Weekend

Fri night we had dinner at the Miltonian with 'the usual suspects', then came home and started watching TV. It had been pouring down rain for a few hours and the wind really picked up. At about 10:40 the electricity went out. As far as we could see from our 'treehouse view' on the 3rd floor of our house, everything was dark. We waited for about 15 or 20 minutes to see if the electricity would come back on, but it didn't so we went to bed. Of course, about 10 minutes after falling asleep the electricity came back on. I turned out the bedside lamp and went back to sleep.

Spouse & I started our Sat by going to the grocery store and running a few errands. We had ‘brunch’ at home, and then it was all about the housecleaning! We had not done a good job of keeping up with our housecleaning over the last 2 weeks, and anyone with a dog and a cat can attest to the need to vacuum frequently. We didn’t have dust bunnies, we had dust elephants. So the two of us each spent about 2 hours cleaning. It felt good to get the entire house cleaned. It always gives me such a feeling of accomplishment, even though I’d rather not do it.
After showers and a snack, we began preparations for hosting the “bonus” movie group. We actually belong to 2 movie groups. The original movie group was started by a tired old control freak who insists on all kind of rules for the films the group views. It meets on the 1st Sat of each month, and Spouse & I only go to it if we have nothing else planned. From that group came the “bonus” movie group, consisting of 12 of the 16 members of the original movie group. (The 4 members of the original movie group who are not in the “bonus” movie group do not know the “bonus” group exists.) The “bonus” movie group meets on the 2nd Sat of each month, and is very relaxed, laid-back, and fun. We make a point of attending this group.

So we put the snacks, plates, napkins, drinks, glasses, and ice on the kitchen table and did a little furniture rearranging in the upstairs TV room. When everyone arrived we snacked, drank, and chatted for a little while then headed upstairs to watch our movie.

Spouse picked “East Side Story” and I agreed it was a great choice for this group. Spouse & I saw this film last year during a special “Another Take” screening offered by the Rehoboth Beach Film Society, of which I am a member, and we really liked it. Since it was not available on DVD until a few months ago, we figured most likely none of the guys in the group had seen it, and we were right.

It’s the story of Diego, a frustrated culinary academy graduate who works in his family’s Mexican restaurant in East LA. He longs to move to Phoenix where he can start a new life and a new restaurant. Not only is Diego frustrated from the inability to cook nouveau food at the restaurant, he’s also frustrated because his year-long boyfriend Pablo just wants to hook-up now and then, and doesn’t want a relationship. Meanwhile, a Caucasian gay couple Wesley and Jonathan move into the house across the street from Diego and fix it up. Other white gay couples are doing the same. Wesley invites Diego to their housewarming party and it soon becomes clear to Jonathan that there’s something between Diego and Wesley.

The film mixes some new and old themes cleverly, while throwing in a healthy dash of hot men, including former Crush du Jour Steve Callahan and current Crush du Jour Rene Alvarado. Falling in love with someone who’s not available, interracial romance, family loyalties, gentrification of historically ethnic neighborhoods by gays, Latino prejudice against Caucasians, Caucasian prejudice against Latinos – the old and the new coalesce and we get to explore important human issues but with a great sense of humor.

After the film we discussed it for awhile, and all the guys said they really enjoyed it. Then we headed back down to the kitchen for more snacks, drinks and chatting. Everyone left at about 10:00.

Sun we had a relaxing day. At 12:30 Kerry & Hugh called to say they were leaving their relatives and would like to go to lunch with us if we were available. We were so we did. We had a great lunch at the new Irish Eyes on the canal in Lewes. The old one burned to the ground last year but was replaced by this great, new restaurant.

After returning to the house we chatted some more with our friends until they had to go. Spouse & I went for a drive around Rehoboth and Lewes, stopping for a very short walk on the beach. It was still too windy and cold for a regular walk. Then we spent some time getting the last of our tax stuff together so we can send it off to the accountant this week. We had an easy dinner at home and then watched John Waters' one-man show "This Filthy World", from Netflix. It was okay. Not nearly as good as his movies, but interesting 'behind the scenes' details though.

Crush du Jour: Rene Alvarado