Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

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I’m not Irish, but on March 17, St. Patrick’s Day, everybody is. Shown here is our chef, Guido, dropping green sprinkles on green-iced cupcakes he helped me bake. I’m taking them to work today to share with my colleagues. (My partner is helping Guido, if you’re working who has the hairy arm. It’s a tossup as to who has more fur. LOL!)

I have two strong memories of this day:

(1) it was my parent’s wedding anniversary. My gosh, they married 69 years ago! My Mom always loved St. Patrick’s Day. She would prepare corned beef and cabbage every year on this day — but fortunately she never forced me to eat the cabbage. I couldn’t come near it, even back in the day when I could eat vegetables. I am remembering her and my father fondly today. I used my Mom’s recipe for the cupcakes, which I made from scratch, as she taught me so many years ago.

(2) in 1978, a close friend and study-mate at the University played “hooky” to sit on the South Chapel lawn on an usually warm, dry, and sunny St. Patty’s Day with me. We enjoyed lunch and drank a couple beers (back in the days when I could drink.) It made me silly enough that I summer-saulted all the way down the hill, much to everyone’s amusement all around. (And in Frye Boots, probably!) I mailed my friend a funny “Happy St. Pat’s!” card. She called last night to say she got it, though she called my cell phone, which I had forgotten about, as usual, and didn’t discover that she called until I put the thing in my briefcase this morning. I will call her back later.

On an aside, my partner “forgot” to wear green today, so his rear “cheek” was pinched as he left for work. Ummm, that was fun!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, however you celebrate!

The Infernal Revenue Service

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Yep, that’s the name of the U.S. Government agency that is responsible for federal income tax, business tax, and whatever-else-they-tax. Lately, the thing that this agency has been taxing me most on is my patience.

I have completed 49 individual federal tax returns for senior buds over the last six weeks or so. I have even filed my own and received a small but appreciated refund. I prepared all of these filings electronically using software I purchased for that purpose.

Now that all the individual returns are done, I am focusing my sights on returns that I file for not-for-profit organizations on whose Boards I serve — and who look to me to file those tax returns. I also file returns for small businesses that I own and operate with my partner.

That’s where the IRS becomes “infernal.” They have mailed me only one form for one organization, but I need five for five separate organizations. I also need forms for the small businesses. Okay, so I go to their website to download the forms. When you visit the website, you have to surf all over the place to find the forms (fortunately, their search feature worked pretty well.)

When I clicked on the forms I wanted, only one of them would work. Two produced an error message saying that the on-line version of the form was corrupted and “could not be repaired.” ummm… have you ever tried to find where to report such a problem on a huge government agency’s website? I found the on-line form, and explained the problem. I have to credit them — they responded within an hour. They sent a “stock answer” that they must have cut-and-pasted from a reference library, saying that I needed to use the most current version of Adobe Acrobat Reader. Well, I am using the latest version, and told them so. Doesn’t matter, they have done their duty by responding, regardless if it indicates that they really didn’t read what I wrote.

I then opted to call on the phone to request that the forms be mailed to me. The forms are not due for another month, so I have time.

Their phone system is one of those super-annoying “press-or-say this-for-that” type of thing, with instructions repeated in Spanish if you don’t respond quickly enough. 16 menu options later, the line went dead. Arrggghhh!

Another 16 menu options later, instead of losing the connection, I heard a short burst of tones, which I presume was a transfer to a live human being. After a pleasant music-on-hold 20-minute wait, I reached an operator and relayed my request. She was very helpful and courteous. It was the automated systems that were less so.

Oh well, such is life with big bureaucracy. I’m sure I am not the only one trying to call the IRS these days.

Erosion Control Makes Muddy Boots

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We have a “babbling brook” at the far edge of our rear property. The brook has been babbling away at the edges, enough to cause some erosion that we don’t want to have happen. We were about to lose some Hellibore to the stream.

Yesterday, my partner and I spent several hours working on the problem. Deepening the stream channel, and removing some rocks and placing them as rip-rap along the edge so the water won’t erode more of the soil.

As I was working away, my partner stood by to hand me tools of the trade as I needed them — crow bar, sledge hammer, shovel — and we got the job done. While I’m sore as heck today, I can tell that the water is flowing more freely since it rained last night. Opening the stream by removing debris and huge quartz rocks will prevent more erosion of the soil. I bask in the soreness of a job well-done.

As I was finishing up, my partner smiled and said, “do you want me to get the camera?” … he knows that sometimes I take pictures of hard-working boots like these old muddy Chippewa Engineers, which seem to be designed for that purpose. A hard-workin’ man’s boots that have withstood a lot of this kind of work in the past, and keep on goin’.

