Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Our friend and my colleague, Olivia, invited us to Pridefest 08 in Lake Worth. Susan was feeling a little better and we already had our tickets, so we headed down to Lake Worth to catch up with Olivia and Nicole. Olivia and Nicole met us at the gate, we headed into the park that runs beside the Intercoastal.

The first thing that impacted me was the "Names Project Quilts" layed out in large display. Susan had seen the Large one in D.C years ago. A little history: In June of 1987, a small group of strangers gathered in a San Francisco storefront to document the lives they feared history would neglect. Their goal was to create a memorial for those who had died of AIDS, and to thereby help people understand the devastating impact of the disease. This meeting of devoted friends and lovers served as the foundation of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt.

Today the Quilt is a powerful visual reminder of the AIDS pandemic. More than 44,000 individual 3-by-6-foot memorial panels -- most commemorating the life of someone who has died of AIDS -- have been sewn together by friends, lovers and family members.
There were four large panel Quilts of individuals recently passed on, that I didn't know; but, seeing the quilt panels with messages from friends, lovers and families really made me feel their loss.


Next was the Bikes from the Bike Brigade -the finale of the parade, colorful people, exhibits, and fair-food.




Suddenly, typical of Southern Florida weather, a cloud came up and it started to rain.

We got separated from Olivia and Nicole as Susan and ducked into at tent. The tent housed the female impersonators who were putting on make-up and getting ready for their curtain call. We apologized for our rude appearance - not blinking an artificial eyelash, they assured us that it was not a problem, and we were welcomed to wait out the storm. That was wild! The rain stopped and the performers hit the stage - it was really fun.


We walked around looking at the exhibits and I came away with a better understanding of the issues some folks have to endure, in the many sub-cultures of our time. Thanks Liv and Nicole - great time!

Delray Affair - Year 2

After being sick in bed with a fever for over a week- Susan is finally feeling better. She was in Virginia last year for the Delray Affair - sooooooooooooooo, she mustered up the energy and we took the Jeep down A1A to Delray Beach. It was great, just the two of us, riding down A1A along the coast in the Yellow Jeep, looking at the beautiful ocean. Our old landlord, Nancy, said that we could park in our old condo place since she has not rented it yet - that was great, because the city of Delray closes Atlantic Ave from I-95 to the bridge at the Intercoastal Waterway. We pulled into the parking space at 27 East Rd. only to hear our old Snow Bird neighbor say, "Welcome Back". Carol and Pete were our neighbors from January 1 - til April 1. They come down from New Hampshire every winter to play golf and hang out in Delray. After a short visit of catching up on neighborhood gossip, Susan and I mosied over to Atlantic Avenue, across the old familiar bridge, past the Blue Anchor Pub and into the crowd of Craftsmen. Craftsmen set up tents with their ware, as thousands of folks ascend on the avenue for what is called: Delray Affair. One of my favorites is "Statue Guy" - this guy is like "Silverman" in Key West - he sits for hours like a statue and only raises his pinkie to acknowledge a tip. He is amazing. Thousands descended on Saturday to buy crafts and to taste conch fritters from Key West, Groper tacos, Gyros, and yes, my favorite: the All American, Yes Bygod, Who Knows what food group to assign it to, Hot Dog with Yellow Mustard, Relish, and Onions!
Susan and I had a great time and then headed up A1A to a waterside restaurant called Banana Boat. It was great to see Susan up and about.

Frank, Dana, and her friend Marina breezed into town Thursday evening for a stopover before heading back home. They had been down to the Keys for Spring Break and were heading back home. Susan was sick in bed, so I took them to the Tiki Bar at the marina and we had supper. It was great to see them! Stay a little longer next time Frankie.

La visite de Vickie en Floride

Vickie Le Sellin came down to Florida for a long awaited visit and March displayed it's capricious side. Flirting with Sunshine, only ending up with tropical rains - but, warm temps. Then, Susan had to have emergency dental work - a partial root-canal - are we having fun yet? All in all we rallied, despite weather and extreme tooth problems - we all rallied. Our friends, Karen and Erik drove up from Lake Worth and we had Easter Sunday Brunch at the Sailfish Marina - played some pool at the condo - hit the hot tub - anything to keep Vickie from studying -. We laughed and enjoyed our time together. Hope you come back when it's sunny and hot. That will be in a couple of months.

What are you??

Due to some recent events in my life, I turned once again to the Myers Briggs Personality Test for answers to my self and others' personalities. I've taken this test several times over the years and I've always gotten INFP. This is a pretty good assessment:

"INFPs are quiet, creative , sensitive and perceptive souls who often strike others as shy, reserved and cool. These folks have a rare capacity for deep caring and commitment--both to the people and causes they idealise. INFPs guide their behavior by a strong inner sense of values, rather than by conventional logic and reason. Forced to cope with this facts-and-figures 'real' world we inhabit, INFPs may appear to have been imported from another galaxy! They gravitate toward creative or human service careers which allow them to use their instinctive sense of empathy and remarkable communication skills. Strongly religious, spiritual or philosophical people, INFPs may see the purpose of their lives as an inner journey, quest or personal unfolding. More practical or rational types may tend to discredit the INFP's sources or understanding as mystical. The search for a soulmate is a preoccupation for many INFPs , who must balance their need for privacy and peace with their yearning for human connection. If there seems to be an air of sadness to INFP's spirit, blame it on this type's longing for the perfect in all things."

