I am writing this post on Saturday prior to departure from San Francisco for home. Let’s hope the flight departs on time and gets me home to find my partner waiting for me at the airport. Then he will take me home, and we will snuggle closely in bed for a gentle, “welcome-home” reunion.

No plans for Sunday other than catch-up on household chores, visiting some of my senior pals, and getting reacquainted with my beloved partner.

No rest for the travelin’ weary, as I return to work on Monday, starting with a meeting at 0600. Yep, early!

Life is short: be joyful with reunion with the one you love.

I returned to San Francisco late Thursday night, checked into the hotel, and slept well. Ordinarily I have trouble sleeping in strange places, but I was so tired and (fortunately) the room was quiet and comfy, I drifted off quickly.

Friday saw me doing more work, going to meetings, and getting a tour from a San Francisco County sheriff’s deputy of risk areas related to my job. We had a great meeting and discussion. I am confident that my friends in San Francisco are well cared for by their emergency planning and response officials.

I had the afternoon “off.” I thought, “hmmm… I am in San Francisco, so what do I do now and where should I go?” I dropped in to visit my friend, Mike. We went down the street and had a cup of coffee (well, me … I had a Coke, since I don’t drink coffee) and then Mike got back to work and I took a walk.

… A long walk. I walked 10 miles, from the Bay at SOMA all the way around the ballpark then across the Embarcadero then down to the piers for tourists, then up a hill (until it got too steep)… then hopped on a trolley and took that back into the Castro. I had a late lunch, then walked back to my hotel. So I really walked … though I have not been walking as much as I should. Gotta keep the weight under control and not disappoint myself by getting lazy.

So what does a gay leatherdude do in San Francisco for a night out on a Friday night? Well, this monogamously-partnered guy who doesn’t fool around behind the back of his partner was met by his cousin (and family) who drove in all the way from San Jose just to see me. We went to a great local seafood restaurant. I returned early and went to bed. I’m just not a night-owl and even though my hotel is right in SOMA, the heart of gay leather San Francisco, I don’t want to go out to a gay bar or other gay-oriented places. Been there, done that…. I guess I really have become an old married fart.

However, there was a spark of “hope” for me — I wore leather jeans and boots for the evening out with my cousin. 🙂

It has been a great visit, but I am very much looking forward to returning home to the arms of my man, to my home, to my long list of chores that have undoubtedly built up, to my senior pals, and to life as is my routine. Maryland My Maryland, the Free State… callin’ me home. Returning as you read this… wish me a safe flight.

Life is short: enjoy the love of family and unexpected surprises, such as a “DC Trolley” (which at one time served the area where I live in Maryland)… rolling down tracks in San Francisco.

Spent most of the day on Thursday in “Wittle Bitty Airport” (“WBA”) in far Northern California waiting for a flight back to San Francisco, but Mother Nature had other things on her mind. My flight was supposed to depart at 10am, but as I am writing this, I’ll be lucky if it takes off at 6:30pm. Long day….

I am writing to describe the day at a small airport. Some interesting and fun things happened.

First of all, I was very pleased that as small as WBA is, it offered free wi-fi. I was able to catch up on backed-up email and continue responding to things for work. So far, so good — especially because I am so cheap that I refuse to buy a smart phone and pay the monthly ransom that wireless carriers demand.

I stood near the door for about five hours and interviewed people about what they did up in this area of the country on March 11. There was a serious disaster threat going on that day, and I wanted to know what they heard, what they did, and what they thought about it. I interviewed over 250 people. And yeah, this *is* related to my job. Very interesting commentary!

I took breaks from time to time, as standing for hours is not my choice of “fun.” I got lunch, took a walk, and fired up the laptop to deal with more e-mail.

Most people took me very seriously when I stopped to ask if they had a minute to answer a couple questions. I guess having an official “Big Brother” I.D. helps, but a few of them told me that they thought I was “official” not because of the I.D., but because I was wearing leather jeans with a blue stripe down the side.

Heck, I hadn’t even thought of that! I just put these leathers as I was dressing because: a) they are warm (and it was cold); b) they are comfortable; c) I was going to San Francisco, after all. I wasn’t even thinking of the perceptions by the non-leather straight crowd that wearing leather jeans with a stripe down the side could be interpreted as anything other than an interesting pair of leather jeans. Okay, SK, you’ve convinced me why I need to have breeches with no stripes when I ride around with my club. Got it.

I saw about 20 or so guys with boots on, and about half of them were wearing tall rubber boots. After all, the primary industry in this area of the country is fishing, and tall rubber boots are worn by guys who do that work. There were about 5 guys in tall logger boots, and obviously, these guys were in the logging industry. The rest of the boots that I saw on guys were black harness boots. No cowboy boots, and far too many sneakers for my taste, but at least there were not any men wearing those horrid crocks or flip-flops or yuppie sandals.

All-in-all, I made the best of the day that I could, and did things related to my job so I would earn a day’s pay while postponing the meetings scheduled for Thursday to Friday, since I realized pretty early on that the entire day would be shot. Oh well, that’s how things go sometimes.

