Not that anyone's interested but here are my ancestral regions as a result of two different DNA tests. Not a Latin bone in my body. I knew that already.
In not too many years I'll have a chance to visit my ancestors in person. I am looking forward to that!
The summer season is on full bloom!
Last weekend was Memorial Day Weekend, traditionally the start of the summer season. However, last weekend was a washout. It rained every day. Didn't bother me because I don't go down to the boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach and I certainly wouldn't go down on the start of the summer season. I stopped doing that years ago. It just wasn't worth the hassle of people, traffic and parking. The only exception I make is when Pat comes down. I let him do the driving. He likes all that activity and of course I like being with Pat. I enjoy life and all the activities so much more when I'm with Pat. Bill was like me, a stay at home. I'm sort of in the middle. I like activity but not by myself. I did that for many years when I was with Bill.
Pat will be here next week (Sunday). After a day's rest (he drives down), we'll take on the Summer Season at the Nation's Summer Resort.
Note:
I've decided to approve any comments on get on this blog. There is a troll who takes delight in leaving hateful comments. She knows who she is and I do too. My apologies if I inconvenience anyone else who has been following my blog. Shouldn't make too much difference anyway because I don't receive that many comments. Those I do I appreciate and value.
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| Me and my Canadian husband, Pat. |
Of all the horrible and despicable things Trump has done, and they are legion, the one thing I can never forgive him for is permanently damaging the United States relationship with Canada.
Canada is our best neighbor and ally.
Canada and the United States are the only countries in the world who have never been aggressive towards one another......until now.
Trump, who views anyone or country who is nice as a weakness in his mob mentality mind, has chosen to bully Canada. Of course Canada cannot and will not be bullied, especially by a fake bully like Trump.
Since I met Pat I have visited Canada several times. Every time I visited I felt the pressure of hate release. Canada has a very diverse population. One thing I noticed right away (and I wasn't looking for it) was the absence of glares from so many white people of others who looked different and were dressed differently than they were. Especially the Muslims with their 10th century gowns that so many of them still wear. I can just imagine the hateful stares a Muslim would receive at a Home Depot of Lowes should they appear in that garb.
Since I married Pat, some people have asked me "Why didn't you move to Canada?" Great question! Believe me, I thought of it seriously. However the main reason I cannot move to Canada is the reason I'm in Delaware.....taxes. Canada has high taxes. I moved from Pennsylvania to Delaware because I could no longer afford to pay the high school and real estate taxes in Pennsylvania. I loved living in Philly but I couldn't afford those taxes either. Philly's sales tax is 8%. Canada's is 15%......on everything including groceries and clothing. At least Pennsylvania doesn't charge sales tax on those items.
Another reason I wouldn't move to Canada is because I'm an American and I refuse to be run out of my own country by Trump and his thug Republican enablers.
I still believe in the basic goodness of Americans even though so many have been revealed to be Trump supporters, which I will never understand as long as I live. That they can't see the con man who is destroying America is beyond my comprehension. Maybe in my Afterlife that answer will be revealed.
But for now I'll weather the storm that is the Trump Disaster.
Today is Memorial Day weekend here in the summer beach capital Rehoboth Beach and environs.
Unfortunately it is also chilly and rainy. That the forecast for this weekend and next week.
The following week Pat arrives from his cozy little home in Hamilton Canada for a two week visit with The Old Man here. I have a number of doctor's appointments which he will take me. I plan to introduce Pat to my doctor's as my eventual caregiver much the same way I did before I became Bill's full-time caregiver. Yes folks, that's the road I'm going down. Time to face reality.
By the way, I'm not sad at all that the weather is dreary and uninviting for the summertime beachgoers. Especially those "kids" from the University of Delaware who have recently targeted the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk for "events." Yes, it is what you think it is. A bunch of unruly "kids" trying to instigate riot or some such thing so they can loot the stores. Hey "kids" I have a tip for you, the stores in Rehobth Beach only have the Chinese made overpriced tourist souvenirs. No high end stores down here "kids." You better stick to Walnut Street in downtown Philadelphia for your riot produced "shopping" expeditions. See HERE:
I don't have anything scheduled for the rest of the month. Pat arrives early next month. I have a whole series of doctor's appointments, including the PET-SCAN to see how far (if) my returning prostate cancer has spread.
