Ambassador Sondland Drops the Bomb

Guess who isn't going to jail for Trump?

Whomp! There it is folks. Ambassador Sondland dropped the bomb this morning at the House impeachment hearings. He decided to stop lying and covering up for the criminal in the White House (Trump) and admitted "they were all in on it" re the attempted bribery and extortion of Ukraine.  

Good on Ambassador Sondland who decided not to go to jail for lying to Congress and tell the truth that there was an extensive bribery and extortion scheme going on directed by Trump through his henchmen Guiliani, Pence, Mulvaney, Perry and Volcker to hold back 391 million dollars in funds from Ukraine unless the Ukrainian president would say publicly he was opening and investigation into Biden's son and the so called Ukrainian intervention in the 2016 U S election.

"The Truth Shall Set You Free" as the photo at the beginning of this blog post shows so clearly.

Prediction here, Trump will resign because of "health reasons" but only with the proviso that he be exempt from any future legal action against his lifetime of criminality.  Thus will have completed his lifetime of breaking the law and getting away with it.  

Get ready all you Hillary and Obama haters:

President Nancy Pelosi

Mouse in the House

This past Sunday as I was exiting the kitchen to the garage I almost stepped on a field mouse that was on the door ledge. It quickly scampered away.


Oh no, not a Mouse in the House again.  Remember the problem I had last year?  One night after I came home from work I encountered a mouse in my pantry.  I think he was as surprised as I was when I opened the door looking for a late night snack.  I put out mouse traps and caught the little (fat) bugger the next day.  He was hiding out under the refrigerator next to the warm coils. Much to my surprise I also caught another mouse in my Have-a-Heart trap.  I think that was his wife. I took her down to the end of Oyster Rocks Road, to start a new life in those wetlands near the Broadkill River.

Yesterday I prepared (with peanut butter) and put out four deadly mouse traps. I also put out the Have-a-Heart trap with a big chunk of cheese. 

This morning I expected to see a squashed and bloody mouse in one of the traps.  Nothing.

This afternoon when I went out through the garage I happened to see two brown eyes looking at me through the metal screen of the Have-a-Heart trap.  One lucky mouse 

Bill and I took it down to the end of Oyster Rocks Road to join its cousin from last year that I released there.  

I put the Have-a-Heart trap out. I fully expect another mouse to show up. Hopefully it will be smart and take the bait (a big chuck of cheese) in the Have-a-Heart trap. 

Philly Visit

Me and Pat at Little Pete's restaurant in Philadelphia, PA November 2016

On this day three years ago my Canadian Travel Buddy and I were ending our week long annual winter stay in Philadelphia. 

This photo was taken at Little Pete's restaurant very early in the morning when the streets were deserted.  I was up early to walk Pat to the bus station for his twenty-four hour journey back to his home in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Pat and I stopped for a quick breakfast.  I also wanted him to experience Little Pete's restaurant, a 24 hour restaurant that I used to frequent during my bar hopping days back in the 70's.  

We hadn't planned to stop at Little Pete's, Pat usually just stops at a Starbucks, but walking down those rain soaked, darkened streets on that cold November morning I saw Little Pete's and memories came flooding back over me. I asked Pat if he had time to stop.  He did.

Our breakfast was as good as I remembered it as it was when I bopped into Little Pete's after the bars closed at 2 AM.  However, the waitress gave me the sad news, Little Pete's was closing after many years on 17th Street in Philadelphia. See here.

This is just one instance of the adventures Pat and I always have when we get together four times a year, twice in Philly, once at Pat's hometown of Hamilton, Ontario and two weeks in California. 

More adventures await us but it's always nice to be reminded of our past adventures. 

First Day of Public Impeachment Hearings

Devin Nunes Cow

This morning I was eager to watch the first day of public impeachment hearings for Trump, who  tried to bribe and extort the new Ukrainian president by withholding $391 million dollars of much needed military aid.  Note I don't prefix "Trump" with "president" because I have zero respect for Trump.  He's a fake president. He cheated to get in office and continues to lie, cheat and steal while in office. He is the most incompetent person to ever hold the office of president of the United States. He is without moral character. He only cares about himself. 

I could go on and on about this repulsive person who occupies the office of the president of the United States but I would only be repeating what you've already heard over and over.

