Gay Veteran Talks to Mitt Romney

Hey folks, I took this off of YouTube.  This is an interview that ABC News recorded when a veteran who Romney happened to spot at a luncheonette and thought would provide a good photo op and who just happens to be gay asked Republican presidential candidate a question about same sex marriages.  Romney did not know the veteran was gay when the interview began.  Watch how the gay veteran whose name is Bob Garon, hands Romney his ass.

From one gay veteran to another, thank you sir for showing Romney for the hypocrite that he is.  Romney once supported same sex unions when he was governor of Massachusetts.  But now that he's running for president he is all too willing to throw under the bus all the gays in lesbians in this country by denying them their constitutional rights.

My cousin Kevin W. first posted this video on his Facebook account.  This was my responding comment to my cousin

"Cousin Kevin, thank you very much for posting this video. I'm going to post it to my blog. It is time for this country to stop discriminating against it's citizens who just happen to be gay or lesbian. We're not asking for the so called "special rights" but for the SAME RIGHTS as every other man and woman has in this country. Romney or any other politician who espouses the homophobic "I believe marriage is between a man and a woman" talking point WILL NOT GET MY VOTE. Nor should any gay man or woman who has any amount self respect let these politicians get away with this continuing discrimination. Bill and I have been together for 47 years now. We pay equal taxes, how about equal rights? Bravo for the veteran in this video. He "has more moral courage than a dozen politicians like Romney.

I don't doubt I'll get some feedback for my posting on Facebook from some of my Good Christian (as opposed to Real Christian) Facebook friends lecturing me on the "marriage is only between a man and a woman."  Oh we all know the talking points.  But EXACTLY where does it say in the Bible or Constitution that MARRIAGE IS BETWEEN A MAN AND A WOMAN?  Huh?  


And even if it did what difference would it make?  Slavery is mentioned in the Bible.  Does that make it right?  Women shouldn't wear red is mentioned in the Bible, does that make it right?

Sorry to get all preachy and indignant on all of you reading this blog (preachy blog postings usually make for boring blog postings) but I am SO TIRED OF THIS CRAP!

All you folks who believe MARRIAGE IS ONLY BETWEEN A MAN AND A WOMAN are on the WRONG SIDE OF HISTORY.  Write it down folks, fifty years from now people reading about this government sanctioned discrimination against a segment of the population will be scratching their heads and say to themselves "How stupid they were!"

Bill and I have been together forty-seven years now.  We are productive members of our society.  We have always paid our fair share of taxes.  In fact, we have paid MORE than our fair share of taxes because he don't have any children.  I don't recall ever getting a discount on my school taxes because I didn't have a child in the school system.  Oh no, never happened.  But what is going to happen is crass, opportunist politicians like Mitt Romney will be exposed by history for the bigots that they are.  And yes, I know Obama espouses the same line about "marriage between a man and a woman" and he is a crass, opportunist politician too lacking courage to do the right thing.

There, I've had my say.  No more preaching from this gay vet...for at least a week anyway.

Ron (me) just out of Basic Training March 1960

I know I've posted these pictures before of me in the Army (27 Jan 1960 - 27 Jan 1963) but I'm doing it again.  I served my country which is more than I can say for politicians like Romney, Gingrich and yes...Barack Obama.

Ron (me on the left) at Ft. Devens Massachusetts April 1960

The above photo was taken of me with my friends Bill Allen (in the center) and Dick Egan during a break from classes we were attending at the Army Security Agency school for communications intercept.  Yes folks, we all had a Top Secret Clearance.  After school I spent 2 1/2 years working for the National Security Agency at Ft. Meade, Maryland from 1960 to January 1963.  During that time I survived innumerable witch hunts for gays.  Many of my friends were kicked out, some for just being accused of being gay.  Two of my fellow soldiers committed suicide on base (in a locked car they asphyxiated themselves) rather than face the shame of being kicked out of the Army for being gay.  Remember, this was back in the Bad Old Days when being gay was a crime.

