Robert StGenis Voice empowered

  This is written on the morning of June 15, 2021, the day California is lifting restrictions. According to the New York Times, which has been tracking with at least daily updates throughout the pandemic, as of 6/14/2021, California has had 3,803,531 cases or 9,626 per 100,000 residents. According to the US Census Bureau, as of April 1, 2020, the population of the Golden state is 39,538,223. Based on these numbers, roughly 10.4% of the state's population had a positive Covid-19 test. Some argue how cases are counted, whether someone who has more than one positive Covid-19 test is being counted more than once, but then again, there are those laying on their death bed with Covid-19 insisting it does not exist. This resulted in 63,149 deaths or 160 per 100,000 people. You would think it's harder to argue deaths, though as I just mentioned above, not only do some people deny COVID really exists, but some say things like "well they had a heart condition, had cancer..." The...

Hamburger Mary's I was at Hamburger Mary's in Long Beach Sunday at a 4:00 PM over Memorial Day weekend for a drag show and "linner" or early dinner. Every show earlier was booked, affirming that we all needed to get out of our homes! My cousin's best friend Matt (and if I look at this logically it's my cousin who has been one of my closest friends since teen years, daughter's best friend) and his boyfriend joined us. His boyfriend who is charming, attractive and not quite 21. I was having a conversation, most of which was drowned out by very loud music, with someone who might have parents younger than me. I like to think of myself, and am often affirmed to be perceived as, younger physically. Even when one knows my age (52), I work hard to relate across generations but this might have easily become more awkward for us both if not interrupted by loud entertainment. I say that and I also realize that it's really me that seems to worry or be bothered. Non...

Downtown Los Angeles is a "district" which is rather small, only encompassing shy of 6 square miles of the 503 square mile city boundaries. Basically, a little more than 1%. When I first moved to Los Angeles in the late 90s I would joke with visitors that the skyscrapers in Downtown were there as a stage set really so that you could have an easily identifiable location shot. Unless you needed city hall, had to go to court or went to see the opera (and some theatre), there was little other reason to go there unless your job was there. You might have well packed your own lunch or nosh as restaurants were hard to come by as well. Then, as LA moved into the 21st Century and the city adapted some new laws to allow repurposing of abandoned buildings that had been sitting for decades, things began to change.  The 2000 Census found that 27,849 people lived in Downtown. City estimates that the population grew to about 35,000 in 2008. Census data moved that number to over 40,000 by 201...

This is Part Three in a mini-series: Los Angeles. Love/Hate Relationship. A Tale of Two Cities in my series Los Angeles. Love/Hate Relationship . If you haven't already, be sure to read:  Tale of Two Cities. Part One and Part Two . When you have a chance, the entire series starts at:  Los Angeles. Love/Hate Relationship. Part One.   It is almost incomprehensible to believe that when I decided to make a stop on December 6, 2020 and grab a drink it would be the 1st time I had enter the indoors of a gay bar in at least 9 months. I am not exactly sure when it was earlier but it would have to had been while we were in Great Britain in late February and early March before California began to lockdown for what is becoming eternity. We are not big bar goers, in fact my husband doesn't drink. But, he is usually up for a bar with an "event" like a drag show or bingo and we usually make an "appearance" at a bar if visiting somewhere. We "live" to travel an...

This will not mean much unless you first read: Summer 1986. Part Two. In Liberty & Reality The lower right photo shows 2 bad decisions on my part. A horrible perm and smoking. I first started smoking as a freshman in Cross Country when my friend and I would sneak into the woods and smoke during a run. A few of us also tried chewing tobacco while cycling in the same period. Difference then, at my private school, they simply had designated smoking areas for students. We were told it was bad, not that we couldn't under any circumstance. Meanwhile, the video below was being shown during the school year in NYC public schools. It most definitely was not in the Morris School District.

Please also read: Summer 1986. Piers & The Cure. Being a Junior Along with any and all other the rest of my posts. I greatly welcome your feedback. Post anonymously, that is more than fine. I would love to hear from you!  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Statue of Liberty was given to the United States as a gift from France in 1886.  Liberty Weekend , the 100th anniversary, was to be a spectacular weekend and I must say, while I was incredibly fortunate in my circumstances throughout that weekend, I have never had any other experience yet that left quite such an indelible impression. New York and New Jersey were in a turf war starting before I moved to the East Coast in 1985 with New Jersey claiming that Liberty Island was actually in New Jersey waters. They ultimately lost this war and as huge an advocate as I am for New Jersey, this one was bullshit. New York made ...

