Only 17 Days To Go

Only 17 days to go to the presidential election. Obama is in the lead. However, he cautions his followers not to get complacent. Get out and vote. It is well known that the young and minorities vote in lesser percentages than older voters. Even though the Democratic registrations are way up, that doesn't necessarily mean they they will actually go to the polls and vote. The McCain/Palin campaign are pulling out all the stops now. The robocalls have begun which, non to subtly, accuse Obama of being a terrorist. McCain and Palin are continuing the Big Lie that if Obama if election, the middle class will have their taxes increased. McCain has trotted out Joe The Plumber (who in reality turns out to be Sam the Contractor - he doesn't actually have a plumbing license, his name is "Samuel J.", and he has a tax lien on his house - obviously Joe the Plumber doesn't like to pay taxes, something he has in common with the McCain Republicans.) How anybody could vote for four more years of Bush like economics is beyond me. One important factor is the Right to Life issue. Many will vote for McCain solely for this reason and that is understandable. However, if anyone seriously thinks that Sarah Palin, the shrill, moose hunting Alaskan governor, is suited to be vice president is surely drinking the Repug Kool-Aid. But then, they probably realize she is just a blank slate like George W. Bush. The powers behind the throne then could push their own agendas which is more tax cuts for the rich and the decimation of the middle class. Every evening I'm glued to the TV set watching MSNBC and their coverage of the presidential race. I have been fascinated by politics ever since the Fifties when I watched my first political convention on that old Philco TV set we had in our living room on Washington Avenue in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. For many years I was a die hard Republican. However, that all changed when I was watching the Republican Convention in 1992 which was held in Houston, Texas. Patrick J. Buchanan gave a hate filled speech in which he stated that the Republican Party had no place for people of a different sexual orientation. What really gave me a chill down my spine was the reaction shots of the well dressed, white cheering Republican convention delegates. They reminded me of the "Good Germans" who saluted "Heil Hitler!" to Adolph Hitler as he paraded through the streets of German cities during the Thirties. At that time I realized that no matter what my conservative views, the modern Republican Party drummed me and my gay brethren out of the Republican party as non persons. Then, a few years later, when I had to apply at the Veterans Administration for health benefits, my opinion of the Republican Party was permanently changed. The Bush administration began a series of moves to discourage veterans like me from applying for benefits. Fortunately for me, there was such a political outcry that my benefits were not affected. I was grandfathered in the system. However, other veterans like me, who delayed their application for VA benefits were denied. The coldness and brutality demonstrated by the Republican party left me with no other choice but to join the Democratic party. To me, the Republicans believe "you're on your own." The Democratic party believes "we're all in this together." Many of my family and friends are Republicans and continue to be True Believers. I respect their views but disagree with them. I am convinced that when Barack Obama is elected president they will see that this is the best thing that could happen to this country. By the way, in the picture of the soldiers I am the second from the left on the bottom row. Basic training, Fort Dix, New Jersey, February 1960. A long, long time ago. I wonder what ever happened to my friend Mike Tine, the young soldier from Massachusetts to my left. Like ships passing in the night. So many lost friendships. So long ago.

