Bobservations

While traveling out to Oregon last week, a rather nice woman sat next to Carlos and me and said Hello. She then looked at me and asked if he was my … wait for it, it’s epic, it nearly took the top of his head off … if he was my father!

I laughed; Carlos choked. I told her Carlos was my husband and she turned bright red and said she asked because she saw me helping him down the ramp to the plane as he held my arm. So I explained that he was visually impaired and used a cane, but also took my arm because it makes it easier to board a plane.

We all had a good laugh about it, though Carlos’ laugh had a tinge of bitterness to it.

This Tuxedo Says comes from May 2020 when we were still housebound:

“As  always happens, Tuxedo and I are on the same page, though, yeah, I’ll wait until it’s safe.”

He was more eager for outside than I.

It was quite cold and rainy in Oregon so I was really in the mood for some Hot Tropical Island cakes.

The closing of the estate went rather smoothly, with just two small glitches …

The first was at the Oregon DMV to transfer titles of the cars to my brother. We walked in the little building to find two DMV employees behind the counter and we waited a beat for one of them to ask us to step up. Finally, one guy said:

“You need to take a number.”

So we turned, and grabbed a ticket, #67, and then turned back around in time to hear the same man say:

“Now serving number 67.”

I kid you not.

The second glitch was on a phone call to the wireless provider and took me asking “Representative” about forty times before I was finally put on hold to wait for said Representative for forty-five minutes.

I maintained my composure, though the last twenty or so “Representatives” had a bit of a bite to them.

Another Tale of Carlos … on our first night in Oregon as we were getting to sleep after a long day traveling, Carlos suddenly jerked his leg up and said he had a cramp in his calf. I moved over and started massaging his leg and stretching it out slowly until the pain was gone, and then we settled down to go back to sleep.

I, however, started to laugh:

“What’s so funny?”

“I was thinking of the lady on the plane who thought you were my Dad.”

“And?”

“If she saw you now, she might think you were my Crampa! Get it? You have a Cramp so you’re my Crampa!!!”

I laughed until he smothered me with a pillow and I fell asleep unconscious.

We drove down the coast for a bit on our last day in Oregon and stopped in the town of Florence, Oregon. We toured a few shops, had some coffee and a pasty to nosh on and then I found my new favorite coffee cup:

Love. 

I saw this guy at the airport while waiting for our flight home to Columbia. The thighs, glistening and impressive; the big feet, a harbinger of what might be; the guns, threatening to envelope me.

I stared and then I snapped the photo. Later, while sitting on the plane during boarding I saw  Mr. Beefcake’s girlfriend coming down the aisle and hoped to get a good long look at his face … and when I saw it, it reminded me of my gay friend Kenneth and I waiting for a table in a restaurant. He looks through the dining room, spots a male server, and asks the hostess:

“Oh, can we have him?”

“Sure.”

And she started to lead us to a table when Kenneth stopped and told the girl to never mind.

“You don’t want him as your server?”

“Nope. He’s far away hot and up close ugly.”

That was Mr. Beefcake. Full face view and it ruined everything.

This full face view ruined nothing ... Lockhart Brownlie is an actor, singer, dancer, model and out gay man, but the question is: Would You Hit It?

I Can't Breathe ...

Meme Dump: Cast A Goddamned Vote!

Speak Out!!!

In the 1920s and early 1930s Martin Niemöller, a prominent Lutheran pastor in Germany, sympathized with many Nazi ideas and supported radically right-wing political movements. But after Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, Niemöller became an outspoken critic of Hitler’s interference in the Protestant Church. He spent the last eight years of Nazi rule, from 1937 to 1945, in Nazi prisons and concentration camps.

Niemöller is perhaps best remembered for this postwar statement:

First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist

Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist

Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist

Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew

Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me

And that, one of my favorite poems, brings me to today, and a twist on Niemöller’s words:

First he came for the Mexicans, riding down a golden escalator and calling them drug dealers, thieves, rapists and murderers

And I did not speak out

Because I was not Mexican

 

Then he came for transgender people

And I did not speak out

Because I was not trans

 

Then he came for women, and their right to control their bodies

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a woman

 

Then he came for Haitians, saying they eat dogs and cats

And I did not speak out

Because I was not Haitian

 

Then he came for Puerto Rico, a US territory, standing in silence as a comic called it a garbage dump

And I did not speak out

Because I am not from Puerto Rico

 

Then he came for journalists and anyone who speaks against him … and then he came for Americans he dubbed “the enemy within,” and threatened to unleash the police and military on Americans … and he came for anyone who is “other”

And I knew I had to speak out before he came for me

And there would be no one left to speak up

Speaking out helps; speaking out let’s others who feel what you’re feeling know they are not alone. But, we all know, speaking out is not enough.

We know we have to vote to keep a dangerously, unhinged, incompetent, racist, rapist, misogynist, traitor and liar from any position of power.

The Funny Papers: Cast A Goddamned Vote!

Nick Anderson, Tim Campbell, Mike Luckovich, Daniel Medina, Trevor Irvin, Gary Huck, Michael de Adder, Clay Bennett, Matt Wuerker, Dennis Goris, Marc Murphy, Clare Crooke,

Why Is It ...

… that when I say “Are we still going” I’m really trying to cancel the plans.

… that I like to make shopping lists and then leave them on the counter  and then guess what was on it when I get to the store; fun game.

… that when you roll your eyes at me, I think, ‘Keep on, maybe you’ll find a brain back there.’

… that the co-worker who asked me why I never smile at work doesn’t realize that I don’t get paid for that.

… that people don’t understand I am not a texter or an Instagrammer or a TikTok-er or Facetimer, I am a Do Not Disturber.

… that I hate going out in public and finding people there.

… that I’m the type of employee that doesn’t use the break room? I go to my car to get a real break from everyone.

… that you should never equate education with intelligence. You can have a masters and still be an idiot.

… that no one understands that I am not mean, I am brutally honest, and the truth hurts. So get a Band-Aid.

… that just because I’m sharing posts at 7AM doesn’t mean I’m up. Don’t call my phone.

Meme Dump Week!!