Friends and Family

Michael and Norman came to pick me up this morning so we could have breakfast before they left for New Hampshire. We went to our usual place, Antique Row Café, and then went to the airport. As I was driving away in their car, I started to think of how much they both mean to me. It lead me to think of friends and family. Gay men often create their own family over time as they go through life and meet people. The blood ties are not always as thick as we hope and many of us who have lost contact with our parents and/or siblings, look elsewhere for that bond.

I realize that I have been really lucky. Although we are far from one another, I'm really close to my immediate family. It was not easy for me, as for most gays and lesbians, to come out but once I did, I wondered how people who cared about me could suddenly not love me just because of what for me is such an insignificant difference. Being the first kid of the family I had thought they might think I was going down the “wrong path” and was a bad example. I come from a macho society and homosexuality is not a thing that we were exposed to growing up and it certainly was never talked about. My mom is very religious and I thought she would have the hardest time coming to terms with my homosexuality. I guess she understood the "Book" the way it was supposed to and Love prevailed above all. My sister and I have always been close. I know she looked up to me and I did not want to “disappoint” her. I adore my baby brother and to think that he would not talk to me one day is unbearable. My relationship with my other brother is actually the one that has changed for the better. Growing up we were never that close. We liked different things and although we’re only one year apart we never had that much in common. As we got older we got closer. Older and wiser maybe? To me having a close relationship with someone is not necessarily talk on the phone everyday or live on the same block. My phone bill would be horrendous (well even more than it is) and we all live in different parts of the world. But still the bond is there, maybe even getting stronger as time goes by.

Throughout the years and the different places I've lived in, I have made some wonderful friendships and my "family" kept on growing. Some of those friends live far away but when we see each other we just pick up where we had left off. I have been blessed with a lot of wonderful people in my life who have had and continue to have an indelible impact on me. I sometimes think that I don't give a fair chance to everyone that I meet and might miss on a great relationship but I usually go with my gut feeling. Why do we like certain people and not others? Why do we feel a connection with some when others leaves us indifferent? Who's to say. I guess it has to do with where both parties are in their own life and skin when they meet. I can only be thankful for the people who are always there for me whether to share silly laughs or lend me a shoulder to cry on.

Someone said "to have a friend, you have to be one". I only hope that I am a good one.

Back in time #2

I took this picture just before leaving Jacksonhole. The views around the airport are really breathtaking. I can only imagine how it must look in winter with all the mountains covered in snow. I am amazed at how many people come here. Here we use mostly 757s which are usually full (182 passengers) for a 1 hour 15 minutes flight from Denver. We use United Express or some of our smaller planes to go way farther.

The town of Jackson is really cute and charming in an Old West kinda way. I walked around taking pictures and had brunch in a little cafe. On my way back to the hotel I was going to take a lift to get up on the mountain and enjoy the scenery, but there was some weather coming in and they closed down.

I actually would like to come back here one day (not for work though) and do some hiking. I read that there are some beautiful hiking trails, with lakes and waterfalls. I don't think there's much to do here besides enjoy nature anyway. I'd also love to go to Yellowstone which is a little north of Grand Teton National Park.

Back in time

The crew desk called me last night to give me my assignment. The scheduler gave me the trip number and I got excited for a second because that number, 5918, usually refers to an international trip.
- You're laying over in J.A.C., he said. Where's that, Jacksonville?
- Uh no; Jacksonville is J.A.X.
- Then I don't know where you're going. Good night.
I didn't know where JAC was but I was pretty sure that wasn't an international destination. After I checked my schedule, I found out I was spending the night in Jackson, WY. Great. I don't know what is going on but lately I've been going to all those little towns that I've never been to or sometimes even heard of in 12 years of flying. Buffalo, NY; Providence, RI; Harrisburg, PA; Jackson, WY... I really wasn't looking forward to this trip. To wake up at 4am to drive to LAX and work five flights to end up in some town in Wyoming. I don't even know if I've ever been to Wyoming before.
On my first flight one of my coworkers looked at my trip and said: "Oh you're going to Jackson Hole". It turns out Jackson and Jackson Hole are one and the same. You learn something everyday.
We finally landed in Jackson Hole around 9pm. The sun had set but it was still clear enough to see that we are surrounded by mountains. It actually looks really beautiful. After driving for about 20 minutes in what seems to be the middle of nowhere, we reach the town of Jackson. I feel like I'm in a western. The town looks like it hasn't changed since the 1800s except maybe for electricity. I'm expecting cowboys on horses to appear in front of us. From what I can see now that night has fallen, it is and "interesting" place.
We reached the hotel and as soon as I got to my room, I went online to look up Jackson Hole. I found out that we are actually in the middle of a National Park, south of Yellowstone. Now I can't wait for tomorrow to see more. I don't leave until the afternoon, so I'll have a few hours to explore. To be continued...

Diva By Diva 07

After months of learning music, words, getting frustrated with all the dancing in the show, it finally all came together this weekend. We had three shows this time: one performance on Saturday night; one matinée on Sunday afternoon and our last one on Sunday evening. We had a slightly different audience at all three shows (age, gender, sexual orientation), but the feedback has been overwhelmingly amazing. As a performers there are shows that you enjoy more than others because of the music, or the theme, or whatever specific likes or dislikes that you might have. I am sure as a spectator this comes into account as well, but the perspective is different I guess. As singers we never get to see the finished product until we get a copy of the recorded performances weeks later. So we go through months of rehearsal having to rely on the Artistic Director's, and Production Manager's word. We really don't even know how we sound as a group since we mostly hear what our own section is singing. So it is really amazing when after all this work and effort the reviews come in and they are positive. Most people said this was if not the best production ever at least one of the best. It definitely was fun and I believe all singers had a wonderful time but I have to wait for the DVD to have the full experience.
As with every show we put on, we stress until the last minute. Will we be ready? We always wish we had a few more weeks. But the curtain comes up and we find out that we are in fact ready and even if we had more time the stress level would probably be the same. For this show, I also worked on Production. I believe this is the third or fourth time that I do it and of course this doesn't help with the stress. It is however really rewarding to have a vision and see it come to life. To have access to this photo album, click on the Flickr picture grid on the left, then on Filsdelalune to access my pictures, or hover over the little yellow man on the slideshow (bottom left corner) and click on "Diva By Diva 07".

Screen name

This is where I got my screen name from; Fils de la Lune (Hijo de la Luna or Son of the Moon). I used to love this song by Mecano when it came out years ago. There is a French version, "Dis-moi Lune d'argent" (Tell me silver moon). They also had another great hit, "Mujer contra Mujer". The French version "Une femme avec une femme" (A woman with a woman) went to number 1 as well on the charts, even with a theme way ahead of its time.

Mecano-Hijo de la Luna



Add to My Profile | More Videos