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 It's my friend Jay of "Ed and Jay" fame who have requested that I do not publish their picture on my blog.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.

New Photo

It was time to replace my profile photo on this blog. Look to the left and you'll see a candid shot taken of me at a local restaurant where I was dining with friends. If I remember correctly, one of my friends said something really funny and the waitress, who was taking our photo captured my real expression just right. There are very, very few photos of me with a genuine smile.

Ironically, I smile most of the time. I have the cheek wrinkles to prove it too. When I was younger, I wasn't so self conscious of having my photo taken. From the few photos taken of me then you can see that I was genuinely happy. The photo included in this blog is one that was taken in 1951. I remember the day so well. I won first prize at a fishing rodeo. It was the West Chester, Pennsylvania Fishing Rodeo held at the quarry outside of West Chester. Would you believe it, but I caught the biggest fish! What is ironic is that I'm not a fisherman. The boy to the left of me is my cousin, Edward "Bud" Tipton. We are of the same age. What is ironic is that Bud is the fisherman. Just goes to show you who had the Beginner's Luck. I was thrilled to have my picture taken by the local newspaper. Thirty five years later a blurb appeared in the same newspaper noting the event "Thirty Five Years Ago Today." Now here is the final irony, I don't think I've been fishing since that day. But I did get a good picture of myself.

I've been thinking of updating my blog. Not so much the format, I'm still comfortable with that. But I will update my picture from time to time. I'll have to concentrate on being less self conscious though when I do have my picture taken. I'm not one of those guys who can smile on command. Funny thing, most of my friends can. What's with that?