I'm dying to ask this person a question

 

No, I am not talking about asking this character any questions.   He is the one making war against us transgender people.  However, I know someone who supported him once, and I would love to find out how she's doing, and what this war means to her....

- - - - - -

A while back, I met this acquaintance in Brooklyn.  Although we've met several times before, this was the first time in years that I've been to Downtown Brooklyn.  It was cold (like today) and it was dark.  But it was before the 2024 election, and this person was a supporter of the Orange Snowflake - even though she is a post-op trans-woman.

 

Neither of us had problems being able to talk with someone with different views.  Yet, I always wondered what would happen to trans folk, if the Snowflake was elected - especially, knowing the radical Christianist Nationalists he owes big time for their votes.  Within a few days of the election, we had our answer - the Snowflake has tried to erase transgenders from society, even having the gall to take the T off of the LGBT at Stonewall National Historic Site.

I do not know in which state my acquaintance was born, but I have a strong feeling that it will be hard for her to renew her passport when the time comes.  How will she feel that she is under attack from the very man she supported for president?  Will this be the first of many things that could be denied her because she is caught in the middle of a culture war?

Sooner or later, I will reach out to her and try to get together.  Right now, I sent a text message saying hello.  It's hard to hate people without reason, and most GOP'ers have a sense of ethics.  Sadly, as 1930's history has proven, it is easy for some people to develop a cult and cause people to ignore their own inner compasses for the sake of group loyalty and out of fear of being persecuted.

How would you feel in her size-13W shoes?

How do you talk to a friend named Maria....

 

I've known my friend Maria for almost as long as I've lived in my apartment.  We worked together near the beginning of our careers, and we've kept in contact with each other through the loss of my wife, her divorce, and the loss of her second husband.  Neither of us has been available when the other has been free, and that's a plus for a good friendship.  I'm probably the only person who can say that she slept in my bed every night for several months, and there was nothing immoral about it.  (I lent her a folding cot with thick mattress, as her ex-husband stole all of the bedroom furniture in the house.  My 'bed' was over 35 miles away when she slept in it.)

Maria knows me both as Mario and as Marian, and is comfortable with me in both presentations.  She leans to the right politically, while I lean to the left.  And yet, she finds what is going on in DC these days very disturbing.  So, when I started discussing politics, she didn't challenge me on the facts - she knew that the Orange Snowflake is up to no good.

The real reason for us getting together was to have lunch - we haven't been able to do so in months.  The secondary reason was to have some paperwork notarized.  Over lunch, I found out that her two grand-kids are living at home again, and that the eldest has already entered puberty.  (If I ever go through that experience again, it will be because of estrogen, not testosterone, like my first puberty.  But I digress.)  The younger of the two grand-kids is still cute.  I can only imagine what it will be like when this child enters puberty.  As you can guess, when a grandmother is raising her grandchildren, it takes a lot of energy out of a person, leaving little left for her volunteer work and for her social life.

Lunch lasted over 2 hours, and at the end, she notarized some of the documents I'll need to apply for my second passport.  And then, we left Cold Spring to go our separate ways....

- - - - - -

I had no energy when I got home, and it was all I could to so that 2 loads of laundry could get done.  By the time it was done, I had decided to blow off game night for a change.  I never do this.  But with RQS coming up tomorrow, I wanted to be ready for her arrival in the afternoon.

Later in the evening, RQS and I got into a long discussion about my brother, the family homestead, and interactions with  both friends and family.  I mentioned my friend Nan from the AOL Widows/Widowers chat room (long disbanded) and a wish to visit her in the "North Country"  RQS was up for it (she wanted some new photo opportunities), so I sent a DM to Nan to see if it would be OK.  Hopefully, she will be up for visitors, as I know that people in their 80's don't have a lot of life in front of them....

Waiting for a washer/dryer set.

 

This was the day I dreaded - a morning rush to get RQS to her pottery class, followed by a lot of waiting in a "cold" house for a washer and dryer to be delivered and installed.

- - - - - -

RQS and I set our alarms to get us up and moving at the ungodly hour (for us) of 8 am.  I was the first one in the shower, and I was ready to go out by 9 am.  However, we didn't need to be at the pottery studio until 10 am.  So that gave us 30 minutes to kill.

I was glad to be able to drive RQS to the studio - I'd have never found it on my own without Google Maps.  But I did take the slow route to Long Island afterwards, as I had a lot of time to kill.  When I arrived in my old neighborhood, I started shopping for a doorbell. Although I saw one in the local hardware store, the price wasn't as good as I wanted for an inexpensive piece of Chinese crap.  (I wanted something inexpensive, but didn't have a cheap look or feel to it.)  So, I'll bring up the idea with my brother that we should buy something a little bit better when the place is ready to be rented out.

Arriving at the old homestead at 11:30, I set things up and began my wait.  This was not going to be a day where being out as Marian would be practical, especially with the possibility that my brother may stop by if installation runs late.  Fortunately, we had a table and chair available for me, and I proceeded to make myself at home for a while.

 

The delivery truck came a little bit before 2 pm, and then the "fun" began.  It was interesting to see how 2 people could "comfortably" carry a washer and a dryer up and down steps without a hand truck, then install the appliances in the basement.  Within 30 minutes, everything was set up, and I was ready to go home.

Next, I'll have to find some time to be around when the hot water heater is installed....

I didn't originally plan to be at RQS's place today (a short post)

 

Normally, I might try to put more effort into a topic for a post.  Today is very different.  We have a washer/dryer set being delivered to the family homestead, and I have to be around the house tomorrow waiting for the delivery.  Given that I didn't want to risk being late for the delivery, I decided to drive RQS home and stay at her place for the night.

