Getting Into the Groove
More accurately, getting into the habit of posting more on LJ again. My schedule with work and exercise during the week makes it more difficult what with also having a commute that is 30 miles one way. However, I am determined to get regular on here a gain, if it is only one post a week. So we will see if I am able to get anything else on here between now and next Sunday.
To start with, I finally had a chance to upload many of the photos I have edited so far from this past month in a couple of albums on Flickr...
This morning, I saw the following graphic link on Facebook and decided to share:
I knew it would ruffle some family feathers, but as noted from my previous experience with my cousin Celeste regarding the NC Amendment One vote, I really don't give a fuck about making family feel uncomfortable anymore. There were several replies that were in the positive vein including my mom, I have one cousin who keeps coming back with Fox News blather, and my Aunt Ruby commented, "Evan, let's please leave politics off of Facebook." Well, the new "not-keeping-my-mouth-shut-so-people-can-be-comfortable-with-their-bigotry" me decided to respond to that...
"Aunt Ruby, much as I love you and the rest of my family, I can not stay silent when my life is directly affected by politics. The idea of what could happen if the current brand of Republicanism ever gets complete hold on power truly frightens me. The party as it is now is a slap in the face of leaders like Dwight Eisenhower and others who truly had it as their mission to see the country be its best for ALL its citizens. It gets in my craw that in 2008 when Obama was elected and did have the majority in both the house and Senate, Clay, he chose to attempt to give Republicans a say in the changes that needed to happen to get this country back on its feet much quicker. Instead, they decided to sulk and play sore loser and do exactly as is noted in the link, do everything possible to halt any bill that would actually do anything sustaining for the improvement of the economy. I call them as I see them in this case..."
Ruby has not responded, but I bet my Dad is hearing all about it from her. Cousin Clay keeps spilling forth with more Fox News blather, but I am not publicly going to call him to task on Facebook for the REAL reason he would not vote for Obama, which is due to racism. He probably would not even admit this to himself as the true reason either, but then that is what many Tea Baggers have at the core of their hatred of Obama anyway regardless of their claims otherwise.
IMHO
To other things. My grandpa went to his home Saturday and is to stay there until he dies. He is on what is being called "long-term" hospice with a worker coming to the house a couple of times a day to check on his vitals, make sure he is not in any pain, My dad and his siblings will take turns three days at-a-time staying with him full-time, so there is someone there to help him if he wants to get up and do anything. This is a far cry from last summer when he actually tended a garden from a stool he hauled out and sat on while he hoed weeds, tended plants and such. He has gone downhill fast and I am guessing he will hang in there until his 100th birthday next month, but afterwards I am going to bet he lets things go.
-----------------------------------
I alluded to a man I have met recently that I have been spending a little bit of time with - emphasis on the little bit. He is primary caregiver for his elderly father who suffered a stroke last year and must have someone living with him. Bill gave up his job teaching at Bowman Gray School of Medicine with Wake Forest University, sold his home and moved in with his dad last summer. I just met him a couple of months ago when he was out walking his dogs at Joe Pool Lake near the park - well, rather he let them loose by the dam so that they could play in the water.
Anyway, we struck up conversation and pretty well quickly figured out each other was gay, and have been slowly building a friendship. I know he is no place now where he could put any effort into dating and I am fine with that. He is a good guy and I am glad I am getting to know him at this point. I was able to meet up with him at the lake several times while I was on vacation earlier this month - he would get out with his dad, park in the shade with an alarm that would ring his cell phone, and take the dogs down to the lake to play in the water for about 30 minutes. On Sundays, Bill lets his dad off at church for Sunday School and then goes to the lake where I meet him and we play with the dogs for a couple of hours and float around and talk about our lives.
He asked me several weeks back if I wanted to spend a full day with him as well. The intention was to meet up early in the morning, take the dogs down to Glen Rose and pick up barbecue, then go to Lake Whitney where he knew a place to get the dogs in without park rangers, police, etc harassing us. Sounded like a plan to me. He said his sister would come down from Frisco to look spend the day with his dad while we went off. Both of us were really looking forward to it. Yes, that is "were" - he had to cancel and then said it was not going to be possible to reschedule. I was disappointed, but knew that his situation is tenuous at best.
Well, today while floating around in the water, he let me know what is going on. There are family dynamics at work that make him hesitant to ask his sister to stay with his dad for a day so that he can get time away. It is nothing "bad" (neglect or other elder-care issue), but an issue that has erupted between Bill, his sister, and his nephew's wife. There is some pretty serious passive aggressive behavior going on with the two women and at this point Bill does not want to do anything that would make him feel he is necessarily beholden to his sister. I get it - totally. GOD only knows there have been plenty of funky dynamics in my family in the past and currently.
That being the case, I will see him next Sunday morning, we have each other's email now (he was slow to give it to me as he wanted to get to know me better first) and can Skype in the evenings as well. That actually seems most bizarre as he only lives a few miles from me, but I guess circumstances dictate.
Did I mention I think he is an awesome man? Smart, great sense of humor, passionate, articulate, loves the outdoors, genuine, not any air of pretense about him at all and oh man alive is he sexy! Almost 59, tall, furry-chested, gray (formerly blond) with a near-constant smile on his face and an easy laugh. No photos yet, as I am still taking it slow, but I do have photos of the dogs from today...
Meet Jolly (Black mutt, likely with shepherd and who knows), Angel and Battle (with stick) who are both Chesapeake Bay Retrievers
Battle
Angel and Fanny, a likely Lab/Chow and who-knows mix...
