Life in the key of E flat minor

It’s 7:30am at JFK airport. The crowd, for the most part, looks tired. People are clutching their Starbucks, iced or hot, and mindlessly look ahead. I just stare at this screen, hoping to tell all the stories of my trip. Before I left for college, my family took a vacation to San Francisco and Los Angeles. It was 1991. I remember going through the Napa Valley wineries and being very frustrated about not being allowed to sample the wine. Seriously, no teenager is going to care about the fermentation process if he can’t sip the results. Rita chided me for being a snot, and I retorted that this was a family vacation, let’s do something that the kids want to do. (This is the vacation when I begged to walk around the Golden Gate Bridge and everyone balked. I had to wait until 2000 before I got to do that.) I remember that this scene between my mother and me happened at the Christian Brothers Winery. This tour was an unusually long one, with interesting information, from what I re...

After spending an afternoon in San Francisco, it was time to rendezvous with my friends. I walked from the Castro to the Mission on 18th street to get to my final destination of 16th and Mission to take the BART. I’ve walked up and down 18th Street many times. When Denise lived on Harrison and I would visit her, we’d usually end up walking between the Mission and the Castro via that road. So it was all very familiar – comfortable. I saw the J-Church line as I crossed Church Street (of course) and immediately in front of my eyes, I saw a huge group of people and volunteers with simple stop signs stopping traffic. It was the Mission High School standing on the steps of the school to take class pictures. I just found it very touching. I had big smile on my face from that moment on. Traveling does that to me. It makes me giddy, excited and very happy. I love to explore, even if it’s some place that I’ve been before. Until yesterday, I didn’t know that there were any barbers in the...

I made it. After feeling like I was going to be trapped on the tarmac in Philadelphia and just making my connecting in MSP. (Thank you, Northwest Airlines, my luggage DID make it.) Brigid and I were excitedly texting and calling each other all through out the day. We jumped for joy when she picked me up at the airport. We just couldn't stop patting each other saying "I’m/you’re here." I've had a BIG ASS SMILE on my face! We wisked down the 101 in her Jetta, and I mused about my Songline. Then, I saw a sign for Belmont. My cousins live there. I got to e-mail them… I’m in the Castro Country Club for the free Wifi (well, I bought a coffee) and I love being able to listen in on the conversation. People are unabashedly willing to say all most anything with a total stranger in the room. I feel sort of Jane Goodall-ish. (a mobile phone conversation) “You’re still with that crackhead, are you?.... What else does he do for you?” “I never write the word, alcohol, I always righ...

Outside of the wonderful things that happened in 2005, two men made my life hell that year. This is a story about the one whom I have yet to allude to on this blog. My dear (and gorgeous) friend, Nicole, got married this past weekend in Saint Francis Xavier Church in Philadelphia. The ceremony was amazing, presided over by three priests – one of whom was recently ordained a bishop. The music was stunning and I haven’t been to a wonderful wedding like that since... since... since two weeks prior. I know Nicole through my former job, and those co-workers from there have been a tight-knit group. Therefore a medley of people who were and are still employed in that office were invited. The reception was held in the Union League, and after their recent renovations there venue was amazing. Rich, dark cherry colored wood and light cream drapes and linens provided an outstanding backdrop for a great time. Nicole and I, when we worked together, shared the same boss. He made my last few months at...

I'm hatching out a plan to go to London for New Year's Eve. More details to follow.