BEN AND JERRY FOREVER !
Monday, June 2, 2008
My Sons are Gay
There has always been a big deal made of people "coming out" to their parents... and of parents pondering the question, 'What if my child is gay?". Well, I think more thought ought to be given to questions such as "What of my child is a murderer?", "What if my child has the IQ of a peanut?" and "What if my child is a complete idiot and makes bad choices in life?" See, because these are actually problems. I am proud of my gay sons!! I love them. And I want to share them with the world... here they are:
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Speed Street and Beyond
Apparently, folks in North Carolina like the car racing. And they like to throw festivals in honor of the car racing. And someone I know likes to partake in race activities, including the festivals... and so there is Speed Street.
This past Friday night, Staci and her friends arrived in Charlotte and I met with them to partake in some drinking of the alcoholic beverages.
Although I made it down to the area I needed to be in with no problem, after I parked I had some trouble finding the bar that the ladies were at. I stopped to ask for direction to where I needed to go and I was given the wrong directions. After walking about 6 blocks in boots that hurt and heat that was stifling, not only did I realize I was going the wrong way, I also realized why I don't miss the crowded streets in NY. It's because people are stupid. Eventually, I found the bar and joined the ladies and their newly found "man-friends" at the bar. Man Friend 1 is pictured below, but Man Friend 2 is hidden behind the Stacy on the right. We will see more of him later. (I know, you can't stand the anticipation.... but you will have to wait.)
The Man Friends are from Virginia and they "work in the landscaping business". Anytime someone says they work in any type of anything, followed by the word 'business', it's a red flag. I'm just saying.
Anywho, we had a lot of fun drinking and talking and laughing. We also did shots and I tried a new one: Tic Tac. I recommend it; it is very tasty. Stacy on-the-Right also did shots, which it seems is something that does not happen often. Then at some point it became imperative that I take pictures of these people:
I know what you're thinking: why can't guys like this come to my bar. I'll tell you why: Because girls like that don't go to your bar. And for this, you should be grateful. Besides, who needs guys like that when you have waiters like this cute one that brought us all of our alcoholic delights for the evening. I would mention him by name, but I don't remember it.
Not all of the action was inside the bar. Afterall, this was Speed Street. This is the KISS cover band that was performing. They weren't midgets, but hey... you can't have everything.
After we left the bar, we made our way through the crowds to Whiskey Rio. I only got into 2 arguments on the way over there. Oh, and one Kellie Picker performance. This is us on the way:
And then we arrived at the Whiskey River Bar. It seems that there was a long line waiting to get on the escalator. By the way, I do not remember this line, which means either it was not there, or we simply decided not to wait on it. If the latter is the case: I am not surprised.
After we got past the "Hey, I'm from New York, but I never heard of one decent club you've mentioned" wanna-be-tough-guy-bouncer, paid $7.00 to get in and found the dance floor, this is pretty much what happened:
After about an hour or so, I was very tired... or something... and decided to leave. This is the last thing I saw:
And somehow, I still managed to sleep that night. I don't drink and drive, so I caught a few winks in my Jeep. I left the girls to their Man Friends and it was all good... I think!
This past Friday night, Staci and her friends arrived in Charlotte and I met with them to partake in some drinking of the alcoholic beverages.
Although I made it down to the area I needed to be in with no problem, after I parked I had some trouble finding the bar that the ladies were at. I stopped to ask for direction to where I needed to go and I was given the wrong directions. After walking about 6 blocks in boots that hurt and heat that was stifling, not only did I realize I was going the wrong way, I also realized why I don't miss the crowded streets in NY. It's because people are stupid. Eventually, I found the bar and joined the ladies and their newly found "man-friends" at the bar. Man Friend 1 is pictured below, but Man Friend 2 is hidden behind the Stacy on the right. We will see more of him later. (I know, you can't stand the anticipation.... but you will have to wait.)
The Man Friends are from Virginia and they "work in the landscaping business". Anytime someone says they work in any type of anything, followed by the word 'business', it's a red flag. I'm just saying.
Anywho, we had a lot of fun drinking and talking and laughing. We also did shots and I tried a new one: Tic Tac. I recommend it; it is very tasty. Stacy on-the-Right also did shots, which it seems is something that does not happen often. Then at some point it became imperative that I take pictures of these people:
I know what you're thinking: why can't guys like this come to my bar. I'll tell you why: Because girls like that don't go to your bar. And for this, you should be grateful. Besides, who needs guys like that when you have waiters like this cute one that brought us all of our alcoholic delights for the evening. I would mention him by name, but I don't remember it.
Not all of the action was inside the bar. Afterall, this was Speed Street. This is the KISS cover band that was performing. They weren't midgets, but hey... you can't have everything.
After we left the bar, we made our way through the crowds to Whiskey Rio. I only got into 2 arguments on the way over there. Oh, and one Kellie Picker performance. This is us on the way:
And then we arrived at the Whiskey River Bar. It seems that there was a long line waiting to get on the escalator. By the way, I do not remember this line, which means either it was not there, or we simply decided not to wait on it. If the latter is the case: I am not surprised.
After we got past the "Hey, I'm from New York, but I never heard of one decent club you've mentioned" wanna-be-tough-guy-bouncer, paid $7.00 to get in and found the dance floor, this is pretty much what happened:
After about an hour or so, I was very tired... or something... and decided to leave. This is the last thing I saw:
And somehow, I still managed to sleep that night. I don't drink and drive, so I caught a few winks in my Jeep. I left the girls to their Man Friends and it was all good... I think!
Two weeks in Charlotte...
