Pages

December 31, 2010

End of a Decade...



Off to work this morning for a short day (9a - 5p).  May or may not post later...

So, to all my Blogging Friends, Family and Friends that visit my little slice of the web; I wish you all a very

Happy New Year!!

Drive safely, Over and "Out", from Portsmouth, VA

December 29, 2010

End of a Snowstorm...



I had to post one more picture (taken Sunday afternoon) of the Christmas Snowstorm of 2010, here in Portsmouth.  The snow was still falling at this point and we racked up a record breaking 14.2 inches by Monday morning.

The store never opened Sunday, so work was not an option, and neither was clearing the driveway or cars since the snow continued to fall through out the day and night. Monday morning arrived and the big dig began... Cars were cleared, the concrete driveway as well (at least down the the 1" layer of ice), but there was no way to clear where the drive and street joined. We were stuck. All the front wheels on our cars would do was spin in place. We finally got one car out into the street (which still hasn't been plowed to this day) and got nowhere with it. We are one of the lucky neighbors with a drive, most park on either side of the street, so trying to navigate on the snow and ice was impossible without potentially damaging another car. Another day off for both of us.

We were both actually scheduled off yesterday so we (read I) made a big pot of potato soup for an early dinner, watched a couple of movies and "lap-topped" most of the day.  It was actually very pleasant...

The end of this one is in sight, although this is only December, I can hardly wait to see what the next two months bring, as January and February are usually the "snow months"...

Over and "Out" from Portsmouth, VA and another day off...

December 27, 2010

Meet Charlie....


This is the snowman our neighbors built just a bit ago...


Thanks Jill, Jullian, and Dave...  (I was only the director, never got my hands cold, shouted direction from the front porch)... Michael took the picture!

Over and "Out" from snowy Portsmouth, VA

December 26, 2010

White Christmas in the Gayborhood...

The panoramic view from the porch: (remember all this is the Atlantic coast of Virginia)....





Over, "Out", under 13+ inches of snow, from Portsmouth, VA

December 25, 2010

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays...


Just a quick post to wish all of my blogging friends a joyful day!


Over, "Out" and preparing for more snow, from Portsmouth, VA

December 23, 2010

Happy Holidays back to you HRC!

Just another of the Mis-Fit toys/girls/boys...

.


One of my favorite songs from the Rudolph Christmas Special, made even more special by the cast of Glee...

Merry Holidays, over and "Out", from Portsmouth, VA

December 20, 2010

Thanks Jay!

This was pilfered from Jay's Blog:



Put a smile on my face and warmed my heart every time he got to "Dignity"...  or the lack there-of (he is actually pretty cute)...

The following was from a post of mine in July 2008:




Over and "Out" just 5 days before Christmas, from Portsmouth, VA

December 18, 2010

I'm Dreaming of a "RIGHT" Christmas...



At 3:06 (EST) this afternoon the final vote on DADT began in the US Senate Chamber...  The result of that vote was announced at 3:30pm:  65 ayes and  31 nays...  Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus (just a minor pun as a resident of the commonwealth of Virginia)...

The bill now goes to the White House to be signed into law by the man we helped elect in 2008.  But wait, it doesn't go into effect for about a year, so now we need our Commander in Chief to call Secretary Gates and have him STOP all pending proceedings/discharges under the old law.  We don't need to lose any more (than the 13,000 already discharged) of our dedicated service men and women to a law that has just been repealed.

Thank you President Obama...

Over and "Out" from Portsmouth, VA

December 15, 2010

Welcome Christmas...

.


Welcome Christmas...  Over and "Out" from Portsmouth, VA.

December 14, 2010

It's Beginning to look alot like...




The photo above is from yesterday afternoon
when I arrived home from work.



Above, it was hard to get the lighting just right when taking
this picture,  taken Sunday (before the snow).

Indeed, it's beginning to look (and feel) alot like Christmas...

Over and "Out" from Portsmouth, VA

December 11, 2010

DADT... Gays in the Military???

Before and during the American Revolution:

In 1776, Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben (born Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin von Steuben; September 17, 1730 – November 28, 1794) was alleged to be homosexual and was accused of improper sexual behavior. Whether or not Steuben was actually intimate with other men is not entirely known, but the rumors compelled him to seek employment elsewhere.  

On September 26, 1777, the Baron, his Italian greyhound, Azor (which he took with him everywhere), his young aide de camp Louis de Pontiere, his military secretary Pierre Etienne Duponceau, and two other companions, reached Portsmouth, New Hampshire and by December 1, was extravagantly entertained in Boston. Congress was in York, Pennsylvania, after being ousted from Philadelphia by the British advance. By February 5, 1778, Steuben had offered to volunteer without pay (for the time), and by the 23rd, Steuben reported for duty to then General George Washington at Valley Forge. Steuben spoke little English and he often yelled to his translator, "Here! Come swear for me!" Colonel Alexander Hamilton and General Nathanael Greene were of great help in assisting Steuben in drafting a training program for the Army, which found approval with Washington.

Americans (and British) had been mainly dependent upon using their ammunition to win battles. Throughout the early course of the war, Americans used the bayonet mostly as a cooking skewer or tool rather than as a fighting instrument. Steuben's introduction of effective bayonet charges became crucial. Steuben, by then serving in Washington's Headquarters, was the first to determine the enemy was heading for Monmouth. Washington recommended appointment of Steuben as Inspector General on April 30, 1778; Congress approved it on May 5th.


In the Battle of Stony Point, the first results of Steuben's training were in evidence at the Battle of Barren Hill in May of 1778 and then again at the Battle of Monmouth in June of 1778. American soldiers attacked with unloaded muskets and won the battle solely on Steuben's bayonet training. He was later forced to take sick leave, rejoining the army for the final campaign at Yorktown, Virginia, where his role was as commander of one of the three divisions of Washington's troops. 

During the winter of 1778-1779, Steuben prepared Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States, commonly known as the "Blue Book." Its basis was the training plan he had devised at Valley Forge. 

Steuben gave assistance to Washington in demobilizing the army in 1783 as well as aiding in the defense plan of the new nation. He was discharged from the military with honor on March 24, 1783.

Yorktown VA is less than a half hour from my home in Portsmouth...

If, then General, George Washington can accept a gay man in the military, why can't our 21st century leaders?

Over and "Out" from Portsmouth, VA

December 10, 2010

Three Votes WTF?...

I read that not one republican senator voted in favor of the repeal of DADT...  What a shame...  Perhaps one day they will be able to explain their stance on this issue to their LGBT grandchild.  Oh yeah, my guess is that at least 10% of those law-makers are going to have at least one grandchild with the infamous "gay gene" and will have to justify their vote, as did many of the law-makers in the 50's and 60's about the equal rights votes back then who now have LGBT grandchildren serving under-cover in the military...  

Shame on all of you!

Over and legally "Out" from Portsmouth, VA

December 6, 2010

Where did November go?

I so try to keep my posts here somewhat upbeat, but where the heck did November go? I loathe my job, I feel I am in a rut, I eat, sleep, work, poop, drink, and periodically have sex...  I have no energy nor ambition to get anything other than the above done, what the heck is wrong?

I love my man Michael, yet I constantly feel I am not good enough for him (or more precisely, ENOUGH for him)...  I am in a Funk...

I love the lights and music of the holidays, yet all of it seems so mundane and "blue". Maybe I just need my annual fix of "Christmas Vacation" to get me out of this FUNKING RUT!

I did finally change the batteries in the smoke detector today, how lame is that?

Over and "Out" from a very chilly day in Portsmouth, VA