Jack Hampster & Company

One of the great joys in my life is our little pug, though she is getting old and doesn’t walk as well as she used to, her enthusiasm in the morning for her breakfast brings a smile to my face each time.

Each morning at 6:30, before the alarm clock goes off, she sits up and starts to make little grunting noises, she slips in a sniff now and then, and if too much time goes by without movement from our bed, she gets up and sits by the door. She continues the sound effects, getting a little louder as time goes by, and if I do not respond by a certain time, she walks over to Cowboy’s side of the bed and starts to make her noises over there.

Most of the time, some movement on my part will keep her on my side of the bed. Usually I hold out my hand, point to her bed and mumble “five minutes”, and she will climb back into bed, with a sign and wait sitting up, for 2 minutes, then she will head back to the door.

When I get out of bed, if I don’t put my robe or pajama bottoms on fast enough, she will lunge for my feet like she is going to bite me, but most of the time, she just chases her tail, until I reach the door, then she heads down the stairs, stopping at the landing to make sure that I am following her.

Next we open the door, so she can go for her morning pee, she looks back to make sure you’re watching, because she wants her breakfast, and if she doesn’t need to pee (to get her breakfast), she won’t.

Then she runs as fast as her little legs will carry her (almost like she is flying) to her food bowl, and If I haven’t made it there yet, she stops to give a twirl, and then she waits for me to place her food in her bowl, I then change her water.

After she is done with her breakfast, she will walk slowly back into the kitchen to she if Dad dropped anything, which is kinda funny because she cant see it. If we do drop something we have to point it out to her.

Then I look at her and say “potty?” If she needs to go out again, she will head for the door, if not she looks at you like you are a dummy. Then I say “okay” and she takes off running for the living room, where she gets to sit on my lap while I reflect on my life and the gratitude I feel for the people in it, until Cowboy gets up.

When he comes downstairs, sometimes I have fallen asleep, and when he gets his coffee Toshi will climb up onto the arm of the chair, while I get up and Cowboy takes my place, she will then lie down in his lap and go back to sleep.

On the weekends the routine is the same, except on Saturday she will allow me to sleep until seven.

Well not quite that old, but getting up there…

Last weekend we went away to Sea Ranch, my oldest brother and his wife, their daughter and her husband, my sister and her boyfriend, and my brother Marvelous joined us

We went up Thursday afternoon, most of the family came to our place in Santa Rosa first and we caravanned up together. The way we drive up to Sea Ranch is out along the Russian River to Jenner, then up the coast to Sea Ranch through Fort Ross, Salt Point State Park, and Stewart’s Point.

If you’re not in a hurry, it is a nice drive, if you are in a hurry, well you really need to go to Sea Ranch and rest, cell phones don’t work there.

Internet Access is about the speed of dial-up, well unless you have a satellite, but most houses don’t. So you might check your email if you really have to, but it is nice to just be able to get away from it all.

We had great weather while we were there, clear with no fog, but Cowboy got a real bad sunburn, so his trip was not a nice as it should have been.

I had another Hobbit Birthday, so I got everyone gifts and cooked dinner. We started off with Wild Mushroom crostini, followed by crab cakes, then we had for dinner Filet Mignon with a red wine reduction sauce, salad and deep-fried risotto. I made for desert 12 Layer Chocolate Cake – It was not a low calorie weekend.

-

I know, no posts recently – I just haven’t felt like writing – I don’t think I’ve quit, just running dry for the moment.

I’ve been having too much fun on “My Space”, no I don’t use it for cruising, but I am involved (heavily… it’s like a drug… in the application called “OWNED”, which is an online shopping application, where you buy and sell photos (for the most profit, your own photos)

It’s also a way for my to keep in contact with most of my cycling buddies, without sending, reading email.

It is almost time to start training again. – First training class in Sept.

The bubonic plague or the pneumonic plague… no I don’t have either one, but I’ve been sick, just a little cold.

The black death killed one third of the human population on China, Asia, India, Europe and Northern Africa in sixteen years from 1334 to 1350.

