The End of the Year....

"Frost In Blue"

...brings with it many things, not the least of which is every one's Top Ten list of this or that. In this grand tradition I have my own Top Ten list. Rather than just post a list of banal items, I thought I would review the events which made this year so much better than many recent years. If you remember back at the beginning of this year, I was facing the demise of both my place of employment and my domicile. That would make the first event on my list out to be my move to Arkansas on the last day of February which began a new adventure chronicled in these pages. The move immediately improved both my employment situation and my living conditions. I had many good times in Arkansas, meeting many good and kind people. Easter Sunday brought the second event that made this year so special when I first attended services at Open Door Community Church where I was welcomed with open arms and hearts and my faith was restored. I made many friends within that community whom I continue to treasure. You guys of course remember how I worked my ass off at the hotel where I met a lot of interesting people also. Albert is a young man who is a quite surprising individual and he is event number three on my list. I was able to befriend him by recommending him for a job at the hotel after I had gotten to know him. That turned out to be a most favorable event for the hotel as he is now in a management position having taken my place in their program. I think about here would be a good place to introduce event number four which was the phone call from A asking me to write the business plan to acquire the franchise of which I am heavily involved in now. That set in motion a series of events leading me to where I sit today as I write these words from my new home in Fort Worth. The granting of that franchise and the offer of my present employment situation would be events five and six on the list Event seven would be the move itself back to Texas where I found a cool little apartment right across the street from the store.

Actually beginning the process of making a success of our little endeavor would be event number eight, the adventures there will continue to be chronicled here and event number nine would comprise all events surrounding Christmas this last week. That only leaves one event and that event is number 10 but is really number one as it should be. For this event alone was the adventure in Arkansas worth the trip.

What event is this you ask? It started innocently enough as just another check in at the front desk of the hotel. The new guest had never checked into a hotel and he was using a relative's credit card from Canada to pay. It was just a matter of paperwork but confusing to someone not used to electronic banking and hotel reservations. This is the first time I met Will whose friendship is the best thing that has happened to me this year. Although some 36 years my junior, he has never the less provided inspiration, laughter, loyalty, computer expertise and many, many, many hours of pleasant conversation both in person and on the Internet via Messenger and Skype. I am most proud and privileged to have Will in my life as a true and valued friend. As many good things that have happened in my life this year, it would seem less fulfilling if I did not have Will to share them with.

In retrospect, this year has been fabulous on a personal level without even taking into account events on a national level. Maybe we will go into those tomorrow, who knows? I do know I have a hot collection of Model Men for your Monday morning inspiration. Until next time as always, Enjoy!

Sympathy For A Friend And My Deja Vu Moment

Before I get into today's remembrance of posts past, I wish to extend my sympathy and support to Ryan and his friend in Atlanta. If you read Boys Are Ugly today then you will know that Ryan is in Atlanta in support of his friend whose boy friend killed himself last night. It is all too common yet tragic an event in our community. Ryan asked the question "Why?". Unfortunately we will never know that answer, we can only be there for our friends who survive. Say a prayer for them tonight. If you can, stop by Boys Are Ugly and leave your comment in support of Ryan and his friend.
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This week has been fun for me as I have looked back at previous posts. It has reminded me of why I started Nichevo and why I continue to write. I hope your have enjoyed looking back as much as I have. Tomorrow is my First Blogiversary so I guess I will have to do something special to celebrate the event. I will work on that, but for now, join me as we look back at this post I wrote on the occasion of my father's birthday on April 6th of this year whose title says it all:

Deja Vu And A Walk Down
Memory Lane

I had one of those deja vu moments today. I was cruising around the web when something reminded me of Michael J. Fox and his role in the movie For Love or Money. That is the movie where he plays a Concierge in the Bradbury Hotel who dreams of opening his own hotel on Roosevelt Island in New York. It is a romantic little tale that has the happy ending we all look for in a movie such as this. It is one of my favorite romantic comedies. I continued surfing the web but around 4 o'clock I got up and turned on the TV to HBO and what do you think came on, of course it was For Love or Money. I watched the whole movie and enjoyed every minute of it. I have always been a sucker for a good romance for as you know I lay claim to the title of hopeless romantic. I believe I got that from my dad, who fell hopelessly in love with my mother and remained so until his death in July of 1996. The story of how he and my mother met will always bring a sweet tear of joyful romance to my eye.

As I was selecting photographs for tonight's eye candy section, I went into Picasa2 and started the selection process. In Picasa2 you can upload 4 photos at a time to blogger, so when I pick out the photos, I save each group as a draft by the date and a sequential letter of the alphabet, then combine them into one draft so that I can post them in the order I would like them to be. As I saved the first draft, 0406a, it struck me that today is my dad's birthday. If he were alive he would be 84 today. So I would like to tell you a little more about my dad.

My dad was born on this day in 1923 in San Antonio, Tx. He came of age during the great depression and attended Technical High School in Fort Worth, Tx, which I also attended, graduating shortly prior to the start of WWII. He too was a sailor, joining the Navy and serving in that war. He returned Fort Worth after the war, where he worked for a time at the old Lone Star Steel Company on Hemphill Street. Across the street from the steel company was a drug store where a pretty red headed girl worked. He was immediately stricken and wanted to find a way to meet her, he being a bit shy. You know how it is when you are awestruck around someone you are immediately attracted to. Well, my dad bribed the manager of the drug store with a steak dinner for the introduction to my mom, and it worked, sort of. My mom was only 17 at the time and refused to go out on a date with him until she turned 18. On her 18th birthday, they had their first date, beginning a whirlwind romance that culminated in their marriage 5 months later. He remained in love with my mother until the day he died. My mother is still in love with him to this day. When she passes, they will meet in heaven and continue loving each other for eternity.

In prior posts I have outlined many things with which I have disagreed with my parents about, but the fact of their love for each other was never a question in my mind. Their marriage had its ups and downs, but they saw everything through together with love for each other and their children. My dad worked hard all his life in the construction industry and provided for us to the best of his ability. He was a Christian man, having his conversion experience when I was a teenager. He was not a saint but he taught me many lessons just by the living of his life observing the tenets of his faith. He was always the one to seek me out and bring me back to the fold when I in my search for myself got lost wandering. He knew me and knew that I was Gay before I knew what sex was. Yet he never stopped loving me and before he died he told me he was proud of me. I still miss him and there have been many times I have wished he was still here to help me sort out some of the things that have occurred in my life.

My dad was strongly opinionated and somewhat stubborn in which I am like unto him. A staunch democrat who actively participated in the political process. He also worked actively in the church and with my mother supported all the activities we boys involved ourselves in. The one thing that got us in the most trouble as kids was sassing my mother or showing her disrespect. That was a sure path to the proverbial wood shed. He would find ingenious little ways to show my mother how much he loved her proving time and again that true love can bear all things. I have always hoped to find such a love in my own life though I have been eminently unsuccessful so far. That has not stopped me from being a romantic or lessened my hope that one day love will find me. So for this day, I just want to say "Happy Birthday, Dad. I miss you very much and hope to see you again one day."

To close the post I found this video today posted on Undress Me Gently and it fits the romantic mood for today. It is scenes from Brokeback Mountain set to I Know How The River Feels by Diamond Rio. The eye candy section will immediately follow the video. So until next time as always, Enjoy!

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