Three Identical Strangers

I recently saw the documentary "Three Identical Strangers", about triplets who discover each other at age 19.  

Each triplet was adopted by a different family in upstate NY who had no knowledge that their baby was a triplet.  One brother goes to a small college where he knows no one, but is recognized by returning students.  He's then introduced to the young man they thought he was, who turns out to be his identical twin brother.

This amazing reunion makes the papers and is noticed by the mother of a 3rd young man who looks exactly like the twins in the newspaper.  The three young men discover they are triplets and find they share many seemingly hard-wired personality traits and preferences.

But the film is far from being a sweet reunion story.  The adopted parents of the three triplets soon began to seek answers to many questions, the most pertinent being why they weren't informed their babies had siblings, yet alone, identical triplets.  The adoption agency said the triplets were split up because it was unlikely someone would adopt 3 infants, but little other info is given them.

Years later a writer researching twins discovers the triplets' separation as well as the intentional separation of several other sets of twins by the same adoption agency.  Little is known about the reason(s) for these separations other than the study of identical twins' and triplets' development in different socio-economic households.  The psychologist's study was never published and all the data was sealed until 2066 when all the researchers and uninformed participants are deceased.

Its a very interesting documentary which raises lots of ethical questions, and wants to weigh in on the 'nature versus nurture' question.

New sink & faucet

So, this year for his birthday Spouse wanted a new single-basin kitchen sink and a new faucet.  I know it sounds weird, but that's what he wanted.

The guys came to install them and started with the faucet, removing the old one and installing the new one.  Next came they removed the sink, but when they went to install the new one, it didn't fit.

You see, we're switching from a double-basin to a single-basin, and although you'd think the sizes would be standard, they're not.  The single-basin sink we picked out wasn't wide enough, so the guys had to re-install the old sink, and I had to try and find one that was a little wider.

Unfortunately the store where the ill-fitting sink was purchased (Lowe's) didn't have one the correct size in stock.  Special ordering it would take at least 10 days.

So I went online to Amazon.  In no time flat I found one the right size, less expensive than the one that got returned, and since it was Prime it arrived in 2 days with no shipping charge.

A couple days later the guys came back and swapped out the old sink with the new one.  

Good bye old double-basin sink and faucet!

Hello new single-basin sink and faucet!

Happy birthday, Spouse!!

Beardy boy

Patriotism

Just because

National Underwear Day

Yesterday was National Underwear Day. 

Its a made-up holiday created by Freshpair, a company that sells underwear.  No surprise there.

But the underwear industry has really grown in the last 40 years.  For men the choices used to be boxers or briefs.  Usually cotton.  Usually white for briefs, and solid or benign prints for boxers.

Nowadays there are literally hundreds of sellers of men's underwear, each with lots of varieties.  Boxers, briefs, boxer-briefs, bikinis, string bikinis, thongs, jocks.  In every color and color combination you could want.  Fashion underwear is a multi-billion dollar per year industry.

Then there's all the 'novelty' and fetish underwear.  Cotton, polyester, nylon, mesh, spandex, latex, lycra, and leather.

Things have certainly changed over the years, so maybe there's a real reason now to celebrate National Underwear Day.

How will YOU be celebrating?

Bloated

Ugh... I've got to figure out how to lose weight and still eat delicious food.

Beardy boy

'Green' update

A few weeks ago I wrote this post about many restaurants no longer providing plastic straws with beverages.  Since then I've been to a couple places that have switched over to more earth-friendly paper straws, and a couple places who only give plastic straws upon request.

Then this week I saw this Facebook meme which combined this topic with another close to my heart: gun control.

While this is initially funny, it does draw the striking contrast between how easy it was to change behaviors related to plastic straws versus the nearly impossible feat it will be to change behaviors related to gun control, thanks to the wealthy NRA and greedy politicians who accept its bribes.

Just because

Distraction

Its Monday AND its raining.  We could use the rain, but it always makes it harder to get motivated to get things done on a rainy Monday.

So here's a little something to distract you:

I'm in love with this man.  He's perfect.

I love his handsome face with a bit of scruff.  

I love his haircut.  

I love his muscular arms and perfectly rounded pecs.

I love his bubble butt and bulging speedo.

What do YOU think?

Rerun

I know I posted this before but its so damn funny I'm sharing it again.

Have a great weekend!

Beardy boy

Comments and emails

Recently I noticed that I'm no longer getting emails from Blogger when someone comments on my posts.  

At 1st I thought no one was commenting, but when I logged into Blogger I could see the comments were there.  But for some reason, I'm no longer getting emails notifying me of the comments.