Life is short: make the best of it.

Yesterday was a busy day on this trip for work.  I co-taught a class and loved it.  Over 100 participants said that they thoroughly enjoyed it, and they will be tested through application of their new skills over the next weeks and months.

Meanwhile, I am happy that my camera found me again (long story, but FedEx had to bring it to me from South San Francisco…. don’t ask.)

Here are some random shots taken along the rugged Northern California Coast:

Life is short: love what you do and bring all you have to make it great!

I have had two “Eureka!” moments yesterday. I think the term dates back to Archimedes, a Greek mathematician and physicist. It means, “I have found it.” Albert Einstein is often given credit for this expression, but Archimedes beat him to it by 1,750 years (give or take).

Foolery and bad attempts at humor aside, my two “Eureka!” moments were:

1. Arriving in Eureka, California. They’re right, this place is not anything like the rest of California. As the locals say, they consider themselves more aligned with Oregon and Washington, or “the southern end of the Pacific Northwest.” Before my Canadian friends get their knickers in a twist, I will confine this expression to the Pacific Coast of the Northwestern United States.

2. Participating in a meeting among very dedicated, committed professionals who want to learn how to apply lessons learned from a recent major emergency toward future application to enhance public safety. Listening to their discussion, I was fascinated and admired great passion. I was pleased to be recognized for my past work in this field, and my thoughts and opinions were eagerly sought in the discussion, which was quite lively and animated, but very on-target and … well… “fascinating.”

I love my job. Tomorrow, I will conduct a training class for newer-but-eager people who wish to join the effort. That will be … “fascinating.”

Oh, how was I dressed, you ask? Beige fatigues in combat boots and a denim shirt (with a logo of my employer). I am delighted that my field work does not require dressing up. I am even more delighted that my work at my office doesn’t require dressing up beyond slacks and a collared shirt. I have long outgrown patience with the jacket and tie foolishness. I can be the flaky academic who gets by with a more casual and comfortable choice of apparel.

Life is short: keep it fascinating!

Well, I’ll have to say “imagine” because I have misplaced my camera and none of the other eight guys who joined me for dinner in the Castro in San Francisco last night had one (or thought to take a pic with their i-gadgets.)

Nonetheless, I was delighted to enjoy dinner with Larry and Bill of hotboots.com fame; MichaelSir and his partner; Mike McNamee and his new business partner, Ken; WetInSF; and Boots SF (umm-humm! Woof!). What great company! Very interesting men, with lots of fascinating stories to share. They are really great guys — knowledgeable, friendly, and delightful company. Sure makes a business trip to San Francisco enjoyable.

And, of course, all were in boots. Tall Wescos won the day. All looked mighty fine in them, too. Boots SF was in Dehners, and was especially handsome in full leather.

I was glad that Larry could arrange this for me, and that so many guys showed up. What a great evening!

Now… time to head north. Return later for another entry of “as this Bootman travels.”

Life is short: measure it by the quality of the company you keep.

I arrived in San Fransisco yesterday about mid-day. My friend, current Owner of Stompers Boots, Mike McNamee, came to pick me up and take me into the city for a pleasant afternoon visit. We enjoyed lunch with his new business partner, Ken, and talked a lot about the business of boot retailing in today’s internet world.

Following lunch, Mike and I hung out in the city, and went to visit a store that makes custom motorcycle leathers. I saw a lot of very interesting possibilities here. Mike did too!

I truly enjoyed seeing my ol’ pal, hanging out, talking boots, and catching up on each other’s lives. Mike is a wonderful man. I am honored to have him as a friend, and to have him take so much time to visit with lil’ ol’ me … just some boot guy from the East Coast.

Life is short: wear boots!

Alas, the City By The Bay is indicated on my airline ticket, and my boots are carrying me to a place in which I have spent many, many years learning and refining my professional craft, and making a number of friends while I was at it.

Yeah, “back in the day,” I spent five years doing some tremendously creative work with some exceptionally smart people in an office based in this town (though I served seven counties surrounding the area). Most of the people I worked with 20 years ago have moved on, retired, or changed jobs, except for a few who I will see while I’m out here. The work that we, as a team, inspired is continuing. Part of what brings me back is measuring that work and how it has been ingrained in the culture since we started it 20 years ago.

Sure, while I’m there, I will take some time to visit personal friends. My buddy Mike will pick me up from the airport today, and we’ll hang out for the afternoon and catch up. Monday morning, I am having breakfast with one of the world’s most eminent and talented professionals in my field. Then I’ll do some field work, and at the end of the day, will relax over dinner with several of my friends from BOL, including Larry, his husband Bill, and several others. I look forward to seeing them again.

My travels for the remainder of the week have me on the move significantly up and down the California Coast, so I’ll be busy. Lots of meetings, giving a speech, doing an all-day training, some more site visits, and other stuff will confirm that my work is what brought me there.

I very much look forward to a highly productive week, filled with work and friends and fondly remembering past activities and making new memories, too.

Life is short: love what you do. I think it was Confucius who said, “choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” Oh, so right.