Killing Fields

Well it's still raining, we had one day where we actually were rain free this week. So needless to say the mood has been gloomy around here. We need some sun!

Not too much has been happening, SSDD, you know? DJ is going to part time the end of May, so he is still looking for a new job. He put in an application at two seperate places, so hopefully he will hear something from them. House hunting is not going too well either. Eveything we like, we can not quite afford, and the ones we can afford, we don't like. We really need to move. We have had two more shootings just this past week. A 36 year old man was found Thursday afternoon slumped over on a park bench, in a park not five blocks from here. He had been shot in the head. No suspect...
Another man was shot 8 times on Friday and left in the street, again, no suspects. That brings the total of homicides in the city to 21, 18 of which the police have no suspect or even motive. They are setting up Community Action Councils all over the city and the Vice Mayor wants to set up a task force to get more cops out there on the street, but City Council is blocking it. I can't understand why the council doesn't seem to want to do anything about this. We are already surpassing last years homicides and they don't seem to care. Something needs to give here, that is for sure.

Tonight going out to dinner to celebrate Veruca's Birthday. He will be 31 tomorrow. Hard to believe he is 31. Hell it's hard to believe I'm going to be 45! It will be good to see him and some of the friends I haven't seen in a while.

So until the next time...

Noah, Where's the Ark?

Snow
Rain
Rain
Rain

That has been the forecast since Sunday. We woke up to snow Sunday morning. Do you believe it? The end of April and an inch of snow on the ground. Monday it rained, Tuesday it poured and more rain in the forecast through Sunday! YIKES! I think I need another vacation. This time in Florida. That was until I saw the weather report for Tampa. You guessed it, rain.

Pretty soon we are going to start seeing animals walking down the street two by two.

Sands of Time

Today my father turns sixty-six. I remember when we had his 30th birthday party, it seems like yesterday. I threw him his 40th with the big sign in the front yard saying "Lordy Lordy Look who's 40!" Everyone in the neighborhood knew Dad was now over-the-hill. Today my mom surprised him with his birthday gift. She brought home a 2004 Hyundai Accent, just for him. that's cool, and he deserves it.

Time stands still for no one, that's for sure. Dad is still very healthy and active, bowling four times a week. Even though he has lost two brothers to cancer and most recently a brother died of a heart attack, Dad is still going strong.
He is also the one I still call when I have car trouble, because the man can fix anything.

What I love most about my Dad is that he is just that, Dad. He advises but doesn't push, he cares but doesn't smother. He loves and doesn't judge. That's dad. Thanks dad, and Happy Birthday!

Saturday Night D&D and Rosie

We just finished a 5 hour game of Dungeons & Dragons. We includes DJ, my two sons J2 and AT, Silver Fox and his son MCB. It was MCB's first adventure and I think he really got into the game. My boys have played a few times before and they also enjoy it.

I got into D&D several years ago and became quite adapt at the roleplaying portion of it so much that I prefer to be the DM most of the time (Dungeon Master). I like being in charge I guess, what can I say. It's really fun hanging out with my boys and doing something that we all enjoy. The time slips by quickly while playing and the entire time we laugh and really have a lot of fun. Most of the time I get into character for each person I may be playing at the time, tonight I was more laid back as it was MCB's first time.

Before the game we had a great dinner and watched a little of Harry Potter. I would rate tonight a 9 on a scale from 1-10.

So just out of curiosity, Which D&D character are You?

I always knew I loved this woman. There was something about her even in the earlier days of her career that just struck a chord with me. I've never met her in life, nor talked to her in person but I always knew she was one of the real ones out there in Hollywood. I read this entry today on her blog, and I cried. I'm glad to know that she is still the same Rosie I always thought she was. We love you here Rosie and all you stand for. Keep up the good work. You have given hope to so many, and not just to the kids that need mom's like you, but to all of us.

What's On the Menu Tonight

Menu
Originally uploaded by mjwoh.

One of the things that I will miss the most about our recent lack of income will be not being able to go out to those nice restaurants for a nice quiet peaceful dinner. Not that we do it that often, but I do enjoy them.

I bring this up as I received an e-mail from a magazine (unable to give name due to contract stipulations) that I submitted an article to about three years ago. They would like me to submit another article to them for possible publication. The theme? "Pet Peeves When Eating Out".

Now the whole title in itself could open a whole new meaning to "eating out", but I won't go there.

If they accept my article, I will receive a $400 payment for my work. Talk about fine dining, I could really EAT OUT a lot then. So here is a sneak peak of a couple of my pet peeves.

