I’ve briefly mentioned my family in past blog posts, and today I’ll explain a little more. I’m the 14th of 15 kids; one mother, one father — very prolific gift of children. 12 of us are “Christmas Presents” since our birthdays are all from mid-August to mid-September. You can do the math (giggle).

Our parents loved us deeply, as we loved them. We had a wonderful upbringing, filled with love, family, good times, and great experiences. We got to see each and every state in our country from early-on. We were introduced to some very powerful people that my parents worked for or knew. I know I was very fortunate, as I read from others who explain that their family upbringings weren’t nearly as nice.

Both of my parents have died. Dad in the ’70s and Mom in 1998. But one thing they instilled deeply in us was a commitment to family. I observed how very close my father was to his huge family (actually larger than ours!), and I got to know that hundreds of people were actually related to me! I’ve got zillions of cousins with whom I remain in close contact.

As much as the kids (“us sibs”) may squabble sometimes, I affirm that blood is thicker than water. As some of my sisters- or brothers-in-law have made some comments over the years about my being gay and having a partner with whom I remain deeply in love — my blood siblings, regardless of their own personal opinion, always rise to my defense. Love prevails. Specifically, one sister “championed my cause” to help my mother grow to understand that I was gay, what it meant, and to accept my partner. Mom did that, and in the last year of her life, their bond was wonderful to observe building at each visit.

In memory of our parents and continuing through our devotion to each other, my siblings and I plan on “Friday Night Family Dinners.” These are (usually) casual affairs, hosted by one of the members of the family in their home, where we eat, talk, laugh, discuss everything under the sun, and continue our bonding. Not just my siblings, but their children, children’s children, spouses, and occasionally some of our cousins and close family friends. Not all of my siblings live in the area, but those of us who do usually make plans to participate in this Friday night ritual.

Tonight will be an especially fun night, as we’re going back to our family’s Italian roots, and having a meal ab ovo usque ad mala which in the Latin means “from eggs to apples” which was the traditional appetizers to dessert. We’re doin’ the same. Should be a lot of fun.

My sister the wine connoisseur will have various selections available. For me, I’ll have my water or ginger ale. Wish I could drink wine, but even a small amount makes me gravely sick. We will laugh, we will talk (sometimes too loudly), we will talk politics as we all plan to vote in the upcoming election, but most of all, we will actively display our love. What could be better?

Life is short: show those you love that you love them, each and every day.

PS: And it’s leather weather! Sheesh it’s gotten colder. Bet your sweet bippy that I’ll be in leather and boots tonight!

All was okay on our whirlwind trip to Pittsburgh to “redd up” my mother-in-law’s place for winter. The weather was spectacular. My partner shot me a look of “I’ll figure out a way to make this up” every time I’d hear a Harley rumble off in the distance and I would give a little whimper. Man, what a great weekend — on which to have been out riding! Uggghhh… what one does for love.

I replaced the trim on some windows and two doors. This took some rather intricate work to custom-fit new wood to old settings. I enjoy doing complex carpentry work, and I must say it turned out really well. My partner painted everything to withstand the weather and look new again. I also did a number of little odd-jobs that just needed to be done. The house, yard, and gardens look much better. My Chippewa Engineer Boots look, well, like they did some work!

After working outside, I turned to working inside, and multi-tasked. While I was preparing our evening meals, I also did some electrical repairs, too. I prefer to do the cooking, because I have a really restricted diet, so it’s best if I do the cooking because I know what’s in it.

When dinner was done, I was confined to watching DVDs that my partner arranges to be sent to his mother to keep her entertained. I was bored out of my mind, but that’s just how things are. I can’t go out (my M-I-L just wouldn’t understand and my partner doesn’t like going out any more at all). I did not have internet access, since my M-I-L doesn’t have it and I’m too cheap to pay for an air card. There’s nothing else to do but go into a semi-comatose state listening to blather on the TV (or from a movie) until it’s time to go to bed, then lather, rinse, and repeat.

I must say, though, that this was about the best visit with my M-I-L. She was complimentary, appreciative, and said thanks at least a dozen times. Believe me, that hasn’t happened before (or as much.) She actually hugged me each evening and each morning, and was genuinely pleased with the work that I had done around the house. It’s nice to be appreciated and — finally — recognized for being more than some guy who lives with her son.

