Why I Volunteer At Drag Bingo

About a hundred years ago when I lived in California, a group of us went to dinner the third Saturday of every month. Our ringleader, Marty, gathered up people he liked - smart, funny, talented people (still a mystery how I got in) - mixed us all together, gays, lesbians, and "breeders" alike, and magic happened. There were some hilarious people involved and it was a regular occurrence to have sore ribs the next day from laughing. 



Bill was part of the inner circle and one of the kindest people I've ever known.We instantly connected and took every opportunity to be near each other. We fed each other the most delicious morsels and hung back from the rest of the group to walk together.

Bill had AIDS. It being the late Eighties, miracle drug cocktails hadn't happened yet. You can guess how this story ends. 


I'd like to say that I was there with him holding his hand, being the best friend ever, loving him to the other side. But I couldn't bear to see him wasting away and phoned instead. One time I had a cold and wouldn't visit so as to not compromise his health. In retrospect, that seems a very stupid excuse when someone is dying. Another time I drove to his house only to turn around without going in.


I was a coward.

The years since Bill's death, I have served on committees for AIDS outreach services, walked AIDS walks, served AIDS caregivers and in general tried to redeem myself.

I like to think I'd be braver now.  

The Three P's of Pets

We all know what they are.
Let's say them together - pee, poop, and puke.
God help me. Last night as I went around the house cleaning up after three cats, I wondered just where those studies came from - you know, the ones that SWEAR pet ownership lowers your blood pressure.

First of all, I have a high pee-er (I think it's Lillie). She overshoots the side of the box, juuuuusssstttt enough. So there's that. 
Second of all, Finn is a Manx and they can have what I refer to as "The Feature". Meaning they are prone to intestinal issues, to put it delicately. And it results in what I call chocolate drops and/or skid marks, to put it indelicately. Which I find more of AFTER I've steamed cleaned the floor and put away the steam cleaner.

Anyway, it's still hot. Supposed to break this week. Highs in the 80's. Lows in the upper 60's. What a relief!

What the heck is the deal with Blogger?! And the white space behind some sentences? It's kinda pissing me off.

My "GrandSmoker"

I don't have any grandchildren. However, The Boy just gave birth, in a manner of speaking, to a 850 pound smoker that he designed and built. I'm so proud. 

His father is creative that way; he made his own patterns and sewed clothes for The Boy when he was a wee bairn. The Boy never followed instructions when putting something together, he looked at the picture of the finished product and went from there. We put together a futon frame once and he had it sorted out while I was still counting all the screws.

Here's a picture of my behemoth "grandsmoker". Feel free to have a cigar for me.

It's Still Hot Y'all

Hopefully this is the last day of triple digit weather for a long while. Those poor folks in Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, and West Virginia who are without power in this heat. Here's hoping the utility companies get you back up in the A/C zone quickly.
We had about fifteen minutes of crazy all-of-a-sudden wind that freaked the cats out and scattered oak tree branches and leaf clusters all over the yard here, but the lights never flickered. Just down the road, people were without power all night. Weird how that works.

To keep cool yesterday, we went to the NC Museum of Art to see El Anatsui, When I Last Wrote To You About Africa. It was fantastic (my new word). He works in clay, wood, paint, and lately, bottle caps. Bottle caps have been hammered and shaped into flat, crushed, square shapes, then bound together with pieces of copper wire. The result is metal that drapes like cloth. He lets each museum display them the way that moves them, allowing them to contribute to the art. I highly recommend seeing it if it comes to your area.

After that we headed back to Chapel Hill for a delicious Indian meal at Mint. I had the meat platter (perfect for the Atkins devotee) and the Kachumber salad: chunks of cucumber and tomatoes, seasoned simply with cilantro and salt (the website says there is onions and a tangy sauce, but I didn't see any onions. There may have been a splash of vinegar). It was delightfully cool and refreshing.
So was the mango mojito. Heh.