A Few Random Thoughts on Summer...

Well, it seems that Memorial Day and the official start of summer is upon us. Summer. My favorite season. It evokes the magical descriptions as found in Ray Bradbury's quintessential classic "Dandelion Wine". Even now as I sit indoors, I can conjure up summer so easily. The smell of freshly mowed lawns. The sound of the Popsicle man's truck. The purple sky at dusk with just a hint of moon. The smell of honeysuckle and gardenia. Trips to the beach. And of course the cicadas. The roar that they make defies description. And all of that is back again, playing to a packed house but without quite the same allure as it has to a child. But summer for an adult can be fun as well. Vacations, time off work, etc. Oh -- and the most important thing: COLD BEER. That is the HUGE benefit of being an adult in summertime.



Last night I found myself sitting outdoors enjoying the summer evening at The Beauty Shop (a former beauty shop turned trendy restaurant here in Memphis) sipping wine with some very lovely ladies from the local ballet waiting for a friend to show up. It was the perfect evening -- no humidity and a gentle breeze. I couldn't help but think back just a year ago, I sat in the very same seat with one of my best friends on the night that I came out. The thought of that stayed with me most of the night. The nostalgia of reflection aside, I stopped to ponder the past year. And not just the events of the year themselves, but asking myself how am I different and am I better off now? Coming out for me was not a well-planned, thought out decision. It was a spontaneous occurrence that I have not regretted. In so many ways I feel like I have started living after I became honest with myself and friends as to who I really am. And last night, as I sat outside with these beautiful people, I realized that I would never have met any of them had I not come out.



So suffice to say that I am looking forward to this summer with something close to the anticipation of a kid getting out of school for the summer. Tonite I am going to see the new Indiana Jones movie. (Another way cool benefit of summer are the blockbuster movies!!) But lest we forget...the real reason for us being off on Monday is that we pause and remember our troops past and present that have served or serving our country. They are the guardians of freedom and the reason we can live a free life. It is fine to go to the lake and drink cold beer, but keep these men and women in mind as you enjoy the official start of summer. So many of them will not be enjoying the long weekend off work as their work does not end. Have a safe and fun holiday weekend.

The Weekend...

Hi there everyone...Sorry I haven't posted as much lately, but things have been somewhat Kee-rae-zy... Where to start...Well, I had an interesting yet fun time Friday night. This guy I am kinda sorta seeing that I kinda sorta like a lot went with me to see a friend of mine that is in Memphis Ballet for his last show of the season. The show combined the ballet while celebrating various fashion designers. Tres cool idea... And it was located at the zoo. You may be thinking weird place to hold a ballet. But the Memphis Zoo is REALLY good forum - one of the best zoos in the country. I was particularly excited as I have not been to the zoo since I was a child (I know, shame on me). So I came up with the brilliant idea (I have no other kind) to go early so we could get a cocktail and walk around and see some of the animals. Well, when we got there we found that the performances space was up front, in the common area near the entrance and all the main walkways to where the animals were located were blocked off to the public, as the zoo was closed for the evening. Not one to be deterred by barricades, my friend (whom I shall refer to as HotAss) and I went around to the back of the cat house where we saw people mingling around. Turns out there was a wedding reception in the Panda exhibit - but we didn't know it was a reception when we crashed it. After snooping around the reception and not finding anything to our liking, I said lets go walking around. So we start on the main loop. HotAss just got a new camera and we were taking pictures of all sorts of animals we saw. Then some man comes up to us in a tram and says we need to go back to where the show is, that the zoo is closed. He said we could finish taking pictures and all that but to start heading back. Bleck. We take more pictures of the giraffes and their adorable baby and then another guy in another tram comes by and tells us to go up front. He was not as nice as guy number one. So with reluctance we start heading back. And then I see the flamingo pond. Now flamingos are my VERY FAVORITE bird of all time, and being gay I guess I am naturally attracted to a pink bird. I then found out why all these people kept telling us to go back to the where the show was. It appears that after closing time, certain fences around certain exhibits become electrified. I found this out the hard way. I leaned over to look at the pink birds and got the hell shocked out of me. It was like a human bug zapper. It sounded like a shot went off... HotAss said it hurt him and he didn't even touch the fence. Like any good Memphian, I started screaming lawsuit. HotAss got a big kick out of this as we were trespassing and were told to leave twice and the fence was clearly marked --he said I wouldn't get much... My thumb hurt most of the night, dammit. Anyway, the show was SUPER -- my friend danced in one movement and choreographed another, which was by FAR superior to the others. We waited around and said hi to the dancers before going off to Mollie Fontaine's for more drinks.



Another interesting thing that happened was that Saturday night I had dinner with a couple of friends I had not seen in awhile. They are two lesbians and one of them was partnered previously with another close friend of mine. There had been some tension there with myself and them over the past few months -- you know ... taking sides and all that... Due to the violent weather that was coming thru the area Saturday night, we decided to eat in. Also, they invited two of their neighbors over (gay guys) that I had never met. We had a ball and I really hit it off with them. I would really like to get to know them better as one of them came from the same background as me. Anyhoo -- I get this email from my friend on Monday. Basically, it said that it was good to see me Saturday night and that she knows it is hard when people break up and started talking about choosing sides (I ended up being closer with her ex after the breakup, but I found this comment interesting since NONE OF THIS WAS EVER DISCUSSED THAT NIGHT -- AT ALL).


Then she said that she was busy and she hoped I wouldn't be offended if she couldn't spend a lot of time with me (not that we have anyway). And that she wanted me to know that she was still my friend and that I could email or call her. Here we had this great dinner and I get an email out of the blue basically saying I am to be kept at arms length. Whatever. I have come to the conclusion that women are F**KING CRAZY. All women. There is NO understanding any of them, so don't even try. It is an exercise if futility. Thank GOD I bat for the guys...

Slappin' the Mess Outa Misery...

I know you have ALL wanted to slap the shit out of somebody. Here's your chance... Copy and click. I SWEAR this is majorily addicting!!!! Enjoy...You will be thanking me...

http://www.counterfeitmini.com/main.swf