The fall splendor was gorgeous on the way up bear and back as we drove over some mountainous areas, but it wasn’t quite “peak” yet in Pittsburgh. Looking at the trees helped time go by on the otherwise boring drive. I really detest being confined in a cage, and just don’t like to drive. My partner did all the driving, bless him.

Anyway, I’m home now, and am catching up on everything — email, blogging, regular mail, neighbors, community activities, etc., etc. Return to work tomorrow, then a public hearing tomorrow night. Everything will be back to normal!

Life is short: wear your boots!

No, not gowen to werk in my office, but “up bear” to a borough on the west bank of the Ahia River, just north and west of Pittsburgh where my mother-in-law lives. We will be dere fer da long Columbus Day weekend. She has a hon-do list that needs to be accomplished to redd up da place fer winner. My partner is unable to do as much physical work as he once did due to his dizabiwwity, so these old hard-workin’ Chippewa engineer boots with me in them will be helpin’ aht. Bo fus are gowen.

It’s funny, my partner ordinarily does not have a noticeable accent. That is, until he is within 50 miles of “home”. Then it all come aht.

We have lots of work to do, so it is unlikely we will be gowen dahntahn to da ‘burg. She lives o’der near Sharteers Crick. Likely, though, we will need to go to Lowes a cupple tree times, which is up bear in Robinson. Thank goodness it’s a bye-week fer da Stillers, so we won’t run into traffic as we stoowp at da Jine Igl for some pop!

Wit allsa bitzle I’ll be creating in da garden and yard, I’ll have to use plenty of worsh rags to redd up after. I’ll be cookin’ eye-talian, ahn worshin’ it dahn wit da pop we got at da stoor.

So until I return, yinz alls take care now, yinz here? That’s it, Fort Pitt!

If you don’t understand this message, “It’s a Burgh Thing”. Click here for more information.

Disclaimer: Nothing in this message is meant to offend residents of Pittsburgh or surrounding areas. It was translated using a “Pittsburghese on-line translator”. Any errors, omissions, or commissions are the responsibility of the author, and not his partner, who was born and raised in the aforementioned area.

I guess it’s the world economy. I haven’t seen so many glum-faced suits in all my life. Yesterday, I had a meeting in a part of Washington, DC, about ten blocks from my office. It was pleasant, so I decided to walk.

As I walked there and back, I looked at the faces of the people on the street. Of the hundreds of people I passed, nary a one had even the faintest of a smile on his or her face. Most were actively sneering, with their face all wrinkled up into a frown. So sad, really.

I thought about myself, and figured that I didn’t need to look that way. I decided to smile. I looked at people right in the eye as I walked along, and smiled directly at them. Sheesh, you’d think that I had the plague or something by the way people reacted. They seemed startled. One guy even jumped off the sidewalk … I kid you not … to get away from me. A few people smiled back, and one even said, “thank you… I needed that.”

And it seems that sadness runs all over the world. For example, some dolt in the U.K. must have shared one of my YouTube videos with a group somewhere, and then he and a bunch of his friends decided to slam me by attempting to post comments on the video with all sorts of negative, silly, and hateful messages. Jealous types, mostly, with a few homophobes thrown in. There’s no need for that; seriously, these guys ought to get a life. They are engaging in this behavior probably because they’re sad, scared, and bored. Yeah, some are homophobes, too, so they feel better by spewing venom, just like a kid on a playground calling someone else a name. As a Gay Man, I’ve heard it all before. Sticks and stones, and all that….

I will ask God to look after them when I say my prayers tonight. And meanwhile, I just go about deleting the attempted comments and blocking the user. They’ll soon realize that they can’t get anywhere and go bother someone else.

My personal email has been rather active lately with all sorts of neighbors and community activists complaining about this-or-that. Mind you, most of their concerns are legitimate and we need to work together on resolving or working through the issues. But the volume of these messages seems to have increased over the past two weeks. If I did an analysis, I would figure that my “whine and rant” file is about 20% more full than it was before.

Certainly, the bad state of the world economy, led to ruin by the United States and the mismanagement at the top (in both the public and private sectors), has caused many people to become angry, frightened, worried, and afraid. The whole world, it seems, is on edge. It’s just too bad that people express themselves in such negative ways. Heck, I’m affected by the bad economy as well. I do what I can to protect our interests and assets, as meager as they are, but there’s no reason to spread sadness and gloom. I choose to do the opposite.

H. Jackson Brown Jr. said, “Today, give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine he sees all day.” Today more than ever, I will remember that, and do it.