I revisited my Blogger settings page and confirmed my email address was still correct.  I even removed it and added it back in, but it didn't fix the problem.

I checked the spam folder in my email to see if I'd accidentally made the sending email address look like spam, but nothing was there.

Has anyone else noticed this?

Does anyone have any idea how to restore the emails when someone comments?

Any assistance would be appreciated!

Just because

Summertime

...and the livin' is easy.

My boys relaxing and enjoying the sites and smells of the yard from the comfort of the porch yesterday.

Happy birthday!

Today is Spouse's birthday.

As usual, there will be a floral arrangement waiting for him when he gets to work today.  He loves flowers and I love sending them to his office, which gets him lots of attention.  Many of his female colleagues say they're jealous of how loved and well-treated he is.  Knowing this makes me smile.

Tonight we're going to dinner with Steven & Thad to a restaurant we've never been to before.  Its not new, and its been highly recommended by people I know.  I'm not sure why we haven't been before, but I'm hoping for a great meal.

For a change he told me what he wanted for his birthday this year:  a new kitchen sink and faucet!

We currently have a 2-basin sink which be both find annoying, so I'm going to have it replaced with a single-basin sink that's the same size. This will be much more practical.  We're also replacing our existing faucet which is starting to drip with a new one.  Spouse wants a goose-neck style so that's what we're getting.  I've already picked both out and confirmed they were in stock so I'm just waiting for the contractor to give me the date.

After 23 birthdays together there's only so many surprise gifts you can come up with, so I was actually really happy he told me what he really wanted.

Beardy boy

Love

Just because

Monday message

Here's my inspirational message for the week:

Who am I trying to kid?  Here's my REAL message for the week:

I hope your week goes well!

Friday the 13th

Are you superstitious??

 

Beardy boy

MY Independence day

Last Wed was July 4th or Independence Day.  I didn't have time to write what I really wanted to write then, so I'm writing it now.

July 4th is commonly known as Independence Day, where Americans celebrate their independence from Great Britain.  But the week following July 4th is special to me as I think back to MY independence from a religion that controlled my life.

I was raised in the Jehovah's Witness religion, a separatist religion that believes they are the only ones with the TRUE religion.  One of their many unusual teachings is that being gay is a choice and a 'learned behavior'.  Sometime in my 20s I realized that this belief wasn't true.  I'd known I was gay since I was a kid but didn't know any other gay people, so from whom could I have 'learned' this?  

Once I understood the Jehovah's Witness religion was wrong about that teaching I became suspicious of many other teachings with which I was never comfortable, such as shunning.  JWs are taught to shun those who leave the religion, even family members.  They claim they do this to protect the congregation from the sin of the one being shunned, but I always thought it seemed like emotional blackmail to require relatives to shun their family.

On Sat, July 3, 1993, 25 years ago, I met a man at a gay bar who would become my boyfriend. We spent the long, holiday weekend together and I decided then that I would not return to the JW church.

Even though I knew this decision would eventually result in being shunned by my family and friends.

The week following July 4th 25 years ago was glorious as I felt a new sense of freedom I'd never experienced before, and as I spent time with my new boyfriend.

And then came the gut-wrenching meeting with my family where I told them I was gay, I was leaving the JW religion, and that I understood I would be shunned and likely not see or hear from them again. They tried to talk me out of it but my mind was made up.  Everyone cried.

But as hard as it was to do that, I knew it was the right thing for me, and I felt a sense of relief after it was over.  I simply HAD to start becoming my authentic self.

So, 25 years ago, just after Independence Day, was MY independence day.

If interested, you can read my full coming out story here: part I, part II, part III, part IV, part V.

Just because

Weekend recap

On Sat I worked (as usual) but didn't have any showings scheduled so I volunteered to drive the company bus for a couple hours, providing shuttle transportation to/from a local arts festival.  People were very nice and appreciative of the free shuttle service and it gave me a little something different to do since I had no appointments.

That evening we had a simple/easy dinner out with Steven & Thad, then came home and relaxed a little before heading into town to perform in the Legends show as Boy George.  I love doing that Legend because the songs are so good and his presence is unmistakable. The place was really full and the crowd was really 'into' the show!  Immediately afterward we go out into the audience for 'meet and greet' time, and I got several requests for photos and had several conversations with folks who complimented me on my performance.  My buddies Jason & Kevin were there too so I spent a little time chatting with them as well. It was a really fun night!

