I don’t know why it should bother me that he can’t come up and spend some time with me.

Earlier he called and asked me to go retrieve the Nissan Rogue from the airport which I did by taking the Green Line to the airport at 1. At the Airport I met the older couple who had rented the Nissan Rogue and they asked if I would drive them to the departure drop off because it was so hot out and his wife needed a wheel chair once in the terminal. I said certainly.

They were flying back to Long Beach, and I told them I grew up in Garden Grove. They said their daughter said it was over 100 degrees even in Los Angeles. They were grateful for the drop off and the woman even gave me a $5 tip which was unexpected and unnecessary.

I then drove the Nissan Rogue back to Sutherlands, took some pictures of the odometer for Kyle and then went on back home. As that Kyle never bothered to contact me any further, I was never able to share with him my little adventures.

            The tire pressure light came on for the Honda FIT while I was driving and cruising around this evening and I put air in the tires at Common Cents, but it was hard to gage the tire pressure at night when I tried filling them. I will have to reset the little symbol on the dash tomorrow. I was restless and probably randy and bored which was why I was out driving around not wishing to be home while Kyle was out somewhere fucking.

 

5 September2022 Monday

The hottest Labor Day in Utah on record at 104 degrees but since I wasn’t out in it or hadn’t any place to go, I was comfortable in the house. Kyle Foote never came home last night, and I only heard from him when he asked me to take him to the airport to retrieve the Chevy Traxx but that was about all I did being outside; besides taking the pups for their early morning and late evening strolls. Kyle said he did block out all this week for any Turo rentals as he needed the time this week to concentrate on the Curry Connect.

He came home from Sandy around 5 to change his clothes as he was all wet from some worker there busting a water pipe in the ceiling and he got drenched.

The weather report says it’s going to be 104 tomorrow and 105 on Wednesday before it drops down into the 80’s by this weekend.

I finished reading my mystery novel with the character Findley Donavan. It was good but I have read better. Los Angeles is under a heat warning, and it was 107 in Long Beach in California. A Trump appointed Judge has sided with Trump’s lawyers to stall the criminal investigation of the stolen Top-Secret documents he stored in Mar A Lago where any foreign spy had access.

 

6 September 2022 Tuesday

 When I took the pups for their walk at 6:45 I was surprised to see the GM Terrain not parked out front. I have no idea where Kyle Foote took off to. He’s a grown ass man so I shouldn’t be concerned but it was strange not for him to be home at this time of the morning.

            I went to Darla’s Donuts this morning and bought two buttermilk donuts and two cinnamon twists. An apple fritter would have been too heavy, and I didn’t want anything with frosting on it as too sweet. So far, I enjoy the donuts from this place the most even though the place is located at 2278 South on Redwood Road, so I don’t go there often. They still only have a drive-up window and can’t go inside to order so it’s kind of difficult to know what their selections are.

            Kyle called me later and asked if I would bring the truck keys down to Sutherlands as he needed to use the Sierra for work. I did and he asked if I wanted to come down to Curry Connect so I could help with some cleaning. Anything to be with the man I love, so I drove down around 11 but not seeing the truck at the restaurant I went over to Deseret Industries to look around while waiting for him to show up. There I bought a pair of red shorts, a short sleeve shirt that kind of matches, and a pull over hoodie that had the California Bear Flag on it. It is definitely not hoodie weather as it got up to 105 degrees today, but it will eventually cool sown because it is September. This heat wave cannot last indefinitely.

            Kyle came in about the same time I went back to Curry Connect but actually there was little to do there because a Mexican crew was plastering the ceiling and putting up metal sheeting’s on the wall. I swept the floor a little and helped out a little but realized I was probably more in the way, so I left to head back to Salt Lake.

I stopped at Lucky’s on the way home to buy another frozen chicken to prepare later for the pups and a few other items. The south part of the parking lot was being retarred and was roped off, so parking was at a minimal. I felt sorry for the Mexicans who were doing the work in the sweltering heat as the black tar must have felt like an inferno.

            I then went over to Common Cents to purchase gas as I was low and they had gas at $4.19 a gallon, one of the lowest prices I’ve seen. Utah is still almost 70 cents or higher than the national average, which is now back down to around $3.50.

Rhonda Martinez, the counter help that Kyle and I like so much, has been gone for about two weeks. I thought she might have quit but Kyle sent me a link where Rhonda posted on the Rose Park Community page that she has a diabetic ulcer on her foot and hadn’t worked since August 15 and was inquiring where she could get some free food. Many people sent her responses, and I sent her information about the Crossroads Urban Center’s food pantry. I hate to think of her going hungry. I think her aged father also lives with her.

            Anyway, I fed the pups their supper but did not take them for an evening stroll because I wanted to attend the Gay Men’s support group that meets at 6:30 and is over at 8. It would have been still too hot to take them walking as it was still 103 when I left the house at 6.

            At the center I was dismayed when I saw that the portrait gallery of Kristen Ries Recipients had been removed from the wall of the stair well. Later I posted on Facebook, “I was down at the so-called Pride Center this evening and it was disheartening that they have removed all the Queer Ancestors pictures and the portraits of all the Dr. Kristen Ries recipients that were on the wall leading up the stairs. I had acquired all the pictures which Angie Salot had framed to honor the recipients. Who knows where they are all stored now even if they even are. I guess history is not important any more now that Robert Moolman was ran off; kind of sad.”

            Bill Blevins led the meeting tonight and about the same fellows there last week were here today. The topic of conversation was geared around our relationship with our fathers although our opening comments were supposed to be about our obsessions. I spoke about how I had been obsessed for the past two years researching the history of Second South. Dwight Wood made a nice comment saying how he missed the talks I used to give about Utah Gay history and said he thought I ought to do it again. If I ever, did it would not be at the Pride Center but probably at one of the city’s libraries. But I doubt whether I will.

I go to this support group, even though there’s some highly disfunction guys there with emotional hang ups, because it gets me out of the house, and I actually think they need to hear my positive positions on being Gay. I don’t think they get that much elsewhere.

            I was home by 8:30 and Kyle showed up around the same time. It was already dark out but still in the 90’s. I hugged him outside our house and went upstairs and went to bed not soon after that.

            I have a spider bite the size of a dime on my inner thigh. It’s bright red and while it doesn’t hurt it concerns me somewhat because of its size and scarlet color.

7 September 2022 Wednesday

I like to take the pups out for their morning stroll between 6:30 and 7 only because I like TJ to be off leash so he can run, hop, and explore when the neighborhood is quiet. He will stop and wait for us if he gets too far ahead and comes when I call him. I don’t trust the others, so I keep them on a leash, and they don’t seem to mind.

The days are getting shorter as we are heading towards the fall equinox because it is dim in the morning as the sun hasn’t peaked over the mountains yet. I noticed when I took the pups out that Kyle Foote had company over, that ballet boy, as I recognized his car parked in front of the house. They must not have slept in as by 7:30 both cars were gone.

            At 9 this morning I noticed two men climbing on top of Victor’s roof next door, so I wonder if he is having a new roof put on. I sure wouldn’t want to do it today when it’s going to be another 105 degrees. Actually, it turned out to be 107 degrees in Salt Lake smashing the all-time high for September. 2022 will go down as the hottest year in Salt Lake City.

            I was surprised when I checked my phone messages this morning that Kimball Edwards had texted me last night at 9 for a bootie call. “Hey, I know this is sort notice but was wondering if you’d want to come by tonight? Or would another day be better?”  That was disappointing that I hadn’t checked my phone but texted him back saying I would have loved to have had come over, but I didn’t check my message and he responded that Thursday night might work out for a get together.

            I went down to Curry Connect around 1 to see if I could help out Kyle any. I ended up sweeping and scrubbing the tile where the gas stoves will go back into place. I had to be down on my knees and scrub like a char woman to get up the residue of years of grime. It took me about 3 hours to get the area clean enough for my liking. While squeegeeing the tile it kind of reminded me of my days at Taco Bell cleaning the floor with bleach water back then. I guess I earned my free Dr. Pepper from there today.

 I left around 4 to avoid the freeway traffic to come back to Salt Lake City. My low-pressure tire light came back on again and after feeding the pups I checked the tires again with the tire gage and the back tires were under inflated.

 At the house I called Roseman Dental and canceled my appointment for tomorrow and rescheduled for Monday at 10 because Kyle said he needed my help tomorrow.

Before going to Common Cents for their free air hose, I went to the Rose Park Library to drop off all the books I had checked out because I was not interested in them. I checked out some more cozy mysteries to give them a try. I then filled the tires with air and stayed home the rest of the evening.

It was still 103 when I went to the library at 6:30. Finally near 8 in the evening I took the pups for a walk when it was still in the mid 90’s but it was cool enough on the sidewalk not to burn their tootsies. It was almost twilight when we went out.

I didn’t really feel like watching TV and went to bed at 9 to read a little bit and check Face Book posts.

I joined a Facebook Gay Men’s Book Club and ordered the book to be read this month from the library. It is called The Fifth Season.