Me (on the right) with my friend Jim Harris 1962

The above photo was taken at the Firing Range at Ft. George G. Meade with my friend Jim Harris of Bingington New York.  Yes, we were both gay.  No, were weren't lovers.  No, we did not engage in sexual activity.  Jim was my friend, he just happened to be gay as I was, and still am.  I don't know what happened to Jim.  We lost touch after my tour of duty ended.  I think we exchanged a few letters but it dropped off as often happens when good friends are separated geographically and go on with their lives.

I had other gay friends while I was in the Army.  They were Ron and Sal.  Both are dead now but we were all good friends.  No, there was never any sex.  We were just friends.  Something straight people have to realize about gay people is that just because you're gay doesn't mean you're jumping into bed with every gay person you met.

Ron Hampton 1961 Ft. Meade, Maryland

My friend Ron Hampton in my room at the barracks at Ft. Meade, Maryland 1961.  I had my own room because I was assistant platoon sergeant.  Imagine that, a gay guy assistant platoon sergeant!  Guess what?  Troop morale didn't go down, everyone liked me.  Ron died in January of 2006.

Sal De Rosa, Ft. Meade, Maryland 1961

This is a photo of my friend Sal De Rosa.  Sal was in the Air Force whose barracks were right next to our Army barracks at Ft. Meade.  Sal, Ron and I had a great friendship the 2 1/2 years we were stationed at Ft. Meade.  We all survived the witch hunt but Sal and Ron did have a few close calls for associating with the 

wrong (read that "gay") people.  Sal died in October of 2007.

Sal DeRosa and Ron Hampton, Ft. Meade, Maryland 1962

Sal and Ron put on a musical revue (how gay!) a the Ft. Meade service club.  This is the poster that I made that was posted in the lobby of the service club.  I've often wondered if the folks in charge of the security clearances at Ft. Meade and NSA had any clue that there was a nest of gay guys putting on a musical revue at the service club.  I bet they did!

Sal DeRosa birthday celebration at the Ft. Meade Service Club, 1962

This is a group photo we had of our friends (my camera of course!) taken for a birthday party for our friend Sal at the service club.  Sale is the guy in the gray (gay) shiny suit with the knife being held to his throat (by John Bicking, who we were all hot for by the way).  Ron Hampton is the guy in the checkerd (gay) sport coat seated on the right laughing.  His girlfriend (beard) Coleen is to his right (she has the red hair).
Sal's girlfriend Pat took the picture.  Ironically Pat is still in touch with me to this day.  She knew we were all gay.  Didn't bother her.  I'm the tall guy in the back with the crew cut, with my eyes closed (as I often do when my picture is taken), standing next to the guy who has his head cocked in my direction.


So there is my Gay Photo Gallery of My Time In The Army at Ft. Meade, Maryland With a Top Secret Clearance.  The morale of the troops didn't go down and our country did just fine. 


I've been meaning to post these pictures for a long time but never got around to it.  Now is the time.  


This is Proof Positive that the Army did just fine with us gays in it and the country will do just fine when Bill and I get married in 2012.  Long overdue and about time.  

My partner and spouse, Bill Kelly 1954

Yes folks, my partner and spouse is also a veteran.  Imagine that!  And the country survived.  Wow.


This year Bill and I are going to get "married" (civil union) in Delaware.  While it's not the the real "marriage" with all the tax benefits and legal protections that straights have with their marriages, it is at least a step in the right direction.  Hopefully, this country will come to its senses before we die and we can legally get married just like any other loving and devoted couple in this country.  

Making Friends

One of my few disappointments in living in this area of Delaware is the lack of making new gay friends. The Rehoboth Beach/Lewes/Milton area of southern Delaware is supposed to be the gay capital of the East Coast. We are located almost right in the center radius of the Philadelphia/Balitmore/Washington D.C. geographical map. We are a beach resort community without the cold waters and large pebbles of the Provinctown, Massachusetts beaches. Delaware also doesn't have the high taxes of Massachusetts for the brutally cold winters. Thus, one would think that living in this so called "Gay Capital of the East Coast" would be a melting pot of meeting new gay friends. Alas, that is not the case. At least with me, it has not happened. I have made a few gay friends (I can count them on one hand), but after living here almost three years I've just about given up on making any new gay friends.