I would love to know what you are. Wayne is an ENFP (http://typelogic.com/enfp.html), we are perfect complements, he is the yang to my yin, my soulmate....just took awhile to find him. The Myers Briggs is really cool and I think inspirational, reminding us that we are all unique, different, and interesting. Please be brave and post what you get, I really want to read up on you and what makes you tick!

http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp

-Susan

A Picture is worth a Thousand Words - so, how much is a camera worth?

I have been waiting since digital cameras were introduced to us for an affordable -SLR camera - I've always been partial to the lenses and cameras of Nikon - it was my first SLR camera - (they took Nikon to the moon, don't you know) - Well, for my birthday, Susan put out the word that I would like to have Amazon Gift Certificates -
the certificates just started rolling in by email. A great big THANK YOU goes out to Carolyn/Jim, Bill/Pam, Nancy/Bob, Mom Irvin, Anna/Michael, Billy/Suzanne, Julie/Colin - I just ordered it - the Nikon D-40. With your generous help, I will be into a new realm of photography. I've been using this camera at work and I figure that I've shot at least 1,000 shots in the past year and I'm comfortable with this camera. I cannot thank you all enough. Love Wayne

Tybee Island - Savannah

In usual fashion, Bill and Pam Irvin rented a marvelous house on Tybee Island, 18 miles south of Savannah. The island reminded me of the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It is a very laid back little island, with several little shops, a fishing pier, couple of Breakfast places, vacation homes.


We would pile in the rental van and slip over to Historic Old Savannah and return to the beach village at night. Savannah is the old south. Savannah, like most large southern cities has an old "Colonial" part of town - complete with a Pirate house with tunnels down to the waterfront - to a porch where Marquis de La Fayette gave a victory speech after the Revolutionary War. Then the antebellum style houses that conjure up images of Gone with the Wind. Bill, Pam, Susan and I took a trolley tour of the city and had a great afternoon.



As always, dinner was a culinary delight. One of our favorites was Alligator Soul restaurant in the heart of city. The green-fried tomatoes would warm you up if the gumbo didn't.
Alligator Soul - extraordinary Southern Cuisine

Erin go Bragh in Savannah

St Patrick's Day is usually really crazy in Savannah - but, this year was really crazy because of weather. Tornados hit Atlanta Friday night - we landed in Atlanta Saturday morning as the city embraced the damage - another band of storms were heading our way - we arrived in Savannah and waited for Bill and Pam at the airport - Colin and Julie had driven down and made it to the house before us. We hooked up at the house and headed to a really cool restaurant called the Hunter House Bed and Breakfast. We got back to the house on Tybee Island and retired for the night only to awake to a power outage due to tornados that hit Savannah. Not only did we get a black out; but, the whole downtown Savannah experience a total Black out - restaurants and bars were closing and totalling checks with flash lights as computers and cash registers were out of commission. Luckily we planned our St. Patricks Day Celebration to begin on Sunday. We had a good time walking River Street along the Savannah River and being a part of the party.

The restaurants, bars, Hotels, taxis, everyone connected with a tourism event got burned and lost a lot of money throughout the weekend and into Monday. Instead of the traditional St. Patrick's Day parade being held on Monday - the churchs in town decided that since Sunday was Palm Sunday - and then Holy week - they would change the parade to Friday instead of Monday - but, not tell all of the folks flying down. Well - instead of 500,000 people - 250,000 showed up - the others cancelled and flew to Boston or NY where Monday would provide the Irish with their parade and frovolity. Savannah is hurting. We did our best to help them - but, the bulk of the crazy celebration went North.

March 11, 1949 -Stuart Circle Hospital - 4:05 am I came into Richmond, Virginia for the first time - kicking and screaming.

My first Birthday was a Blast. And I have enjoyed them all - all 58 of them - I know that 59 is going to be fun too. My only regret is that so many friends and family are in Virginia - but, you are with me today - Susan has planned a Birthday evening - - a quiet dinner and then - Monty Python's Spamalot at the Kravitz Center in West Palm Beach. The story continues.

Here comes another one!

Susan had planned a surprise Birthday Party with Michael in cahoots with her. I kept bugging her to go to Key West -things got complicated in her corner - finally, she told me her plans. Now, the Surprise Birthday Party is a Birthday Party. No surprises, no presents, just bring your bathing suit - it's a pool party (the pool is heated don't you know).