8 September 2022 Thursday

Historically this was a significant day as that it was announced that Queen Elizabeth II died having served 70 years as Monarch of United Kingdom and the British Commonwealth. She became Queen the year after I was born. It will be odd hearing the words “King Charles III.” I suppose they will have the change the face on all their money. Her reign had no effect on me one way or another and she was of the richest women in the world. I am sure her duties as Monarch were arduous always being in the spot light, but she did her duty as she felt them to be.

            I walked the pups early as usual and was surprised to have a text from Kyle who had already left for work to bring the Nissan Rogue instead of the GM Terrain down to Curry Connect which I did. I later found out why. Because Kyle got home so late last night after 1:30, he parked the GM Terrain at Sutherlands so he could take the Truck however he didn’t park it in the Turo spot, and it was towed. I would have thought Kyle had learned his lesson when the truck was towed a couple of weeks ago so it will cost him another $350 for his stupidity. He might of well have just threw the money into the trash.

            Anyway, I was down in Sandy by 9 this morning and mainly assisted Kyle who was hooking up the gas lines for all the equipment in the kitchen. They really must have worked their asses off last night because everything was in place in the newly remodeled kitchen and when not helping Kyle, I cleaned some. Kyle wanted me to bring the Nissan Rogue primarily to load it up with all his tools and power tools he had brought down to do the remodeling. That was a chore in of itself.

            I left to head back home around 1 as I was tired. I parked the Nissan Rogue at Sutherlands and took the Honda FIT back to the house and waited for Kyle to come home as I knew I would have to take him to retrieve the GM Terrain. It was about 4:30 when he came in and I drove him to the Tow Yard. I didn’t say anything as I knew he was probably just as mad at himself because now he’s paid nearly $700 in towing charges.

            On my way home I saw that my low tire pressure light came back on and when I checked the right wheel tire, it was really low even after filling it yesterday so it must have a small leak. I called Discount Tires in Bountiful and made an appointment to have it checked tomorrow at 9:15.

            While Kyle was out, he ordered some Chinese Food from China Delight for us, and I know he must be exhausted.

            Kimball Edwards texted me around 5 and asked me to come see him at 9:30 and I was pretty excited about that but actually he called a little before 9 and said he was free then, so I hopped into the Honda FIT and drove over to 800 South and 400 West. Earlier I had filled the tire up with air at Common cents and the light was off the entire time I drove to Kimball’s apartment complex. Thank goodness because I was worried it might go flat.

Kimball and I picked right up as if it hadn’t been months since being together and he acted like he was happy to see me and be with me and couldn’t wait to get nude. We kissed and cuddled, after we got naked, and I gave him a strong massage with the oil that he still had that I brought him some time ago. I love his long lanky body and he is so handsome that it still amazes me that he enjoys being with someone at my age. Being with him almost makes me feel young again.

            He said he met a couple of men off of Silver Daddies but after a one-time encounter, he said he did really want to see them again so I must be somewhat special to him as he’s had me over several times.

We got down to business when I blew him, and he must have been excited as he came in my mouth and afterwards, we just cuddled and caressed and held each other. I think that is what he likes most about me is how much I enjoy pampering and caressing him.

We almost fell asleep within each other’s arms so I left about 11 so he could get some rest as he’s still a working man. I came home grateful for another sweet encounter with a handsome young man, so it was a good day.

            It was much cooler today only in the mid-nineties compared to the 9 days of consecutive days of triple digits.

9 September 2022 Friday

The full moon is in Mercury Retrograde, so I am blaming that for my temporary filling breaking off from my tooth again. This evening when I was eating a small piece of chocolate, I felt something hard in my mouth and I am sure the chocolate did not contain nuts so when I spit it out sure enough it was a piece of my tooth, so I am gapped tooth again until I go in this Monday.

This afternoon I was surprised when Jim Dabakis showed up at my door so he’s back in town from his Grand Tour of Europe. Taco was so excited to see him, which made Jim happy as he was sure Taco had forgotten him after all this time. I had Jim come in and tell me a little about his adventures. I could tell he was super tired as he just came back to Utah yesterday, so he didn’t stay long; just wanted to gather up Taco to take him to Taco's abode in the Avenues.

Jim did share with me about meeting a young French Male model named Steven in Paris that I think twitterpated him and he also said he will only be here about two to three weeks before taking off again. He said he has listed his place on B Street on the market as he said there’s no reason to really keep it as he and his husband Steven Justesen are rarely there, and I don’t think Jim thinks of Utah much like home anymore. He said he’d keep an apartment here, but I think Mexico is going to be his real base as he loves to travel and meet new people.

So, I am down to feeding only 3 pups and walking them this evening. Jim said he will only keep Taco for a few days before bringing him back to be with his pals and he will come back for much longer stay again when Jim leaves for another adventure.

            In the late afternoon Kyle Foote asked if I wanted to go to Ross Dress for Less so he could look for a pair of Jeans and some shoes as he said most of his were ruined working down at the Curry Connect. I think Kyle asked me along as he needed to vent about his frustration and quarrel, he had with Naveen Pavuturi last Wednesday night. Actually, I think Naveen was anxious about the restaurant being ready to open next week and Kyle was tired and frustrated by the long hours he had been putting in without any positive feedback from Naveen.

Kyle admitted to me he met Naveen on Grindr awhile back and he had fucked him and that is how they met but it never was more than a hook up between them. Naveen is still somewhat in the closet Kyle said. I always thought Naveen was Kyle’s type cute, slender, and youthful looking. I wonder why Kyle is becoming more open about his sexual activities as before he was so tight lipped. He basically said he was over the Ballet kid as he’s leaving for New York tomorrow and he took more effort that he was worth I suppose.

            Anyway, at Ross, Kyle only found some shoes he liked and then said he wanted to go to R&R Barbecue for some take out. I just had his side orders of sweet potato fries and baked beans because Kyle never eats them anyway.

I spent the rest of this much cooler day walking the pups in the evening and watching a program on the Curiosity Channel about the Titans of Hollywood who built the movie industry. I must have been tired as I fell asleep in the lazy boy and didn’t get up to actually go to bed until 1:30 in the morning.

All that is really in the news is about Queen Elizabeth’s death and the crazy weather of heat on the west coast and flooding in the east.

 

10 September 2022 Saturday

Kyle Foote came up at 6:30 to say that the Chevy Traxx was back at the airport. It was a good thing I had just finished jacking off minutes before. It was pitch black out perhaps from all the smoke in the air from California as the Full Moon was an orange color in the western sky. I didn’t see Kyle again for the rest of the day until late in the evening.

This afternoon I got off the computer from working on my journal from 1971 when I was surprised to see Taco in the hallway. Jim must have dropped him off without letting me know. I texted him and said that was a short homecoming and Jim said Taco missed his pals and that he would just take Taco maybe for a day at a time.

So, in evening around 7:30 after walking the pups, when it was pleasant out, I was bored from typing so I went into the back of the house to clean beneath the veranda. I pulled out all the yard tools, stacked the six tires that Kyle had put there and pulled out all my electric yard lawn mower, rototiller, edger, weed whacker, and snow blower.

 I was sweeping up all the dirt and debris that had accumulated when Kyle came out to see what I was doing. He put all the electrical yard equipment on KSL to give away free because within minutes someone came and took them all.

The weather has really started to change with the oppressive heat all but gone but smoke from fires in California has drifted into the valley.

 

11 September 2022 Sunday

I wouldn’t even have known it was the 21^st anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Towers if I wouldn’t have seen people posting comments about 9/11 on their Facebook pages. It’s seems inconceivable that babies born on that day are 21 years old now.

            Yesterday Kyle Foote said that Juan who had left a bed in the old storage unit which I had carried upstairs into the old movie room because I though my nephew James’ family was going to come visit this summer, was asking for it. I really didn’t care but I said I was not going to help carry it down as it is really heavy.

Anyway, he was supposed to have come at 2 to retrieve it and I stripped the bed and got it already for it to be removed but Juan never showed. Kyle later said that Juan had called him and asked if he could come next Saturday. It kind of made me slightly upset with Kyle that he couldn’t bother to tell me rather than me waiting around and anticipating it.

            Kyle said that he was going to the State Fair because Veterans got in free today with Gabe, who is the boyfriend of Mario who had helped with the Turo business a while ago. Mario had broken his ankle, but Gabe wanted to go and had asked Kyle to go with him. Kyle asked me if I would take them so they wouldn’t have to find parking. So, I did.

            Gabe is 26 years old and was joking about Kyle being old enough to be his dad which made me really feel old. From their conversation and banter, it sounded like Gabe had been to the house before and I am sure Kyle has had a three way with Mario and him before. Such a secret life that I am not privy to.

            Anyway, Kyle tried contacting me around 8:30 to tell me they were ready to be picked up, but my phone never rang for some reason. When I called him, he said he had tried calling and texting and even an audio call on Facebook, but I never received any notice of them. Weird. Anyway, Kyle said that Gabe called some friends to come pick them up at the liquor store on North Temple, so he didn’t need me at all.

For some reason tonight I am feeling really melancholy being all alone while Kyle is out with his friends having gone to the State Fair without me, not that I really wanted to go but I am tired of being alone like if my time here on earth is all used up and I am now just taking up space, unloved and unwanted by anyone.