My Room

My room. A simple statement but it means so much to me. My room is my bedroom. It is my oasis. It is where I escape from the world. My room is what I have worked for these many years. Growing up, I shared a bed with my two younger brothers. My Mother tells us that she would put me and my brothers as babies in a communal basket. For a year or two when I was nine years old I shared a bed with my Uncle Sam. At that time my Uncle Sam was a teenager and still going to school. His mom and dad has passed on (my paternal grandparents) and he was living with us until he finished school. I could not wait until I had my own bed. I finally achieved that goal when I was 12 years old and received a fold away bed for Christmas. I still shared a room with my two younger brothers but I finally had my own bed. The summer of 1958 I finally achieved my dream, my very own bedroom. My parents had built a small ranch house (1,100 square feet) with three bedrooms. My parents had the master bedroom (such as it was), my brothers had another bedroom and I had the small bedroom in the front of the house. Nirvana! Alas, I was only to have that bedroom for about a year and a half. After graduating from high school I joined the Army. In the Army I didn't have to share a bed but I did share a bedroom. It was called "the barracks." About a year into my term of enlistment I did get out of the barracks into a private bedroom. I was asked to be assistant platoon sergeant (mainly on my ability to get the guys to clean the barracks) and I shared a bedroom with the platoon sergeant, Cliff Taylor. Almost there again. Cliff was a great roommate because he was rarely in our room. Either he was out chasing women or visiting his home in Georgia. After the Army, I went home for a short period of time to my own bedroom. However, I didn't stay there too long. I moved to Pittsburgh for three months and had a one room efficiency apartment. Not really my own bedroom since my "bedroom" was in a side parlor of an old Victorian house. After leaving Pittsburgh, I returned home and got an apartment in Coatesville. It was a two room apartment. I had my own bedroom. When I met and moved in with Bill (my partner), I was back to sharing a bed again. Nope. Uh huh. Didn't work. Back to my own bed. I just can't sleep with anybody. I need my own room. I need my space. That is my bedroom. My space, my oasis, my Shangri-la. This is where I watch TV (when I can stay awake), pay bills, read, and take my daily nap. Oh how I love taking my daily nap. I call it a nap but it is probably more like transcendental meditation. I lie down on my bed around 2 or 3 in the afternoon. I read a bit until I get sleepy, then I drift off into another wonderful world. A world of peace and happiness. Dreams are frequent. I don't remember what the dreams are about but I do know there are no nightmares. The only nightmares occur when I am awake. If I am fortunate enough, one day I will lie down for a nap and I will dream the ultimate dream. The Big Bedroom in the Sky.

Visit By The Monarchs

The last few days I have noticed that my butterfly bushes have been visited by two monarch butterflies. My butterfly bushes must be on the flyway for these beautiful creatures of nature. they certainly are welcome visitors to my garden since my birds have long gone to their winter home. The weather this fall so far has been exceptionally beautiful. Earlier today I was outside, trimming the grass around the plantings that line my back yard. My home in Pennsylvania I had twenty five years to build a backyard wildlife habitat for my friends in nature. With my new home here in Delaware I literally started with a blank slate. Almost one acre of open horse pasture. This is my second year at my retirement home in Delaware. Only two years into building my new backyard habitat and already I have a wide variety of visitors from my friends in nature. Some of these visitors are the same as I had in my Pennsylvania and some are different. Here in my Delaware backyard habitat I do not have nuthatches, cardinals, finches or wrens. However, I do have swallows and purple martins. Catbirds, robins, and house sparrows populate both locations. One beautiful creature of nature that I do not have down here in Delaware that I had an abundance of in Pennsylvania are deer. As beautiful as the deer are, they can stay in Pennsylvania. I couldn't have many plants because they invariably ate just about everything I grew. The deer were voracious. I not only built my backyard habitat for my friends in nature but also as a refuge from me. With all that goes on in the world today, I find the best antidote for me is my personal backyard oasis. During my six week stint of working full time at the Inn, my backyard was neglected. I've just about caught up on all my trimming and weeding. My gardens and grass are in fine order now. However, I must admit it was a bit lonely without visitors. That's why I was so glad to the two monarch butterflies that have been visiting my backyard the past week. I fear they won't be here too long though. I fully expect them to leave shortly for warmer environs south. I will miss them.

