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RainbowDishesI'm Gone......
.......to the HLCCA Conference in Nashville! I'm Gone! See y'all later!!
Roommate From Hell
After reading SharkBoy's blog about his Evil Roommate, it made me start thinking about my roommate from hell.
This was the summer of 1991. I had been living at home after I dropped out of college. I had lost my drivers license because of so many tickets, so I needed to move into town. Plus, I really didn't want to be living with my parents again. I had already signed a lease for the fall, but I needed to find a place to live for the summer. So Jack, a friend of mine, said he had a cool 1 bedroom apartment that he was going to rent for the summer. He wanted to know if I wanted to stay there. And just for the record, Jack and I were never very close friends. We just knew each other and he often hung around my circle of friends. This was a small town and most of the gay men knew each other.
The living arrangements started off good. He worked at the restaurant/nightclub next door. The restaurant I worked for was about 6 blocks away and easily walkable. Our schedules were different with me working mornings and him working evenings, so we rarely saw each other. And for most nights, he wouldn't sleep in his bed, he slept on the couch. Life was pretty good.
Soon enough, the problems began. He never once bought anything for the apartment. He was eating my food and drinking my drinks. And he would go through toilet paper like crazy! I stopped bring food and drinks into the apartment unless I was going to eat them right then. I also never bought any more toilet paper. I was very good at holding it until I would go to work or a friend's house.
It was a very hot and humid summer that year. I walked in and the apartment was very warm. I checked the thermostat thinking he had turned the a/c off, but no, he had turned the thermostat down to below 50°! If you have never tried this before, our a/c unit was in a closet. When he cranked the thermostat down to below 50°, it froze the pipes in the a/c unit. By the time I had found it, the a/c unit was a solid block of ice. This same even happened at least 3 or 4 times that I remember. And each time, I would bitch him out and tell him that you cannot turn the temperature down that low. We would be without a/c for a few hours each time.
And then I started to notice stuff disappearing. First I couldn't find a few shirts of mine. And honestly, I thought I had probably left them at the laundromat. But then other things started to disappear. A music CD. Some food. A skillet. Some books. When I would confront him, he said he had no idea where they were. So I packed up everything I owned except for essential clothes, and stored it all at a friend's house. Jack never once said anything about how all of my stuff had disappeared.
Fast forward to the end of the 3 month lease. Jack is moving out a week before the lease is over and he was moving to his mom's house in Oklahoma. The night before he was leaving, he had to work had left all of his belongings packed in garbage bags. So I untied the bags and started going through them. Sure enough, there was all of my shirts that had disappeared. I also found my skillet, music CDs and books. I also found some of my underwear (with shit tracks in them, DISGUSTING!). UGH! I removed all of my belongings (except for the shit covered underwear, he can keep those) and tied the bags back shut. I was at work when he left town. He never once left a note or tried to contact me again. Of course, I had the last laugh. It was his name on the lease, not mine. I never bothered to clean when I moved out. After all, in the 3 months we had lived there, he never once bothered to clean anything. And he sure didn't bother to clean when he left. A few years later, my best friend Jeff ran into Jack in a St. Louis bar. Jack told Jeff how upset he was because I left the apartment such a mess. Honestly, I didn't leave it any messier than he had left it. I just never cleaned anything. He was upset of course because he never got his security deposit back. I should have been nicer I suppose, he could have used that money to buy some toilet paper to wipe his ass properly. That would have kept somebody else's underwear from being so nasty!
My Visit with Charry
The Fiesta message board,Collectible Medium Green (CMG), that I frequent is having a little fun with a Chartreuse 10" vase, that we have named Charry. Charry is being sent to different CMG members around the country. They take pictures of Charry around local attractions in their area. My turn came up recently, and this was my visit with Charry.
The other day, I had double the surprise when Charry and the Dish Fairy both visited. Charry said he was feeling a little bit claustrophobic and wanted to get out and stretch his "legs" after the long trip from California. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't cooperating very well. Luckily, a few days later, the sun made a nice and very welcomed visit! So I took Charry to one of my favorite places in town, the Wandell Sculpture Park at Meadowbrook Park. This is where I love to go bicycling or walking.
Charry was a little bit nervous after meeting some of the "folks" that love to hang out at the park.
Next, we came upon a naked woman, and poor Charry had no idea what to think of this place.
Charry couldn't get away from the naked woman fast enough! But he was a bit curious about the couple he found around the corner. They seemed to be in the middle of some sensual dance.