I am not suicidal, but I am kind of tired of life, especially a life where I am not essential to anyone except to my pups. I don’t seem to have much of a purpose anymore and nothing seems to satisfy any of my appetites, not food, not sex, not writing. It’s like there’s no creative fire in me anymore and for what purpose?

Will anyone bother to read the histories I kept or my journals? I have not lived an exceptional life just struggling to make sense of being a homosexual in a heterosexual world while trying to discover a meaning to it all but mostly I have recorded the banality of it in my journals which will be of no interest to anyone.

 Maybe it’s the just changes in the weather or the full moon or the month of September the harbinger of transitioning but I feel adrift, having no anchor with Kyle anymore or for that matter with anyone.

Watching Kyle interact with his friends Mario and Gabe and how joyous he appeared with them made me realize I am not even remotely contemporary with them. I am just the old man who waits in the car to be used as needed. It’s like the lament in the Mikado “I think you ought to recollect You cannot show too much respect Towards the highly titled few; But nobody does, and why should you? That youth at us should have its fling Is hard on us Is hard on us; To our prerogative we cling —So pardon us So pardon us.”

Perhaps I am simply jealous of their youth when mine has passed me by and I feel confined as if by a shroud, called old age.

So many years have passed, and I never felt true love. Perhaps true love is simply an ephemeral illusion. Then again, I feel like I lost any great chance at happiness when John Cunningham said he didn't love me on that summer night so long ago. How could he have known in our youth, when I said I loved him, that I would always love him even after he’s dead and gone and few remember that he even existed.

Perhaps I feel unworthy of love, so I seek out them who are incapable of giving affection to me, like Billy Bikowski, Mike Romero, and now Kyle Foote. I am too tired to open that Pandora Box and deal with all those demons who are safely locked inside.

 Still, I don’t think anyone truly has loved me. Oh, sure there are those who have platonically loved me but were never in love with me. Perhaps my ex-wife Fran did, but that was a neurosis in of itself, she is being in love with a Gay man who could never love her passionately as a heterosexual would have.

I feel so lonely tonight, not just alone. So many of my friends are like phantoms, ethereal without any substance as they are not here anymore for me to hug and hold and laugh and share life with. No one to cook fancy meals for and to gossip and laugh about our Gay lives and follies.

There is nothing truly to anchor me to the present. Perhaps that Is why I am spending so much time typing up my past journals that I had handwritten in volumes that are now tattered and falling apart. Do I have some type of ego complex thinking that my life is worth recording? I guess it’s the curse of being a historian and genealogist or pure vanity.

Even my life on Fernleaf seems irrelevant as that Kyle has changed my house and yard around so much that it is unrecognizable to me much like the new Salt Lake City, which is growing strange and alien to me and making me feel like I don’t belong here any longer. So many places are just memories as they have been demolished into rubble and carted away. My life tonight seems as barren to me as my back yard is where the only thing that is thriving is weeds.

 

12 September2022 Monday

I went to Roseman Dental at 10 this morning and I was there until 12:15. However nearly 45 minutes of it was going over the options for my broken tooth that can’t be repaired as it is. So, a half hour was just spent on going over options none of which were cheap as they talked root canals, crowns, extractions, a bridge, or partial dentures.           

Before anything could be decided, I had to have a filling completed and so I did have that done which was about an hour and a half because the cavity was worse than what showed up on the X-ray. Skyler my student dentist had to place a block between the nerve and the filling. Which took a long time.

When I was finally out of the chair, Skyler went with me to see what would be the best options for me with my United Health Care insurance. Anything I wanted done except for the partial dentures was covered at 100 percent, however there was a $1000 cap, and I would be responsible for anything over that. So, I said I would go with a bridge until later if I decide to pay out of my own pocket $1500 for the partial dentures.

I have another appointment next Monday at 9:30 for the consultation to get approval. It will be a couple of weeks if not months before the bridge is in place to cover the cracked tooth so until then I will be a gap tooth hillbilly.

            I didn’t want to go right home so I stopped at the NPS store off of 14^th South and bought a few things I wanted but didn’t actually need. I noticed that Maverick and Sapp Brothers on 13^th South both had gasoline now at $4.05 a gallon.

            When I came home Kyle came out of his space and asked me to park behind the GM Terrain on the street as someone was coming over to look at the panel partitions. No hello how are you feeling or even where you been as a greeting, so I took off for the Rose Park Library as I had several books there on hold. I stayed there for about an half hour reading not wishing to engage with the partitions but when I did come home some man was there retrieving the parts that connect the panels and Kyle said he would be back tomorrow with a truck to get the rest.

            I went upstairs to get a bite to eat as I only had coffee this morning and Kyle came up just to inform me about the panels and asked if I was at the Dentist and how did I feel. When I said tired, he dropped it and did not bother to inquire further about my feelings. He also didn’t share with me any of his adventures at the State Fair as if I was just a stranger. You can’t expect a fish to climb a tree and I need to stop wanting it so as to stop being disappointed.

            Still, I am struggling how to pay for all my dental work while Kyle is planning a trip to Thailand in November.

            It seems that my emotions can change on a dime and melt away like sugar candy in water and all it takes is for Kyle to show that he cares for me. This evening about 7 Kyle asked me to help him with the Sierra as it was rented at the last minute for 10 tonight and it had just been returned to Sutherlands this afternoon, so it needed a car wash and vacuuming.

While riding with him he finally asked about my teeth and what it would take for me to get what I need to fix all the issues I have going on with them. His concern was all I needed to make everything right again and dissipate my melancholy. Just to know someone cares about me, especially someone I love with all my heart, is the tonic for my depression.

            I now felt like I could ask him about work and the State Fair. He said that he and Naveen Pavuturi have worked out an agreement on what Kyle will be responsible for and how much time he is willing to put in without additional fees. I guess Naveen found someone cheaper to replace Brian Devereaux who did good work but was being paid $40 an hour. Kyle charges $69 an hour for his expertise. So, if I go down there to Curry Connect, I won’t see Brian anymore and I think Kyle will also miss having him there to banter with.

            Kyle said he only went on 2 rides at the Fair because now because of his age its harder for him to recover his equilibrium. I guess he had fun but the only thing he ate there was corn on the cob that was sliced into a cup, but he said it cost $13! Wow. I guess that he paid $5, which even then I felt was outrageous however both he and Gabe got in free on Kyle’s Veteran’s pass. I am sure he had some fun, but I think Gabe was just a cute twink for him and nothing special like if being on  a date.

            I had to stay up to 10 to go with Kyle to drop the truck off at the Airport so I wasn’t home to go to bed until 10:30 with my heart and soul at ease again.

            In the news it’s mostly been about Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral cortege and tributes to her from world leaders. Good news from Ukraine is that they have been able to recapture territory taken by the Russians in the east.

13 September 2022 Tuesday

Finally, some rain today. It was sprinkling when I walked the pups at 7:30 this morning and by 8:30 when Kyle Foote went off to work it was drizzling. It would be nice if it keeps it up all day slowly to seep into the parched ground.

It did sprinkling a little throughout the day, but it was mostly cloudy for much of the time, and it wasn’t until evening when it began to precipitate in any amount again. It was very cool today around 70 degrees, which was almost chilly after the heat wave we had at the beginning of the month.

            Sometime this morning between 9 and 10 the Salt Lake Urban Forestry planted three trees on our parking strip. I didn’t even hear the dogs bark and they must have done it quickly as I didn’t know the trees were even in until I looked out the bay window. They are beautiful trees, but I do not know what kind they are as I thought we were getting Locust trees, but these are broadleaf and really quite beautiful. They sure dressed up the yard. One was planted in the front on Fernleaf and the other 2 were on Daleridge. It was a pleasant surprise for sure. It made me miss having trees.

            Mike Romero came over at 11 to look at the Sonoma but when I went to start it the battery was dead so I will have to borrow the battery charger before Mike can assess anything about the noise it makes.

He needed an estimate to repair the back of his truck that some person in Cheyenne had backed into. He had an estimate from a body shop in Cheyenne but needed two for insurance purposes so we went to a couple of places in West Valley and the lowest estimate was for $2,500 here while the guy in Cheyenne quoted $2100 but Mike really didn’t want to go back to Cheyenne so he will have it done in Utah.

            We were back by 1 and the person who wanted the office panels came with a U-Haul truck at 1:30. I thought he’d bring some guys but he brought only a grown daughter with him but who looked hefty and was handling the panels by herself, but I knew it would be really difficult eventually, so I ended up helping. It wasn’t hard for the two of us. However, when it came to the drawers that had desk tops, I couldn’t help much with them because they were too heavy, so the dad had to lift them. They were from Orange County, California in a what used to be El Toro but now is called Lake Forest.

            Anyway, it took about an hour to clear out the panels and I was so glad they were gone as now the heavy bulky stuff has been eliminated even though there’s so much more that needs to be dealt with before I will be able to park my car back in the garage.

            I read from Elle Cosimano’s first book “Findley Donovan Is Killing It” about her character called “Findlay Donovan” which actually is more intriguing than the follow up for much of the day.