Corrected

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It is interesting to find out how mature my website has become because I received the following message sent through its system:

location: Mercedes, TX

message: Sir,

I just wanted to correct you on where you say our boots are made. You say Mercedes, Mexico when our boots are made in Texas. Our Rios of Mercedes, Anderson Bean, and Olathe Boots are all made 100% here in Mercedes, Texas NOT Mexico. Please make that correction on your website as this is false information. Thanks!

(name)
Marketing Director
Rios of Mercedes
Anderson Bean
Olathe Boots

Well, I stand corrected. I looked in each pair of boots I have that are the subject of the message. The Olathe Buckaroos did have a small “TX” in them that I had not noticed. My Rios of Mercedes ostrich cowboy boots are so old, the printing on the inside of the boot shaft has worn away (or been sweated away.) I’ll take his word for it. Thanks, man, for letting me know. I corrected the appropriate pages on my website. I always strive to share accurate information. I wish more people would let me know if they run into things that could be made better. Few do.

For the record, it should be noted that Mercedes, Texas, is just about 8 miles north of the Progresso International Bridge at the U.S. – Mexico border.

PS: I don’t think boots made in Mexico are bad — in fact many cowboy boots that I have are made there and are comfortable and well-constructed. See my previous blog post on the topic of boots made in Mexico.

Best Motorcycle Patrol Boots

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I know it is risky to say “best” when referencing anything, as different people have different opinions. Cops have worn Dehner Patrol Boots for years, and you will see many motor officers also wearing Chippewa Hi-Shine Engineer Boots, especially on the U.S. East Coast. Both of these companies have large production facilities and have the resources, equipment, staffing, and demand to make a lot of boots for the motorcycle patrol boot market.

I found out about All American Patrol Boots several years ago, but was stymied in finding a way to buy them. The company’s website has not been refreshed since 2002, and they are poor about answering email or returning messages left by phone. However, eventually I found a way to get a pair of these boots through a third-party retailer (which was also a pain in the butt to deal with.)

I got these boots at the end of February after a long five-month wait. But man, was it ever worth the wait! I have worn these boots a lot, including for several rides on my Harley. They are comfortable and perform well. What I mean by that is that the boots flex well at the ankles, without “grabbing.” The entire boot is made of leather, unlike stock Dehner boots which are made of a combination of leather for the foot and plastic “Dehcord” for the shafts.

The sole that came with this model (905L) is a Vibram 100R, which is a heat-resistant, thick lug sole that does not leave black melt-marks on hot motorcycle pipes nor mar flooring if worn indoors. Because it is a big-lug Vibram® sole, it provides excellent traction, especially when holding a big throbbing motorcycle while stopped. Lug soles are also especially good for holding a big heavy machine on a hill.

These boots keep an excellent shine, which is easy to maintain with a quick spray of furniture polish and a buff with a terrycloth wipe. I’m like most guys, and don’t get crazy if my boots get dirty from wear, but I like how they look when well-shined. When boots are easy to keep clean and shined with just a minute’s attention, they get my vote!

These All American patrol boots have a bal-laced instep, which is a traditional style for motor officers. The boots also have a buckle closure at the top of the shaft. A buckle there is so much better than laces, which can become untied when blown in the wind while operating a motorcycle and thus are a nuisance to have to re-tie often.

If All American had the production capacity to compete with the Big Boys (Dehner and Chippewa), they could give these guys a run for their money. The cost of the All American Boots made custom to my calf and height requirements was 3/4 of Dehner stock boots cost (MSRP). They are a great value for a very high-quality product.

That’s why I am raving about these boots, and call them the best. This is just my opinion, but I’ve been around the block once or twice, have ridden hundreds of thousands of miles on a motorcycle while wearing many different motorcycle boots, so this opinion is grounded in experience.

Here’s a video that I made recently describing these boots and showing them in action on my Harley. Enjoy!

UPDATE: If you arrived on this blog post looking for a recommendation on a great general all-around motorcycle boot, read this post, here.

The Risk One Takes

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I published my “Guide to Motorcycle Boots” in January. It has gotten a lot of visits, especially since Larry linked to it from hotboots.com and featured it for about a month from his home page. Thanks, Larry — I have received about 1,000 unique visitors each day, many of whom are coming from the hotboots website. Well that, an also a couple of motorcycle enthusiast websites that have linked to it, as well.

The risk I took in posting that Guide is that the President of a company that sells motorcycle boots found my site and noticed that I did not mention that company’s boots in the Guide. She expressed her disappointment that the boots were not included.