Next up was this pair, who looked like they might be in the middle of some fight. Charry tried to get in the middle of them and break them up, but they were much bigger. So Charry decided to leave them alone.
But soon after we left the more colorful people of the park, we came across a HUGE rabbit. Charry thought he had died and gone to chocolate easter egg heaven, but I warned him about those "chocolate" eggs. They might not taste very well!
After seeing such a big rabbit, Charry wasn't a bit surprised to see such a big bear. Of course, Charry wanted to know why the bear was sitting on a pine cone. Unfortunately, even I could not answer this question. I just let know Charry that we are a bit different around here. ;D
Charry had a good time checking out some of the other sculptures around the park.
And Charry was already to play when he found this group of kids having fun. This colorful bunch welcomed him right away and he couldn't believe he had finally met some people that were almost as bright as him.
After the kids had gone away, Charry was still in a playful mood. He decided to play a little hide-and-seek.
We were having so much fun, Charry never noticed the signs of keeping off of the sculptures. Luckily, we made a quick exit before anybody kicked us out of the park.
After all of the walking and playing around, Charry was ready to go back into his box for his next adventure. So Charry was sent on his merry way!
(Please note: your computer has to be facing the right direction for the arrow to match up to where Charry is visiting next!)
Jam & Spoon and Tokyo Ghetto Pussy
Here is one of my all-time favorite songs. It was released in 1994 by the duo Jam & Spoon. Sadly, half of the duo (Mark Spoon) died in 2006 from a heart attack at the age of 39. They made some of the most beautiful techno music ever!
Jam & Spoon - Right In The Night
Also from 1994, here is a song from another favorite duo of mine, Tokyo Ghetto Pussy. After reading about Jam & Spoon on wikipedia, I found out they also released music under the pseudonym Tokyo Ghetto Pussy. I have loved both of these duos for 17 years and never knew they were the same people. LOL
Tokyo Ghetto Pussy - Everybody On The Floor
Happy Easter
Happy Easter
Ain't No Son, My Story
The previous post is about the new song being released by the Court Yard Hounds (2/3 of the Dixie Chicks, sisters Emily Robison and Martie Maguire), called Ain't No Son. The beginning of the song is about a gay man who tells his homophobic father that he is gay. The rest of the song is the father's angry response.
What happened when I told my father was a completely different story than what happens in this song. First off, I never had a chance to tell my mother. She was diagnosed with cancer when I was in college. This was the same time I started to realize I was gay. I kept putting off discussing this with her until she got better, but unfortunately, she never got better. My sister told me they had discussed it shortly before she died (my sister knew about me at the time) and my mother had no problems with it as long as I was happy. And I believe she meant that. My mother was an amazing person. I always had looked up to her, and I am very happy to think I ended up much like her.
My father and I were never very close. Even though we all lived in the same house, my father kept to himself quite a bit. He had built a small room in the back of the garage that was his workshop. He was an electrical genius. When I was in grade school, he built our first computer. The computer was the size of 2 refrigerators and had no memory. Every time you turned the computer on (or even worse, the lights flickered) you would have to type your program in. And yes, it only ran 1 program at a time. But every night after work, he would eat his dinner and then retire to his workshop. That was his life.
When my mother died, my father tried to be a lot closer to my sister and I. He was busy buying us stuff (a new car for each of us), giving us monthly allowances, paying for braces for my sister and contacts for me, etc. We spent a lot of time together during this period. And for the first time ever, my father and I started actually talking about things. About this time, I had started dating a guy. My father was becoming very good about asking me questions but leaving the pronouns to be very sexually vague. "Are you seeing anybody?" "Do you like THEM?" "Do THEY treat you good?" "How long have you been seeing THEM?"
This period didn't last very long though. Within a year of my mother dying, my father met a new woman. It was a very strange relationship for all of us, just for the fact that this woman he was now dating had shared an office with my mother for many years. She is a very nice person, but it was just strange that I had known her for many years already. But once they started dating, the closeness with my father started to disappear again. Only this time, he wasn't disappearing into his workshop, he was disappearing into her life.
Shortly after he was seriously dating this woman, I had started seeing a new guy, Mark, and we were getting ready to move in together. So I had decided for my father's 47th birthday, that I would write him a long letter about myself. In this letter, I told him about Mark and that for the first time in a long time, I was very happy and felt like my life was going great. I also told him that since he came from what I considered to be a very redneck and probably homophobic family, I understood if he didn't accept this, but he would always be my father. I chickened out from giving him this card personally. I left the card on his pillow right before I left his house. The next day, I got the email from him.