Parents, there is a reason some restaurants have dress codes. So that little Trevor and Chloe are LEFT with the sitter! There is nothing more annoying than sitting down for a fine meal, sipping on my chardonnay and having a high pitch scream cause me to choke on it. Screaming children belong at an amusement park, or at Golden Corral. What is worse is when they continue to annoy the entire dining room and their parents seem to be oblivious to their no-neck monsters (thank you Tennessee Williams for that phrase) wrecking havoc, because they are on their cell phones! Which leads me to the next peeve. Cell phones in a theater are bad enough, talking on them while driving is the worst, but when you come to the restaurant put them on vibrate, they are much more stimulating for you, and less annoying for the other patrons.

Of course there are a host of pet peeves regarding the wait service, but the most annoying one I have ever experienced was, while savoring my last couple of bites, the server comes to the table, while putting his hand onto my plate, asks, "So can I take that for you?"...UH No, can't you see I'm still eating? Now I feel like I'm at the Golden Corral, eating from a trough. Or better yet when they ask on a cash out, "Do you need change on this?" I DO NOW...

The article is to list ten of them, and of course they will have to be witty, & humorous with a hint of truth. I think I can do that, I think...

So, what's on the menu tonight?

We ate in tonight and DJ prepared "hole in the middle".

Don't think too hard about that one, just let your imagination run with it. If you think you know what we had for dinner tonight leave me a comment and I'll let you know if you are on the money.
Meanwhile, try this for an appetizer. Or is that more like an after dinner snack?

A Cat's Life

Xander
Originally uploaded by mjwoh.

Cats have it made. Well ours do anyway. They are fed daily, watered, given a clean shit house on a regular basis and all they do all day long is just lay back and relax. Oh to be so lucky.

This picture is of our male cat, Xander. He has the "Life of Riley" He lays all day long, and plays at night, gets all the attention he needs and then does the same thing the next day. Why can't our lives be that easy?

Just when we thought everything was going great we get bad news today. We knew that there was a possibility that DJ's department would go on strike in May, there is still a vote pending. But today the brought him in the office with two union stewards present and stated that he was being put on mandatory part-time status as of May 22. We barely get by now, there is no way we could make it on only half of his salary, so it's back to the employment section of the classifieds. We knew that this was going to happen eventually, but not quite this soon. Needless to say he is a little upset. But when this has happened before it has always worked out to his advantage, so hopefully the same result will happen this time as well. Until then, I guess we can eat cat food. The cats seem to love it!

Google This and Google That

Back when I first started my blog I had a monthly entry called MAN OF THE WEEK, where I highlighted a male figure, either a movie star, entertainer, politician or just a hottie. I discontinued those posts, mainly because everyone else was doing it.

Back in October I highlighted, movie star, Chris Evans. Since then, that entry is now the first image entry when you search for images of Chris Evans on GOGGLE. (I have since removed the photo but the hits keep coming.) This has caused MAJOR traffic onto my site. Almost over 200 hits a day. Thus making my site meter and statistics a little misleading. I have however acquired new readers because of this, which is a good thing I guess. But it has also brought some rather unsavory readers as well. You know the type, those homophobic kind that leave you nasty little messages in your e-mail, or rude comments on your blog. My question is, why were they doing a search of a shirtless picture of Chris Evans in the first place, huh?

On another note...DJ nad I have decided to look for somewhere else to live. Mainly due to the recent rise in shootings in the Greater Cincinnati area. So we are looking for somewhere in suburbia hell. Not my favorite place to live, but safer. But our search is going to have to take a back seat until we find out if DJ's department where he works is going to go on strike. While on vacation he received his picketing schedule, so it looks pretty sure he will be walking a picket line in the near future. So until then I suppose we will just have to keep dodging the bullets.

But I have being searching on GOOGLE for some appropriate places for our new abode. We want to move closer to our parents, so we are looking somewhere in between the two. It will make for a longer drive to work in the car and on the bus, but we all have to make sacrifices don't we?

So while we are GOOGLING, take a look at these hotties!! Talk about googling, I'm all googly...

As Promised...Pictures!

Go to my FLICKR account and see the rest of the pictures that were taken while in St. Louis. I will post more later of our babies, Willow, Xander and Cordi.

Our camera was just a simple Cannon Sure Shot, but we think they took great pics.

Let us know what you think!

Winding Down

Well my vacation is almost over. Let me fill you in...

Sunday, the 10th, DJ and I left around 11 a.m. for the gateway to the west, St. Louis. We had no specific plan in mind other than to see the sites, hit the gay bars, the St. Louis Zoo and shopping. We crossed the Mississippi River into St. Louis about 6:20 p.m. After driving around trying to find our motel, we finally bought a map of the city and realized we were only a few miles from the hotel. We checked in, got situated and decided to go to the Arch before dark and get some great pictures of the sun setting. (Pictures are forthcoming).

The Arch was amazing. We both decided it would be best if we did not take the tram up inside the arch, as we both have a fear of heights and we didn't want to pass out way up there. So we admired it from the ground. I know not the same thing, but oh well.