I replied to her, and said, “yes, it’s true, I am aware of your boots but I do not own any, so I wrote the Guide based on my own experience.” I then offered to include a mention of her company’s boots if she would respond to several technical questions about the soles and boot construction. I explained that I thought the soles were made of soft rubber which can leave melt-marks on hot motorcycle pipes. I asked her about the construction of the boots. Goodyear welt? Leather lining? Thickness of the leather? Origin of the leather? I also asked her to describe or defend my perception of value. The boots seemed to be priced rather expensively compared with other motorcycle boots of the same height and style made by others. Could she defend the pricing based on quality of materials and construction?

I have not received a reply (yet). It’s been over a month, so I don’t expect to receive one. She learned that I know a thing or two about boots and the questions to ask. By her failure to reply, it indicates to me that perception is reality: the boots are overpriced and use materials of lesser quality. I’m still willing to change my perception, but she has to answer my email. Failure to do that results in no change (of my motorcycle boot review page or my mind.)

The point of this post is to read things like my tutorials carefully. If something or a particular manufacturer’s product(s) are not mentioned, there may be a reason for that — or I simply may have overlooked it. But it’s more likely that I don’t say something for a reason. If you wonder why, just ask.

Another Awards Dinner-Dance?

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Oh cripes, it’s that time of year. Invitations for Spring events are coming in from all these groups. Non-profit organizations, political groups, alumni groups, social groups. The invitations all seem to say the same thing, year after year after year:

  • Come to our spectacular event, where you can see [so-and-so who you probably don’t know]

  • And tickets are a donation of oooonly [insert US$ astronomical sum]

  • But wait! There’s more! for ooooonly [insert double US$ astronomical sum], you can come to the special VIP pre-event reception and meet [so-and-so] in person!

  • Enjoy great [don’t insert ‘rubber chicken’] cuisine and fine [plastic bottled] wine with a terrific [still frozen] desert!

  • Applaud [way too may long-winded] award-winners!

  • And remember, it’s for [insert name of great cause that you already donate to anyway]

  • Get there early to participate in our [who’d wanna pay anything for that?] silent auction!

  • And plan to get your groove on with [insert name of band no one has ever heard of] for a night of dancing!

Uggghhhh… these fundraising events labeled awards-dinner-dances are prolific, at least in my neck of the woods. Not that I am “Mr. Popular,” but I have received invitations so far for 6 of these events in April, 9 in May, and 7 in June, with more coming. AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!

BTW, did I mention before that I can’t dance and hate trying to? Did I mention that my partner, Mr. Recluse, hates these things more than I do, so it’s our agreement that I don’t even mention them?

While personally I would like to blow off all of these things, there are some events that I can’t avoid for various reasons. I’m on the Board of Directors, or they’re giving me some some token of appreciation, or someone bought me the ticket, or I am presenting an award, etc., etc. On comes the monkey suit, the smile turns upside down, and off I go.

But why must they include a band and dancing? I figure that I’m not the only one who gets tired and just wants to go home. But some of the organizers actually think that people like to dance. And seeing those old grey-haired farts shaking [insert name of body parts] on a dance floor is, well, not a pretty sight. (There are so many other things I could say, but I’m restraining myself.)

Oh well, such is life. I promise, as soon as the last award is presented and the last long-winded speech ends, I’m outta there…

Such is my life — the life of a non-dancing guy who would much rather just be home, in bed.

What’s Your Passion?

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I attended a conference last year that was focused on motorcycling. We were handed cards and were asked to write what our “spark,” or passion, was that got us excited about motorcycling on the card and share it with another conference participant.

That question extends to my own life in all the things I am involved with. Here are my passions:

* My partner
* My family
* My friends

Well, these are common passions for most folks. Here are more things about which I am passionate:

* My community. I am passionate about where I live, how we live, how we manage growth, infrastructure, and sustainability of our environment. I speak out, I get involved, I cajole, persuade, pester… as a local civic activist volunteer.

* Neighbors and residents of my community. Advocating for their needs, helping them out, providing service, fixing stuff, protecting them from shams and con-artists.

* Providing workforce housing. Cops, teachers, firefighters, nurses: these community heroes often can’t afford to live in the county where they work. It has been my passion to try to help out in that regard, as best I can, anyway.

* Motorcycling. The freedom, exhilaration, fun, excitement. Man, nothing quite describes the feeling one has when you’re out on the open road with a group of fellow bikers, enjoying the scenes, scents, and sounds.

* Justice. I rail against social injustices that I observe, and try to right them. Rally folks to the cause. Make things better, one step at a time.

* Intelligence. You might look at this in a number of ways — from railing at dumb-dumbs who abandon shopping carts in handicapped parking spots or who drop trash wherever they damn well please, to having a spirited conversation and exchange of ideas, to having the desire to study to become a U.S. citizen, to acting and behaving with common sense. I’m not talking about “book smarts” as much as I am talking about people thinking before they act, and acting with intelligence.

* Honor and Integrity. No need to explain that. I just am passionate about these values and practice them every day.