When I got home about 11:45 Spouse was watching 'Justice League' so I grabbed a big glass of water and watched it with him.  I can never come home from a show and go right to bed; I need some time to settle down.  

Since we went to bed so late we didn't get up until 9:30 Sun morning.  We picked up wraps and chips and headed to the beach, arriving just before noon.  Believe it or not this was our 1st beach day this season!  May was very rainy and cool, and then in June it seemed like every Sun it was overcast, so this was our 1st opportunity to go.  It was glorious!!  The oppressive humidity we've had for the last 2 weeks broke and there was a lovely breeze blowing.  

The.  Perfect.  Beach.  Day.

I didn't get the laundry done or the dogs bathed as I'd planned, but it was worth it to take advantage of such a pretty day.  That evening we had dinner with Steven & Thad and then stopped at the grocery store on the way home.

A pretty decent weekend.

Nervous tick

Last Sat I was showing homes to new clients and we looked at a home that was bank-owned.  "Bank-owned" is a nice way of saying it was a foreclosure.  Since no one has lived there in a while the yard has not been maintained.  Banks will occasionally pay someone to mow if they get a letter from the HOA saying the grass is too high, but in this case the home was not within an HOA so the grass had not been cut in a while.

While still showing homes I noticed a tick on calf so I removed it with a tissue.  Of course the rest of the day I was nervous and kept checking my legs and arms every time I thought I felt something.  A few hours later when I got home and was changing my clothes I found another tick on my upper thigh!  I removed that one too, then stripped and made Spouse check me for any additional ticks.  Fortunately he didn't find any others.

Then on Mon I was showing homes to 2 nurses so I asked them if there was any kind of after-care I should do after finding 2 ticks on me.  They suggested seeing my doctor for a Lymes disease test, so I got an appointment for Tues afternoon.  My doctor said the Lymes test is not conclusive, and that a negative test result wouldn't mean I didn't have Lymes.  He said people have tested negative but then developed Lymes weeks/months later.  Instead of the test, he suggested I just go ahead and take the special antibiotic they would prescribe if I had Lymes disease.  This kind of made sense to me, to treat as if I had it just to be on the safe side.

So now I'm taking the antibiotic twice a day for 21 days, just to be sure I don't develop Lymes disease or any other tick-borne illness.

Beardy boy

4th of July

Today is Independence Day, otherwise known as the 4th of July.  Spouse & I have invited some friends over for drinks/snacks around 3:30, then we'll watch the Doo Dah parade about 5:00, then return to the house for dinner, then watch the fireworks around 9:00.

The Doo Dah parade is a great little small town parade with everyone and everything draped in red white and blue stars and stripes.  In past years I've driven Big Ella in the parade but am not doing so this year.  The parade is rather long and is hard on Big Ella, causing her engine to get hot and run rough.  So rather than be in the parade, I'll be a spectator this year.

Spouse selected a terrific 'make ahead' menu:  BBQ pulled pork made in the slow cooker, macaroni and cheese made in the pressure cooker, and BBQ baked beans.  For dessert he's making peach/blueberry pies. 

The fireworks should be nice, as this will be the 1st year of "official" City-sanctioned fireworks.  In past years volunteers have supplied and set off fireworks on the beach, which the fire marshal put an end to last year.  I'm hopeful it will be a nice display.

Hope all of you have a FUN and SAFE 4th of July!

Just because

Weekend recap

It was a fun weekend!

After working on Sat (as usual) I performed as Elton John in the Legends show, and then hung out afterward with Charles & John who were in town for the weekend.  I met them 3 summers ago after having performed in the Legends show.  They're originally from NC but live in Philadelphia now due to John's job.  We had fun hanging out on the front patio where we met and talked with lots of interesting characters, most of whom were from out of town.  I didn't get home until 1:30.

They invited me & Spouse and Steven & Thad to lunch at Iron Hill Brewery.  One of the characters we'd met the night before waits tables there during his summer breaks from school so we requested him as our server.  The 6 of us had a fun time talking and eating.  Steven & Thad both lived in Philly so they have a lot of knowledge of things/places there that Charles & John also know about.

Spouse & I stopped by the grocery store on the way home, and since it was rainy and very humid we  just stayed indoors, relaxed and watched some stuff on Netflix.  But it was a fun weekend!

Older

Beardy boy

TV shows

There's been some interesting TV shows on recently.  Not on the networks, since they're all in repeats for the summer.

