Be Yourself

The Charles Schulz Philosophy (This is profound!  Scroll thru slowly and read carefully to receive and enjoy full effect!) The following is the philosophy of Charles Schulz, the creator of the 'Peanuts' comic strip. You don't have to actually answer the questions.  Just ponder on them. Just read the e-mail straight through, and you'll get the point. 1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world. 2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners. 3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America pageant. 4  Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize. 5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress. 6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.  How did you do? The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are not second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.  Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one: 1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school. 2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time. 3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile. 4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special. 5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.  Easier?  The lesson: The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money or the most awards. They simply are the ones who care the most. Be Yourself! Everyone Else Is Taken!

Who Was That Masked Man?

Handsome Man at Equality March Washington D.C. October 11, 2009

Have you ever seen a stranger out in public that you were immediately attracted to?  Of course you have!

We all have our ideal fantasy man (or woman).  Some of are lucky enough to actually meet that person and form a relationship or an affair.  I had that happen once in my life but that experience is a subject for another blog posting.  What I'm going to post about now is what happened on October 11th, 2009 when I marched in the Gay Equality March in Washington D.C.

A friend and I took a chartered bus from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware to attend and march in the 30th anniversary of the Gay Equality March in Washington, D.C.  I had attended the first gay equality march in 1979, thus I looked forward to this trip with great anticipation.

The weather was perfect for our two hour bus ride to Washington.  This march was a lot different from the first gay equality march I attended in 1979.  On that march my stomach was full of butterflies.  Back in the homophobia dark ages of 1979, gays marching was a dangerous event.  Our march was lined by D. C. police on motorcycles, to protect us from the many homophobes who lined our route.  The march was solemn.  

The march in 2009 was the total opposite.  There was an air of festivity in the air.  Gone were the D.C. motorcycle cops lining our route to protect the marchers from potential violence  This time all joined in our march. In fact, I think about half the march were straights who supported our march.

During the march I was a swivel head as I usually am out in public.  As I was marching my eyes caught sight of a sign that said "They risk their life in the millitary (sp) anyway. Why should they have to hide? Gay Rights." I liked the sign, even more I liked WHO WAS HOLDING THE SIGN!

Man oh man!  There HE was! MY TYPE!  WOW!  I rushed up to him to take a photo of his sign.  I wanted to talk to him but I didn't want to lose my place with my friend in the parade.  I quickly took my photo and returned to join my friend in the parade.  I immediately regretted my decision not to talk to THAT MAN.  I LIKED HIM!  He looked like he wanted to talk too.  WHAT DID I DO?  I missed my BIG CHANCE!

So here is my question:  DOES ANYONE KNOW WHO THIS MAN IS?  

Me (with my beads) in front of the White House October 11, 2009

Blonde Ron

Blonde Ron - 1981 (with a little help of peroxide and sun)

Ever wonder what a blonde Ron looked like?  You haven't?

Mom and her two blonds sons and me (on right) -  1951

Blondes run in our family.  My father Isaac was a blonde.  My brother Isaac, Jr. is also a blonde. His daughter Karen and son Isaac, III are also blondes.  I was not a blonde.  In fact, along with my Mother, I had dark brown hair.  My youngest brother John has light brown hair.  Not quite blonde but not quite dark brown either.  Isn't this interesting?

Me (center) with my two younger blonde brothers, blonde father and dark haired mother - 1947

So, during the height of my Wild Years I thought I would go blonde.  I combed some peroxide in my hair before leaving for my annual summer vacation in Provincetown, Mass.  OMG!  Did I ever turn blonde!  I DID NOT LIKE IT.

However, the deed was done so I headed off to the gay summer playground of Provincetown, Mass.  Know what they say "Be careful what you wish for?"  My vacation was a bust folks.  I wasn't mobbed by all the good-looking guys on my arrival at the Provincetown airport.  No one noticed me in town and my nightly forays to the Back Street Bar and the Atlantic House went for naught.  Even my afternoons at the Boatslip Tea Dance I went unnoticed.  Perhaps it was because I felt so self conscious. I'm not sure why I got the reaction I did to my new blonde persona.

When I got home, thoroughly humiliated, having to explain to my co-workers at Girard Trust Bank where I worked in Philadelphia why I suddenly had BLONDE HAIR from this summer's vacation when I had none before.  I used the old excuse "I was out in the sun a LOT!"   That excuse didn't go wash with most.  I couldn't wait for my hair to grow out to it's normal dark brown.

Next year when I appeared in Provincetown with my normal dark brown hair, all was well again with the world.  I still wasn't mobbed at the Provincetown airport, nor the Boatslip Tea Dance or the Atlantic House or Back Street bar but I did "make some friends."

So the morale of this story is "Blondes may have more fun but gentlemen prefer brunettes."

Me - Provincetown - 1979 - brown hair

Weekly Roundup

Yet another very interesting week!  First there was the absolutely dismal performance of President Obama at the first presidential debate.  There I was, ready with my iPad and Twitter account, ready to tweet my emotions out to the Internet.  And then the debate happen.  A manic Mitt Romney who quickly took over the debate, rolling over the moderator, Jim Lehrer.  And then there was our hero, President Obama who looked like he DIDN'T WANT TO BE THERE.  Hey, I'm no debater but I do know the rules of Debate 101, LOOK AT YOUR OPPONENT and LOOK AT THE CAMERA WHEN TALKING TO THE 66 MILLION PEOPLE WHO WERE WATCHING.

