If it seems like I've been lost in 'Let's Remember'
If you think I'm feeling older and missing my younger days
Then you should have known me much better
'Cause my past is something that never
Got in my way...
I do have a tendency to reminisce a lil bit too much at times... and I do tend to prefer that which is comfortable and known to me to change; kinda odd as- almost without exception- every time I've stretched beyond my comfort zone, beyond what I'm used to, it has always been for the best, I've never regretted it... and in truth, while I do pay tribute as it were to that which I've known, to my past, if my past really was something that got in my way, I'd probably never have taken the initial initiative (awkward phrasing, I know!) in giving expression to "this" part of me, several years ago now... I like to think of it as remaining loyal rather than being beholden to that- and those- I've known...

And I'm not ashamed to say the wild boys were my friends...
Good people, tho'...

You can get just so much from a good thing
You can linger too long in your dreams
Say goodbye to the oldies but goodies
'Cause the good ole days weren't always good
And tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems...
Again, the whole tradition vs. change thing... and I think many of us- well, maybe I shouldn't say that- I do know that many of the people I know in some of my walks of life (myself included at times) do tend to have or to keep an overly-idealized view of the past, the successes and the good times and all taking on a greater glow while the bad times and the failures seem to recede... and on a larger scale, it seems society in general often idealizes the past while believing that the future will be one of diminished hopes and dreams... forgetting that "the past" that was/is so idealized was once "the future"to another time as well...

I heard about sex but not enough...
Haven't we all???

Ate an awful lot of late night drive-in food
Drank a lot of take-home pay...
I sure did... and yet I survived! And have long since grown beyond that...

I'm gonna listen to my 45's
Ain't it wonderful to be alive when the rock n roll plays, yeah
When the memory stays, yeah
I'm keeping the faith
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Keeping the faith...
All about retaining our memories, our pasts, of how who we were has shaped who we are... at times I've noticed a tendency among many- not all, but many- transgender folks to try to break with their pasts, to consider them part of a different person, to try and deny the memories, the interests, the "it" that made them who they were and that remains a part of who they are now... our pasts add a depth to who we are, they're a touchstone as we- all of us- grow and change and thrive.

Keep the faith, kid!

Sunday evening sipping on a Shipyard Export ale...

Well, at least I came out ahead this week; last week I took my worst beating in two years :( Pitt disappointed me last night in particular, as did Denver today, but at least I finished in the black for the week (and am still up for the- young- season. But I need to step it up a lil more.) I guess I should have gone with the Pats today, but -16.5 seemed steep... but they covered. Speaking of the Pats... yikes, are they looking scary good so far! I don't believe I'm exaggerating to say that this is the most talented Patriots roster- ever. They're that deep, and that good. If this team stays healthy... Meanwhile, the Sox seem to be staggering to the finish line...

I often wish I made more of an impact on others' lives. I just do...

I'd been searching in vain to find this on CD or to download somewhere; I'd seen it when Trisha and Kris performed it a few years back, but have only found it on YouTube. I really liked her interpretation of this classic, putting a woman's touch on it... this song has always spoken to me, perhaps because I had too many of those Sunday mornings when I was younger...

"'Cuz there's something in a Sunday/That makes a body feel alone..."

Heard in Foxboro, MA: "If you're not cheatin', you're not tryin'!" ;)

10 more on shuffle...
Sugar Magnolia- Grateful Dead
Our Lips Are Sealed- Go-Go's
Coney Island Baby- Lou Reed (great opening lines....)
Holiday- Madonna
The Locomotion- Grand Funk
Star Spangled Banner- USC Marching Band
All My Love- Led Zeppelin
Remember (Walking In the Sand)- Aerosmith
Don't Stop Believin'- Journey (makes me crave onion rings; I wonder why...)
Little Lies- Fleetwood Mac

"Just a small town girl/Livin' in a lonely world/She took the midnight train goin' anywhere..."

There's always been something about the- unofficial- end of summer that comes with Labor Day that I've found refreshing and renewing, a time of anticipation, of fresh starts and new beginnings, similar in the way that many look at January 1, a time to refocus and get a bit more serious again after the somewhat more lazy days of summer. To me, it's lots of different things- this time of years has always seemed a new start, a new season, whether it be school when I was younger (I always liked and looked forward to starting school each year) the incremental changing of the weather (fall has always been my favorite season, the one time of the year when New England is not merely tolerable but beautiful) cooler-weather fashions (suedes, leathers, sweaters) even just the start of a new football season, all of these have always seemed to commence with the end of Labor Day weekend... sure, we'll have at least one more stretch of summery weather within the next few weeks, but it will be fleeting. So I'm feelin' kinda good this evening, wondering what may be in store over the next few months, opportunities for change and fulfillment on various levels that I might recognize and utilize effectively.

"When the moon hung soft and low/Catching stardust in the light/You held me closer and closer/There was magic in the night..."

Quick hitter on l'affair Larry Craig...

(For those unaware- he is the US Senator from Idaho who pled guilty to disorderly conduct, ostensibly seeking anonymous restroom sex in a Minneapolis airport men's room.)
I've read commentary that has run the gamut, from those condemning the police for running a sting operation to target restroom solicitations, to those saying Craig's- what, homosexuality? bisexuality?- richly deserves to be exposed since he has been on record as opposing same-sex marriage, "hate" crime legislations, and other items, to those using his actions as excuse to engage in their perennial Republican-bashing, I guess for not standing by someone who admitted to disorderly conduct of this nature (some folks will reach for anything, so long as it gives them an excuse to criticize the Republican Party; I write this as an independently-registered voter, BTW.)

My thoughts... first, the police were/are simply enforcing the laws, they do not make them. If people have a problem with police acting to discourage restroom sexual solicitations/liaisons, they should lobby their appropriate elected officials. Second- whatever Craig's sexuality, opposition to certain legislation does not make one a bigot, a hater, whatever. Re. same-sex marriage, Craig is on record as opposing it, as were/are President George W. Bush, and his opponent in the '04 Presidential campaign, Sen. John Kerry; does anyone believe Bush or Kerry are anti-gay bigots? Of course they are not. Many folks, for many myriad (and IMO, misguided) reasons, oppose same-sex marriage. That doesn't equate hate for gays. Craig opposed "hate" crime protections. Again, many folks (including commentator and, for whatever it matters, gay man, Andrew Sullivan) do as well- are they all "homophobic" as well? Of course not. Too often in our politics, across the political spectrum, we get caught up in demonizing those whose views differ from our own. Do some people hate? Sadly, yes. But most do not. they have and hold different opinions, views, and values. (My own- absent separation of marriage and state, including the tax and entitlement bennies that accrue from same, I endorse allowing same-sex couples the rights and responsibilities of marriage. And I vigorously oppose "hate" crime legislation; there is no reason one victim of a crime should be deemed deserving of greater protection than another victim, an assault upon one deemed more important than an assault upon someone of a non-protected class. Nor do I believe thought, even ugly, hateful thought, should be deserving of greater punishment. Just my .02.) And those who would try to use deplorable acts by a Republican Senator as cause to attack his party for not standing by him? Well, they show just how deeply their relentless GOP antipathy runs.

Bottomline- restrooms (and highway rest areas, and other similar public spots) are not areas for people to troll for or engage in sex, gay or straight, anonymous or not. Those who choose to use them for such purposes deserve whatever approbation- and legal consequences- come their way. Larry Craig's sexuality is his own issue and business. His lack of discretion and self-restraint made it the public's business.

"I fought the law and the law won..."