Ironically, I have made many new friends. Except for that handful of gay friends (Wayne, Paul, Jack, Doug and Bob), all of my new friends are straight. Not that I am complaining. My new straight friends are about the nicest people I have ever met. Some are my neighbors and others are the folks I work with. I have made many new friends from service areas such as our regular restaurant (Zorba's) and our regular grocery stores (Food Lion and Wal-Mart.) Bill and I also keep The Home Depot and Lowe's in business. We've been at those stores so often that the store clerks treat us as old friends. Yesterday (and today) both Bill and I will visit our other favorite service place, The Garage (we both have old vehicles that need servicing.)

Maybe I was being a bit naive when I expected to be greeted with hugs and kisses from my gay brothers and sisters when I moved down here permanently in November of 2006. Actually, I think I was being very naive. Part of the difficulty is that I'm not of the Washington D.C. crowd which seems to comprise most of the gay cliques. From my vantage point (on the outside looking in), this is a crowd of gay folks who have very generous pensions and can afford to frequent the expensive restaurants that I cannot afford. Also, most of these folks seem to already know one another from their previous lives and as I found out many years ago, most gay men (gay women I don't know that much about other than they really stick together and have very little to do with gay guys) stay with their own group of friends. The only exceptions they seem to make is if they are cruising for a sexual encounter and that activity is definitely not on my radar at this time of my life.

So I'm thinking "Is my life less rewarding now that I haven't made many gay friends?" The answer of course is "No." My life is very rewarding. I have a beautiful home and wonderful neighbors. I work at an absolutely lovely hotel with the best co-workers I've ever worked with in my life (and that is no exaggeration.) My boss is a wonderful man even though he's young enough to be my grandson. The owner of the hotel is a generous and delightful man whose only "fault" (if it can be deemed as such) is that he demands perfection from his employees.

The few encounters I have had with meeting new gay people usually starts with the same question "What do you do?" This question hasn't changed since my days of bar hopping back when I was much younger. The"What do you do?" question is invariably followed by "Who do you know?" question. This question apparently is to determine if one fits into the pecking order of the local gay social order. If you don't know anybody, you might as well call for the check and go home because no one is interested in making friends with you. This phenomena isn't unique to the local gay scene, I ran into it when I used to vacation in Provincetown, Massachusetts by myself for many years. I was one of the rare gay men who went on vacation by myself and (with a few notable exceptions) stayed by myself during the entire vacation. I gave up a long time ago trying to break that invisible self protective wall that the gay cliques surround themselves with.

The reason I'm writing about this subject his morning is as a response to an Facebook message I received from two new friends that I have made through my blog. They said they would be delighted to have breakfast with me at my favorite restaurant if they lived closer. Mike and Glenn live in West Hollywood, California so the chances of that happening are close to nil in my lifetime. But it did make me wonder, why hasn't that offer been made to me from any of the local gay Mafia? I do not have the answer to that question.

At one time I thought maybe it was me. Maybe I wasn't attractive enough or maybe I didn't make enough money to qualify. Hey, maybe I wasn't smart enough of (this is one requirement I will never meet) I wasn't "gay" enough. By "gay enough" I mean an stereotypical mincing, bitchy, drag loving queen. That I am not. I'm just a regular, masculine guy who lives a typical suburban lifestyle. Granted, I'm not into show tunes but I do like Bette Davis and Joan Crawford.

Yes, it will always mystify me why I haven't made more gay friends but I will treasure those few gays friends I have made and my many straight friends. As I have often said, "I have a lot of straight friends, not that there is anything wrong with that." And as for Mike and Glenn of California; I hope someday that we can make that breakfast date. That would be something that I would really enjoy.

No Pictures!

One more day of work at the hotel and I can go back to my regular schedule, working Monday nights and off the rest of the week. Today will mark the sixth day in a row of work at the hotel. I love my job but I am just about wiped out. I am looking forward to some time off to recuperate.

