A Poem: "4:45 p.m. from the Az. Desert"

Another poem arrived from my man. He has taken a couple of his sons to spring training baseball in Arizona. I think he misses me.

"Sun, 27 Mar 2005, 4:45 p.m. from the Az. Desert"

Missing you today brings back the almost forgotten ache
Of what seems so long ago
When being apart was the way we lived.
Missing you today leaves me feeling surprisingly sad
From a cause not apparent
As I see around me tanning tourists and sunny faces.
Missing you today sends my soul homeward
Ahead of my moping body
To envelope you tonight with warmth and love
And to bring you promise of a sweet reunion
In just two days time.

© E.R.

Spring Breaks

It has been Spring Break time around here. E’s oldest son was home from college last week. This week the middle son is off. Next week the youngest has his high school break. Yesterday E left with the middle son to go to Spring Training with the Giants in Arizona. Over the weekend the younger son will trade places with his brother and spend the first half of next week at Spring Training.

I was teasing E about getting his balls autographed after the game or enjoying a come from behind win. Despite the jokes, I miss him.

Before he left, E wrote a poem and tucked it under my pillow. I found it last night before going to sleep.

Rain drums its melody of the roof
Above the bodies of our two, entwined selves.
Sounds of its rhythmic cadence blend
With the steady, deep moan of your breath.
I listen intently to the words of this of this duet,
And I hear distinctly the message of love…
You feel for Me,
I feel for You,
We feel for Us.

March theatre weekend

It was another San Francisco weekend of theatre. Friday night we saw “Miss Coco Peru is Undaunted” at New Conservatory Theatre Center. This cabaret show is an intelligent, theatrical, musical and witty drag autobiographic monologue. In other words you will laugh and cry and have a great time.

Saturday afternoon we went to A.C.T. to “The Voysey Inheritance” by Harley Granville-Barker, adapted by David Mamet. It was a very well done ensemble piece with a rich looking set. I hear Mamet cut out at least an hour out and several minor characters. It is an excellent study of morality and money and the conflict between family and honor.

Saturday evening we dressed in our tuxes and went to the Jewish Family and Children’s Services Gala Dinner. JFCS is one of the largest and oldest social service agencies in the West. It services people of all ages, faiths and ethnic backgrounds. It has worked hard to reach out to the GLBT community in providing relevant programs and soliciting support. I would guess close to ten percent of the attendees and fifty percent of the people on the dance floor were gay and lesbian. After the gala we went to the Starlight Room at the top of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel and danced for another hour and a half. We were the only obvious gay couple there.

Sunday afternoon we saw “Lilies, or the revival of a romantic drama”. It is a lyric and erotic play-within-a-play where inmates at a Quebec prison re-enact a tale of an impassioned love between two young men. The play was made into a compelling film in 1996.

Skip the Corned Beef

E is the most talented, creative chef. He can whip up a wonderful dinner in about 30 minutes. After work on Thursday, we met with the rabbi for our monthly pre-wedding couples counseling. On the way home we stopped at Whole Foods and picked up some fresh tuna and a bottle of chilled wine. Half hour later he served the following:

- Seared Tuna Steaks with Spicy Caramel Sauce
- Button Mushrooms and Zucchini Sautéed in Balsamic Vinegar
- Young Broccoli Spears, Steamed
- Apple & Cinnamon Rice & Bread Stuffing
- Toasted Olive/Garlic Bread
- A local Chardonnay wine

Weekend of comedy, corned beef and elephant seals

Friday night after Shabbat dinner we went to see Preston Sturges’ screwball comedy Unfaithfully Yours (1948) and the Marx Brothers classic A Night at the Opera (1935) at Stanford Theatre. Both movies mixed classical musical with wacky comedy.

Saturday night we went to a St. Patrick’s Day themed birthday party. We met some new gay and lesbian couples and got to know several others better. Also, I got to eat some really good corned beef and cabbage.

Sunday we took my two younger kids to Año Nuevo State Reserve, the site of the largest mainland breeding colony for elephant seals. The outing was organized by the local LGBT center. It was for LGBT families with younger kids. Three lesbian couples and us participated. I think there were seven kids between 4 and 14. They all had a great time together.

Dinner summary for early March:

Last Saturday night we hosted a dinner party for 3 gay couples. Total of eight people for dinner. E’s menu:
Aperitif of Champagne and Raspberry Liqueur
Assorted Bread Sticks and Cracker Breads
Roasted Eggplant Soup
Grilled Pear salad with Reduced Port Dressing, Stilton & Walnuts
Sea Bass en parchment (Sea bass, shrimp, julienne vegetables baked in parchment with a reduced wine sauce, fennel, and thyme)
Wild Rice, Shallots & Mushrooms with a Wine and Dijon Vinaigrette
Baby, golden beets
Frozen parfait of raspberries, creme cheese and chocolate
Wine: "Colors" Chardonnay
…An excellent meal.
Sunday night we went out to dinner with my parents to a fun, upscale, family style Italian restaurant called Viva! Primavera of Los Gatos.
Thursday we went to San Francisco to see Brian Dennehy in the play “Trumbo: Red, White & Blacklisted” at the Post Street Theatre. It was more of a dramatic reading then a play but it was very interesting and entertaining. The production consisted of Dennehy reading letters written by blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo (Roman Holiday, The Brave One, Exodus, Spartacus, Papillon).
We had dinner at First Crush. I had the “Sonoma County duck breast sautéed with braised red cabbage and pancetta with red wine. Dressed with cherry-orange glaze and served with roasted potatoes.” E had the “flat ribbon pasta tossed with English peas, roasted Portobello mushrooms, finished with a mushroom reduction broth.” It was tasty. We will go back again.

It’s the little things

I suspect E has one of the oldest running laptops in the world. After twelve years it was finally time to replace E’s Apple PowerBook G3. He loved that laptop. He would have kept on using it if the network card hadn’t crapped out on it. Never mind that it would only run OS 9. Or that the hardware was not compatible for an OS X installation. Or that the older Internet Explorer and AOL browsers that he used were often crash with today’s websites. It did just about everything he needed it to do.

Nevertheless, it was time for a new one. I can get a discount at the university bookstore. We picked out a new 15-inch PowerBook G4. I whip out my employee card and the clerk writes up the order. E wants to charge it on his business credit card. The clerk says that their policy is that only the employee buying the computer can pay for it. I am ready to argue with them that this is a stupid policy and demand to see the manager. E, however, chimes in with the comment “We are domestic partners.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Of course you can pay”, the clerk told E. She was very apologetic through the rest of the transaction. I felt silly that I was about to go off the deep end. But I was also very amazed and pleased that our domestic partnership was good for something. It was totally unexpected and wonderful at the same time.

Wedding plans #1

Earlier this week we watched the DVD of Bravo’s 2002 series “Gay Weddings”. Half way through the first episode we were thinking this is stupid. Neither one of us likes reality shows or ‘in you face’ documentaries. But by the end of the third episode we were hooked. The show follows four gay and lesbian couples over a 5 month period as the plan their weddings. Interestingly, this was filmed pre-SF and Massachusetts gay weddings. At the end of the show we realized we only have 3 months until ours. Is it time to start to panic yet?

Our big day is Father’s Day, June 19. We have a place (our synagogue), caterer and dance band booked. It took us weeks to pick out and order our Ketubah. Up next are ordering invitations and picking out rings.