 I baked a meatloaf that I had in the freezer and some potato au gratin for Kyle’s supper along with some buttered corn. I didn’t have any but rather been eating on some corn chowder I had made earlier in the day. It was kind of soup weather.

            When I took the pups for their evening stroll it was beginning to rain slightly. I didn’t go to the men’s group tonight although I intended to go but the pups were dying for a walk at 6, it was misty out, and I didn’t want to show my broken tooth yet out in public. Also, I knew that Kyle was coming home around 6:30 which he did.

Kyle was excited about the new trees and the fact that the panels were gone. Before having his dinner, he and I went to the parking pad on Daleridge and worked on getting the faucet that Kyle had installed working so I would have a hose over there to water the trees.

            So, it was kind of a productive day today.

In the news Senator Lindsey Graham is proposing a nation-wide ban on abortion after 15 weeks. Republicans are running scared on this issue.

14 September 2022 Wednesday

We here in Rose Park didn’t get nearly as much rain as downtown Salt Lake did and other parts of the valley that even flooded. We hardly had any at all out here by the airport. That was kind of disappointing.

When I went over to Mike Romero’s place right which east behind I-15 to pick up the battery charger it was raining pretty intensely there but as soon as I returned to 900 West there was nothing. Strange because pictures of downtown showed the streets there were flooding.

            I made a batch of enchiladas for Kyle Foote today, while I made fillings for burritos which I mostly ate today while reading “Findley Donovan Is Killing it” for much of the day.

I did work on the Daleridge parking strip, raking mulch, and pulling weeds, actually just tidying up where the two trees were planted. I also watered them as instructed as well as the one on Fernleaf before Kyle came home.

I had tried opening the latch for the GM Sonoma’s hood but couldn’t pop it open but when Kyle came home around 6:30 he was able to do so but after applying the charger to the battery it wouldn’t charge so Mike thinks I need a new battery. He said he’d come over tomorrow to look at it.

             Kyle was kind of in a rush because the Sierra had been returned early to the airport at 7 when it wasn’t supposed to come back until 9. So, I had to take him there and he told me about his day at Curry Connect as we drove there. Another reason he was in a rush was that he was having a “gentleman caller” come to the house this evening.

            I tried to watch some TV but after his fuck music from downstairs drifted upstairs, I decided to just go to my room and read while he romped with who ever came over. It had to be someone new because Kray and Mac are both gone to school back east.

            Anyway, I must have dozed off but when I heard a noise in the kitchen I got out of bed and saw that Kyle was trying to fix himself something to eat. So, I showed him which enchiladas were baked and which were not. The little tryst must have ended before 10.

            Afterwards I was too wired up, so I read in bed until about 11 before finally calling it a day.

Tomorrow Kyle asked me to take the Sierra Truck through the car wash and clean it as it goes out tomorrow at 11 and Kyle will be at work. I feel like a wife sometimes without benefits as much as Kyle depends on me at times to be a helpmate.            It’s been over a year since Kyle started his Turo Airport Rental Service and he could not have done it without a lot of assistance from me without any compensation except for love and affection.

            Sadly, in the news an Uber driver ran a red light and crashed in a Trax train at West Temple and 700 South which killed his elderly passenger. It hit home to me only because of Kyle having been an Uber driver early this year.

15 September 2022 Thursday

            This morning after walking the pups and having breakfast I drove down to Sutherlands and took the Sierra truck to Quick Quack in North Salt Lake where I also vacuumed and cleaned it really well as it was going out at 11.

After returning the truck to Sutherlands, I stopped at Common Cents to get a Dr. Pepper and noticed that their gas price had dropped to $3.99. Actually, that’s the same as $4 but seeing the 3 was a psychological ploy but still I was happy to see prices coming down from the high last June. So even though I was not on empty I stopped and filled the Honda FIT tank, and it still was $30 to fill it. Gone are the days of a $20 tank refill.

Back at the house I decided to reorganize the mess in the garage now that the panels and bulky office desks are gone and it’s just boxes and tools. I moved everything against the north wall rather than have it piled in the center towards the front. I was surprised how much camping equipment Kyle Foote had bought and was buried under so much stuff as well as skiing and golfing equipment. It was a lot of work but not heavy just shifting and stacking.

Mike Romero came over in the late morning to look at my battery. The charger wouldn’t even take a spark which indicated the battery was completely dead and I will have to get a new one. I can have Triple A come out and replace it for me.

After Mike left, I continued working in the garage until everything was stacked so things would be found more easily but I am sure Kyle will grumble how I did it but tough. It’s still my garage.

I returned Chuck Whyte’s call and we visited for a bit just catching up and seeing how we were each doing. The only real news he had was that the property where the Sun Trap was sold and will be torn down. Well, another bit of history gone. When The Sun Trap is history all the Gay bars that used to be located near Second South and 600 West will be gone.

Afterwards I went and took a nap and Jim Dabakis came over at 4 just as I was waking from my nap. We visited for a bit before he took Taco with him. He said he got his Monkey Pox vaccination about 2 weeks ago and he still has a blister on his arm where hey injected him. Kyle said he still has one after 4 weeks.

In the late afternoon as it was pleasant out, I swept the steps and the walk way to the house and Kyle’s front door that had cobwebs and a lot of leaf debris. I also got rid of the porch railing rope lights since they had burned out.

Around 7 I took the pups for their evening stroll and when I returned Kyle was home and said he hadn’t eaten all day since breakfast, so I baked the enchiladas for his dinner. He had a prescription for Prep he had to pick up at Smith’s so I drove him through the Pharmacy drive-thru and he asked if I would come down to the Curry Connect tomorrow to help with some cleaning. Of course, I said yes.

After he took his dinner downstairs, I watched a little TV before retiring to finish “Finley Donovan Is Killing It.” I liked it but should have read it before reading the second one since it was a series, and it would have made more sense with the character developments.

I guess the railroad strike that was poised to shut down rail traffic nationwide had been avoided through the Biden Administration’s efforts. And Mitt Romney refused to endorse either Mike Lee or Evan McMillan for their bids to be the next Senator from Utah. That is kind of telling what Romney thinks of Mike Lee.

16 September 2022 Friday

Kyle Foote asked me to come down to Curry Connect to help do some cleaning as the health inspection is today, so I went down there about 11:30 after I went to Sutherland where I bought two pair of blue jeans that were on sale. The first was for $14.99 and the second was just for a $1. How can you not buy two?

The restaurant was swarming with laborers, and I mostly worked cleaning an office closet where so much junk had been just dropped off in random piles. I organized it so I could carry the cleaning supplies stored in the pantry area that would have been a health violation.

At one point Kyle and I stopped and went to Lowes where there where providing a  lunch of Philly cheesesteak sandwiches for their contractor customers which Kyle is one. I didn’t feel guilty going along after the $23,000 I paid Lowe’s off last year. Still, it must have been hard for Kyle to eat as they didn’t provide any utensils or napkins and Kyle had to pick at the meat with his fingers as he couldn’t eat the bun because of his gluten intolerance. He hates touching his food.

            Anyway, I just stayed until about 2:30 because there really wasn’t much else I could do after straightening that junk closet. So, I left and went to the Deseret Industries’ a street over. It’s a nice big store but actually I think I prefer the store at Welfare Square closer to home. However, I did buy a reddish Hawaiian shirt that had parrots on it, a hoodie that zipped up the front and a blue pull over sweat shirt that was like new. Cooler weather will be coming, and it will be time soon to put the shorts away.

            Jim Dabakis brought Taco home this morning and I could tell the pup was glad to be back with his pals. However, he forgot to bring his leash back, but I had extras for when I walked the pups this evening.

            I baked the cheese enchiladas but when Kyle came home at 7 this evening, he just wanted the meat ones to finish off. He said that the restaurant passed the health inspection with flying colors and Naveen Pavuturi hopes to have the place opened next week.

            I watched a program on Netflix called “Explained This” which were short half hour features about different things. I watched one on Dogs before going to bed about how dogs evolved from wolves by human intervention to become our best friends. Scientist discovered what  dog lovers already knew, that canine brains light up when they see us with “Serotonin, Oxytocin, and Dopamine” hormones which are also known as the Love Hormones.

            I think I must have the same hormones which light up whenever I see Kyle and my obsessive/Compulsive nature goes into depression from a lack of them when he is not around. Maybe I am just a product of a chemical imbalance.

17 September 2022 Saturday

It was one of those do little but read days and I only left the house to walk the pups, to go to the Rose Park Library and get a drink and in the night, go out with Kyle Foote.

 I brought back all my books I knew I wouldn’t read to the library and checked out two new ones. The one I read for most of the day was “the Manningtree Witches” which was a fictional account of a historical event from 1645 Essex England. The author is A. K. Blakemore, who is a poet, and the book is very slow going written in the jargon of the 17^th Century mostly and with lots of arcane words which I had to stop and look up constantly like Jabot and hurtle  and such.

            Kyle came home at 6 while I was out walking the pups, but he didn’t come up to see me until after 8 and then we visited a bit about his frustration with the Indian crew down at Curry Connect because Naveen Pavuturi who is the actual owner won’t make a decision about things.

