It’s taken me just over three weeks to sit down and record this event. And the headline may be a little confusing. Because surely in 50+ years I’ve encountered people being homophobic. Oh absolutely. I couldn’t even begin to peg down the first time that I heard gay, queer, or the F-slur dropped as derogatory…
During the summer I was on something of a reading binge when it came to books that discussed queer topics. I’ve mentioned some or maybe all of them in my blog before, but I read three that in particular I found meaningful. Each was beneficial in its own way helping me understand my experience in…
This might be a messy topic in that I think I’m also simply catching up on what has been going on of late but a lot of it revolves around a sense of what I think is queer grief. First in the catch-up department, I had my “big” coming out moment. Now, I should probably…
I’ve mentioned before random memories coming back. Like my memory of Matthew Shepard’s death. That was a memory that I wouldn’t call so much banished because on the anniversary each year when I saw photos of him I would feel deep sadness. But I really didn’t let myself dwell on the part that event played…
For anyone who has known me in person, my body issues have been on public display for most of my life. In fact, I remember all the way back in kindergarten that I was Santa in our Christmas play because some of my classmates suggested I fit the role because I was fat. I look…
I have been very introspective even for me the past few months. I would guess due to having started therapy and talking about myself more than usual. And of course, I’d been writing about things here on my blog even before that. So last night I went to bed super early because I was just…
As I’ve mentioned in edits to a couple of old posts, I started therapy several weeks ago. It’s placing a strain on the old budget (run buy some art folks!), but I hit the point of realizing it was a must. Specifically my reason was that I have battled social anxiety most of my life….
In the past week I watched the new Wham! Documentary out on Netflix. That was an emotional trip. I’m not sure exactly when I became aware of Wham! Until recently I had all but forgotten that before MTV came to our cable line-up in my high school years, Nickelodeon had Nick Rocks which played some…
It was just about two months ago now that I sat down and wrote about my coming to terms with my queerness. Obviously, the journey reaches back much further than that. Part of it, I recently wrote about in my art blog where I shared some new work that I did for Pride Month 2023….
I had a strange revelation about being closeted the other day. Keeping in mind if you haven’t’ read the other posts in my series about accepting my own queerness, I’m only just now at 51 exiting the closet. I’ve been in there so long that it’s a way of life and honestly it’s still hard…
A theme that keeps coming up when I come out to friends has been that I feel I’ve spent my life holding space around me, probably in every sense. I’ve always been one of those people who has a strong sense of my personal space in a physical sense. Maybe a symptom, maybe who I…
This post was originally my third post on accepting my queerness. Those first two original posts are less relevant now and I just add extra complexity. This current post about my queer journey although not first chronologically is a good introduction if you want to know more. However this post does help understand some of…
I’ll be the first to admit that I probably have some degree of hypochondria. I think a lot of us do. I remember one of Mom’s friends who was in medicine who said that as a student every medical issue she read she briefly entertained the thought she had it. Still a few years ago…
When I was growing up, Mom talked about “Becky” so much that she was not unlike other members of the family that were gone but spoken of often. But Becky wasn’t family and she was, one assumed, alive and well somewhere. Becky had worked for my grandparents when Mom was little. And truthfully Becky wasn’t…
Not long ago, I began looking into a family story I had heard more than once as a child. There were variations on it but there was one part of the story that was consistent. And that was that there was a great, great, great uncle who died as a young child and who was…
It feels like I’ve hit that place in life where I only come to my blog with sad news and I guess tonight is no different although surreal. I had logged on to Find A Grave to update a couple of family connections. Although I have long used the site to supplement what I knew…
I had read grumblings about Southeastern Grocer’s financial problems in the news recently, but was still a little stunned this week to read of the pending Harvey’s closing in our small town of Montezuma, Georgia. They are closing a pile of stores by the end of April as they enter bankruptcy. For me, it was…
A funny “ha-ha” story. When Dad bought his little used Ford truck – his last one. The handle that was meant to raise and lower the spare tire from the back was nowhere to be found. The manual said the handle was behind the bench seat and nothing was there. So he always kept the…
It’s amazing after you’ve lost a loved how much worse some businesses can make the experience. Verizon is one example we’ve encountered in the months since my Dad’s death last December. It’s already a grinding experience having to call x company and y company and go through the same spiel over and over. When you’ve…
You ever have that feeling you’re cursed? I think I’ve had it off and on over the years. I’m sure many of us do. After the past year, it’s been an especially acute feeling. Nothing is small right now. Everything is major! I was setting off to Americus this afternoon to have my vision checked….