The email was a good email. :) He told me that he always suspected and had no problems with it. He said he was very glad I had somebody in my life, because he knew how much happiness he had with the new girlfriend. He also mentioned that even though they had never discussed it, he was pretty sure my mother would have had no problems with it either. He said the only thing that mattered was that I was happy with my life, and he would support me 100% with my decision. (Not that it was a decision.)
My father died about 7 years after that email. Our relationship was a very rocky one the last few years of his life. He had married the girlfriend, only to get divorced from her about 5 years later. He lived with his father for a while, but that just didn't work out. He bought a house close to his father and once again, he retreated into his workshop (new house). When he died, Mark and I had broken up and moved on with our lives. But Mark was very kind and escorted me to the funeral. But with all of the ups and downs I experienced with my father, I am very proud to say, I AM HIS SON, and HE IS MY FATHER!
Ain't No Son
I am a lover, not a fighter. And when it comes to music, my musical taste knows no limits. Since I grew up in a small farming community, country music was everywhere. As much as I hated country music while I was growing up, I actually like it now. The Dixie Chicks are my absolute favorite country band. I use country band loosely since the Dixie Chicks were disowned by the country music business for making a comment about Dubya. And in the end, Dubya had such a low approval rating, yet the Dixie Chicks still aren't allowed to play in the country music business games. All I can say to that, the country music is much sadder place without the wonderful Dixie Chicks. But on with this post....
The two sisters in the Dixie Chicks, Martie Maguire and Emily Robison, are releasing a new album with the new name The Court Yard Hounds. One of the tracks is called, Ain't No Son. The song is about a gay son who comes out to his homophobic father and is disowned. The bluegrass intro to the song is the son saying he wants to talk to his dad. The rest of the song is more rock like and is the angry father disowning the son. It is a very powerful song. But at the same time, it is also a very sad song knowing that this is happening all over.
Here is what Emily Robinson said recently in an interview about the song:
"I turned the TV on, and it was A&E or one of those documentary kind of shows about these poor teenage kids who are devastated that their parents won't let 'em stay in the house because they found out they were gay," she explains. The lines, 'You ain't no son to me/Eight pound baby boy I bounced on my knee' were around from the very beginning. That idea, how can you have kids and love them so much and one day decide not to -- it just boggled my mind."
"Ain't No Son" by the Court Yard Hounds
I've got something to say
I'm scared and so afraid
Can you take me as I am
Come what may our blood is all the same
I'm still your little man
He said you ain't no son to me
You ain't no son to me
Eight pound baby boy I bounced on my knee
No, you ain't no son of mine
You ain't no son of mine
Aw, forget it girls there ain't no use in trying
Don't expect to get my love for free
And don't blame me
Well this ain't no fun for me
This ain't no fun for me
Oh boys should be boys
That's how it should be
You ain't coming home
No you ain't coming home
Til you walk the straight line
You'll be out on your own
Don't expect to save your soul for free
When you're the one who turned your back on me
Aren't you a sight to see
Yeah, you're a sight to see
What you call freedom makes you look like a freak
You must get around
Cause it sure got around
Don't you know that I can't show my face in this town
Don't think I'm gonna get you up off of me
When you're the one who turned your back on me
Stranger, stranger on the wall
When the neighbors come to call
I just don't know what to say
So I'll put you away
This time I won't leave a trace
I'll fill up the empty space
When I put you, I put you away
I put you away
He said you ain't no son to me
You ain't no son to me
Eight pound baby boy I bounced on my knee
No, you ain't no son of mine
You ain't no son of mine
Aw, forget it girls there ain't no use in trying
Don't expect to get my love for free
When you're the one who turned your back on me
Don't blame me
Don't blame me
Don't blame me
Shame on you
Shame on you
Shame on you
You probably think this post was written about you.
Carly Simon is having a video contest for the remake of her song, You're So Vain.
Here is my favorite Christian, Mrs. Betty Bowers, America's best Christian, and her rendition of You're So Vain.
And here, Mrs. Betty Bowers, America's best Christian, speaks about Traditional Marriage.