 Kyle needed to go to Sutherland’s to check on the Chevy Traxx which had come back and as he hadn’t eaten and was hungry for Pizza, we went into Woods Cross for him to get a cauliflower crust pizza at Mod’s. Once there, he inadvertently had left his wallet behind, so he needed me to buy it for him. Simple things.

            This afternoon while reading my lower back started to hurt and it progressed all day. Kind of like sciatica but in my lower back above my left hip. When I finally went to bed at 11:00 I later had to get up and take some Tylenol as I was hurting to the point I couldn’t sleep comfortably. It’s always something.

            I heard from other Gay men on Facebook that the rumor that Chuck Whyte had told me about the Sun Trapp wasn’t true that it has a 5-year lease.

The weather was so pleasant today just in the high 70’s but I didn’t do much yard work. There’s not a whole lot I can do until Kyle is through with Curry Connect. I also need to get the Sonoma truck fixed, if I can, but it’s old from 1998.

18 September 2022 Sunday

I slept in until almost 8 this morning which is extremely rare for me these days. I am surprised the pups let me. I kind of had a restless sleep with my lower back but did manage to get some sleep.

 I had strange dreams in which I was traveling in different locations often with Kyle Foote but the oddest one was that I was being driven in Littlefield Texas by my Aunt Pauline and in the vehicle was my cousin John Johnson who were asking about a fellow that was trying to be friends with John and whether he was Gay or not. Strange but at least I get to see my dead beloved relatives in my dreams.

Kyle called about 11:30 and asked me to bring down to Curry Connect some of his levels in the garage so I did and stayed until about 2 helping him a bit. I left when he did at around 2 but other than going to the store to buy some chicken for the pups, I didn’t do much else today.

It was rather windy out today but not exactly hot just warm. Actually, it was quite pleasant. I finished reading all I was going to read of the Manningtree Witches. It was interesting but laborious to get through,  so I just jumped to the end and said, “I’m done.” I stated reading another mystery instead.

I tried watching the new Pinocchio on the Walt Disney Channel that even had Tom Hanks but it just didn’t appeal to me at all so I will stick with the old, animated version.

19 September 2022 Monday

Grandpa Johnson’s 121^st birthday was quite eventful with it being the second anniversary of Buddy passing, Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, and taking care of Mike Romero for much of the day.

            The long day began with a dental appointment at 8:30 this morning down at Roseman. I had to be there to get approval for the work that will be done. They had a new team that didn’t include Skyler so that was kind of surprising. The only thing I had done there was that they made an impression of my broken tooth where the bridge will be go. The goop they put in my mouth was unpleasant but at least that part was done. I guess I will have the tooth pulled  and the bridge worked on when I come in on Wednesday the 28^th again at 8:30.

Leaving South Jordan, I stopped at Walmart on 13^th South to look for Christmas lights to replace the ones burned out on the railings of my front porch. They had artificial Christmas trees out already but not Christmas lights but while there I bought the pups some treats, Kyle Foote, his mega size Lucky Charms and some red buttons for the shirt I bought at D.I. the other day that had a button missing.

I was home around 11 and I called Triple A for them to come look at the Sonoma truck. A woman driver came out and was able to start the truck right up so at least she got the battery charged. Now I have to decide when to take it to Lodders to have them look at it. While waiting for AAA I watered the new parking strip trees and some front yard plants.

I felt like I wanted some Chow Mein, so I went down to China Delight and picked some up and when I just about finished eating it back home, Mike Romero called and asked whether I’d  take him to Urgent Care at the Redwood Clinic. He hadn’t been able to pee into his catheter all morning and he was hurting from his bladder being full. So, I went to retrieve him and Coco and took him down then brought Coco back to the house.

However, after about an hour there, the health workers  said they could not do anything more for him and  suggested that he go to the emergency either up at the U or South Jordan. So, I picked him up at the clinic and drove him to South Jordan along the Mountain View Corridor. Traffic was heavy because it was the beginning of rush hour and then at 54^th South, traffic was backed up for about a half a mile due to a bad collision at that intersection. Frustrating.

However, we finally made it to the emergency room at Daybreak around 4:00 where we sat until 5 while Mike was suffering the entire time waiting for a bed to become available. The staff finally admitted him and got him a room, so I sat in the waiting room trying to read my book until 7 when I finally asked to go back to see what they were doing for him. They were draining his bladder and taking his vitals.

 I sat with him thinking they must be getting ready to release him. I was worried about the pups as that Kyle must not have been home because he never called me, so I couldn’t ask him to feed them.

At 8:45 I finally asked a nurse when they might release Mike and she said it might be hours more as they had to slowly drain him. At that point I told Mike I needed to go see about the pups and for him to call me when they were releasing him.

When I left it was pitch black out while driving along the Mountain View Corridor until about 54^th South when the city lights came into full view. I was home finally at 9:30 to feed the pups. I hadn’t eaten myself since noon so even exhausted, I ate some left-over enchiladas.

I saw that the Terrain was at the house when I came home but evidently Kyle had only been home minutes before me. He came up stairs concerned that Coco was at the house, so I told him how I had been with Mike for much of the day as he was still in the emergency room, and I had only come home to feed the pups.

He said that he was at Curry Connection until nearly 7:30 and when he left, he had forgotten that he had ordered some golf clubs from a store in Fashion Place Mall which closed at 8. He had to rush back down there and got there 5 minutes after they closed but the manager, after keeping him waiting about 20 minutes, brought out the clubs he had bought. Kyle had to have them for a Golf Tournament he was going to tomorrow early in the morning in Utah County. So that Is why  I never heard from him.

Around 10 I decided to go back down to South Jordan rather than wait for a phone call . I thought I might as well wait down there  as at home. I was back in the emergency room around 10:30 and waited with Mike for about another half an hour as they finished up and went over all the release forms.

Mike has to have a catheter all the time now and it was infected and not draining so they had to drain him and insert a new one. They also gave him antibiotics to fight the infection. He has a urinary doctor appointment next week so that is good. It’s no fun getting old.

We were finally able to head back to Salt Lake and at home I ran in, gathered up Coco and brought her down to the car. She was ecstatic to see Mike again. I drove them home to Hodge Lane and it was midnight when I pulled in to my driveway and a half an hour later, I finally was able to go to bed.

 

20 September 2022 Tuesday

Today was not as event full as yesterday. Thank goodness. Mike Romero said he was feeling better but not quite back at 100 per cent but I doubt whether he ever will  be. I did not see Kyle Foote until late at night after I came home from the Gay Men’s meeting.

            Even getting home late last night and going to bed late I was still up by 7. Kyle left early this morning to participate in a golf tournament down in Utah County and Jim Dabakis came and retrieved Taco sometime today. All I know is when I went to walk the pups at 4:00 he was not here.

Today is the Pagan last day of summer 2022 and the end of Lammas the first harvest. Lammas is a cross quarter day from August 1 until the fall equinox. Mabon starts tomorrow but my feasting days with my faerie friends are long gone. Still old habits are hard to dispel so I made a batch of granola-raisin bran muffins which I shared with Carlos Bahena’s family and my neighbors because I made two dozen of them and knew I’d never eat that many.

I feed the pups early because I wanted to go to the Gay Men’s group at the Pride Center at 6:30 so I needed to leave by 6. I stopped at Smith’s on the way to fill the Honda Fit as all the running around I did yesterday took a lot of gasoline. I paid $3.89 with their 10-cent discount but still spent $31.

There was a smaller group tonight than the last time I came with Bill Blevins leading the meeting. Dwight Wood and I are the oldest ones there and I can tell there’s a generational gap between us and some of the younger guys the oldest of whom is in his 40’s. How they experience the “LGBT” world compared to how I experienced the Gay community is totally at odds sometimes.

 After the meeting Dwight said he was glad I was back attending, and I related how I needed to get out more for my mental health and also these younger guys need to hear the Gay affirming voices that Dwight and I lend to the group. So many at these meetings feel alienated compared how we felt in years past because we had a  community and a purpose.

When I came home at 8:30 Kyle was home, and he came upstairs worried that I might have been taking care of Mike, but I just explained that I was at the Gay men’s group. He sat down next to me and shared with me his golfing adventure he had today which he enjoyed. He also went back to Curry Connection in the afternoon to do some work there and he said the kitchen there is operational now and all the cooks are there preparing Indian dishes. He said it smells of curry and spices now.

Kyle was hungry so I showed him where there was still some enchiladas in the icebox and after he went back downstairs, I went to bed early around 9:30.

Later I saw that I had a message on Silver Daddies from this 30-year-old kid Named Tyler who goes to the men’s group. He wrote me, “Hey there Ben! I saw your profile on here the other day and was going to send you a message -- seeing you at the group reminded me I still needed to say hi on here. Always fun to see familiar faces on here. I'm pretty much exclusively attracted to older guys, so this site has been a favorite of mine so far. Always appreciate your insight and love your comments at the group. As a younger gay I like hearing the perspective of someone who has experiences that I lack. One of your comments was particularly helpful for me in my current situation. Still trying to figure out how I feel about the sex part of my sexuality. Probably due to religious guilt and what not. Anyways I wish you well. If you'd like to chat more sometime feel free to message me. Otherwise, I'll see you at the Tuesday group. -Tyler”

21 September 2022 Wednesday

For the last day of summer, it was pleasant out for much of the day, even quite warm but in the late afternoon dark clouds rolled in and at 4 we had a quick down pour that perhaps lasted 10 minutes. There was some lightening and thundered but it mostly stormed around us and not so much here in Westpointe.