After the arch we went around town. I was happy to see that St.Louis is a very clean town. Unlike Cincinnati, it seems as though they pride themselves in keeping the city clean. After the sun set we went to dinner and back to the hotel. There is noting better than passionate love making in a strange city. We woke the next morning ready to set out on another adventure.

Due to the rain we decided today would be a good day to visit the Anheuser-Busch Brewery. Even though DJ drinks Miller, and I am allergic to hops, we enjoyed the tour. We learnt how they make their beer, and why it's different than others. It's the Beechwood Aging process! And then we received two complimentary glasses of beer after the tour. It was the first time in my life that I was drinking beer at 11:45 a.m. I felt so like an alcoholic. Then we decided to look for the gay bars in the city. They must have them hid, as we found nothing. We had addresses we garnered from the web, but no bars. Maybe they make them invisible during the day in St. Louis, who knows. When we arrived back at the hotel I got the word that my uncle had passed, so our plans for Tuesday were ended, and we returned back to Cincinnati on Tuesday.

Wednesday we stayed in bed most of the day. I love doing that on vacation. Just laying in bed all day. I know it's waste of a day, but it was so relaxing. Yesterday we went to the Cincinnati Zoo, as we didn't want to drive all the way back to St. Louis to go to their Zoo. It was a beautiful day to take in the sites at the Zoo. I am proud of our Zoo here in Cincinnati. Even though a lot of the animals were not out, due to the weather not being as warm as it needs to be, Cincinnati has a great Zoo and Botanical Gardens.

Today DJ is spending the day with his grandparents, and I'm hanging out here. Tonight we will finally hit those gay bars (Cincinnati's, not St. Louis) as Silver, DJ and I are going to go out. Tomorrow I will spend with my parentals, Sunday we will hang out with each other all day and then it is back to work on Monday.

Not the vacation I planned, but I have enjoyed it thus far. Sometimes, just not having to go to work everyday is vacation enough.

Short Lived

Our vacation to St. Louis was short lived. We were called Monday night and notified that my Uncle had passed away on Friday and that his services were to be held Tuesday evening.

My father's oldest brother was a man of character, compassion and values. He was one of those types of men that you looked up to and respected above others. After my grandfather left his family, my Uncle Chet became a father to his younger siblings. This surrogate fatherhood continued the rest of his life.
He always gave to others, in ways you may not think such a big deal, but to those he gave to, it was the most important gift they would receive. An example of that was a young nephew who loved the guitar, but his family was unable to purchase him one. He, being left handed found an old guitar and learnt to play it upside down. When Uncle Chet heard about this, he immediately went and bought this young boy a brand new guitar and brought it to him. That young boy today is a young man, studying music at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.
He joined the Air Force at barely 18, and served in Korea and in Vietnam, and retired as a Tech Staff Sgt. After 21 years of service. His wife and he raised 6 children, 4 daughters and 2 sons. This produced 13 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren.
An avid fisherman, and THE best grill master I had ever known, Uncle Chet was also passionate about his food.
The last 20 years he fought heart problems, undergoing heart by-pass surgery; diabetes, loosing both legs; and cancer. It was finally his big heart that gave out on him last Friday.

Even though he was 70 years old, his life was short lived. Full, yes. Happy? He would say most definitely.

Long enough? They never are.
Thanks Uncle Chet. You will be missed.

St. Louis

We are off for a long awaited vacation. Heading to St. Louis tomorrow morning. Will give you details of the trip when we return, see you all next week!

What is Going On?

Within the last three days, Cincinnati has seen five shootings. Over the past month there have been several shootings and yet, many of the gunmen have sidetracked the police and have not yet been apprehended.

Another shooting happened yesterday and still no one has been arrested. It was the 21st homicide so far for this year. Three more shootings took place after this one, with two more people dead. What is going on in this city? Why are people killing each other? It's not just in the urban areas either, it's in the neighborhoods, places where families and children live.

The other question is, why haven't these killers been arrested yet? What is wrong with the police that they can not apprehend these people? There was a shooting last month, where two teenagers were shot right across the street from a High School. The police knew who the gunman was, but still have not found him.

It is becoming a war zone right here in our neighborhoods. It is beginning to look like Cincinnati is becoming the murder capital of the nation. The reports are saying:

The number of murders in Cincinnati is on pace to be the highest in more than a
quarter century, and it's also higher than the per-capita rates in Ohio's other
major cities.

I am not sure about you, but I do not think that is something to be writing home about. I think it's time for DJ and I to go back to suburbia and get out of the city.

Remember When

Anita Bryant 1977

When I first saw the photos of Pat Buchanan getting creamed with salad dressing, I thought it looked vaguely familiar. Then it came to me.
Anita Bryant waged war against the homosexuals in 1977-1978.

She too got creamed, and soon forgotten. No one even asks, "Where is she now?"

