19 Years Ago I Was Swept Off My Boots

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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…

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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

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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

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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.

Biker Conference

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I attended a biker’s leadership conference over the past few days.

I regret that the organization that sponsors the conference thinks that anything mentioning same-sex relationships or “things gay” is contrary to its “family friendly” position, so I cannot say exactly who sponsored it or where it was. Let’s just say it was near the same town where my mother-in-law lives. I stayed at her home (saving the cost of a hotel room.)

I did not ride my motorcycle to the location where the conference was held because my partner went with me so he could visit his Mom. He cannot ride as a passenger on my bike due to an ongoing disability that has prevented him from riding with me for the past seven years. Man, I miss him (on the back of my bike)!

Anyway, the conference was interesting, and I learned a thing or two that will help me as I work with my motorcycle club. All good.

I will blog more about various issues that were brought to my mind about being a biker who happens to be gay in future blog posts.

Life is short: be open to learning!

Not Leather Lately

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Spring has arrived, and soon it will be summer. Hot, humid, summer.

I like four seasons, especially the warmer time of the year when I can ride my Harley.

Lately, I haven’t been riding much. Time devoted to my partner and his ongoing treatments takes up a huge amount of my time. But I continue to have faith; he will be well again. Sometime….

I hear the Harleys roaring down the road, while transporting my partner in my truck to-and-fro, from visiting doctors to ordinary and mundane chores like grocery shopping. The good thing is that he is well enough to conduct some semblance of a normal routine.

Meanwhile, I remain in my work boots. That tile in the kitchen won’t lay itself. Over my aching, sore body….

No leather, no Harley, but lots of smiles in seeing accomplishment on the tiling. I want my kitchen back!

Life is short: keep working toward your goals.

Not That Kind of Idiot

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No, I’m not that kind of idiot. Really. Who would think an email is legitimate that asks me to adopt an orphan, supposedly from California but the email originated in Malaysia?

What email is legitimate that offers me millions of dollars for serving as a fiduciary conduit in the United States?

Who really believes that I would ever click on a link within an email from an airline confirming tickets I never purchased, or to cancel a huge pizza order I never made?

When hovering over these links and tracing back IP addresses from email senders, these nefarious no-good creeps originate in China, Latvia, Malaysia, and elsewhere.

Really, I am not that kind of idiot. All this junk goes to a spam folder, and gets deleted. This is silly. But I really worry about the few people that these messages trick into clicking on embedded links (which then introduce trojans to insert keylogging programs and steal sensitive information), or who fall for offers of millions of dollars from someone who is trying to steal, literally, from someone’s bank account or steal their identity.

I truly wish that people did not engage in these awful behaviors. It causes me to loose all faith in humanity and trust no one.

Anyway, if you’re one of those idiots who sets those emails in motion, I wish you a bevy of ugly, festering, green warts on your toosh.

Life is short: get a life.

Work-Booted Work

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This blog post is short because I have been very busy. These Timberland work boots are on my feet while I am laying Italian tile in our kitchen. All 460 square feet of it…

What you see in these photos is what the subfloor looks like after original old linoleum was removed from it. I am laying rectangular tile that has the appearance of wood on the floor, cutting it with a wetsaw as necessary to fit angles and edges.

Man, I’m sore…

But it is looking good!

Life is short: take pride in doing your own work!

Wesco and Chippewa Engineer Boots

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My partner had a good day on Wednesday and was able to go to his office for a few hours, which gave me a few unexpected free hours. I decided to make a video during that time. I can’t make videos when my partner is at home, as he has a low opinion about YouTube and videos in general.

In response to a request, on my new video, I discussed my opinions (based on experience) about the similarities and differences between Wesco “Boss” engineer boots and Chippewa engineer boots — both the tall and short versions of each.

For your convenience, the video appears below. Watch, learn, and enjoy!

Legendary Booted

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Any guy seriously into boots has been seeing ads and promos in various media about Legendary Boots. Man oh man, what great-looking, high-quality cowboy boots!

Okay, I admit, I had been drooling over images I had seen of their boots. The price, though, was beyond what I was willing to pay. The boots are great quality, hand-made to custom sizing and all that, but even considering all those outstanding aspects, my inner-self kept saying, “really, you want a pair of boots that cost even more than custom Wescos?”

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

My partner understands… really understands me well. He heard me talk about these boots and I showed him some of the photos from their Facebook page from time to time.

Knowing that I’ve sacrificed a lot of my time and attention for him, working to get him well and past this horrible illness he has been dealing with… my wonderful, caring, thoughtful partner got me a gift.

They arrived the other day. These custom boots are 16 inches (40.6cm) tall, have a full quill black ostrich foot, and dark blue shafts with yellow stitching. Smooth leather soles with a 2.5 inch (6.35cm) cowboy heel complete them.

I haven’t taken them off. Well, I have … when I go to bed … or when I ride my Harley … but otherwise, these puppies have been worn and enjoyed, very much.

How lucky I am to be in love with my best friend, who knows my inner “boot soul” so well. More photos of these boots are here on my website.

Life is short: wear boots and be your own legend!