I grew up out in the country. We were about fifteen minutes from the nearest town. We grew up next door to a family that we knew fairly well, but didn’t have much contact with. They’d once owned much of the land on our country road, but over the years had fallen on harder and harder times. They also used a lot of foul language which my mama didn’t like.

A couple of years ago, I was on Grindr. One of the few ways to meet people in Alabama if you’re gay. Anyway, the neighbor kid popped up on my Grindr feed. We started chatting, really before we realized who we were, and then he told me where he was and what his name was and I put two and two together. I told him we’d been neighbors growing up. He was shocked that I was the sexy kid next door. His words not mine. Anyway, he thought I was sexy. He was cute in a scrawny little kid way. He was a number of years younger than me.

We dated for much of that summer. None of our dates were that exciting. The sex was good though. He gave a great blow job and had a huge penis. But things happen. We kind of drifted apart, for reasons I’d rather not discuss here. I’ve seen him a few times since and he’s always very friendly.

The point of this story is that I was talking to my mother last night. Mama told me that he has developed a very aggressive form of cancer and has been given two months to live. I was able to keep it together with my mother on the phone because she has no idea that we dated. I wrote about it on this blog, and the guys parents knew we were hanging out together, but no one really knew we were dating.

I will be praying for him. There isn’t much more that I can do.

I really don’t know what to write about. Nothing much is happening at work. There are no new job prospects. I am going to Washington, D.C. next week, but only for a very short business trip. I’ll write more about that next week. It’s just kind of boring around here. It’s summer, and it’s not even that hot. I’m sure it will get hot, but the humidity has been fairly low, making it fairly pleasant. I have my annual evaluation at work today. It’s not going to mean anything because my job is coming to an end. So it’s pretty much just a procedure and that’s it. So, really there is not much to talk about. It’s just a lot of boring shit.

One of my pet peeves about Vermont is the beards. Nine out of ten men here have beards. I don’t mind a little scruff or a neatly trimmed short beard, but what I can’t stand is a shaggy unkept beard. My grandmama (God rest her soul) hated beards even more than I do. I can at least take a neatly trimmed beard; she couldn’t. She even said there was no way Jesus had a beard, because she just didn’t like beards. She was funny like that. While nine out of ten men in Vermont have beards, the majority of them have bushy unkept beards. Some even rivaling Duck Dynasty beards. To me, it’s just disgusting. I like a man that is clean cut. A little scruff is okay on occasion, but I’d prefer a man to be clean cut. I may have a little stubble if I’m not going anywhere and don’t shave for a few days, but mostly, I shave everyday. Bushy unkept beards are a sign of laziness when it comes to personal hygiene, and I like a clean man. So, there you have it. My rant of the day.

Now the guy in this picture, I could definitely take. He may not have the slim cut body that I normally feature on this blog, but he’s still cute. I love the nipple piercing, and he obviously likes cats. I even like his moderate hairiness. Yes, I could definitely go for him.

Let us never forget the sacrifices of the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces.

Sometimes, we just need a pretty picture to get us through the day. I have a dental appointment this afternoon, and a doctor’s appointment tomorrow afternoon. I’m not looking forward to either one. So, I just need a pretty picture to get me through the day, and the picture above is just pretty to me. It remind me of a dear friend I lost, but instead of crying now when I think of him, I have fond memories. I hope you all have a wonderful day.

The other day, I overheard someone say that they “don’t believe in homosexuality.” What does that actually mean anyway? We aren’t something mythical. We aren’t ghosts. We are real, so there is no believe it or not. Homosexuality exists. I and many of you who read this blog attest to that fact. The thing is that what he really meant to say is that he doesn’t believe that homosexuality is a moral lifestyle. First of all, there is nothing moral or amoral about homosexuality, and second, it is not a lifestyle. It is a sexual orientation. This guy had it all wrong. He didn’t know what he was talking about. Even in liberal Vermont there are still people who feel this way, which is amazing to me. But it doesn’t matter what state or even country you live in there will always be those people who believe that homosexuality is wrong. One day, maybe that will change, but I’m afraid it’s a long way away.

I made dinner then read the rest of my assignments for class and afterwards fell promptly to sleep. I must have been more tired than I realized. I didn’t wake until after 10 pm. So I wrote this and went back to sleep.

Yesterday, I got in my car to go buy groceries, tried to start my car, and all I got was a clicking noise. I don’t know much about cars, so I called my dad. He said it was likely the battery. Luckily, my neighbor had jumper cables. This I know how to do. So I hooked the jumper cables up, she started her car, and then I tried to start mine. More clicking noises ensued. I also tried my little jump starter, but that didn’t work either. I finally broke down and called a coworker, who I know works on cars and asked for help. He agreed that it sounded like the battery, so he came over and we took the battery out. He took me to the only parts place open on a Sunday in this area, and I bought a new battery, the last and only one the parts place had that would fit my car. So we went back and put in the battery, I said a little prayer, and my car started up. Once it started I needed to drive it a little bit so, I went and did my grocery shopping.

By the way, I just paid off my car this month. Something was bound to happen.

P.S. Neither the neighbor or coworker comes close to resembling the guy above.