old bags

My daughter says that people think I'm gay because my book jackets say I live with my partner which is code word for Lesbian lover. My gay sister-in-law (partner's sister) says so what if that's what they think. My mother-in-law (partner's mother) says we should all call our spouses partner in solidarity with gays. I might as well say husband because we've been together for over 25 years and have two kids. We might as well get married anyway because what's the point of not getting married? Smash the state? My uncles from Texas who vote for George Bush live with women and are not married to them. At any rate, I am not gay but I did recently visit one of my oldest and best friends, Sue Hyde, while she was in Portland promoting her book, Come Out and Win: Organizing Yourself, Your Community, and Your World. Sue says we're a couple of old bags now, but that's just the way she talks.

GypZee Soul

Last week we went to The Oak Grove Restaurant at the Hood River, Oregon Golf Club to hear an Austin band called GypZee Soul. Don't let the golf club idea fool you-- the place actually a funky little restaurant/bar with a dance floor and music, big windows with trees outside, and nice folks dancing and drinking and have a good time. GypZee Soul is two piece, soul/bluesy/eastern European group that blew us away. Even Chuck who hardly ever likes anything. Check out the large triangular string instrument in the picture. If I can figure out how to put one of their songs on here, I will. Otherwise you can go to the link and listen and then, hey, why not buy the CD? Support independent music. Support great music wherever it happens.

sorry I'm a drag

I don't know how there can be so many movies about writers. What could be more boring than a writer? Chuck is in South Africa at the Society for Conservation Biology Conference, and I am having a personal writing retreat at my house, just me and the laptop. My dog doesn't like it. He is trying to mind control me into playing catch, but sorry, it's not working.