Someone is planning his next move. Will he shred the curtains or the couch?
Fun and Games Dept
Sunset.
I spent most of the day driving today after a successful 24 hours with my family in Syracuse, N.Y.
I was born and raised in Central New York State, but I really love the Midwest.
Random.
I have no idea if the photo is in its proper orientation or not, so my apologies if it’s sideways in the page. Remember, it just works.
So when Earl works at night I have some time on my hands. I like going for walks in our beautiful city, especially during the nicer nights that are typical of this time of year, but I’m not crazy about walking the same route day after day.
To break this monotony, I will just hop on the ‘L’ and head in either direction and jump off at some random stop and then walk around the neighborhood. Often I’ll walk back in the direction of home. It’s a great way to get to know the surrounding neighborhoods and do things like find restaurants we wouldn’t otherwise know about or see some of the beautiful parks we have scattered throughout The Windy City.
Tonight I walked around Lincoln Park, heading back toward Lakeview before jumping on the ‘L’ a few stop south of our stop. It was a great night to walk and I’m feeling centered as a result of the activity.
Aging.
I’m sitting on our balcony during a summertime rain storm. There’s no lightning or thunder involved, though the weather service said we’d be getting thunderstorms this evening; no, there’s just a lot of rain and it’s coming straight down. This affords me the opportunity to sit on our balcony, under the cover of the floor above, and remain dry. The effect is pleasing.
Earl and I and our family spent the weekend enjoying “Market Days” here in Chicago. It’s the largest street festival in the city of Chicago and it encompasses Boystown for the weekend. I enjoy Market Days more than Gay Pride here in the Windy City; people are just out having a good time. I know this sounds odd, but the crowd seems slightly more relaxed to me when compared to Pride. There’s still plenty of outrageous, but it’s a relaxed outrageous, if that makes any sense.
This weekend was the first time I’ve felt all of my 51 years of age at a gay event. I’m proud of who I am, where I am, and what my life is about these days, but watching the revelers do their thing I started to feel a little obsolete. The monotonous thump of what they call dance music today was a little on my nerves, I feel no need to drink a “Truly”, and even over a decade later I have no idea what a “kiki” is though I do believe several of them were occurring in my general vicinity.
As a private pilot who happens to be gay, I also really felt that I have little in common with some other members of the National Gay Pilots Association, other than the fact that we’re gay and we fly something that defies gravity. I mentioned this to Earl, and he said, “just because you’re pilots doesn’t make you instant friends”.
To me, aviation has always led to an instant friendship with another pilot, but then again, I grew up around old-school flying clubs. Many of these young pilots have learned to fly and made it career. I still fly for the fun of it.
I have no desire to be ‘young again’ because I still feel like the young man I was 20 years ago, just with some extra data in the memory banks and some aging on the outside. I look in the mirror and see lines from plenty of smiles around my eyes. When we were in Palm Springs a couple of weeks ago I saw plenty of faces pulled tighter than a bass drum. That’s not my jam, I’ve earned these lines and I’ve weathered some storms.
If I was a car in New York State I’d still pass inspection. I’d even pass the smog test.
It is interesting, however, to see society do a complete 180 on some things within my lifetime. Like, when I was in my teens, Nancy Reagan was telling us to “Just Say No”. We were shown ancient movies on a Bell and Howell projector about the dangers of smoking pot, and how it would apparently turn us into zombies, make us wear cardigan sweaters with the buttons misaligned while we rambled around the streets drooling, and turn our brains to frying eggs. Now in 2019, it’s legal in nearly half of the United States. I haven’t seen one person with egg for brains wearing a cardigan sweater.
I’m fascinated by yet feel separated from the gay culture of today. Do they know how many funerals I went to in the 80s and 90s? Do they know the meaning of the Silence = Death plaque on the wall? Do they know how to ACT-UP like we did?
More Distraction.
So Walmart has told its stores to take down any “signing and displays referencing violence”, including advertising for violent video games. However, they will continue to see guns as they do today. There’s no change there.
Wow, that will solve everything.
I am by no means anti-gun, but I am definitely anti-stupidity, and honestly, there is way too much stupidity going on in the United States. I’m surprised we’re not dumping Gatorade on crops to give them electrolytes.