Hold on! I just heard the door bell ring. It's my friend Jay of "Ed and Jay" fame who have requested that I do not publish their picture on my blog. I have granted their request. Frankly, I don't understand what their problem is with their picture on my blog because I don't post their full names. The only thing I can assume is that they do not want to be associated with me publicly because I identify myself as gay on my blog. Whatever, I will comply with their request. It's not the first time I had this request. Another longtime friend from high school does not want any pictures of us taken together while dining. The last time I visited him we were having lunch at the Chicago Bar and Grille in Lionville, PA. As is my usual routine I asked the waitress to take a picture of us. My friend said "No pictures!" Okay. Not a big deal. I only have the pictures taken because I like to collect pictures of my dining out experiences with friends and co-workers. I've been doing this for years, over fifty years to be precise.

My friend, lover and life partner Bill doesn't like to have his picture taken either. Most of the pictures I take of him he has his hand in front of his face. I think the reason Bill doesn't like his picture taken is that he isn't comfortable with his 80 year old face. Hey, I'm getting older too. At 67 years (and counting) I no longer have that boyish look either. The way I look at the situation is "it is what it is." What am I hiding from? Myself? The world? But that's just my take on having my picture taken. I'm one for recording history. Since I'm a big genealogy aficionado, I'm assuming someone in the future will find these thousands of pictures that I have accumulated over the past 50 plus years of interest. That's my view.

I have another friend who recently ended a long term relationship. His decision was to toss out all the pictures of his former relationship. That's something I don't understand but that is his choice. He obviously considered that his pictures were for him only and since he was no longer in that relationship then he had no more use for those pictures. Sort of like erasing history of those who have fallen in disfavor much as the Russians did when rewriting their history books when Stalin or some other former dictator fell out of favor. It is called rewriting history. But then, that's the choices that some people make. More power to them. For me, I put it all out there; the good, bad and ugly. God, if I got rid of all the pictures of people and places that are no longer part of my life, then I would have very little left of a history of my life.

Recently a friend and reader of this blog has been sending me pictures of where he lives and older black and white pictures of his childhood. I find those pictures fascinating, especially the older black and white pictures. While he didn't have the ideal childhood, he obviously treasures his early photos because they do bring back memories of part of his life that he found some enjoyment despite the not so good times.

That's the way I look at taking pictures, it is a pictorial chronicle of my ongoing life. While I will respect the wishes of those friends of mine who do not want their pictures taken with me, I'm also disappointed in their selfishness and self-involvement. Where do I get these friends? Are they a bunch of closeted, self-hating gays who are in the closet and don't want to be exposed? Are they a bunch of old men who don't want the world to see how old they are now? I have to admit I don't get it but I'm glad I don't feel that way. Take a look at the picture on this blog. It was taken about a week ago outside my garage and I had finished some heavy duty yard work. I've looked better but hey, it is what it is.

A Day at the Beach

Today I decided to visit the beach in Rehoboth Beach. I live so close but rarely go to the beach. One of the reasons is that I am susceptible to a precancerous skin condition so I don't lie on the beach anymore seeking that sexy, healthy tan. But I do love breathing in the sea air and walking the boardwalk on a beautiful summer day like today.


On my way in I took along some of my neighbor's backyard vegetable bounty to deliver to a friend who has a place in Rehoboth Beach. This is a friend that I had dinner with last night. When I arrived, I noticed that he was edgy. Something was on his mind. It didn't take too long to find out when I asked to take a picture of him and his friend. He was angry and demanded "Why do you have a blog? Why do you do it?" I could see he was very agitated. What was his problem? I soon found out. His picture was on my blog. Now why is this a problem? He said he thought my blog was only read by a few of our friends, he didn't know the world had access to reading my blog. My friend isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer. I explained to him that anyone could read the blog. Then he demanded again "Why do you write it?!" This took me back a bit but I responded that I write about my life. He quickly got to his source of agitation; he didn't want me putting his picture on my blog. His friend also stated the same request. I told them that wasn't a problem. I would not put pictures of them on any of my future blog postings.