These days I'm pretty much exhausted. I can't do much else other than go through my regular routines of the day. By the end of the day around 9:30 to 10:00 PM I'm pretty much done.
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| Me and Don at "More Than Just Ice Cream" restaurant in center city Philly October 20, 2015 |
Next month when Pat comes down for his quarterly visit to Casa Tipton-Kelly, we're taking a few (two) days to visit Philly and my longtime friend Don McK.
I've known Don for at least sixty-two years. We met through our mutual friend Ron Hampton, who was my best friend during my Army days.
Don and I worked at two Philadelphia banks during our long friendship. We were both job eliminated during the Great Banking Merger era in the Eighties. I got a new job at another Philly bank and hired Don. After I left that bank Don continued working there. I had a few more banks to work for before I changed careers and went to work for hotels.
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| Me and Don some years earlier at our friend Bob McCamley's single wide in the woods outside Georgetown, Delaware sometime in the Eighties |
Over the years we have maintained our friendship. Don has been a steady and true friend. With the exception of Pat and my new friend Glenn M., Don is the only gay friend I have left.
I haven't seen Don in person since 2019, just when COVID hit. We've kept in touch via FaceTime though. These days we mostly talk about our failing health and have some laughs about how we're falling apart. Gone are the Glory Days of our misspent you. We also laugh about those adventures too.
Don is 89 years old now. I'm 84. We're on our way OUT and we know it. Question is, who goes first?
When Pat comes down next month for his quarterly visit to me here at Casa Tipton-Kelly we're going to take a few days to visit Don in at his home in center city Philly. Don lives in a building of mostly old folks, a nice alternative to assisted living facilities. He still has his freedom although he says "everybody passes me by when I walk the streets." Me too Don.
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| Don and me on the rooftop garden of the building he lives in at 21st and Chestnut Streets, Philadelphia October 20, 2015 |
Next month's visit will probably be the last time I see Don in person. He has been a good and faithful friend of mine for so many years. It will be interesting to see if he meet up again in the Afterlife. I know I will be with Bill again.
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| Me and Bill at our home on Naudain Street, Philadelphia, PA 1976. |
A few days ago I posted this picture of me and Bill on Threads on the top of our roof deck when we lived in center city Philadelphia. The year was 1976, the 200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Much to my surprise my posting has received over thirty-three thousand "likes" on Threads which is the social media arm of Instagram via Facebook.
Almost all of the comments are favorable, some comparing this iconic photo to an album cover. In fact one commenter insisted that he has seen that album cover. Sorry, this wasn't an album cover. Now here is an album cover.
Pat and his band which they are still playing today! In fact they're rehearsing this weekend.
It is of Pat (the dirty faced guy on the forefront) and his band at that time. Of course I didn't know Pat at that time (if I did I would have been all over him because he is definitely my type).
I was quite surprised by the response I got from my posting of my picture to Threads. Gives me a good feeling that I'm leaving a legacy behind when I check out this year or next year.
Almost all of the comments I received were favorable. Of course there are always those few comments which are meant to hurt but I've developed a pretty thick skin over the years and let those hateful comments roll off of me.
Many commented on what a great picture this is of two gay pioneers of the gay movement. Well, I don't know about that. We certainly have many stories to tell of that time. One thing though, this picture wasn't posed. I was testing out my timer on my SLR camera which I had put on a tripod. The timer was set to go off in ten seconds. Bill was skeptical that it would work. I was confident it would (look at the way I'm standing, my "Ron Tipton stance" as Pat calls it). Turns out sometimes the most iconic pictures are the ones that aren't posed but in the moment.
This was the second shot. The timer worked!
Photo of the back of my home here in southern Delaware taken at 1:26 PM today - I may not have access to the boardwalk or a view of the o...
