Some days (or hours of some days), I choose to wear a pair of plain old cowboy boots, non-descript, not fancy, not made of exotic skins, regular heel… just a pair of plain ol’ boots. I have a number of “just plain ol’ boots” in my cowboy boot collection. Some are decades old, some are much newer, but all share one thing in common — that is, nothing fancy.
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Yearly Archives: 2012
How To Lose Weight Without Really Trying
Like most middle-aged men, I find myself on the ongoing challenge with weight. Yeah, yeah, I know — diet, exercise, blah blah blah. Since I lost 41 pounds two years ago, I am well aware of what works and what’s recommended to lose weight. I had “only” regained five of those pounds by last December (even through Christmas!) Not bad. However, I still could loose those five extra pounds and lose more. And I did!
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Overcoming My Own Double Standard
I have said for many years that I am open and accepting of everyone — race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, age, and so forth.
But I had to re-examine my opinion of myself when I realized that I was responding negatively to an invitation to attend another Spring social gala/dinner fundraiser in the gay world for a worthy cause. This time, in New York City, with the cost of tickets at various levels ranging from US$175 to well over US$3,000.
A friend (who is more on the level of acquaintance) sent me the invitation, saying, “I hope you guys will be there!” I rolled my eyes, and…
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You Have to Change Boots Again?
Bless my partner. I love him, I really do, but there are times — even after being together for over 19 years — that he doesn’t get it.
Yesterday morning, I had to drive him to get an x-ray. No big deal; the medical imaging center is a mile away. I chose to wear a nice pair of gray ostrich cowboy boots for that trip. But that was only my first pair of boots for the day…
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Really Busy
Sorry, I don’t have much to blog about, nor time to do it.
My partner’s illness has been exhibiting symptoms … sigh. Calming him, reassuring him, taking him to doctors, the pharmacy, and other places for tests takes a lot of time. He had a scare that the treatment he is currently getting caused a blood clot in his leg. We had to get him a sonogram of his leg to determine what was happening. Turned out to be transient, and not a clot. Whew….
They say this disease has a “voice.”
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A Biker Who Happens To Be Gay
I mentioned in a recent blog post that I attended a biker’s conference. That event was different from something like a club run, where motorcyclists ride somewhere and party. No, this was an actual conference, with speakers, breakout sessions, and a rather demanding two-day schedule. Yeah, there was one social function on one evening — but anyone who attends any major conference knows that a social event is usually included as a part of an overall conference experience.
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19 Years Ago I Was Swept Off My Boots
Just a short note … remembering 19 years ago today when I met the man who would forever change, and improve, my life. Yep, April 25, 2012, marks the 19th year that my partner and I have been together. In some ways, it feels like we met yesterday, and in others, it seems like he’s been right by my side forever.
We’ve been through a lot together, as any couple who has been together this long would. Lately, the most compelling challenge we’re facing is getting my partner over his long-term, serious illness. I have faith he will recover fully.
We have learned in all of the years that we have been together that faith, trust, sincerity, honesty, integrity, and financial security are values that we both cherish, and practice each day.
As I rise, I greet my beloved partner with a “good morning, my love!” and he replies, “good morning to you, my sweet.” Throughout the day, I think of ways to make him happy, and he does the same for me. Heck, throughout the day, hardly a moment goes by that I don’t have him on my mind in one way or another.
Man, I am so very lucky to remain in love with my best friend. 19 years… long time, but we fully intend to keep it going for many, many more years to come.
While I have blogged a lot about my partner over the years, I think this tribute explains much about our relationship.
Life is short: cherish your best half!
Life Marches On…
So here I am with my first “real” post on the blog… trying to think of what to blog about remains a question. Of course, I always remain open to your input but for now, here goes….
Last weekend, I drove my partner’s cage (what bikers call a car) to Pittsburgh. My partner cannot drive, still, due to his ongoing health issues. But it was nice to have his company, and keeping me awake as we made the five-hour trip.
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Launch of new blog
Well, here it is — my second post on my new blogging platform powered by WordPress. This new-to-me platform enabled me to move my blog, including more than 1460 of my old posts, to its own dedicated domain, bootedmanblog.com. (The first post didn’t quite work, so I am trying again.)
I am still working out a few bugs with the help of Hostgator Support, my web host, and the WordPress forum, engaging a delightfully helpful guru there. The problems I am having are with images that appear … or not … on various web browsing platforms. I’m sure this will resolve soon.
If you have suggestions or comments about this blog, or some useful solutions for the current minor problems I am experiencing, you can write to me using this form.
Life is short: make alternatives work!
Soft Launch of New Blog
Well, here it is — my first post on my new blogging platform powered by WordPress. This new-to-me platform enabled me to move my blog, including more than 1460 of my old posts, to its own dedicated domain, bootedmanblog.com.
Making this change was not as hard as I thought it would be. I did require web hosting service, which I already have for my website. I have the new domain of this blog hosted within my main website, so now everything is easier to maintain.
And best yet, I got away from the big.ugly.behemoth called Google. Google owns Blogger, as well as YouTube, Picasa, and many other formerly independent web services. I think Google is getting too big for its britches, and I have been considering moving away from “all things Google” for a while. But this past weekend, Google forced me onto its new Graphic User Interface, which in my opinion, SUCKS!
But not to degrade into more ranting, I responded by finding a very useable, workable alternative to Blogger. So welcome to my new blog powered by WordPress. The content will be about the same that it has been, but how it works is easier and is much more in my control. Take that, Google! Your system programmers created a truly sucky blogging environment. I shouldn’t complain much, though, since Blogger is a free site. They can do what they want with it. Fortunately, I had a very good alternative with WordPress, so I was able to switch rather quickly and smoothly.
I still have a few bugs to work out, and will be making tweaks here-and-there. If anyone can explain in plain non-techie English why this thing will not let me post an image to use as a blog header, I would appreciate it. (Yes, I have been to the forums, and yes, I have tried about ten different recommendations found there, but none work.) It also will not show an image that I uploaded to include in this post. It’s there, but not there. I dunno, I’m tired of spending hours trying to figure it out. I have submitted a question to the WordPress user’s forum, and have had responses from a guru, but he/she can’t seem to figure it out either. (I’m afraid it is not a WordPress problem, but a server problem. I fear that the web host I am using is proving that it is not measuring up to promises of site speed… but one thing at a time.)
If you have suggestions or comments about this blog, or some useful solutions for the current minor problems I am experiencing, you can write to me using this form.
Life is short: know your options and instead of complaining, make your move to alternatives.