            I guess from going to bed so early last night I woke up at 3 a.m. and my mind was so awake that I decided just to get the old body up, so I worked on my journal from 1971 for a couple of hours before feeling sleepy enough to return to bed. I was able to sleep in until after 7:30 before I truly was up for my day.

            Taco came back this morning. Jim Dabakis is now just dropping him off and picking him up without visiting, which is fine. I took the pups for a late morning walk around 11 and it was clear and sunny out then.

            Still wanting some lights for the porch railing, I decided to go to Deseret Industries at Welfare Square and I am glad I did. I found strings of 25 feet of white Christmas lights for only a $1 each so I bought 5 of them. I also bought a leather pair of slip-on shoes as I know the cloth ones won’t be useful outside this winter. I am at the point that I am reticent to buy new shoes that will outlast me I am sure, as I not active enough to wear them out and I have some acceptable penny loafers for dress occasions.

            While out I went to Smiths in Rose Park to pick up a prescription for Prilosec that I take for my stomach which has helped me not have those awful pains I had at the first of the year. That and some prescription anti-rash and itch cream cost together $27 which is good but higher than all my other medicine combined.

            I read more from Connie Berry’ cozy mystery called “A Dream of Death” for much of the afternoon. When I stopped for a bit to string some of the lights, I also watered the new trees on the parking strip and went to start the Sonoma, but it wouldn’t, so that battery is dead. Oh well I will wait until Mike Romero is well enough or Kyle Foote has the time before I fool with it any more.

            Kyle called in the late afternoon to remind me about the soft opening tonight of Curry Connect so I got dressed to go out. Kyle came home to shower and change, and I drove us down to Sandy so he could rest a bit.

            We were there about 7 and there were several people already in the restaurant which was a good sign, and we were shown to a booth. As it was a “soft opening,” Naveen Pavuturi and others helped  act as the wait staff. Brian Devereaux came a little later and joined us, so it was kind of a reunion of the main people who restructured the restaurant. It was good to see Brian again.

            Anyway, Kyle ordered for us as I didn’t have a clue. He ordered Butter Chicken, some goat and rice dish which was extremely spicy, and garlic Naan which was a flat bread like Pita bread kind of. Brian ordered Tandoori Chicken which I had a bite of and was like a tasty barbeque. All the food was delicious all though I am not a fan of Indian food and only ate a little bit of each that was served family style. I mainly ate to please Kyle to let him know I am not a food snob although I only ate some of the spicey rice and not any of the goat meat.

            It was interesting to actually see people eating and dining in the restaurant where Kyle designed and worked so hard, and I came down on occasion to assist him. I hope Naveen’s dream of owning his Indian Restaurant which Kyle renamed “Curry Connect” from some Hindu name that westerners would never have been able to pronounce.

            Most of the patrons tonight were probably friends of Naveen, many of whom were Indians and it looked like many of the booths and tables were filled with people. Kyle borrowed my visa card to pay for our meal because of some reason about his name being on the machine that takes the payments. I didn’t understand any of it and for a meal that served three of us but like I said I ate very little it was about $50.

            It rained hard in Sandy while we were eating but we left at 8 as that Kyle said that the Nissan Rogue which was at Sutherlands had to go out at 9. So, we rushed back to Salt Lake, took the Rogue through Quick Quack and he drove it to the airport, and I followed him in the Honda Fit.

            After dropping off the Rogue we had to make a quick detour to the Wyndham Microtel Inn where the people who rented the Rogue before had left a key there at the front desk. Kyle said that the Microtel was where he first hooked up with Danny Montoya. Surprised that Kyle said anything because he is not sentimental.

22 September 2022 Thursday

Today was the first official day of Fall as we go into the third quarter of the year on the Gregorian Calendar.

            I slept all right except I still had this uncomfortable irritation in my urethra especially when I try to pee. I have no idea what is causing that as I know it’s not from some Sexual Transmitted Disease so it must be some virus infection. It isn’t painful enough to go to the doctors just a damn nuisance for much of the day.

 Michael Romero brought Coco over as he spent much of the day waiting to be seen at the Redwood Urgent Care Clinic where he had a three hour wait. He said he was all congested and was worried that his Covid19 returned. There they took an X-ray of his lungs which were clear, but they gave him some medicine any way to clear up some of the congestion. He may be one of those people who have additional affects from Covid19 even after the initial infection is over.

            Jim Dabakis came by this morning. He said he had just dropped his husband Steven Justesen off at the airport and was going to go to Wendover to buy his medicinal marijuana at the Nevada dispensary as he prefers the gummies. He asked me if I wanted him to pick anything up for me and I explained that I tried a gummy once from one of Kyle Foote’s tricks which didn’t do a thing for me. I said how the young all have a medical condition so they can be prescribed marijuana legally LOL. Jim suggested that I take two as he does so he can sleep, and I said I really don’t have any medical reason to take Marijuana and if I was going to ingest, I would want to do it recreationally and socially.

He also said that his Russian friend Igor, who has American residency, was living in St. Petersburg with his Russian boyfriend when they barely escaped to Helsinki Finland on one of the last buses out of Russia. They heard that the Russian police were dragging men from their apartments and making them sign up to be drafted in Putin’s new offensive against the Ukraine. Putin is calling up 300,000 men to fight in the Ukraine after humiliating losses there in the past few weeks.

However, these Gay guys can’t stay in Europe as the EU has banned Russians from entering the union so Jim is having them fly into Mexico where they can stay with Jim and Steve there. I guess it’s a mess and the cheapest flight for them is for Jim to go to Denver and fly with them back to Salt Lake City and then down to Mexico.

Anyway, Jim took Taco with him to Wendover and will bring him back sometime later. Jim also slipped me $100 for taking care of Taco which isn’t necessary but appreciated. I now have $250 back in cash in the house compared to the $2000 I once had before the summer yard projects which are still not finished.

I texted Kimball Edwards this afternoon and asked him if he would like some company this weekend and he suggested perhaps next week Wednesday of Thursday. I just wanted to keep communication between him and me open as he is a sweet man.

Kyle called in the late afternoon asking if I’d drive the Sierra Truck that was at Sutherlands down to Sandy but later changed his mind and said he would come home to Fernleaf, and I could take him down to retrieve the vehicle which I did.

He didn’t communicate with me very well and I thought I only had to take him to Sutherlands, so I went back the house. Later he called and asked if I was on my way to Sandy and I said I was home, which caused him a dilemma as he had an appointment to get his second Monkey Pox shot. The issue was of his own making because Kyle often does not communicate clearly to me like I should be a mind reader. Well, he said he would take the truck to his appointment and then would call to let me know when he was ready for me to pick him up in Sandy with the Honda Fit.

Around 7:00 I drove down as the rush hour traffic had dissipated by then and waited for Kyle while parked behind Curry Connect. I no longer feel as if I can just walk into the restaurant, so I waited in the car. It wasn’t too long before Kyle showed up and I had him drive home as it was dark out by then. The clinic he went to was out in West Valley and even then, we he got there they said he was a day early, but they vaccinated him anyway with a meningitis vaccine as well as a flu shot. The clinic said that meningitis was going around now also in the Gay community.

After coming home, he went down stairs and I watched “Topsy Turvy” the movie about Gilbert and Sullivan’s making of the Mikado. I’ve seen it years before at the theater and always thought it quite good.

I didn’t go to bed until after midnight. My dick still hurts.

23 September 2022 Friday

As it is getting darker in the morning lately, I have been getting up after 7  instead of 6 or 6:30 and I am no longer taking the pups out when I first get up but later in the morning.

            Jim Dabakis brought Taco back this morning and he came in for a visit. I miss understood him the other day. His gay Russian Friends are flying directly to Mexico City while it was Jim who was going to fly to Denver then back to Salt Lake and then down to Mexico City because it was about $300 cheaper. It’s about $700 to fly from Denver to Mexico City with a stop in Salt Lake while it’s $1,100 to fly directly from Salt Lake City. However, Jim said he’s just going to fly out of Salt Lake rather than going through the hassle of flying into Denver then back to Salt Lake because it would still be $200 just to fly from Salt Lake to Denver.

            He wants to see the new Gay movie called “Bros,” but it doesn’t open until next week and since he’s not leaving for Mexico until October 3, he wants me to go see it with him. Before he left, I gave him a jar of beef stew I made the other day.

            Kyle Foote asked if I would bring the Open sign down to Sandy that had been delivered at the house which I did in the afternoon. When I got there Kyle was in a cherry picker high up in the air fastening a temporary banner for the restaurant which is now opened but I didn’t see any customers for lunch which Kyle and I shared. We had some butter chicken, rice, and garlic naam bread.

            I didn’t do much else today except make some corn chowder  and did a bit of grocery shopping buying Kyle his Cheerios and the pups some food for their supper.