We can only hope the same will be said of Mr. Buchanan within a few more years.
Correlation? I'd say so.

Right-Wing Christian Fundamentalists. Full of hate and bigotry all in the name of the church.
I am so thankful that not all Christians are like those two.
It would be a waste of good pies and salad dressings.

Opening Day Memories

Today marked the 32nd annual Cincinnati Reds' Opening Day festivities. This is a big day in Cincinnati. The former law firm I used to work for, which is still located downtown gave out "Chip Wheelies" to all employees on Opening Day. Chip Wheelies are two chocolate chip cookies with vanilla ice cream sandwiched between them. Many other downtown businesses will close during the parade so that the employees can go out and watch the parade. The parade, actually called the Findlay Market Parade, is one of the largest in the city every year. So another baseball season has officially begun in Cincinnati.

It reminds me of one of the first memories I have of my maternal grandfather. Way back in the day when the Red's played at Crosley Field, took me to an opening day game. That ballpark seemed huge to me. And the hot dogs tasted so much better than they do now. That was the first time I had ever been to a major league baseball game. Now I'm not a sports enthusiast, and I am in no way athleticly inclined, but that is one of my fondest memories. Those was the days of ball players that played to play ball, not like today when they play to make money. I recall how happy it made my grandpa to sit there in those stands with his two oldest grandsons, one on each side watching his Cincinnati Reds. Even though they lost that day, it was a great time.

By the way, they won today.

No Entry + 7 Days, Makes One Weak

I've been told that I need to post an entry. By several people. So let me just say that I was going to post one on Tuesday, but Blogger was having technical difficulties and I was unable to post. From there things just went haywire. A lot of shit began to happen and posting an entry became a low priority. I know, don't even say that, but it did. Sorry. So let's play catch up...

Monday;
Typical Monday with all the drama that goes with it. If it wasn't for the fantastic weather, Monday would have been the worse Monday in recorded history. I woke up late. Got to work late. Nothing seemed to go right all day, and then my mom calls and asks if I'm mad at her. Why I ask? Her response..."Well I haven't heard from in you in almost three weeks, I thought something was wrong."
Not talking to mom in that long of a time is inexcusable. Needless to say I was guilt ridden for a while after her conversation.

Tuesday;
Mom calls at work again. This time not to scold, but to inform me that my brother was having some major health problems. He had a congenital heart defect and had to undergo open heart surgery at 18 most. That was 34 years ago, and now it seems that after 34 years, things are beginning to deteriorate, so he may have to undergo more surgery now.

Wednesday; Same Shit Different day.
Thursday: The beautiful weather disappeared and winter resurfaced. The last day of the month and ten days after the first official day of spring and we had a high of 32 degrees. But things were improving in the depression/lack of motivation slump I had seemed to fallen into again.

Friday: FINALLY, it was Friday. Now for the last two days...
Last night Silver came over and we had BW3 for dinner and he brought over his copy of Latter Days. (I know a bit late watching THE gay movie of 2004. What respectable gay man has not seen this movie yet?) I was expecting more to be honest, but I did enjoy it. Especially the part in the motel room where you get to see a glimpse of Steven(Aaron) hanging down things. All said, it was a good movie. The story was incredible and the actors were great.
He also brought a copy of THE TRIP. More on that in a minute.
After we had dinner and watched Latter Days, including the special features, we all decided to go downtown for some drinks. We headed to SPURS, which by it's name you can imagine the type of bar it is. We walked in and the smell could almost knock you down. I know that the locker room smell turns some people on, but it was wretched in there. Not to mention most of the patrons looked as though they forgot what water ,soap and razors were. We had a good time regardless, and we sat around laughing and talking up until the midnight hour.

DJ and I slept in this morning, and he made scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast and we watched THE TRIP. Now this movie did not get as much attention as Latter Days, but was just as good. Almost better in some ways. The story of two men over a period of twenty five years was real and touching. Not as weepy as It's My Party, but just as emotional. If you haven't seen it, get it. I loved it. And actually so did DJ.

Tonight was "Family Night" at DJ's parents, so we headed over there for dinner with mom and the girls. Afterward we went to Budlight Girl's soccer game. Sadly, the guys were not hot. But the ref was gay. His chartreuse shirt with the collar turned up was a dead give away. Then back to Mama D's for a game of Family Feud. Good times, really.
So that was it. & days wrapped up in seven minutes. Sorry I made you wait seven days for this enlightened post into my life. I promise I'll keep in tough more often.

As each I do each month, I want to share one of my daily blog reads. I love to turn to this blog each day to see what new adventure or what great one liners he is going to use next. I think every gay blogger reads him. If not they should. He is HOT. I'm talking about the one and only, Hot Toddy's Toaster Oven! Hot Toddy is my hero! Keep them coming Toddy. Hat's off the him and his great blog, as my Blog of the Month for April.