I left this rather uncomfortable encounter with my friend to take a walk on the boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach. Today was a perfect summer day for the beach. A gentle breeze flowed in from the ocean. Hundreds of colorful umbrellas dotted the beach. The sounds of the sea gulls blended in with the gentle rush of the waves and the distant voices of the families sunning themselves on the beach completed the picture of summertime fun at the beach. While walking I found that I was still bothered by my friend's request. Why would it bother them that their pictures appeared on my blog? Then it hit me. It bothered them for the same reason as it bothers many of the gay men and women who travel from Washington D. C. to Rehoboth Beach and have their pictures appear on the Internet website of the local gay publication "Letters." They don't want their pictures on the website for the world to see. Someone might think they're gay. They might have to come out of the closet. As side note, I think it's ironic that many of the same people who don't want the world to know their gay are usually the gayest acting and their family, friends and co-workers already know they're gay. No one would be surprised by the revelation that they are gay. It is old news.

Yes friends, that's probably why my friends don't want their picture on my blog. I identify myself as gay and they don't want that association. Personally I am against outing anybody; gay, straight or bisexual. However, those gays who continue to stay in the closet are the gays who permit the oppression of gay men and women to continue. That's why I decided to come out in 1963, way before it was fashionable to come out. I've paid a heavy price for coming out. In fact, just tonight my partner told me a friend of his will not continue his close friendship with him as long as he "continues to live with the devil." That would be me. I am the "devil" he refers to. Why? Because I do not apologize for being gay and I am not ashamed of being gay. I never have been ashamed of being gay, unlike many of my gay friends many of whom are still in the closet. The simple fact is they don't have the moral courage to come out and be who they are. They would rather have their oppressors define them. That's more convenient for them. They are embarrassed and ashamed of being gay.

I'm not one of those gays who are in your face with "I'm queer, I'm here, get used to it." But, by the same token I don't hide my sexual identity. either. I don't make excuses, I don't substitute she for he when talking about events in my life. In a way I feel sorry for my friends who have permitted their oppressors to define their lives. Ironically, some of my friends who are deepest in the closet are the most sexually active even in their advanced years. The word that comes to mind is hypocrite. I think it is ironic on the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots that was the beginning to tossing the yoke of oppression off of gays, there are still self-hating gays who permit that yoke to stay on their necks.


This week we had one of the prominent family values politicians, Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina come out and admit that he couldn't keep his pants zipper up. Sanford, one of the first and most vocal critics of former President Bill Clinton's morality, fessed up to being unfaithful to his wife and children by his affair with an Argentine woman named "Maria." The word that comes to mind is hypocrite. Sanford is just one of many politicians, of both parties, who have been exposed as hypocrites. Sanford is a straight political hypocrite. Then there are gay hypocrites. They are comfortable in the closet and don't want to be exposed to the sunlight of honesty because they don't have the courage to face that life. Harsh words from me but that is the way I see it. Unfortunately I know too many of these people. Most of them are very nice, respectable people but they are scared to death of the truth. They will go to their grave never saying the words "I am gay" to a straight person. Those words may cross their lips while on the prowl for a sexual conquest but never in another context. These are the type of people who would permit a "fag" joke to go unchallenged in their presence. Early in my life I used to let the "fag" jokes go unchallenged until one day I had enough and after the joke was told I said "I'm gay and I don't see the humor in your offensive joke." I still remember the look on that individual's face when he heard what I said. He literally was speechless. As the Master Card commercial says, "Priceless."

I may be many things but one thing I am not is a hypocrite. I'll honor my friend's request and not put their pictures in any of my future blog postings. But one thing I want to let those friends know is that my blog postings are about my life. That is my honesty. If they are ashamed of their association with me because I have the word "gay" in my personal description on my blog, well then maybe they should stop being hypocrites and reevaluate their friendship with me.

Bingo-a-Go-Go

All day I was looking forward to going out last night to Bingo-a-Go-Go in Rehoboth Beach. I haven’t been able to attend these four times a year fund raisers for AIDS because I’ve had to work at the Inn. Thus, it was a pleasant surprise when my friend Paul and Jack called me last week and asked me to join them for a night of dining and fun and festivities. Wouldn’t you know it? Monica from work called me about 1 in the afternoon and asked if I could work her shift for her because her youngest child was sick. I had to turn her down because I had already purchased the tickets for bingo and made dinner arrangements at Casa Dileo with my friend Paul and Jack. I had also invited my friend and neighbor Barbara. She said she couldn’t make dinner but would meet us at the Convention Center.

