I read a story that a friend brought to my attention titled, “Why ‘coming out’ Matters.” The full text of the story is here.
There was a section in that story that caught my attention. It read,
Straight people announce their sexuality all day every day. It happens when they canoodle in the park, walk hand in hand through the mall, place loved ones’ pictures on the desk. These are small joys and we don’t think of them as announcements of sexuality, but they are. If you are gay, you don’t do such things. Or, you do them strategically, thoughtfully, picking and choosing where and when it is safe to canoodle, hold hands, set out the pictures.
How have I made those strategic decisions?
Continue reading
Someone recently entered this question into a search engine: “can you use reptile boot cleaner on ostrich leather?”
Once again on this fine and lovely holiday weekend (it is Memorial Day on Monday here in the U.S), I find myself not “riding to the wall” (that is, participating in an event called “Rolling Thunder,” an event where motorcyclists from all over gather at the Pentagon and then ride through downtown Washington, DC, to the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial for a ceremony honoring those who served, who died, and who remain classified as “MIA.”)
Back in the days of my youth, even before I met my spouse and for a few years thereafter… I thought of myself as a “leatherman” whose interests followed to attend events like International Mr. Leather (IML), Mid-Atlantic Leather (MAL), and various smaller gatherings of guys in gear. Yep, I have the leather, but what do I do with it now?
Every now-and-then, someone writes to me to ask, “I can’t seem to squeeze on standard patrol boots. What companies offer boots that will fit me?” Some have also asked, “do you know any manufacturer of tall patrol boots that have a zipper in them?” Some men prefer or want a zipper so that the boots are easier for them to pull on or remove. It’s darn hard sometimes to get tall boots to fit beefy legs. Most patrol boots come with one standard calf circumference (width), so from their perspective, you can either buy them as made and try to squeeze them on, or forget about it.
I am having a new pair of boots made to order! Woo-hoo! Why the excitement? You say, “come on, BHD, you’ve got tons of boots. Why a new pair and why are you so excited about them?”