Finally

I was hoping I would get back home on Sunday and have a couple of days to have everything in order before I leave for my vacations. Unfortunately my schedule kept on changing and I got back home this afternoon. Well yesterday now since it is after midnight. So I am finally on vacations for 2 whole weeks.

Henry, our friend who lives in Tokyo is visiting so I wanted to see him before I left and spent a couple hours with him and Michael, while my car was getting worked on.

I am as excited of going away as I am exhausted from flying. Actually the idea of getting on another plane (more like 3) so soon is rather annoying but I have no choice. Once I'm there I'm sure it will all be forgotten. I had a list of things to do which started with 9 items and ended up with 15 as I went through them. I did pretty good since I have 3 things left to do: unpack and re-pack; put my requests for my September schedule in the computer; pay my bills and balance my checkbook. Right now I'm just taking a little break to write this.

I cannot wait to see my family and spend some time with them. I will also visit a few friends before and after the cruise.

Alright back to work before I fall asleep on my keyboard.

Friends and Family #2

I wrote about friends and family on Wednesday before I went to bed. Today when I checked my e-mails, my friend Lisa in Chicago had sent me this poem that same day!!!

This is the poem:
Around the corner I have a friend,
In this great city that has no end,
Yet the days go by and weeks rush on,
And before I know it, a year is gone.
And I never see my old friends face,
For life is a swift and terrible race,

He knows I like him just as well,
As in the days when I rang his bell.
And he rang mine but we were younger then,
And now we are busy, tired men.
Tired of playing a foolish game,

Tired of trying to make a name.
"Tomorrow" I say! "I will call on Jim

Just to show that I'm thinking of him."
But tomorrow comes and tomorrow goes,

And distance between us grows and grows.
Around the corner, yet miles away,

"Here's a telegram sir," "Jim died today."
And that's what we get and deserve in the end.
Around the corner, a vanished friend.

Remember to always say what you mean. If you love someone, tell them. Don't be afraid to express yourself. Reach out and tell someone what they mean to you. Because when you decide that it is the right time it might be too late. Seize the day. Never have regrets. And most importantly, stay close to your friends and family, for they have helped make you the person that you are today.

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...