Four o’clock rolls around. I had arranged to meet Paul and Jack at 5 PM in front of Casa Dileo. I drove into Rehoboth and parked at my friend Ed’s house so I wouldn’t have to fight the traffic from the Convention Center when bingo was over. Walking from my friend Ed’s place to Casa Dileo, I ran into my first problem, construction work being done on Route 1. I couldn’t walk on the side of the road. Dodging traffic I walked to other side of the road. My cell phone rings. It’s Paul. He wants to know where I’m at. I told him I’m dodging traffic trying to walk to the restaurant. I hang up. My cell phone rings again. It’s my neighbor Barbara calling. She said she wasn’t feeling well so she wouldn’t be joining me. Take note, already I’ve received two bad omens for the night.

I meet Jack and Paul in front of the restaurant. As soon as I walk into the restaurant I’m turned off by the smell. It smelled like I was walking into a garage. I didn’t need to change the oil in my car. What was that smell? I didn’t want to ruin the evening since it was Paul’s suggestion we dine at Casa DiLeo so I said nothing. After we were seated and given our menus, I noticed that this was one of those restaurants that had the same items on the menu, doubled in price for dinner. I could get an Eggplant Parmesan dish, “lunch” price $8.95. The “Dinner” price $15.95. Either it was the same entree, with a jacked up price for dinner or it was a lot more food, neither of which was an option I wanted last night. We agreed to order a pizza and share it.

After dinner, we drove down to the Rehoboth Convention Center for the night’s festivities. I’ve been to a couple of gay bingos before. The first time was a lot of fun because it was new. The second time, well, not so much. Last night? It was boring. Basically gay bingo is every straight person's stereotype of a gay guy calling out the numbers interspersed with raunchy gay themed jokes. The word of the night last night was the four letter Anglo-Saxon word for excrement that begins with S. The bingo caller was much amused by ending just about every sentence with that well known four letter word.

Throughout the audience are about a half a dozen drag queens who checked to make sure you have a bingo when you call out “Bingo!” The joke is, if you call “Bingo!” in error, you have to wear a ratty old drag queen wig. That’s funny the first few times when you see it then it becomes old. It was old last night.

The drag queens had bright, colorful, flashy outfits which they changed several time during the evening. If you're into drag, it may have enjoyed seeing the different gowns and dresses on the slim hipped ladies with Adam's Apples. While it wasn't like checking out Princess Diana's new gowns, it was fascinating to see what new dress and wig Mona Lotts would appear. The guys playing the drag queens were a pretty somber bunch. One would expect more humor and levity but it seemed like they were also tired of the format and would rather have been somewhere else.

The event is a worthy one, it raises money for AIDS charities. It is gives the gay community a chance to assemble in one spot and experience fellowship. However, something odd this year, I only saw one person I slightly knew (introduced one through a mutual friend.) We didn’t see anyone else we knew, NO ONE. That was strange. Maybe our friends were on to something. Maybe they also got tired of the format. Maybe I don't have that many gay friends.

It wouldn’t have been a bad night if one of us could have won at least ONE bingo. But, as is always the case, no one I know wins. The last time I won a bingo was back in 1960 at the service club in Ft. Meade, Maryland. I won a Kingston Trio record album (which I think I still have, not because I like the Kingston Trio – I hate folk songs – but because it was proof I actually won something.) Most of the prizes last night were cash but one prize was a “beauty basket.” That was the prize I came closest to winning (like I needed THAT PRIZE.) If I won that prize I would have donated it back to the cause.