I took a late nap and at 5 Kyle came up and needed me to take him to the airport to retrieve the Nissan Rogue. He said he had come home not too long after I left, and I know he is glad to be out of there after all the long hours he put in during the summer.

 I finished reading Dream of Murder yesterday, so I started a new mystery after watching some television just an episode of Archer, the animated series, and a new season of Abbott Elementary. There’s only a week before it’s October and the weather is finally cooling down.

24 September 2022 Saturday

I am reading “Magic, Lies and Deadly Pies” by Misha Popp which at first didn’t know if I could get into it but it was kind of engaging and since I had nothing much else to do I read 33 chapters. I will finish it mostly likely tomorrow.

It’s a recent novel as it was published this year and it refers to the ex-President as  President Donnelly which is obviously Trump. The main character is a girl who has magical powers to put magic into pies to murder rapists and abusers of women. She is attracted to both  a boy and a girl and works with a man at a diner who is Gay who is adopting a child with his partner. Obviously, the author is extremely progressive.

            I didn’t hear from Kyle Foote until nearly 1:30 when he called to ask if it was time to go get a Dr. Pepper, which we did. Upon returning he said he wanted to work in the garage some and kind of snapped at me when I suggested that he rest for the day, so I just left and went upstairs to read.

            About an hour later he asked if I’d come down because he was looking for some tool organizers but couldn’t figure out “my system.” My system was simply to move all his crap to the north side of the garage into piles of  his camping gear, his leftover Build Team clothes, and his tools, all which I put on top of the yard equipment which were still in boxes. It kind of pissed me off the way he said it because “his system” is to leave stuff scattered all over the place for me to trip around.

After he found what he was looking for I went back upstairs not wishing to be of assistance with his foul mood anymore.

            It must have been the day for reroofing in the neighborhood as that on Niles Street two houses there had men up on their roofs doing just that. It must have been an all-day project as they were at it when I walked the pups in the morning and were still at it when I walked them again around 6.

            I didn’t watch any TV today but just curled up with the pups and read. The only time I did any yard work was to water the trees in the parking strip, the arborvitaes or what is left of them in the back yard, filled the hot tub, and cleaned up some of the Virginia Creeper. The main side yard to the south of the house is barren of anything but some hardy weeds that seem to be able to take root in the harden dry dirt. I hardly care anymore.

Louise Fletcher, who won an Oscar  as Nurse Ratchet in ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,’ died. She was 88. How we all hated Nurse Ratchet. What a great actress. Rest in Peace.

25 September 2022 Sunday

It was a beautiful autumn day, just in the low 80’s with very blue skies. Some of the leaves are just beginning to turn.

I woke up at 3 this morning with my mind restless for some reason. So, I decided to just get up rather than lay in bed without much chance of falling back to sleep. I worked on my journal from August 1971 before going back to bed at nearly 5 and slept again until 7:30. Not sure why my sleep is so broken up.

            I took the pups out for a morning walk around 10. Now that weather is cooler and not so hot, I can take them out later. Kyle Foote was down stairs all morning but at 1 he called up and asked  to go get our Dr. Pepper at Common Cents. I baked a frozen pizza for my lunch since Kyle gave no indication of wanting any lunch.

            I was kind of edgy and needed to get out of the house, so I went to the Mexican bakery on 700 North off of Redwood and bought two Cinnamon crispies they call “tortillas”, but we used to call them elephant ears because of their size.

            I then took the Honda Fit to Quick Quack to go through the carwash and vacuum out the car a bit. I drove back into Salt Lake down Beck Street and pulled in at the parking lot of the old Wasatch Plunge/ Children’s Museum to get out and walk a bit around Warm Springs Park. The two hot springs there had some transients soaking or perhaps bathing so I just left.

While driving down 3^rd West about Reed Street I saw this young, obviously shirtless obviously homeless guy kind of wandering around with his pants hanging low as if he was trying to keep them up. Intrigued I followed him to Pugsley Street between 3^rd and 4^th West and pulled over. He came over to the car and I just said I was looking for an address. I knew that if I wanted to have sex with him, I could have but I think I was more interested in just talking to him.

 I only had two dollars on me, but I gave them to him because he looked like he could use some money for sure. He looked surprised and thanked me and said if I ever needed anything to look him up, I am pretty sure he meant for sex. He was a cute sandy haired well tone kid and not all that dirty, but I think talking to him was just more of a fantasy for me then a reality. Ah, the Gay life and reminiscing of cruising before there were cell phone apps.

            I just came back to the house after that and took a nap. That is what old guys do.

Kyle came up at 5 when I was still napping and asked if I would help him in the garage. He acted more chagrined about his behavior and was not the snot he was yesterday, so I got dressed and went down to help him.

            He wanted to move everything away from the north wall so he could eventually build shelves and hang up his tools. We made piles of things he would sell on KSL, his camping gear, his tools, and coats he was just going to donate. He dug out an XXL Carhartt jacket that I wanted to give to Mike Romero. He had several of them and I know they are worth around $100 each.

            After he quit for the day, I took the coat and some mail over to Mike’s, but he never answered his door, so I just left them in his garage. Much later he called and said he didn’t hear me but said thanks for the jacket as it fitted him perfectly. He has a urology appointment this Tuesday at 3 up at the U that I said I would take him as there’s so much construction still up there.

            For the rest of the evening, I finished the ”Murder pie” book and I did enjoy it but I was too tired to start a new one so I went to bed at 10 hoping I would not wake up in the middle of the night again.

26 September2022 Monday

I had my doctor appointment with Dr. Stoneburner this morning at 9 but as usual I didn’t get to see him until around 9:40 so I brought a book to read. I only spent about 15 minutes with him as the nurse who checked my vitals gave me 3 shots before he came in. I had a flu shot, a Covid19 booster, and a vitamin B-12 shot. I feel like I am in good health for my age although I gained some weight to 190 lbs. since last time. But my weight has always gone up and down lie a yo-yo unlike some people who never gain an ounce.

My blood pressure was 120/70, which pleased Dr. Stoneburner greatly. I told him that besides my bad teeth I feel pretty good, so I won’t be coming back until November 26 the day after Thanksgiving weekend. I do have an endoscopy scheduled for October 6.

            While in the waiting room Kyle Foote called me and asked me to come down to Sandy as his helper didn’t show up today. However, when I arrived it turned out that Kyle didn’t need me as that one of the letters in the neon sign for Curry Connect was broken in shipment and has to be ordered from China. So, I just helped him pack everything back up and put the boxes in my car and drove home to Salt Lake. No one was in the restaurant because they are closed on Monday.

            I read for most of the afternoon David Rosenfelt’s book Citizen K-9 which I also read for most of the rest of the day except when taking some time to walk the dogs and go with Kyle in the evening to get a free pizza at MOD’s in Woods Cross. I was surprised when he asked if I would make more enchiladas this week and a meat loaf. Of course, I said I would.

            While out, I saw Peter Nash in his yard, and I went over to visit and mainly to find out want kind of tree was planted in their parking strip which was the same as ours. It is a Box Elder tree. I like to know the names of the plants in my yard. We visited a bit, and he said that Victor behind me even came over a while back and visited with him for about 45 minutes. Victor seems like a nice guy but overwhelmed by the needs of taking care of his yard which is mainly weeds.

It's hard to watch any TV with Utah’s political ads for Mike Lee. I am so sick of the Mike Lee ad that features a white hair dude whining about Evan McMillan's $600,000 debt when the jerk probably had no qualms voting for Mike Lee's pal Trump who stiffed contractors and workers out of 10s of millions of dollars. Didn’t Lee benefit from a questionable short sale himself?

Florida is about to be hit again with a major hurricane. I know I am a bad person because I have little sympathy for a state, which elects a Governor who is a human trafficker. I feel sorry for the beasts and children and Democrats of course but not for anyone else who lives in America's skin tag state.

27 September 2022 Tuesday

Kyle Foote wanted me to go with him at 11:30 down to Curry Connect so I did. I went with him to Lowes while down there where he bought some wood and paint to make the sign for the front of the restaurant. When He came back to Salt Lake City it was nearly 2 but, I had made a pork roast earlier in the morning, so Kyle had that or his lunch. I really didn’t have time to eat because Mike Romero came over at 2:15 so I could take him to his Kidney appointment up at the medical center behind the U of U. What a mess that was. Don't go to the U of U medical center. You'd be dead before getting there with only one lane open for traffic because of the construction. Fortunately, after dropping him off at the front entrance, I found a handicap parking space almost immediately. It was outside so it was quite warm while waiting for Mike, but I just read my book. His appointment was at 3 and he was done around 3:30.

Back at the house Kyle must have taken off for Sandy since he was gone. Mike retrieved Coco and I gave him a jar of Beef Stew that I knew Kyle wasn’t going to eat.

I walked the pups and fed them before going out and watering the trees and plants in the front yard. I have kind of given up interest in the backyard which is kind of sad.

My gums have been sore when I eat anything crunchy, so I am kind of dreading go in to Roseman tomorrow because it’s going to be a long day.

I finished reading K-Team and it was pretty good, not one of Rosenfelt’s best but good.

