Gay Pride Day

Today is the annual Gay Pride Parade in downtown but I stayed home because I've come down with yet another cold. I just got rid of one and was feeling great and then Friday morning I was all stuffed up again. I don't know why I seem to suddenly be able to get sick so easily. I've always been a pretty healthy guy. But today also represents 18 months since Dennis died. And that weighs on my mind more than going to the parade. Even though I've been feeling pretty good lately what with the young men who have been coming into my life, I've still got that "still missing him" syndrome. How long is it going to take to get over that feeling? Who knows? I sure don't.

I did meet up with a new young man Friday after work. We met in the Castro and had a drink together and chatted. He had been reading my blog and I wanted to meet someone who had taken the time to do that. Needless to say, he seemed to know more about me than I did about him, but we did get along and had an enjoyable time. He had other plans for later that evening but we agreed we'd meet again sometime in the future. Because I drive, I took him back to his West Portal neighborhood and dropped him by a Walgreen's (he said he needed to pick some items up before he went home). So we'll see what type of friendship comes from this encounter. I'm hopeful that we can become friends.

Getting current

If you've been reading this blog, especially this year, you know I was involved from January until May 2 with jury duty. I wasn't able to talk about the case as it was unfolding, but now that the trial is over and the sentencing was handed out (today), I am now permitted to speak about it. The case itself was a very high-profile murder case from June 2008 and it happened right here in my neighborhood—the Excelsior District of San Francisco. On that Sunday afternoon, two gang members mistook a father and his three sons as rival gang members. The murderers opened fire into the victim's car, killing the father and two of his three sons, who were all returning to their home from a family gathering in the East Bay. Even though I was an alternate juror, I had to appear each and every day testimony was given so that I would be able to deliberate should the need arise (it didn't). My fellow jurors convicted the defendant of the three murders and one attempted murder. His was sentenced to 182 consecutive years without possibility of parole for those murders. I was in the gallery of the court this morning as sentencing was read by the judge. I had the opportunity to meet the widow, who hugged me and thanked me for my jury service, though she did realize I had not been involved in deliberation. But I did tell her that I thought my "big 12" had gotten it right and she agreed.

The reason I was able to go to court this morning was due to the fact that I was quite ill last week with a combination cold/flu, so bad that I had to cancel my trip to Seattle over the past weekend. My only niece, Rachel, was getting married on Saturday but I was not able to attend. That was quite a bummer as I had been looking forward to it ever since I had received her "hold the date" card earlier in the year. So instead of flying back from Seattle today, I went to court to get my closure on the trial. I'm still suffering with the head cold part of my illness and I'm just resting the rest of the day.

Young men coming out of the woodwork

Where in the hell did all these young men come from? I've already told you about Daniel, my friendly masseur. I've now had a request to be a mentor from a 19 year old in Hayward, and just this morning I was in a long chat with another 20 year old. That's three different young men who have contacted me within the past month; I did not contact them. What's going on in the universe that these young men seem to be coming out of the woodwork at me? Don't get me wrong; this is not a complaint. I'm just wondering what's going on. When I wrote about Daniel, I said that I thought he was a cosmic present from Dennis for my birthday. Now I'm wondering if he's still up there stirring it up. Plus I was in another chat with a 30 year old. He seems ancient considering how young all the others have been lately. I guess the old saying about feast or famine is definitely in play.

My new laptop

I finally broke down and bought myself a laptop. I'm hoping that by having the capability now to be mobile, I'll start writing more—especially in this blog. I'm heading to Seattle next weekend as my only niece is getting married and I'm taking a couple of days off from work to go. Due mostly to logistics, our paths have not crossed that many times over the years. Rachel just graduated from college, which means she's 22 years old now. I've only seen her about three times in her life, so it will be nice to be with her and her brother, along with my brother John and sister-in-law Nancy. My sister Mary is also coming out from Michigan but I don't know if my older brother Bud is coming or not.

My life is starting to return to a somewhat normal existence, now that the trial is over. I was an alternate the entire time so I did not get to deliberate but my fellow jurors convicted him of three counts of first degree murder along with attempted murder on the remaining survivor. They deadlocked on the other four minor charges, but I'm quite pleased that they came to the same decision I had in my mind. As a matter of fact, one of my fellow jurors called today, inviting me to a barbecue next Sunday the 10th but I'm going to be in Seattle for the wedding so I won't be able to attend. With any luck, there will be more. We all endured four months of sitting in that courtroom listening to testimony and we got to know each other. It's nice to see that at least one person is attempting to get us all back together, this time without all the courtroom drama.

Tomorrow is my pool league's Hi-Lo Tournament, where you team up the highest average to sign up with the lowest averaged person, forming two-person teams. There's an auction to buy teams, which we use as a fundraising tool and we've raised many thousands of dollars to give to charity over the years. It's always our most well-attended event and is always a lot of fun.

That's about it for writing on the laptap for now. This could work out.