One thing that I find interesting and has always puzzled me when a group of gay men and lesbians gather together is how much the cliques stay intact. There is little if no interaction between the people unless they knew them previously. Yet one can go to straight event and strike up a friendship with straight people much easier. I've never been able to put understand this phenomenon about gay people, their tendency to stay in cliques when out in the public. They cling to their small group of friends. I can understand why lesbians are so insular, they don't want to have anything to do with men. They do quite well with their women friends, thank you. It's the men I don't understand. If you start up a conversation with a stranger, right away they think you're coming on to them. There is little understanding just for a friendship without the sexual connection. This attitude of most gay men is something that has baffled me for you and I'll probably go to my grave never understanding it.

All in all, it was good to have an evening with my friends Paul and Jack but I won’t be going back to gay bingo again. Maybe I’m getting too old for this kind of thing. I remember 30 years ago when I was 37 years old. I was standing in a gay bar (the 247 in Philadelphia) when the bartender started to flick the lights on and off, calling “Last call!” I thought to myself at that time “What am I doing here? I would rather be home in bed.” That’s the way I felt last night. I would have been better off in bed. Actually, I wish I would have to work for Monica. At least I wouldn’t still be burping up that pizza I had last night.

Ted Haggard

Remember the old TV show “That Was the Week That Was?” That’s what this past week felt like. I feel like I’ve been through the wringer. Of course I continue to still have technical problems with my computers and accessories. I won’t even go into all of that. The one thing I will say is that I will NEVER buy another Dell computer for a Microsoft operation system, I don’t care what kind of fancy name they give to it. The last time I got a new Dell it had the Windows ME (Millennium) operating system. I eventually gave that computer away because I couldn’t turn it off and Dell lied about their premium support. I gave the computer to my friend Bob who had to install Windows 95 to get it to operate. I read this morning where Microsoft is going to try and peddle a new operating system called Windows 7. Oh yeah. Hold your breath when I buy that system.

We had the whole range of weather this week. Monday and Tuesday, snow, rain and ice. Pretty. I stayed out of that mess until the rain melted the snow on Wednesday at which time I made a run for the grocery store in the fog. I was out just long enough to cover the sides of my red car with road salt. Yesterday I made another run to Milton to get a laser wash to get rid of the salt. I now have my shiny red car again, albeit with 110,000 miles on it. I felt so good yesterday I took the Grand Tour through the hinterlands. I drove through Milton to Rt. 5, then down Rt. 9, to Rt. 24, then onto Rt. 1 Rehoboth Beach. It was good to get out of the house and drive around the flatlands down here to clear my head.

Yesterday I went to work. The economy is affecting everything, including the number of guests at the hotel where I work in Lewes. We’re offering generous discounts to lure the guests in but there aren’t too many takers. We have some long term guests in the hotel and a few passers through but none of the usual guests who come into town to enjoy the fine restaurants and take advantage of the outlet shopping on Rt. 1 in Rehoboth Beach. Those days are gone, for now anyway. I'm hoping they come back this spring and summer. We're all hoping.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I saw a good movie from Netflix this week. It was called “Big Eden.” It was about a gay guy and his unrequited love interest but more than that. It was about family, all kinds. What really made this film interesting was the total lack of homophobia in the small town to which he returned. Perhaps that’s why they titled it “Big Eden.” It might just have been a fairytale (no pun intended.)

Bill still isn’t talking. Of course this is very stressful to me as well as it is to him. The heaviness hangs over the house. Not much “family” here this week. However, this too will pass.

Last night on “Larry King Live”, I watched Ted Haggard try to explain away his fall from grace from his church. Mr. Haggard seems like a fine man but he should come to terms with reality. He’s still justifying his actions as a test from God. Perhaps. He says his wife has accepted him as has his children. I say whatever works for you Ted, go for it. One thing he doesn’t have to do is apologize for having normal, natural feelings for members of his own sex. As long as he denies these natural feelings, he will be in misery. I could see the sadness in his eyes as he was listening to clips that Larry King was playing from his accusers. How sad. I’m sure that Mr. Haggard loves his wife and five children but he will always be conflicted his whole life with his sexual conflict. That’s what I liked about the movie “Big Eden.” The townsfolk were not conflicted or repelled by the main characters’ homosexuality. They took it as normal, which it is. To all the arguments about homosexuality; is it normal or is it against God’s will my answer has always been, “God made me this way and God doesn’t make mistakes.” Amen.