The weather is still warm almost hot for late September. It was 90 degrees in Salt Lake today.

28 September 2022 Wednesday

I was up to have a bit of breakfast of shredded wheat and coffee before getting ready for my appointment at Roseman which I was not looking forward to going. Strangely when I left the house at 7:45 it was raining buckets and I needed an umbrella just to get to the Honda Fit. Not just a steady rain but buckets. I would have been soaked as was this one middle school girl I saw walking along the street without an umbrella or coat. It might not had been raining at her house as that one block over on Newton it was clear, and it only occasionally sprinkled on I 215 on the way down to South Jordan. In fact, when I looked out the window this morning there were blue skies all around us so the rain gods must have loved my house and block. I am not complaining.

            I was at Roseman in plenty of time and when I went up to the 4^th floor area where the student worked on clinic I still had yet another team working on me.

I was confused because the technician who was going to do the extraction kept asking me about having a partial denture put in and I was kind of frustrated saying “look each team that has worked on me has recommended different procedures and I was told last time that I was coming in to have my broken tooth extracted and, in the afternoon, having a bridge put in.”

She could tell I was not happy, so a young dental instructor came over to talk to me. One of my confusions was that no one really explained to me the difference of having a bridge or a partial denture placed over my broken tooth. The mix up I think was that it was never made clear to me the difference between the two. What I thought was a bridge was actual a partial denture. A bridge would have been permanently glued into the space while a partial could be removed.

Also, I thought the total cost of the Bridge of $600 was everything but that would be on top of everything else, which would have been close to $1400. The dentist explained that if something were to happen to the bridge the entire thing would have to be removed and start over. I was still kind of confused but I decided to simply go with the partial denture as that is what I thought I was getting anyway. The only difference is that after eating I would have to remove it for cleaning.

            So, after that consultation, they were finally ready to extract the broken tooth. The first numbing shot was extremely painful, and I had tears coming out of my eyes. I never had an injection that severe before. The second shot which she said would be more painful was not nearly as bad.

            The extraction was a slow process I guess from where the tooth was located as I was in the chair in total, with the consultation and extraction, for an hour and a half. I was surprised when they were done because she never told me when the tooth came out as I had not felt it. I didn’t need stitches just some gauze to stop the bleeding.

            I only had the extraction done because the area needed time to heal before a partial could be made to replace the tooth. Also, the reception gal must have been new because I was going to be charged $95 before I told her through my muffled mouth that I had credit. She looked it up and then said I was good to go, and I asked about making my next appointment and she said I simply had to call to make it and she never gave me a receipt to tell me what was covered today.

            So now I have a sore mouth and also a sore front tooth that was next to the one pulled as I think they jiggled it. All I could take for pain was Tylenol which I put off to much later in the day as I don’t like to get used to pain killers.

            Before coming back to Fernleaf, I stopped at Lucky’s to buy what I needed to make enchiladas and some more chicken for the pups. At home I noticed that Taco was gone, and Jim Dabakis left a message that he had “kidnapped” him but evidently didn’t keep him long as by 5:30 when I was getting ready to feed the remaining 3, Taco shows up happy to see me.

            About 11 this morning Kyle Foote asked if I wanted to go with him own to Sandy and of course I said I did. He said he wasn’t going to be there long just to check on a few things. One of the older Indian cooks’ name is Peter and Kyle mentioned how he liked me because he was always asking about me who he referred to as  “Kyle’s dad.” That surprised me because I have rarely if ever interacted with him, but Kyle had told the kitchen help that I was his dad.

            Anyway, I was back home by 2 and I made two batches of enchiladas, one with hamburger and one simply with cheese. The sauce I made this time had a good flavor but was rather spicier than usual.

Mike Romero had dropped Coco off when I returned from down south as he had his Urology specialist appointment down at the Redwood clinic. When he came to pick Coco, we visited about our health experiences today. He said that his catheter should have been changed every 6 weeks not six months.

            In the late afternoon I dug out the fall leave decorations from beneath the steps and intertwined them around the railings of the front porch. I also put the jack o lanterns over the outside light fixtures.

            Kyle took off again after taking me home and I didn’t see him at all for the rest of the day. I watched the fall season’s new episodes of “Bob’s Burgers” and “The Simpsons” and because I was too tired to read, I watched on the Criterion channel an old movie from 1976 called “Car Wash” which had an ensemble of mainly black actors but also had George Carlin. It was kind of fun to see it again because I hadn’t since it was in the theaters.

            I went to bed around 10 and thought I heard Kyle playing his TV loud then realized he just had company downstairs from hearing a kid laughing and talking really loud enough to have his voice carry upstairs. I didn’t see any other car out front so either he came home with Kyle or had walked over.

I think I will always think of this day as Billy Bikowski’s birthday. He had just turned 25 when I  knew him back in 1986 and was so in love with him. I still love him and hope his life turned out the way he wanted going back into the Mormon Church as a closet homosexual. He turned 61 years old today and I hope he had people around him to celebrate.

29 September 2022 Thursday

I was in one of my melancholy moods today when Kyle Foote took off today early and never called or texted me at all today. I just read my book Miss Morton and the English House Party Murder by Catherine Lloyd.

            It must have rain really hard last night as the ground was all wet when I looked out this morning. I called back the endoscopy clinic who rescheduled my procedure for Wednesday October 5 at 9:15 and then I called Roseman to schedule an appointment for Thursday October 6 at 10:30.

            I took the pups for a walk around 10:30 this morning and at 11 I decided to take Maxx down to the groomers to have his nails clipped but once there they had no one to do it so I had to make an appointment for Monday at 11:30. So I took Maxx back home and decided to take the Honda Fit to the car wash, not realizing that this evening it would rain again.

            Waking up from a nap, Skyler from Roseman dentist called me to ask about what I had decided to do with my teeth. I thought that was very considerate of him to take an interest in me. I explained that I had been so confused between a bridge and a partial. He took the time to clarify that the Bridge option was only because my insurance would have paid for it all while with the partial it would come out of my own pocket which would be $750. He said the partial is a better choice but then more expensive. He asked me to come in next Thursday at 10 instead of 10:30.

            Not hearing a word from Kyle all day, I decided I didn’t want to be home when he was. Kimball Edwards texted and said that next Tuesday would be better for getting together as he had  a test this Monday he wanted to study for.

            I fed the dogs and left around 4:30 after seeing that Kyle had come home. I left for the Rose Park Library and stayed there reading until 7:30 when it was dark out. When I was tired of sitting at the library, I drove to Lee’s Market in North Salt Lake to buy some apple fritters and corn chips just to delay coming back to the house.

            On the way home the sky was lit up with lightning and it thundered but was only sprinkling. It was beautiful to watch.

            Kyle doesn’t communicate with me unless he needs something, so I just didn’t feel like interacting with him today. Moody, I suppose.

After coming home and turning off the lights to go to my bedroom to read some more I heard Kyle leave the house. Her him come and go several times but not once did he bother to come see me. Not once all day did, he text me to ask about me either. In bed joined by happy dogs who missed me, I finished reading my book around 11 and tried to go to sleep.

30 September 2022 Friday

Around 1 this afternoon Kyle Foote called from downstairs and asked if it was time to go get a drink from Common Cents. It takes so little from him to melt away my sour mood. He even asked if I was okay as he must have noticed I didn’t interact with him at all yesterday and he noticed that I had turn all the lights off at 8 last night. When we returned to the house, he even gave me a hug. It’s all I ever want from him.

            Later in the late afternoon he wanted me to go with him down to Curry Connect to retrieve the Sierra Truck as it was being rented out this evening. On the way home I noticed that my low tire pressure sensor light came back on, and I have new tires on the Honda Fit so at the house I called Discount Tires to make an appointment for tomorrow at 9:15 for them to check it out even though later at night picking Kyle up from his dropping of the Sierra the light went off.

            It seems strange that the month of September can be over so quickly when it seems like August had just ended. Saturday is October 1st already. It will be a busy 1st week as I have an appointment on Monday for Maxx’s nails to be clipped, an endoscopy on Wednesday the 5th and a dental visit on the 6th for a partial to replace my broken tooth I had extracted on last Wednesday. I now wear a mask not for covid but because I am vain about my gap tooth...vanity all is vanity

I suppose those trapped by Hurricane Ian September was a long terrifying month.

Sad so many people are dead in Florida. I wonder how many refused to evacuate thinking they could ride it out. I feel sorry for those who had no way to leave but not for the ones who chose to stay. I hope people took their pets with them, not like Katrina in New Orleans.

So, I am sending “Thoughts and Prayers” to the Red States hit by Hurricane Ian like conservatives do always do instead of doing something useful. At least President Biden is sending aid instead and can you believe it he hasn’t thrown even one paper towel roll like Trump did in Puerto Rico. What is wrong with him?

Some Sad news. Donna Maldonado, who knew as Donna Land passed away this week at the age of 78. I knew her back when Becky Moss and I did Concerning Gays and Lesbians in the 1980s and early 90’s. She was smart and funny and told me stop popping my P's in the microphone lol. RIP

            So once again all is right in my world with even a bit of affection from the boy.