The Black Death was both of those plagues hitting at the same time. The bubonic plague causes swollen black lymph nodes and kills its victims in about 5 days, it was carried by rats and fleas. The pneumonic plague was also spread by rats and fleas with humans being able to transmit it as well, in the same way as the common cold, it killed its victims even faster within 3 days or as little as 24 hours.

Anyway, I’m better now, thanks for asking…

It was a grand and glorious weekend – Well I’m talking about the 4th of July so I had to slip the grand and glorious in.

Now for some trivia – The Declaration of Independence was actually voted on and approved on the 2nd of July, The document was then rewritten and the final draft approved on July 4th and sent to the printer.

The document that we think of as the Declaration of Independence, was hand written and signed on July 19th The bulk of the signatures came later, on August 2nd, 1776

The first public reading of the Document happened on July 8th at Independence Hall.

Congress was going to celebrate the 2nd as “Independence Day”, but did not remember until July 3rd 1777, and so celebrated the first celebration of Independence Day on July 4th, 1777.

So what did I do over the 4th of July Weekend? Well first it was clean the garage, which I never get enough time in there to do it the way I want to do it, because it would just take too long, to reorganize everything the way I want to, but I did get all the cobwebs swept out.

We then went shopping, I for some plaid shorts at the Gap, size 31 waist, which are still too big. I guess the diet has been working. Bought some other nic-nacs, paddy wac, give a dog a bone.

Saturday, we went to barbecue in the East Bay, saw my relatives, HI FOLKS! Had a good time, and then came home again, it was nice not to have to drive all the way to the South Bay.

Sunday, we worked in the yard some, and then looked at houses again. We found one that we really liked and are looking at financing right now, getting reports, cleaning up around the house, throwing old stuff away just in case we will be moving soon.

Caress it, take it in your hands and handle it gently.

I’m talking about pet peeves of course.¹

My favorite pet peeves are:

1. When someone walks all the way to the door and can’t decide to go in or out, blocking it for others folks while they try to decide.

2. When someone walks up to the fax machine, looks at it, sees that nothing is on it and then asks, “Did a fax for me come?

3. When someone is looking for paperwork, makes all sorts of noise while looking for the paper-work, so you finally say “Write me a note about what your looking for and I’ll find it for you” and they reply, “I don’t want to bother you” then they proceed to ask all sorts of questions about where the paperwork might be filed.

4. When someone (who can drive in the commute lane, fast lane or the slow lane) drives slowly in the fast car lane, instead of moving over to the slow lane.

5. When you get an email from an old friend, asking if this email address is correct, you reply ” yes” and ask them how they are doing etc, and you never hear from them again.

1. of course, I would be calmer if I didn’t let these things bother me [↩]

Star Wars

Sex & the City

Nothing on my mind right now, no words to share.

So I think I will post some pictures from the ride.

- But FIRST a video from last year - highlighting events from the ride

A video from ALC 6, which was last years ride

-
Now some pictures from this year’s ride

a picture from inside the Cow Palace - Opening ceremonies - in the corner of the picture is a cycling helmet with Wonder Woman on it, My Friend Emily’s helmet

A partial shot of our sleeping quarters - Tent City

Our luggage trucks - every morning we load our luggage and our tents back in the trucks, and then we unload them at the end of the day in our new location and put our tents back up.

SUPERFRIENDS - we all have action figures on the tops of our cycling helmets - here we are unmasked
I was Green Lantern - it did not match my bike

My Friend Beau - His action figure is Animal Man - he had to have a Super Hero that matched his bike

My Friend John - His action figure is Superman - and his Superman matches his bike too, which is black & red

the ever present porta-potties - what funny is when you first use them you feel funny because you don’t flush them - but when you get home you have to remember your not using a porta-potty anymore.

here am I standing in front of the Rock of Morro Bay - I had to stop just for a picture to send my friend KIM

this was RestStop4 the 4th and Final Rest Stop of each day - they go over the top to present new themes - that entertain and delight us.

the First Rest stop of RED DRESS DAY - it starts out, of course when people leave their tents in the morning and then we laugh all the day long…

Me in my Red Dress - I bought it at Ross two years ago, last year I wore red arm warmers and gloves but this year I thought I’d dress it up a bit, with white gloves, arm-warmers and pearls - I threw it away when I was done with it this year.