And a couple of flowers. I have no idea what the purple one is, but the other is a Mexican Sunflower with an unidentifiable (to me) spider...
To start with, I finally had a chance to upload many of the photos I have edited so far from this past month in a couple of albums on Flickr...
This morning, I saw the following graphic link on Facebook and decided to share:
I knew it would ruffle some family feathers, but as noted from my previous experience with my cousin Celeste regarding the NC Amendment One vote, I really don't give a fuck about making family feel uncomfortable anymore. There were several replies that were in the positive vein including my mom, I have one cousin who keeps coming back with Fox News blather, and my Aunt Ruby commented, "Evan, let's please leave politics off of Facebook." Well, the new "not-keeping-my-mouth-shut-so-people-can-be-comfortable-with-their-bigotry" me decided to respond to that...
"Aunt Ruby, much as I love you and the rest of my family, I can not stay silent when my life is directly affected by politics. The idea of what could happen if the current brand of Republicanism ever gets complete hold on power truly frightens me. The party as it is now is a slap in the face of leaders like Dwight Eisenhower and others who truly had it as their mission to see the country be its best for ALL its citizens. It gets in my craw that in 2008 when Obama was elected and did have the majority in both the house and Senate, Clay, he chose to attempt to give Republicans a say in the changes that needed to happen to get this country back on its feet much quicker. Instead, they decided to sulk and play sore loser and do exactly as is noted in the link, do everything possible to halt any bill that would actually do anything sustaining for the improvement of the economy. I call them as I see them in this case..."
Ruby has not responded, but I bet my Dad is hearing all about it from her. Cousin Clay keeps spilling forth with more Fox News blather, but I am not publicly going to call him to task on Facebook for the REAL reason he would not vote for Obama, which is due to racism. He probably would not even admit this to himself as the true reason either, but then that is what many Tea Baggers have at the core of their hatred of Obama anyway regardless of their claims otherwise.
IMHO
To other things. My grandpa went to his home Saturday and is to stay there until he dies. He is on what is being called "long-term" hospice with a worker coming to the house a couple of times a day to check on his vitals, make sure he is not in any pain, My dad and his siblings will take turns three days at-a-time staying with him full-time, so there is someone there to help him if he wants to get up and do anything. This is a far cry from last summer when he actually tended a garden from a stool he hauled out and sat on while he hoed weeds, tended plants and such. He has gone downhill fast and I am guessing he will hang in there until his 100th birthday next month, but afterwards I am going to bet he lets things go.
-----------------------------------
I alluded to a man I have met recently that I have been spending a little bit of time with - emphasis on the little bit. He is primary caregiver for his elderly father who suffered a stroke last year and must have someone living with him. Bill gave up his job teaching at Bowman Gray School of Medicine with Wake Forest University, sold his home and moved in with his dad last summer. I just met him a couple of months ago when he was out walking his dogs at Joe Pool Lake near the park - well, rather he let them loose by the dam so that they could play in the water.
Anyway, we struck up conversation and pretty well quickly figured out each other was gay, and have been slowly building a friendship. I know he is no place now where he could put any effort into dating and I am fine with that. He is a good guy and I am glad I am getting to know him at this point. I was able to meet up with him at the lake several times while I was on vacation earlier this month - he would get out with his dad, park in the shade with an alarm that would ring his cell phone, and take the dogs down to the lake to play in the water for about 30 minutes. On Sundays, Bill lets his dad off at church for Sunday School and then goes to the lake where I meet him and we play with the dogs for a couple of hours and float around and talk about our lives.
He asked me several weeks back if I wanted to spend a full day with him as well. The intention was to meet up early in the morning, take the dogs down to Glen Rose and pick up barbecue, then go to Lake Whitney where he knew a place to get the dogs in without park rangers, police, etc harassing us. Sounded like a plan to me. He said his sister would come down from Frisco to look spend the day with his dad while we went off. Both of us were really looking forward to it. Yes, that is "were" - he had to cancel and then said it was not going to be possible to reschedule. I was disappointed, but knew that his situation is tenuous at best.
Well, today while floating around in the water, he let me know what is going on. There are family dynamics at work that make him hesitant to ask his sister to stay with his dad for a day so that he can get time away. It is nothing "bad" (neglect or other elder-care issue), but an issue that has erupted between Bill, his sister, and his nephew's wife. There is some pretty serious passive aggressive behavior going on with the two women and at this point Bill does not want to do anything that would make him feel he is necessarily beholden to his sister. I get it - totally. GOD only knows there have been plenty of funky dynamics in my family in the past and currently.
That being the case, I will see him next Sunday morning, we have each other's email now (he was slow to give it to me as he wanted to get to know me better first) and can Skype in the evenings as well. That actually seems most bizarre as he only lives a few miles from me, but I guess circumstances dictate.
Did I mention I think he is an awesome man? Smart, great sense of humor, passionate, articulate, loves the outdoors, genuine, not any air of pretense about him at all and oh man alive is he sexy! Almost 59, tall, furry-chested, gray (formerly blond) with a near-constant smile on his face and an easy laugh. No photos yet, as I am still taking it slow, but I do have photos of the dogs from today...
Meet Jolly (Black mutt, likely with shepherd and who knows), Angel and Battle (with stick) who are both Chesapeake Bay Retrievers
Battle
Angel and Fanny, a likely Lab/Chow and who-knows mix...
And a couple of flowers. I have no idea what the purple one is, but the other is a Mexican Sunflower with an unidentifiable (to me) spider...