Facts can not be debated. I know people like to watch news channels that reinforce their opinion and show people debating fact, but reinforced opinion is not the same as fact. It’s still opinion and while I’m at it, a repeated lie does not become a truth.
Other countries report video game revenue in proportion to the size of their population when compared to the United States. Would you like to take a guess as to what’s not in proportion? Mass shootings. Violent gun deaths. But by all means, let’s go after video games instead of doing anything, hell, I’ll take ONE thing, about regulating gun sales.
We are sending our loved ones to workplaces and schools and malls and concerts and festivals where they have to engage “Active Shooter Drills”. My old elementary school stood nearly 80 years without having bullet proof glass installed throughout the main entrance. It’s bad enough that we have an entire generation of Americans that has known nothing but a country at war.
Living in fear is not freedom. You can sing the National Anthem, recite the Pledge of Allegiance, demand everyone stand up in patriotic gestures, but singing and pledging and standing does not make freedom. Going shopping without worrying about getting shot by a maniac that bought a gun at Walmart, that’s a good start for freedom.
Walk.
I really love the fact that it’s a short train ride to the downtown area of the third largest city in the United States. Downtown Chicago has so much to offer, and I really cherish the opportunity to walk the area on a school night.
I love watching the business people leaving their offices. I enjoy the tourists as they navigate the city via map or map app, occasionally confused about things like “Upper Wacker” and “Lower Wacker”. I smile when I see out of town folks enjoy our city for a business meeting or a convention or a family vacation.
It’s nifty living in a city that people want to visit. I grew up in a small tourist village along the shores of Lake Ontario, but spent 25 years in a city that not many people visited. There’s only so many times you can visit a replica of the Liberty Bell or see an overgrown watering can.
Chicago has so much to offer and I find it a wonderful place to live. Many years ago Dublin, Ireland tugged at my heart strings as the definite place for us to live.
I’m happy to say Chicago tugs my heart strings the exact same way. I’m proud to be a resident of The Windy City.
Happy.
There are rumbles in the air that ABC is considering reviving the brilliant comedy “Happy Endings”. The Internet better not be trolling us because this is amahzing news. The fast paced comedy has always been one of my favorites and I have been watching reruns since the show went off the air back in 2013. It was cancelled way too soon. The cast was brilliant together and the quirkiness, meta jokes, and farcical situations is just what we need in this otherwise depressing time in the United States.
ABC: BRING. IT.
Plus, I’ve always had a straight crush on Eliza Coupe.
Karaoke Potential.
My goal for the month of August is to sing this song at karaoke. Few would probably know it, but I would have a grand time singing it.
This is what happens when you take half of Pet Shop Boys and combine them a bit of New Order and a bit of The Smiths. Here’s Electronic with “Disappointed”.
Reset.
This vacation has been all about doing nothing. We didn’t do any tours, we didn’t climb a mountain, we didn’t engage in typical sightseeing activities. We relaxed. By the pool. In the still. In the calm.
This is exactly the break my brain needed. After the first day my mind flooded with ideas: vacation, aviation plans, betterment at work. More music in the air. Less worry about using the latest and greatest app. Focus on using the tools I have, both for work and for flying.
I realize I’m a lucky man to be where I am today, but I also realize I’ve worked hard to be where I am today. I’m looking forward to continuing to work hard to achieve my goals. The feeling of accomplishment is such an awesome feeling.
I am writing this from a United flight upon a Boeing 777-222, experiencing United Polaris first class amenities for the first time. We are on our initial descent into O’Hare.
It’s been a fantastic vacation. But it’s great to be home as well.
*I’ll be writing more about vacation over the next week or so. I have many blog entries bouncing around in my head.
Sunscreen.
“Always wear sunscreen”.
Back when I was in radio, there was a song called “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)”. I tried to wear sunscreen my entire adult life, as I had too many sunburn incidents when I was a kid. The thing is, I don’t like the feeling of sunscreen on my skin. But we’ve found a lotion by Nutrigena that fits the bill.
Even with all this sunscreen slathered on my body, I’ve managed to get some sun today. I’ll have to really slather it on tomorrow.