It’s been far too long since I’ve posted anything. It wasn’t for lack of moments of inspiration. I thought of plenty things to write about both involving the events of my life in 2016 as well as tidbits I wanted to share. And it never happened. As bad as the year started with Dad’s stroke…
It’s been 8 weeks since Dad had his stroke. I think I could write a book if I talked about everything that’s happened since but it wouldn’t be a very entertaining read. So I’ll hit the highlights. Dad was at Grady a little over a week after his stroke. He probably would have been moved…
I posted this to my Facebook page tonight where the folks have only been wondering where I’ve been for a day or two. Any actual readers of my blog have probably wondered that for far longer. I need to do a real update sometime but the following at least hits the most important point in…
I mentioned late last year that I was getting progressive lenses. It’s taken awhile for me to finally report back on that experience… Wow, well, first off the bat, I believe there was an issue with the first pair I got. It took several days of trying to adapt, but I finally came to the…
I decided to try something new today. I’ve long thought about how much time I spend sitting. Between photo editing and general online tasks, I’m attached to my laptop a lot. And while a laptop is a go-anywhere kind of device, you tend to sit with it a lot, eh? I’ve had a vague interest…
I’ve gotten where I rarely report on illness, especially on social media. I just hate to be one of those woe is me people. So, if I’m ever quiet, it may be that I’m busy or it may be that I simply have nothing positive to report! But hey, it’s my personal blog, so I…
There’s something about going to see an eye doctor that always feels me with dread. It’s not that I’ve ever had a bad experience with one, mind you. Still, I manage to build it up pretty much every time. There’s something about having someone peer into your head at things you can’t see. What might…
Wow… what a night… Yesterday afternoon, I started really feeling worn out for no good reason. It’s not the first time. In fact, it’s almost right at a decade since that first time. The first time was equally scary. I had a week of just feeling tired and like every step was dragging. Not like…
The title of this one is somewhat tongue in cheek. Certainly had I been painting non-stop, I’d be done by now. But the humorous part is that observant people will remember when I broke my foot last year, I was doing what? Yes, painting! And yes, the same room! I wish the room were that…
I could spend a ton of time boring you with stories of phone tag with the doctor’s office, but I’ll cut it short and sweet. There was a brief game of phone tag trying to get some more details and then silence on the other end. I don’t know whether I was forgotten about or…
It took almost a week to find out about my foot. Last Wednesday I had more x-rays and a test to check on the possibility of gout to explain why I still have a good deal of soreness nearly three months after breaking my foot. Before I get into specifics, I have to say I’m…
I finally had to bite the bullet and get my foot looked at today. I’ve made a lot of progress since I took off the training wheels, but it’s been two and a half months since I broke it and although I’m hardly in grinding pain, my toe still is sore like I stubbed it…
A full day without the buddy tape around my big toe and it’s nearest neighbor. It’s been interesting. After six weeks of being taped and 99% of that time in a recovery shoe on top of it, the first sensation was that it felt incredibly odd to have air touching it. In fact, the first…
Wow, I can’t believe that tonight marks six weeks since I was sitting in the Emergency Room waiting to find out the status of my poor toe. In some ways, I feel every minute of those six weeks. I watched the leaves change through the windows, and I’ve barely wandered past the steps for ages….
In the grand scheme of things it could have been far worse, but it’s still not a banner day. I’ve been working on prepping and painting my room. It is well due, but I guess now it will be a December task. I was on the second step of the a small step stool. I…
We found out Sunday that the last of my Grandmother’s siblings had passed away. My grandmother, the oldest of ten children, was 25 years older than her baby sister Lois. In fact, Granny got married later the same year Aunt Lois was born. They were still close, though. Not to minimize anyone’s grief as we…