On PBS we watched "Man in an Orange Shirt".  This was written by author Patrick Gale and was essentially 2 stories, 1 set in the 1940s and the other set in modern time. The stories deal with love, "gay shame", and families' ways of dealing with gay family members.  The 1st story focuses on Michael Berryman (played by the uber adorable Oliver Jackson-Cohen) and boyfriend Thomas March, both soldiers until the war ended in the mid 1940s.  The 2nd story focuses on veterinarian Adam Berryman (the grandson of Michael) and Steve, the owner of a pet treated by Adam.  Flora Berryman (played by Vanessa Redgrave) is the wife of Michael and grandmother of Adam, and is the connecting thread of the 2 stories.  The stories were sensitive, the acting was brilliant, and the cinematography was lovely.  All in all a very well-done program that left me wanting more.  "Man in an Orange Shirt" can be viewed on-demand from your cable provider or on the PBS website.

On FX we're watching the series "Pose".  Set in the late 80s, this series explores the NYC ball culture, AIDS fear, and the lives and struggles of several transgender characters. The series showcases many transgender actors as well as Tony Award winner (Kinky Boots) Billy Porter who is phenomenal in this role as the legendary ball announcer.  The series is created and produced by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, known for their work on "Glee", "American Horror Story" and "American Crime Story". Unlike "Glee", this show takes a deeper look into the complex lives of the characters and is both poignant and fun.  If you're not already watching, you can catch up by watching on-demand.  Current episodes air on Sun nights.


Have you watched either show?  If so, what did you think?

Just because

Weekend recap

On Sat I worked (as usual) but also drove the company bus to shuttle folks to the Sea Glass festival, which is rather unusual.  Our bus holds 14 passengers and when asked we try to give back to the community by providing transportation to local festivals from the off-site parking areas.  Folks were very appreciative and it was kind of fun.

That night I performed as Neil Diamond in the Legends show.  My friend Chris from DC was there, as were some clients to whom I sold a condo a while back.  It was a fun show and the audience seemed to really enjoy it.

Sun morning Steven, Spouse & I met up with my friend Chris for breakfast.  Spouse & I putzed around the afternoon, and then Chris invited us to join him and some of his friends for happy hour followed by dinner.  Spouse didn't want to go so I went without him.  We had a lot of fun!

Chris and I went to the same high school and had many common friends, although I don't believe we were actually friends while in school.  I met him 20 years later, randomly at a bar, and in conversation discovered our common history.  Since then he's become a good friend with whom I always have a good time.

Fantastic

Have a lovely weekend!

Beardy boy

Being 'green'

I'm all about reducing, reusing, and recycling.  I've posted about it several times before.  I believe we can all make a difference with small behavioral changes that aggregate to improve our environment.  But I'm quite skeptical of the recent decision by many restaurants to no longer provide plastic straws with beverages.  The claim is that plastic straws "clog the ocean and hurt fish".

Ideally it would be best if no plastic was allowed to be dumped into our oceans.  But are we really to believe that this 

is somehow worse than this?

Grocery stores and warehouse clubs sell water in plastic bottles by the dozens, by the case, and by the palette.  About 50 billion (not million) plastic water bottles were purchased last year just in the US. These bottles are far larger and make far more ocean pollution than straws, yet somehow restaurants have singled out straws.  Could there be another reason that has nothing to do with altruism?

How about the fact that restaurants can claim to be 'environmentally friendly' by not providing plastic straws when in reality they are simply saving the money they used to spend to buy them?

The way I see it, the problem isn't plastic straws, water bottles, or grocery store bags.  The problem is our behavior.  We must choose to be responsible with our treatment of plastics, recycling all of them after using them.

But ocean pollution from plastics isn't just a 'USA' problem, its a world problem.  While the USA and some other countries have recycling programs in place, there are plenty of countries that do not, yet they are still consumers of plastic products.  With no recycling opportunities these plastics go into landfills and oceans.  

Obviously its a complex issue that will take effort and cost from all humans to solve.  I hope its an issue that will get worldwide attention soon, but in the meantime, I am skeptical of restaurants who single out straws as somehow making them environmentally responsible.  

What about the styrofoam and plastic "to go" boxes restaurants use for left-overs?

What about the small plastic cups with lids that mayo, ketchup, tartar sauce, and cocktail sauce are often provided in?

If restaurants really want to be environmentally friendly wouldn't they stop using those containers too?  Outback Steakhouse provides those condiments in washable, reusable stainless steel cups so its definitely possible.

By not providing straws are restaurants being 'green' or saving green?

I guess we have to start somewhere.

Just because

Better

This chalkboard sign was seen outside a restaurant:

I couldn't agree more!