I only watched about four hours of the hearings. Whenever the Republicans came on I muted the sound, especially when that clown in the shirt came on.  

Ohio Rep. "Gym" Jordan, the new Joker for the next Batman movie - SCARY!

One thing I think I will never understand is why ALL of the Republicans in Congress continue to support the criminal Trump. They know he is incompetent and the greatest danger that this country has ever faced in our history.

Don't worry, I won't be writing about the impeachment hearings every day. Trump is going to get impeached. He probably won't get convicted in the Senate though and that will be the end of the Republican party. They deserve it, they're all cowards more concerned about their own jobs than they are fulling the oath of office they took to protect our country. Shame on them.

Impeachment Hearings!

Patriotic State Department Employees Ambassadors George Kent and William Taylor (who possess more balls than all Congressional Republicans) Thank God we still have patriots like these two men who put country first instead of the criminal in the White House

History will be made today folks! 

The public phase of the impeachment hearings begin of President Trump's abuse of power.

Needless to say I'll be glued to the TV all day today.  I love this kind of thing. Real people, real drama, real time.

I'm watching MSNBC with Brian Williams and Nicolle Wallace. I just found out that George Conway (KellyAnne Conway's husband) will be on with them offering their take on the soon to be public testimonies. Wow, wonder what George and KellyAnne will be talking about tonight in bed. You just can't make this stuff up folks. If this was a script submitted for a TV series this scenario would be written out as unbelievable. Just goes to prove that real life is always more interesting than fiction.

I remember the last impeachment hearings, Watergate.  I was very young then and all into my gay life.  The impeachment hearings of Nixon were peripheral to me.  I initially supported Nixon and thought the whole thing was overblown. That is until the Nixon tapes came out. I was shocked. That was probably the first time in my life I felt like I was played for a fool by a person in authority. 

Now I'm not shocked that Trump has abused power. 

Right now I'm watching George Conway (yes, KellyAnne Conway's husband) on MSNBC with Nicolle Wallace and Brian Williams. Mr. Conway, even though he a conservative isn't one of those Always Trumpers that maintains Trump can do no wrong. 

The hearings are about to begin. 

Thoughts On An Autumn Evening

Lewes-Rehobth Canal November 11, 2019

As I begin my 79th year, I've been reminiscing more than usual. 

I'm having very intense dreams. Of course I can't remember those dreams now but I do know how intense they were because I wake up exhausted. When I have dreams like this they usually portend something significant to happen in my life. Often these dreams are followed by a passing of someone very close to me. The only two people I can think of now who are in danger is my youngest brother who has had very serious multiple medical issues the past year. In my seventy-eight years I have lost many friends, relatives and co-workers. Some have affected more than others, often to my surprise. I'm the oldest of the three "boys" of my Mother.  I'm supposed to go first. If one of my younger brothers goes before me I will probably feel like when I lost my Mother. Part of me is gone, never to be the same. In fact, I'm having a hard time even imagining him gone, even though he lives in a different state. 

The other person I am concerned about is Bill.  He's ninety-one years old now and slipping.  His cognitive abilities are not the same.  I've seen this before with my late friend Bob McC. With my late friend I tried to tell myself I was imagining things and overreacting but fate proved me wrong. I'm seeing the same thing with Bill.  Now, me without Bill?  Folks, I have to tell you I have serious doubts how I would survive. Bill has been such a part of my life for so long (fifty-five years). Living by myself, I can't imagine that life. In fact I don't want to imagine that life.  I had a taste of it briefly when I was twenty-one years old. I didn't like it.  I do not know how I would handle that life. But then I wouldn't want to leave Bill on his own. I suggested jokingly to Bill "Maybe we could go together."   During my fifty-five years with Bill, several times I seriously considered leaving him and taking up with someone else. Thank God I came to my senses and never did that.  Those guys didn't care for me and only used me. I will never let that happen again. 

As usual, this is one of those blog posts that I do the stream of consciousness ramblings I often indulge in, this one I can see has too many negative connotations. Now to see if I can round the curve and end this post with a positive outlook.

Tonight I'm working at my part-time job at the hotel in this little historic town in southern coastal Delaware. The hotel where I work is next to a canal, a photo of which I took with my new iPhone X Max Pro camera. While cleaning out a meeting room near the canal I happened to catch sight of a beautiful moon hanging in the nighttime autumn sky.  Looking at that luminescent lunar light show sort of took my breath away. Positive thought washed over my mind how fortunate I am. 