My Friend Luis and I, He had a red tutto on, which you can not see in this shot

And some others go all out - do themes with their friends - I think these are the St Pauli Girls

and sometimes action figures and movie characters come to life - Meet the Incredibles

Some people surprise other friends with recognition of their incredible feats - here they are recognizing and congratulating David Duncan for his tenth ride - that is my head sticking out

The Incredible Rest Stop 4 again - this is our version of Studio 54 - notice Andy Warhol on the Left

And well - here is an example of how well we can read after seven days on the bike

-
and now another video from last year

and then a video from a roadies point of view

I’m a quiet guy, most of the time. I don’t always say what is on my mind. I used to figure that saying nothing would make “it” better.

What ever “it” was.

I think this nature of mine comes from my upbringing. My mother¹ was the type of person, who just started her tirade all over again if you argued with her or interrupted her.

My Dad tended to be the type that just ignored what you said, such as if I was helping him in the garage working on something, and I saw what he was doing wrong - putting something together, such as a lawn mower that he had taken apart – he would just ignore me if I suggested that it would fit if he just turned it over.

Almost everyone in my life “knew” the correct way of doing whatever “it” was.

So at some point I just stopped talking. I think I stopped listening too. I became very isolated and withdrawn.

I was still involved with the things I was interested in, but I often did not share my feelings. I don’t think it helped that at about the same time an older brother and younger sister left home. There was much more going on than I ever knew, and theirs lives were very different than mine.

-

Still life goes on, and we slowly become whom we are. If we are able, we forgive and forget and learn and embrace that sometimes, people did the best that they knew how.

I slowly discovered who I was, a Spiritual Gay Man, and eventually the truth of who I was became more important than who my parents wanted me to be, so I came out. Slowly over the years, I have become closer to my family, and I love them even more than before.

-

I used to have this idea, that when two people were trying to decide to go to a movie, that if I said “I don’t care which movie we go to see”, that it meant I had a credit in the “ bank” for when there was a movie that I really wanted to see.

It took a friend to point out that “ I don’t care” means “I don’t care”.

-

Slowly I learned that I have to tell people what I want every time, and though that doesn’t mean I will get it, but at least they know what I want.

-

So what is this all about? – Just something I need to get off my chest.

Over a year ago, a friend came to my house, this friend, like most of my friends is opinionated. Now for a little history – We have known each other for many years, and over the years I learned to disagree with him, and he would sometimes call me up and ask “if I was mad at him” I was never mad, for I knew that he had his opinion and I had mine.

However, the last time he was at my house, he said things that were out of line. A year earlier, he was all most killed by a drunken driver, and when he was here, he had too much to drink, was impatient and did not wait his turn at the stop sign and ran into a motorcycle rider and passenger.

Thankfully he did not hurt anyone, however when he got back to my house, he then proceeded to get drunk, and because he was drunk, he said things to me that I felt were his projections of my relations with my family.²

I told him he was drunk and to go to bed, his reply was “If you agree with me, don’t say anything, otherwise let’s keep talking about it.”

Well I don’t argue with drunken people, usually I don’t allow them in my house. So he went to bed, he left the next morning and we haven’t talked since.

-

Cowboy said, “Your not the same person he knew so many years ago, you’re more confident in yourself, you work out, you’re happy”

-

I guess, I expected him to call up and apologize at some point, not for his thoughts, for he is entitled to his thoughts, but for the fact that he was drunk, that he expressed them in such a way, that he was drunk driving, and that he verbally attacked my family.

Well, life doesn’t happen that way you think it should sometimes, and I guess that I really don’t need people in my life that can’t apologize for the hurt they have caused other people.

Do I miss him? Sure, but I don’t need that kind of drama in my life. – So life goes on, and I’m a little sadder, for I had hoped that he would be the kind of person that could listen. That our years of friendship would mean something to him.

I’m sure you could ask, “Don’t the years of friendship meant something to me?”

Well, yes they do, but sometimes we have to let go of things that do not allow ourselves to grow, to change. And I no longer am willing to let someone verbally abuse me.

1. stepmother#1 [↩]
2. concerning my relationship with my father, my old business, various religious beliefs of my family [↩]