Colors By The Sexes
Matt Alber - End of the World Remixes
Matt Alber is back again with remixes of his beautiful song End of the World. He re-recorded the vocals for both of these awesome mixes. This song is still one of my favorite songs ever. And both of these remixes are available on iTunes.
Matt Alber - End of the World
Saul Ruiz Club MixMatt Alber - End of the World
Morgan Page Pop Mix Extended Remix
Matt Alber - End of the World
I don?t want to ride this roller coaster
I think I want to get off
But they buckled me down
Like it?s the end of the world
If you don?t want to have this conversation
Then you better get out
Cause we?re climbing to our death
At least that?s what they want you to think
Just in case we jump the track
I have a confession to make
It?s something like a cork screw
I don?t wanna fall, I don?t wanna fly
I don?t wanna be dangled over
The edge of a dying romance
But I don?t wanna stop
I don?t wanna lie
I don?t wanna believe it?s over
I just wanna stay with you tonight
I didn?t mean to scream out quite so loudly
When we screeched to a halt
I?m just never prepared
For the end of the ride
Maybe we should get on something simpler
Like a giant balloon
But I?ve got two tickets left, and so do you
Instead of giving them away to some stranger
Let?s make them count, come on
Let?s get back in line again and ride the big one
Don?t you want to fall, don?t you want to fly
Don?t you want to be dangled over
The edge of this aching romance
If it?s gonna end, then I wanna know
That we squeezed out every moment
But if there?s nothing left can you tell me why
That it is you?re holding onto me
Like it?s the end of the world
lyrics thanks to Andrew Sanders
Happy Eff'n Valentine's Day
What a way to spend Valentine's Day. I guess he will think twice about such a public proposal.
Happy Birthday, Mom
This is a repeat from last year. Today would have been my Mom's 62nd birthday today. This video is in honor of her. She was known to use a few of these statements on me.
Happy Birthday, Mom. Thanks for everything!
Love from your favorite (and only) son, Craig
T-Shirt War!!
A very cute video.
It took 222 different t-shirts to make the video. Very clever.
And the new color is?
It has been announced (unofficially of course) that the name of the new Fiesta color is Paprika! :)
The color is said to be a reddish-copper color. I think this color will be a very nice addition to the line-up.
My Fiesta Beginnings
I started my Fiesta collection in 1999. I was on vacation in Saugatuck, MI, with a group of friends. We were visiting a junk shop. Please note, they claimed to have antiques, but for the most part, I would claim they had a lot of junk and newer items. In this shop, I ran across a stack of Fiesta plates sitting on a table. The sight of these plates instantly took me back to my paternal grandparent?s table when I was growing up.
I was never very close to my father?s family. Even though they lived the same distance from our house as my mother?s parents, emotionally, that distance was a lot further. There were the few Thanksgiving dinners when the whole family would gather, but those had ended by the time I was 7 or 8. And we would stop by their house each Christmas morning, but it would only be us visiting. I rarely ever saw my aunts, uncles or cousins. Even more strange, I grew up less than 10 minutes from one of my aunts and her three daughters. I saw them even less than my grandparents.
The one thing I always remember about my grandparents though was their table. It was always set with Fiesta dishes. Of course, when I was a small kid, I never knew (or really cared) about the dishes. But now that I look back at those times, I fondly remember. The colors I remember were Red, Yellow, Cobalt, Medium Green, Ivory and Turquoise. I don?t recall any of the other 50?s colors or Original Green for that matter either. I know my grandmother bought them when she was working at a local department store. But I have no idea when she worked there. She would be a few dishes at a time, as the budget allowed.
Sadly, my grandmother passed away in 1995 and my grandfather was put into a nursing home in 1999. When he went into the nursing home, all of his belongings were auctioned off. This was the same time that I was really getting into collecting Fiesta. But with the lack of communication in the family, I was never told of the auction until after it was over. I would have gladly bought all of their Fiesta dishes. The main prize would have been the Turquoise disk pitcher she used for every meal to pour her iced tea. And for me, that one piece will always be the iconic piece of Fiesta.
And that stack of plates I saw in the junk shop, they came home with me. At the time, I had no idea what they were other than the items that triggered my Fiesta obsession. I thought they would make great dinner plates, but they turned out to be the 11? chop plates. A bit too bulky and way too large for dinner plates. The colors are Apricot, Rose, Periwinkle, Turquoise and Cobalt. I think I used them once for eating, and realized they were too big. They have been dust collectors ever since. But they still remind me of my grandparent?s table and the beginning of my collection.
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