* Smiles. Lighten up, folks! Oh my gosh, so many grim faces I see every day (probably because they’re stuck in suits and ties). S-M-I-L-E!

So, what’s missing from the list?

* Boots — that is my avocation. Hobby. Fun thing to talk about, wear, build websites and blogs about… sure, I enjoy boots but I’m not wrapped (or warped) 24/7 about them.

* Leather — same goes with leather, too. A waning avocation. (Waning in the sense that I’ve grown beyond leather fetishism as I’ve blogged often about.)

Some other things are missing from the list, too, such as sports, television, movies and the dramatic arts, and stuff like that. There’s just so much time in the day, and I choose to dedicate my time to my passions. I am just not that passionate about these things as some others may be.

So, what’s YOUR passion? (Thanks to my eighth brother for inspiring this blog post)

The Real Deal

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After my conference ended yesterday afternoon, I met a guy who is visiting DC from California for dinner. This is the best time of year to visit DC, before Spring break. Come mid-March and especially around the beginning of April when the cherry trees are in bloom, all hell breaks loose. It is crowded in all the museums and other tourist venues until the end of August.

My visitor wrote to me after seeing my website. He is a young guy who is interested in leather and had some questions. He said that he has visited a number of websites that some other gay guys have posted, either on their own or on geocities. He remarked that many of these sites had not been updated, sometimes for years. He complimented me that I kept attending to my website. He also talked about how he noticed that most gay men’s websites delve into fantasy and you really can’t tell much about the guy, other than perhaps about his ego. It’s very hard to tell if any of the content on some gay guy’s websites is truthful. I have noticed that, too.

My visiting dinner companion paid me the biggest compliment: “when I saw your website and read all the content on it about your passions and interests, I could tell that you are ‘the real deal,’ and I wanted to write to you.” That he did. We exchanged some messages, then met for a nice, relaxing dinner at a restaurant with outdoor tables. It was such a pleasant evening.

I really enjoyed having dinner with J, and discussing a lot of things. I hope he has a good time being a tourist in DC. I appreciate his review and comments about me and my website. It’s true: WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get). And due to the very nice weather yesterday, I was able to ride my Harley to show him that side of me too: boots, leather, and the bike. Couldn’t have been a nicer evening.

Do You Need Some Ice, Sir?

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I am attending a conference sponsored by the organization I work for. The conference is being held in a hotel in Washington, DC. It got rather warm today outside (about 70°F, 21°C). Since I would much rather be riding my Harley, I compromised. I rode my Harley to the conference, since I’m staying at home and not in the hotel.

Today it got hot inside the hotel. They weren’t expecting outdoor air temperatures to get so warm this time of year, so they did not have cooling on inside.

Our big boss expects all of the staff to wear a suit — “business attire” — throughout the conference. Bleccchhh. Oh well, I do what I have to do. (Don’t worry, though, I still had boots on. I really don’t own any shoes.)

After an uncomfortable morning, sitting there in a shirt and tie but with the jacket casually draped across the back of my chair, the boss noticed and “suggested” that I keep my jacket on. I looked around, and noticed that most men who were dressed up had their jackets on. Well, since I was “asked…”.

In the early afternoon, I was sitting in the back of a room observing a meeting, and felt rather clammy. I looked down at the front of my shirt, and noticed that it was all wet with sweat. As I was noticing this, a colleague came up to me and asked, “are you okay?” He said that my face was all red and there was a lot of sweat on my forehead.

I stood up and removed my jacket. I discovered to my dismay that my shirt was completely drenched in sweat. Then I was even more shocked to see that I had sweat stains below the waist. I was burning up!

I left the meeting and went to a more private area to try to cool off. My colleague was very worried about me, and came with me. He was suggesting that perhaps I needed to go to a doctor, as I was still sweating like crazy. A hotel staff person walked by, looked at me, and asked, “do you need some ice, sir?” I said “yes!”

I sat there for about an hour drinking ice water and cooling down. I put an ice pack on the back of my neck and on each wrist. Eventually, I cooled off. Another colleague loaned me a dry shirt, and I recomposed myself to finish out the day.

I don’t know how men do it — wear a jacket, shirt, and tie all day. I just can’t. I figure my reaction was a combination of the heat inside the building, my strong discomfort in the clothing I had to wear, and my concern about the situation causing me to react.

Tomorrow — shirt, but no undershirt. Lighter pants. Lighter jacket (I only have two, so what I have will have to do). And I will carry that blasted jacket and only put it on when I see the big boss.

It’s odd that I can wear leather and not get so overheated. But close up my neck with a stupid necktie and smother me in a suit jacket, and something goes flooky in my mind or something. Uggghhh… three more days of this. Wish me luck!

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