Readers and friends are aware that I enjoy watching skilled motorcycle riders — motorcops — compete in what is commonly called a “police rodeo.” I have had the pleasure of watching many of these competitions and serving as a judge for the past two years at one of the largest such competitions held on the U.S. East Coast. So naturally, a friend asked, “are you going to attend the motorcycle skills competition on the 23rd in Wayne, New Jersey?”
Continue reading
Monthly Archives: June 2012
What To Say When You Don’t Know What To Say
As my family, friends, and readers of this blog know, my partner has been, and remains, ill with symptoms of a persistent infectious disease caused by a spirochete transmitted by a tick bite. It’s a disease that can happen when living in an area populated by deer.
My friends in the boot world and blogosphere have heard about this long-term difficult situation in which I am engaged.
It can be sad and depressing when one is experiencing a life event and he only hears silence. There are times when silence is deafening.
Most people have trouble dealing with these matters, because they want to show concern, but do not know how to do it. Also, they are human. Most people do not want to think about bad things. To some, ignorance is bliss. To the one affected, ignorance presents questions like, “are my friends fair-weather friends only, and disappear when it rains?”
Here are some suggestions on what to say (or do) when you don’t know what to say….
Continue reading
Boots, MotorCops, Bikes, and Boat Shoes?
If you ride a motorcycle, wear long pants and boots.
If you work out at a gym and/or play sports, wear shorts and sneakers.
If you sail a boat, then you can wear shorts and boat shoes (if you must, but honestly, they’re awfully dorky-looking).
And flip-flops?
Continue reading
Pride Again?
Ooops, there I go again, once more, I have forgotten that it is “[gay] pride” weekend in Washington, DC. Last place my partner want to be is out in the sun baking in downtown DC. What am I doing today instead?
Continue reading
Credit and Debit-Free Month
I was reviewing the joint financial accounts that my partner and I share. We go over “the books” (which I keep on Quicken) at least once a week. He trusts me, but I insist on going over our income and expenses regularly with him so there are no questions about how we are doing, what the amounts of our regular bills are, who is due what, and so forth. One of the most frequent reasons couples (gay or straight) argue is about money. My partner and I have had our share of disagreements, but never — in all of our 19+ years — have we argued about money. Why?
Continue reading
Forgotten Boots, Part 3
Completing this series of related posts on this blog, I am posting about a discovery of three pairs of boots that my partner found in our attic, which had been stored there since we moved to our house in 1998, and long forgotten. Two pairs of Wesco boots were found among a cobra…
Continue reading
Forgotten Boots, Part 2
Carrying this series forward, I am posting about a discovery of three pairs of boots that my partner found in our attic, which had been stored there since we moved to our house in 1998, and long forgotten.
Man, I did not remember that my very first pair of Wesco boots were not “Boss” (engineer) or harness boots, but were a very tall pair of Highliners. Back in the day…
Continue reading
Interruption for Emergency
Pardon the interruption in this blog’s usual chatter for an emergency that got the hunky EMS guys to carry me away…
Continue reading
Forgotten Boots, Part 1
My dear partner, Mr. Neatnik, dutifully packed away some boxes after we moved into our house (in 1998!) that we both forgot about. Recently, he got on a tear about cleaning up and throwing out “junk” that he found in storage in our walk-in attic. Lo-and-behold, one of the boxes that he found had three pairs of boots in it. They had been there since 1998.
What did he find?
Continue reading
For Better or Worse, In Sickness and in Health
These are lines from standard wedding vows, and is something that couples say to one another during a marriage ceremony. But these words apply just as well, and in my opinion, most directly, to my partner and me regardless of our official marriage status.
My partner remains sick with a very persistent infection that treatments so far have yet to resolve. For better or worse, I’m there….
Continue reading