Don’t I have a pretty horsie?I was going to exercise my beautiful grey Arabian mare, Naihla, and headed out to my stables to ride her. The stable boy, Luke, should have her ready by now. Imagine my surprize to get there and find Luke waiting for me completely naked!
His blue eyes pierced my soul and he said, “How about me riding you today?”
How could I say no?
I was in a really crowded bar in Manhattan and kind of drunk. Well, let’s be honest, really soused. It was a very fancy place, quite modern and upscale. I could hardly walk upright and needed to lie down. So I went in search of a place to do that. I was in the back poking around, when I found a door that looked like the right kind of thing so, I went in. As I rounded the corner this is what I saw.
I certainly didn’t want to interrupt, but I was fixated and suddenly more alert and excited. My breathing deepened and I unconsciously parted my legs and leaned on the door. I was watching them, but they hadn’t noticed. They were so into each other. The taller, more muscular one had the suited one in passionate rapture. What was I to do?
Last week, Justin presented to an inner city emergency room with vomiting, a high fever, and abdominal pain, saying that he had done some drugs. He was admitted into detox. On day two his mother, who is a nurse and our next door neighbor, suggested that a CT scan be run to rule out appendicitis, but her suggestion was rejected while the staff was trying to figure out why the drugs were shutting his organs down. Four days later he had died from peritonitis from a ruptured appendix diagnosed late on day three, when it was already too late. He was only 27 years old. We just returned from the wake, and the funeral is tomorrow. He is also survived by his father and brother.
Beautiful Boy by John Lennon
Close your eyes,
Have no fear,
The monsters gone,
He’s on the run and your daddy’s here,
Beautiful,
Beautiful, beautiful,
Beautiful Boy,
Before you go to sleep,
Say a little prayer,
Every day in every way,
It’s getting better and better,
Beautiful,
Beautiful, beautiful,
Beautiful Boy,
Out on the ocean sailing away,
I can hardly wait,
To see you to come of age,
But I guess we’ll both,
Just have to be patient,
Yes it’s a long way to go,
But in the meantime,
Before you cross the street,
Take my hand,
Life is just what happens to you,
While your busy making other plans,
Beautiful,
Beautiful, beautiful,
Beautiful Boy,
Darling,
Darling,
Darling Justin.
The next morning dawn bright and sunny as we bid Phil adieu, piled into his caddy with all of our stuff and headed for the Tamiami Trail (click any photos to enlarge). I was excited to be heading out to the Keys even though I was still not feeling well at all. An aerial photo of the road with the canal right next to it is below.
Ah, the Everglades. Vast wetlands cleansing southern Florida. Birthplace for thousands, if not millions of fish, birds, insects, invertebrates, plants, you name it, they have it here. And yet, it is being built upon and drained. Encroached on from all sides. Canals are being dug and housing tracts are being built. You can see it when you fly into Miami. Okay, I will get down off my soapbox now and continue our journey.
I had always imagined that we would see plenty of gators, but alas, we did not.
I told Sean not to run over any Florida panthers, but we saw nary a one. I really wanted to though.
We did see plenty of water birds, including the anhinga. I love this bird because it looks so prehistoric, as if it might have existed thousands of years ago.
We also saw wood storks…
the harder to spot green heron…
the great blue heron…
the snowy egret…
not to be confused with the great egret.
There were many tourist attractions such as airboat rides and gambling offered by the local Native American Seminole and Miccosukee Tribes. Both tribes had the obligatory sad and bloody pasts with the conquering whites leaving them in small numbers relegated to reservations. Here, they are pictured in happier times.
Since I was feeling so unwell and was sleeping in the comfy back seat (my role was navigator and I was literally sleeping on the job) we missed our turn to Homestead and to the Keys and ended up in the Cuban part of Miami. We stopped for gas and directions, and found a local bakery with coffee. It was then, right then, that we discoverd CAFE CUBANO. It was a turning point in our lives. Everything changed after that.
It was served in these really tiny cups. I was astonished at how small they were. At least we had the sense to know that they were drunk without milk. My goodness, how much sugar went into it! One sip and ka pow!!! That caffeine kicked in like jet fuel. The taste was like an uppercut; pungent and flavorful. We now had the energy to complete our trek, which had taken so many hours already.
So, on we forged towards Rte. 95 and the Keys. Finally we made it to Key Largo and the Hungry Pelican Hotel. We checked into our room and I flopped into my bed, dead to the world. I worried for naught that the cafe cubano would keep me up.
Yup, today is the day of the Folsome Street Fair in San Fransisco! Oh to be there! Joe.My.God is there (but he is way cool). I never would have known what this was without Joe.
I’ve even got my leather hat to wear, just like the one this strapping young lad is wearing in the photo below. Doesn’t he look sharp in his? What is up with that leather harness thingy? Me likey! Isn’t he devilshly handsome in it? He must lift weights or something.
These cool dudes below look like they are enjoying each other’s company. One of them is even wearing that leather harness thingy again! Just old friends having a good ol’ time.
I just want to hang out at the Fair and see the sights. But, maybe not this badly.
I wonder if this young man would mind if I put my hand in his pants. He looks very nice and is smiling. I mean, his pants are open and his hand is already down there, so why would he care? I just love his the ink on his abdomen and the stubble on his face. Woof!
Photo courtesy of Matt
If you’re going to San Francisco
Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair
If you’re going to San Francisco
You’re gonna meet some gentle people there.