I have this lovely job at a boutique hotel. I meet nice people (a New Zealander tonight, last week a South African). I work with (mostly) nice people (there's always one isn't there?)  I love our home and the one acre of land it sits on. This morning I spent about an hour cutting back flower stalks killed by recents over night frosts. I'm watching a fabulous series at the Tipton Cinema on the weekend ("Better Call Saul".) 

I love experiencing the change of seasons. Today I planted two new clematis plants to debut next spring with a burst of purple beauty. 

My body aches all over (arthritis)(scale of one to ten, a constant three). I have a nasal drainage condition which results in a phlegm buildup in the base of my throat which I often have to clear during the day.  But other than those two health conditions, I'm in good health.

I have a super good friend in Pat, my Canadian Travel Buddy.  Pat and I play online Scrabble and talk almost everyday on FaceTime. My other good friend is Lar who I've known since third grade. Too many people my age don't have any close friends, I am indeed fortunate to have Pat and Lar. I can't imagine them not in my life.

I love reading. I've been reading since elementary school. It's hard for me to believe that someone like Trump hasn't read a book cover to cover in his entire life. My late friend Ed never read a book either. They don't know what they're missing life by not reading a good book. But then both Trump and my friend had other goals in life, accumulating a lot of money and cheating in which they were and are very good at. Unfortunately for Ed he couldn't take any of his millions with him. I don't have their millions but I do always have a good book or two at hand which I'm reading. That is my wealth.

A year from now I will be entering my 80th year when I turn 79 years old. I may not be here but I suspect I will and no doubt I will have more "Thoughts On An Autumn Evening" to share.

Happy Birthday Ron!

Back in my "young and pretty" days - 1998 - 20 years ago!

Ah yes, here I am today at my 78th birthday.

How in the world did this happen? 

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would reach this grand landmark. It wasn't that long ago when I turned 40 and I thought that was old.  

Then before I knew it I crossed the half century mark at 50.  

My 60th birthday slipped by and before I knew it I was 70.  Wow!

Now I'm creeping up on 80.  Just hard for me to believe.  I am SO OLD.

I remember the first tryst I had in my early gay bar cruising adventures. I was 21 and he was 29.  His name was Bob S.  I saw him dancing at an after hours club. This was back in 1963 when one dressed up when one went Out.  He was wearing a suit and shaking his slight body doing the Twist (remember that dance).  While watching him he caught my eye watching him.  He smiled, I smiled and then I asked him to dance.  During our conversation he told me he was 29 years old. I remember thinking at that time "Man, you're old" but I really liked him so I suspended my revulsion at his "old age" and went for it, or him. 

Of course over the years my attitude towards "old men" has changed significantly. Now I consider men who are in their Forties or Fifties "kids."  I live with a 91 year old man. Pat (no explanation needed for my regular blog followers) is 70 years old.  Just a young guy from my vantage point now.

I have to tell you folks the past 78 years have been quite a journey.  I am and have been so fortunate. 

After an early brush with death (17 years old) because of physician and hospital malpractice (contacted staph infection which my doctor failed to diagnose until it was almost too late), I've had a real roller coaster of a life.  I used to say "I have no regrets" but on second thought I probably would do some things differently (like taking that first offer on our house in Pennsylvania), I am very happy with the way my life has turned out.  

How many people can say they've been in a fifty-five year relationship with a loving partner? Someone who thinks the sun rises and sets on me?  Oh sure, we've had our stressful times but what relationship hasn't?  

How many people can say they have such a good friend like Pat, my Canadian Travel Buddy.  Pat is like the younger, little brother that I never had even though I DO have two younger brothers.  

I've mentioned this before many times in this blog but this bears mentioning again, I live in the home I've always wanted my whole life.  I have an interesting part-time job even now at the grand old age of 78 that keeps me engaged, and helps to fund my profligate life-style.  

I have my health issues but I'm still walking and thinking.  Oh sure, my once head-turning looks don't stop conversation when I enter a room full of people like I used to thirty years ago but I still have my moments.  

All in all it's been a good life for me folks. As a matter of fact, I've had a fantastic life folks and I'm not done yet. 

Many more adventures on my horizon, of that I am sure.