All was lost though.  On Friday the new jobs report came out and for the first time in President Obama's administration the unemployment rate fell below 8% to 7.8%.  I was watching "Morning Joe" and thoroughly enjoyed watching loud mouth, big head, resident conservative Joe Scarborough become unhinged when the news came through.  A few minutes later I saw the tweet from that old toad who used to run GE and own NBC, Jack Welch make a total fool out of himself by tweeting:

Jack Welch, for GE CEO and now a Crusty Old Toad

"Unbelievable jobs numbers, these Chicago guys will do anything, can't debate so change numbers"

Mr. Welch, crawl back under your rock. You just made a complete fool out of yourself.  Is it me or shouldn't someone of Mr. Welch's credentials be happy that our country's unemployment rate has fallen?  Or is Jack one of those whose priority is seeing President Obama fail?  Jack, with your tweet you just destroyed whatever creditability you had left.

This week is the vice presidential debate between Vice President Joe Biden and the marathon liar, Representative Paul Ryan.  I doubt if Old Joe will play Rope a Dope like President Obama did.

As you can tell, I LOVE politics.

On Wednesday I went to a memoir writing class at Delaware Tech.  Usually I don't get too much out of classes but this two hour class I learned a lot.  It was held by our local talent and national author and book publisher, Fay Jacobs.  You will see the results of this class in my future writings.

This was the first week in which I didn't have a doctor's appointment.  THAT was nice.  However, this won't last.  Next week I have an appointment with my cardiologist to go over my recent series of tests.  I also have another appointment with my dermatologist.  I'm still paying the price for all those years of sun worshiping.

I worked again only two nights at the hotel.  It is so refreshing to know the certainty of my work schedule.  I was busy but I didn't mind because I knew I was only working two nights and not on call for the rest of the week like I've been for the past year.

My big accomplishment of the week was cleaning up my e-mail accounts.  I had fallen so far behind in my AOL account, I had just given up.  I had a total of 1,789 messages that I didn't read.  Granted, many of them were ads from companies like J. C. Penney, political campaign contribution requests, and genealogy requests.  Buried among all those e-mails were "legitimate" e-mails.  I was embarrassed to find out that the friends who sent me those e-mails thought I had ignored them.  I apologized to them.  My e-mail accounts (I have three of them; also gmail and MSN but I don't use them as often).

Today I planted my fall bulbs and did a some yard cleanup. I am ready to hibernate in Casa Tipton-Kelly, secure from the biting cold winds of winter.

Ron the Writer - 1957

Ron (me) - 1957 - "pen pal" picture

Regular readers of this blog know that I LIKE to write.  Do you know how long I've been writing?  A LONG TIME!

When I was in high school I had fifty-seven pen pals around the country and the world.  Some of my friends and relatives thought I was a loser because I had pen pals and no friends.  They were wrong.  I had friends but I also had a curiosity about other people who lived in other parts of the country and world.  Not much has changed has it?  Now I have a blog that I write and make friends with in other parts of the country.

Recently my friend Larry sent me a copy of a letter that I wrote to him.  I wrote this letter September 12, 1957, 57 years ago!  That's older than most of the readers of this blog!  Wow, I am one OLD DUDE.  I wrote to Larry about my new pen pal named "Chico" in Los Angeles, California.  I remember nothing about "Chico" or this letter now but I do remember I had a load of pen pals.  I always looked forward to checking my Post Office box 212 to see how many letters were there from my pen pal friends.

That letter is below.  Read it and tell me if my style has changed.  Do you think?

(Click once to enlarge)

Save Big Bird!

Hey folks!  You know what we're going to remember from the first presidential debate this year?  Obama's lackluster performance?  No.  So what will we remember?  We will remember that Mitt Romney's plan to cut the deficit by firing Big Bird.

Sorry Mitt, put away the fireworks and change the Republican talking point about Obama failing to get the unemployment figure below 8% by the end of his first term.

Fire this guy!

Jobs Report Below 8%! Scarborough In Shock!

"7.8%? I can't believe it!  What's going to happen to the Republican talking point?"

The new jobs report just came out.  It is below 8% for the first time in four years.

I'm watching Joe Scarborough on "Morning Joe" right now putting a negative spin on this GOOD JOBS report.  Of course it is a given that the Joe Scarboroughs of the world will never see any GOOD in a lower jobs report because that would benefit President Obama.  But one thing is for sure, the Republican talking point that Obama promised to get the unemployment figure below 8% is NOW GONE.

At a Romney/Ryan rally they were celebrating with fireworks, perhaps a little too early to claim victory, don't you think?  Maybe no fireworks today for Romney/Ryan.

The most important thing about this GOOD JOBS report, is that this is not only good news for the Obama/Biden campaign but good news for the country.

I'm getting a big kick out of watching Joe Scarborough twist himself into a pretzel trying to figure out why the new jobs figure is below 8%.  He said "these numbers don't add up."

Hang on Joe, maybe next month unemployment will go up next month and you can be happy again.