You should read  When you sleep with someone homeless in your house  ,  Tony Disappears  and  Tony Returns...  prior to this entry to be completely "in the loop." Just after the 1st of the month, Tony got his food stamp benefits, called " CalFresh " in California, and he sent me a text. This means he has received his $192 per month to assist with food and other "basic needs."  He texts me and says he is on his way back and wants to stop at the store and make us dinner. I find out after he got back that he received some from his mother as well, which made sense when he offered to buy wine and I knew that his CalFresh benefits did not cover it. He wanted to make us a pizza. I thought it was a nice gesture but being on a Keto diet that was not in my picture and I let him know we had no expectations of his buying or paying for food for us. He explained that the pizza was over chicken breasts with tomato sauce and pepperoni; that fit my diet. I still th...

The weekend after Tony had left our place he sent me a text message saying he needed to come by in the next "day or two" to pick up some "important document" he needed for something. I wasn't really sure what he did or did not have at our place. I know that he had very limited possessions in general. He seems to have had things stolen constantly, and people whom he stays with ultimately lock him out and keep his property. I have read and heard of many stories of problems with theft for those on the streets. While I could see some 'one' being vindictive enough to hold or discard his property I can't imagine why people would want his things. Canned tuna? Ragged jeans and tee shirts? Is there some gratification in throwing away another's belongings that I don't appreciate? He was at the library in Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) and he would only have access to the internet until 1 pm. He would then have "spotty" access and let me know ...

He was soundly asleep on our couch. My husband, Mac, initially had all the lights possible off, but I eventually had to cook. We live in a loft. There isn't much segmenting. My cooking made noises and smells certainly. Mac and I ultimately had a rather intense, not argumentative, but important to us both, conversation while I finished cooking. Mac showered shortly after and went out to meet some friends. Mac closed the door slowly, creating noise still the same. Our one cat, Garnet, who has taken a liking to Tony since his arrival, jumped on and off him at least a half dozen times while he slept ever so desperately. He didn't awaken from the sofa for some 14 hours. I only met Tony at a club a couple Saturdays ago because we honestly had chatted on an online site and both were in Hollywood at the same time so I told him to come by. It is one of these sites I seem to spend a deal of time on, accomplishing nothing, but do entertain myself perusing when I am sick of looking at I...

In the beginning of 2019, we had a series of "blackface" incidents that came under the spotlight in the United States. One recent, but the other two, of US politicians no less, are history coming to surface. Most bothersome to me, though, was that these were people of my generation. Governor Ralph Northam increased the insult with fumbling through his apology, initially saying the photo does not represent who he is now. That, along with a track record he can point to, one might take as genuine. A day later, he denied the initial photo but said he wore blackface as a part of a costume as Michael Jackson and was about to demonstrate his moon-walking skills before his wife stopped him, suggesting it was inappropriate. Some defenders suggested that it was the sentiment of the time. It was the 1980s. That is my time as well. That is the time of Michael Jackson and the Cosby Show (we will just focus on all the positives of the show). I grew up watching The Jeffersons, Good Times, a...

Just over a week ago, on September 9, my therapist and I were talking about this blog and about memories. I alluded that many memories came into play during the Kavanaugh hearings during the summer of 2018. As I discuss in my earlier blog,  AIDS 1-Being a Junior , many of my premature "coming out" adventures occurred in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware where Christine Blasey Ford visits her family at their vacation home each year. Ford specifically said she was in a  Walgreens parking lot in Rehoboth discussing potentially testifying at one point and I have a visual in my head of that store and its location from many years ago, albeit I could be wrong, it's not a "hot spot" I just feel like I am certain I have been there. Rehoboth Beach, DE Boardwalk Kavanaugh also vacationed in Delaware and Ocean City, MD.  He was accused of misconduct in Ocean City, MD during Beach Week but it was never investigated, and brought to surface later by attorney Michael Avenatti. ...

The last high school graduation I attended in 2018 was in one of the best rated school districts in the state in a community in suburban Chicago where you think "it couldn't happen here." I was actually a bit nervous during the ceremony. It was in an auditorium with the exit doors mostly to one side and everyone seemed to be a "soft target." There was a police presence outside the school, but I don't recall any inside the auditorium. The fact that a police presence has become more essential than precautionary or, in some cases honorary (showing up as to participate, receive or give an award), is a clear sign of the times. The shooting at Parkland was only a few months before. Photo I took at Mom's Demand Action rally, Orlando, FL 8/17/19 My step-sister recently moved to a great community in suburban Atlanta. I wonder if those kids will go through drills in case of a shooting. I hope they do because it is necessary; but I am sickened by the though...