- - - - - -

I would usually drop RQS off at the station on Mondays, and I would have the rest of the week to myself.  Not this week.  I packed up minimal supplies (my CPAP machine, a change of clothes, and the computer I'm writing this post on) and drove to RQS's place.  We arrived around 2 pm, and I easily found a spot within eyesight of her building's front door.

Given the frigid weather outside, neither of us wanted to go out for dinner.  So, it was Chinese delivery.  What Chippies are to the UK, "Chinese" joints are to the US - ubiquitous in almost every town.  None of them serve the exact same food, as their offerings are not as standardized as a McDonald's.  But they will serve a typical set of food selections that will fill you up for at least 59 minutes.  (As the old canard goes: Eat Chinese food, and in 60 minutes, you'll be hungry again.)

For the most part, it was a nothing-burger of a day.  Tomorrow, on the other hand, will be a rush, followed up by a lot of waiting.

President's Day - a look back

 

In the picture above, we could literally look up to images of four great presidents carved into a mountain.  All of these men had major flaws.  Yet, we consider all of them important enough to commemorate in stone - something none of them would have asked for or wanted.  

Today, we have a malignant narcissist in the office of President.  Every chance he gets, he attends a sporting event for a photo-op, where he now gets booed more than he gets cheered.  At the Super Bowl, his minions arranged for an Air Force flyover.  One catch - the game was being held in a domed stadium. At the Daytona 500, he had the nerve to have "The Beast" do a lap around the course.  At least, Nascar fans skew more to the right, and he got some cheers.  I expect that his handlers will fine tune where he makes his next appearances, as they don't want to be subject to his anger if he realizes that he is not loved by all Americans.

What I find galling is that the Orange Snowflake's minions are trying to put him into the pantheon of great presidents.  One congresscritter has proposed making his birthday a national holiday.  None of the presidents on Mount Rushmore would have had the nerve to ask for that.  Even worse, another MAGA personality has suggested carving his face next to the other four presidents.  Although neither of these offensive things are likely to happen, it's galling that people would even propose this while the man is alive - before history has has a generation to judge this man's accomplishments.

The other day, a friend posted something to Facebook.  A MAGA troll responded to her with misinformation, and I had to get involved.  The troll cited the "Twittersphere" as a source for his "information" for his reply. He supplied me with a government posting taken out of context, and I replied with the context of that government posting.  He never said what could cause him to change his mind about the leader of his cult - he had drunk the Kool-Aid, and is beyond rescue.

I feel sad that America has come to this.  Hopefully, we'll see a change for the better soon. 

Weekends are good for resting

 

When RQS and I are together, we tend to relax more fully than usual.  I find that when I sleep when she's around, I end up noticing that I dream more often than not.  In short, I am getting the REM sleep that I need to recharge my batteries.  RQS seems to find it the same way when she's with me, as she seems to have vivid dreams when I'm with her.

Most of the time, we don't bother getting up until 11:00 am or later.  For the most part, it's because we have nothing pressing to do.  Yet, we tend to get everything done that needs doing.  For example, RQS arrived earlier than expected this past Thursday, and I didn't have the time to clean up enough before her arrival.  So, this is what we did on Saturday for a couple of hours - and it shows.  My dining table is less filled with clutter than it has been in years.

- - - - - -

Sunday came, and neither of us got moving until the morning was almost over.  But today, we lazed around until late afternoon, then went out for pizza.  Due to the recent weather, I decided to present as Mario today and take RQS out for dinner.  The drive to Pizza and Brew in Greenburgh was like driving through pea soup - there was almost no visibility, and RQS was concerned about driving conditions for the return trip.  The restaurant was empty when we arrived, and we had enough pizza for leftovers tomorrow.

Luckily, the return home was much easier than the drive to the restaurant.  The heavy fog had turned into rain, and we had greater visibility when we left the restaurant.  Both of us were glad, as I didn't want to deal with the fog.  On the way home, my brother called and talked about the washer/dryer installation scheduled for later in the week.  He was apologetic for the screwed up date, but I told him that I rescheduled lunch with my friend, "short Vicki".  (Vicki and I are tentatively rescheduled for later in the week.)

Soon enough, we were in for the night.  Assuming all goes right, tomorrow will be a day out as Marian.

Valentine's Day has come and gone.

The one reason RQS came up to my place this weekend was that I had made reservations at Hudson House Inn and Restaurant for a nice romantic dinner. This gave me the opportunity to finally wear a pretty dress from Lane Bryant that has been hanging on my door for several months. (My dress is in the same style as in the above photo, but in a nice violet color.)

If you recall, our original plans for Thanksgiving dinner were fouled up by RQS's hospital stay.  This time, we made sure that no problems would get in the way of a romantic dinner.  RQS came up the day before, and we made sure to have enough time to make it to Cold Spring with time to spare.

We made it to the restaurant on time, and proceeded to have a wonderful dinner starting with crab cakes, salmon with crab meat stuffing, and finished with an apple tart.  Both of us enjoyed people-watching there, as some people dressed to the nines for the evening, and others were very casual.  We were somewhere in the middle with our dresses, wearing outfits which would fit in a dressy environment, but could be dressed down as needed for other environments.

At home, we exchanged Valentine's day gifts.  I was very lucky that RQS's gift was delivered on time, as I didn't want to be empty handed when she gave me my gift.  It was a nice day, and a good start to the weekend.