A Sweet Song

The stock market is down, the presidential campaign is descending further in the gutter because of the McCain/Palin dishonest, angry and negative campaign tactics, and increasing concern about my Mother's health weigh heavily on me. However, the new day dawned at my beautiful home here in southern Delaware. Last night I had a good long conversation with my fellow genealogist and friend from Tennessee. We talked well into the night. In fact it was 1:30 AM in the morning before we realized what time it was. In addition to being a distant cousin (our common ancestor is our great-great-great-great grandfather "Major" Jonathan Tipton 1750-1833) we also have the same political views and sexual orientation. We have a lot in common. My cousin brought up the subject of Billy Tipton, a jazz musician who lived her life as a man. He told me how a few years ago Billy Tipton's adopted son called him about information as to how he was related to the Tipton family. Ironically, the son was adopted by Billy Tipton so he actually isn't a blood relation. I brought to the attention of my cousin that a friend of mine who helped me add music to my blog, has a blog dedicated solely to Billy Tipton. It was nice to get away from the concern about the stock market and the angry tone of the presidential campaign and to enjoy fellowship and camaraderie with a fellow genealogist and friend. As bad as things get in the world, there are always those jewels of life such as my cousin and fellow genealogist friend in Tennessee and my helpful fellow blogger from out west. Good health and a long and happy life to both of you my dear friends!

Getting Back In The Groove

Day Two of my regular routine since my six week stint of working full time. It is nice to wake up at my usual time of 6 AM and turning on "Morning Joe" and watch Joe Scarborough make a fool out of himself (one of my favorite past times) and watch his guests discuss the political landscape of the day. I love the freedom of rolling out of the bed when I feel like it. That's what retirement is all about, freedom. Even though I work part time, I still feel the freedom. That freedom was lost when I work full time. During my six week marathon run of working full time, my garden maintenance fell behind. Also, I wasn't able to make my usual daily blog entries. My other activities that I had to suspend was cooking and cleaning the house. All back on track now. Yesterday, I made an absolutely delicious dish from my crop of tomatoes. When I lived in Pennsylvania, I couldn't grow tomatoes because I lived in the middle of the woods. I didn't get enough sun to grow vegetables and whatever vegetables I did grow, the local deer population would quickly devour them. One thing I'm finding in my old age that my best recipes are the ones I make up myself. I just put in ingredients that I like. Yesterday's recipe was to brown several cloves of garlic in olive oil. Then chop two boneless chicken breast in medallion shape (done when the chicken breasts partially thawed.) Brown in the olive oil with the garlic and chopped onion. Cover with four cups of peeled plum tomatoes and a bunch of chopped fresh Italian parsley and fresh basil (from my garden.) Add one cup of Sauterne wine and simmer for about a half an hour. Serve over rice. DELICIOUS! At my age I have trouble digesting processed foods with a additives and preservatives. My "Chicken Ron" is the perfect meal for my sensitive stomach. Then I pushed my luck and made a fresh snacking apple cake. I had a recipe for a snack apple cake (8 inch pan size) but I didn't like the the usage of shortening. So, instead I substituted 1/4 cup vegetable oil and added a cup of sour cream. Again, DELICIOUS! In the summer I don't always have time to go to this kind of trouble to cook from scratch, especially cakes. But I do have a sweet tooth. I've tried different cakes that I purchased at the local supermarkets. None of them work. They don't taste good and they give my stomach a workout because of all the additives and preservatives in the store bought cakes. I ended the day with a nice walk through the development behind where I live. Now I am really getting back in the groove.