OK, so I have been in Charlotte 2 weeks. On May 14th, Mom and I picked up the moving truck and 
(incorrectly) assumed that one's auto insurance will cover one, should one get in to an accident with one's moving vehicle. Not so much. FYI: Buy the insurance that they offer you when you get there if you haven't already purchased it at the time you reserved the truck. It may sound like a scam, and you may, the gentleman at the Penske rental office said that "... in all his years renting trucks, he has only seen maybe 2 people who had auto insurance that covered their moving truck rental..." and ... "... they must have had some real good insurance." Geico does qualify as "real good insurance", apparently.
After getting the truck home, the loading began. I would say we were done with just about everything by about 4. After taking a shower, Bernadette and I took a ride to drop off the kids and then headed back. I left Laurel place in the truck, with Bernadette following in the Jeep at about 8 pm. We made a stop at Mommy's, got gas and then got on the road at just about 9. I had the furry fur cats in the cabin of the tru
ck with me. I worried that each time I got out for gas or a bathroom break, or if I rolled down the window too much at a toll booth, one of them would try to make an escape, but it never happened. They did however, turn against each other on the ride down. They all settled in their spots and hissed at each other if they so much as looked at another. Jerry monopolized the front seat when he wasn't layed out across the dashboard. Benjamin found his comfort zone in a duffel bag between the seats and Emmy hid beneath or behind my seat. I was stressed, but we were on our way to our new home.
By about 2 am, we started looking for a place to sleep for a few hours. The timing was tricky. As it turned out, the leasing office of the apartment complex I was moving into was closing at noon on May 15th - the day I was supposed to be there to sign my lease and get my keys. So, I was figuring that if we left at 9 and had to be there by noon, the difference was 15 hours. The drive to Charlotte is 10 hours, which left 5 for sleep. We exited 95 for the first time in Virginia and we might as well have been Joseph and Mary because there was no room at the inn. We hit at least 4 places on that exit, drove a few miles more and checked with another 4 or 5 places and each had a sign on the door: "No Vacancy", "No More Room", "Sorry. All booked." After moving about for a little bit, we caught our second winds and decided to drive on a bit more. By about 4 or 5, I was exhausted. we tried finding a place again and were met with the same problem. This time I actually found one woman who told me that there was a convention a little further up north and that's why there were no rooms.
We tried one more place and then decided, we might as well push through. At 6, we stopped at McDonald's to use the restroom, get coffee and reaffirm the fact that Dunkin' Donuts is the best coffee ever. By 8, we were beyond exhausted, but nearing Raleigh and knowing that the end was in sight. What would have been great was knowing what exit I was going to be living off of. I knew I was going to know it when I saw it, but I had no idea what it was. And then slowly, by about 10 am, things started to look familiar. At 10:30 am on May 15th, after over 13 hours of driving, only 2 cups of coffee, a bag of sunflower seeds and too many catfights to count, I was there! I was so over tired, my hands were shaking noticeably as I signed the 15 papers I had to sign.
I want to post better pictures of my new place and I will soon....
(incorrectly) assumed that one's auto insurance will cover one, should one get in to an accident with one's moving vehicle. Not so much. FYI: Buy the insurance that they offer you when you get there if you haven't already purchased it at the time you reserved the truck. It may sound like a scam, and you may, the gentleman at the Penske rental office said that "... in all his years renting trucks, he has only seen maybe 2 people who had auto insurance that covered their moving truck rental..." and ... "... they must have had some real good insurance." Geico does qualify as "real good insurance", apparently.After getting the truck home, the loading began. I would say we were done with just about everything by about 4. After taking a shower, Bernadette and I took a ride to drop off the kids and then headed back. I left Laurel place in the truck, with Bernadette following in the Jeep at about 8 pm. We made a stop at Mommy's, got gas and then got on the road at just about 9. I had the furry fur cats in the cabin of the tru
ck with me. I worried that each time I got out for gas or a bathroom break, or if I rolled down the window too much at a toll booth, one of them would try to make an escape, but it never happened. They did however, turn against each other on the ride down. They all settled in their spots and hissed at each other if they so much as looked at another. Jerry monopolized the front seat when he wasn't layed out across the dashboard. Benjamin found his comfort zone in a duffel bag between the seats and Emmy hid beneath or behind my seat. I was stressed, but we were on our way to our new home.
By about 2 am, we started looking for a place to sleep for a few hours. The timing was tricky. As it turned out, the leasing office of the apartment complex I was moving into was closing at noon on May 15th - the day I was supposed to be there to sign my lease and get my keys. So, I was figuring that if we left at 9 and had to be there by noon, the difference was 15 hours. The drive to Charlotte is 10 hours, which left 5 for sleep. We exited 95 for the first time in Virginia and we might as well have been Joseph and Mary because there was no room at the inn. We hit at least 4 places on that exit, drove a few miles more and checked with another 4 or 5 places and each had a sign on the door: "No Vacancy", "No More Room", "Sorry. All booked." After moving about for a little bit, we caught our second winds and decided to drive on a bit more. By about 4 or 5, I was exhausted. we tried finding a place again and were met with the same problem. This time I actually found one woman who told me that there was a convention a little further up north and that's why there were no rooms.
We tried one more place and then decided, we might as well push through. At 6, we stopped at McDonald's to use the restroom, get coffee and reaffirm the fact that Dunkin' Donuts is the best coffee ever. By 8, we were beyond exhausted, but nearing Raleigh and knowing that the end was in sight. What would have been great was knowing what exit I was going to be living off of. I knew I was going to know it when I saw it, but I had no idea what it was. And then slowly, by about 10 am, things started to look familiar. At 10:30 am on May 15th, after over 13 hours of driving, only 2 cups of coffee, a bag of sunflower seeds and too many catfights to count, I was there! I was so over tired, my hands were shaking noticeably as I signed the 15 papers I had to sign.
I want to post better pictures of my new place and I will soon....
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