The Bates Motel

Remember the old Alfred Hitchcock movie "Psycho?" The dark and brooding image of the Bates Motel silhouetted on a hill in the nighttime sky was one of the stars of that movie. I was reminded of the spookiness of the Bates Motel while doing my rounds last night at my place of toil for pay in Lewes, Delaware. Ah yes, I was working again last night. I thought I finished my six week run of temporary full time employment with my Sunday nighttime duties. Alas, it was not to be. The gentleman who took my hours on Monday night called in about an hour before work to inform the assistant manager that he threw his back out (always a convenient excuse) and would be unable to come into work. The assistant manager thus made a call to me asking me if I would mind coming in. It is not in my nature to refuse to help (probably my downfall too.) So, in for one more go round. It wasn't busy last night, the hotel only having one guest. It was a quiet night. Much too quiet. The hours dragged by. To break up the monotony I did my "rounds" of checking the grounds outside the building. That's when I came upon this image of the Inn at night. It reminded me of a book I just finished, "Anthony Perkins, A Split Image." Anthony Perkins, as most of you know was a movie star back in the Sixties. His greatest role was as Norman Bates in "Psycho." That role defined him and he was never able to cast off that character of the twitchy faced Norman. What I remember most about the movie was it was the first time I ever saw the star murdered in the first few minutes of the movie. I remember how puzzled I was when Janet Leigh was taking the slashing in the shower. All I could think of was "she's going to be a mess the rest of the movie with all those stab wounds!" It's funny but I remember exactly when I saw the movie and where I saw it. I was stationed at Ft. Devens in Ayre, Massachusetts. It was April of 1960. I even remember the movie house I saw it. It was the main movie theater near the Service Club. It was a long walk from my barracks in A Company at the other side of the base. What is interesting that I would remember exactly where I was because there are few other times I remember where I was when I witnessed a momentous event in the history of this country in the world. One of the other times was when I heard the news that John F. Kennedy was shot (I was at work at Lipsett Steel Products in Coatesville, PA and it was a Friday afternoon.) Another time was when Jack Ruby shot Lee Harvey Oswald. It was a rainy Sunday morning and I was in my apartment at 388 Madison Street in Coatesville, PA ironing my shirts for the upcoming work week. I couldn't believe what I saw when Jack Ruby pulled out his gun and shot Lee Harvey Oswald as Oswald was being transported from the hospital to the police station.. I think that is the common thread in all these Moments in History. I couldn't believe what I heard or saw. Another time was when the stock market took a dramatic drop like it did in October of 1987. I was working at Fidelity Bank in Philadelphia, PA. My unit was next to the investment management department of the trust department. Normally the men and women working in the investment management department were a noisy lot. Not that day. They were all huddled around a ticker tape type machine, mumbling in soft undertones. Ah yes, Moments in History. The stock market took another tumble yesterday. Today isn't looking any better. The presidential campaign was sunk to the gutter since McCain and Palin have starting slinging the mud at Obama. Hopefully, in the future I will look back on this time as one of positive change. The time when the likes of John McCain and Sarah Palin and the discredited Republican Party are repudiated and this country can again move forward. However, I have my doubts after seeing that haunting image of the Bates Motel last night.

Wednesday Night Outing

The tourist season is over and now it is time for our friends to get together again. This evening we met at the Purple Parrot in Rehoboth Beach. Attendees included Wayne, Paul, Jack, John, Jack, Bob and me. Last year Wayne and I began this tradition by meeting at the Purple Parrot on Sunday night for the prime rib special. That meeting grew to include Bob and Harvey (who didn't attend tonight because he was on one of his many cruises), Paul and Jack. Newcomers John and Jack (another Jack) joined the group tonight. All are welcome. It's ironic that this late in our lives that we have all formed this camaraderie. This is quite different from when I first used to go out to gay bars. Back in "the day" it was all about cruising. It was about sexual encounters. Not now. And maybe that is a good thing. Friendship is so much more important now. My brother belong to a large fundamentalist church in Greenville, South Carolina. He and his church members always refer to their "fellowship." I visited his church once. I have to admit that I was somewhat envious of the "fellowship" that he and his fellow parishioners (he was one of the pastors) enjoyed. Of course I couldn't enjoy the same fellowship because I was gay. That was made abundantly clear to me by his pastor during his sermon. This area of Rehoboth Beach has become a retirement Mecca for many gay men and women of the nearby states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware. Many of the friends at tonight gathering attend the local All Saints Church in Rehoboth. I remember so well in my younger days when I used to hit the gay bars on the weekends in Philadelphia. Back then the goal was all about scoring (meeting another guy for a sexual encounter.) Those days are long past. Now friendship is more important (at least to me.) There was a bar up that Philadelphia street called Maxine's. It was known among us young gay guys as a "wrinkle bar." A bunch of old queens. Well, guess what? All the attendees of tonight's get together are over 50. Some of us are over 60. Well, I guess that's us now. Now here is a fact. I'm enjoying life more than ever now. Way more than I did in my glory days. Life is good.