pdxleo

With a current Proud Boys vs. antifa riot predicted for this weekend, I'll be avoiding downtown this weekend, but will be visiting both clubs in the next few days, to see how both are reacting to the resumption of masking mandates by the State this month.

Glad to gear that we'll all have another round of mischief and merriment in the spring, looking forward to seeing everyone!

That's also been like this in my life- as guys retire and move on, finish uni or start their careers, our relationships morph into friendship and more. Of course, not every client/provider experience follows this arc, but it's happened to me more often than not.

Ooooh too bad, one less stop for my September visit, ugh!

The old saw - "Canada could have had American technology, British culture, and French cuisine. However, they ended up with French technology, British cuisine, and American culture - sacre bleu!"

Must admit, international travel is off the menu for me, at least until the world is in a healthier condition. Next month, my stepdaughter is getting married in Bensalem, PA- after being stuck in travel-visa hell in Poland for the better part of the last year, they finally got back home in June. We take so much for granted, and I'm gonna gird my loins and do this- hope it works out ok, but it's time to get back to some semblance of normalcy

OldMags.com was super easy to work with when I winnowed down my "library" recently, in prep for upcoming retirement and relocation.

Unfortunately, the various county coroners have begun reporting their fatalities, now over 60 souls lost- appalling that many persons were unable to get to a cooling center, so very sad.

I guess the northern Willamette Valley got thru this relatively unscathed- only one death reported so far, but Seattle/Puget Sound is currently at 19 victims. Even one loss is too many, but it could have been much, much worse.

Sometimes pretty things are meant to be looked at, and not heard or taken seroiusly.

Went over to Mom's on Sunday noontime. As I parked and walked up to the door I saw the front room windows wide open and two fans working- the thermostat said it was 87 degrees inside!. She had got out the portable AC cabinet, but had the hoses hooked up wrong- the exhaust was heating up the room, not cooling. So, project #1 was to get the AC vented properly, and in an hour the living room was down to 78 degs. During the wait we had "the talk" about driving and solo travel- I doubt that it took the first time, but my brother and I have agreed to reinforce this idea each visit. Eventually she'll cave ,or she'll tell us to "Fuck off about my car", but at least she knows that we are keeping track. She now knows that I'm serious about leaving for Florida, and the idea is now planted about living in North Idaho, where my middle brother can help keep track of things. On the other hand, there haven"t been any reports of heat-related deaths in Portland metro, a blessing indeed!

I managed to convince my 78-year-old stroke victim Mom to head back home to Portland early from her auto trip to visit relatives in Montana- the idea of her driving across the desert-like Columbia Basin in Saturday's expected 115 degrees was the final straw- she didn't tell me she'd left until she was in Milton-Freewater, and she knows she crossed a line going off alone on a 900-mile car trip. Discussion will be had tomorrow.

Egyptian doughnuts must be made different than ours..........

I stopped in on the Monday after the Palm Springs meeting, about six weeks ago. Still going strong, but on a Monday night 10PM there was only myself and one other patron. Four dancers, so I was spoilt for choice - my recent favorite, King ( pocket sized guy ) and another Latino youngster - forget his name, but definitely a soccer player judging by the booty, kept me in th VIP area most of the night. Well worth the visit!

Sunday evening, I made the decision, as a matter of equal time, that I needed to stop into Silverado, Portland's "senior" male strip club. Comparing the old dog, to the young pups around the corner at Stag, seems the right thing to do now that both are open. First off, the check of vax records gets you a wristband allowing mask-free entrance to the club. Partial vax or none at all means you have to wear a mask at all times except drinking/eating, and those persons are reminded by staff over the PA every few minutes. A little irritating, but that's the current rules here. Most of the ground floor tables are blocked off, and the video poker and lottery games are still plexiglassed off. The pool table and bar are open. Downstairs, the stage room is listed as capacity of 36, and was full at 8pm- no staff monitoring that max capacity, and many more persons in that area could be problematic. Only one bartender in the two-station bar, but not much of a line, and Trevor recognized me and had a But Light pulled as I walked up- is that a good thing or a bad thing, that the strip club bartender recognizes you and has your drink already out for you, even after a year of pandemic? Color me embarrassed just a bit. About 12 dancers- a mix of ethnicities, a few frat-bro types, and a couple of twinks. I'd say 2/3rds were returning vets, some longtimers and some fresh guys. Almost all stripped down to nude for at least part of their set- it sorta sent me back in time to 2019. The VIP stalls were busy, and some of the dancers had customers lined up for that. Being a Sunday night, the MC was a drag queen ( a longtime tradition on Sunday), and there was about 5-6 ladies in the crowd. So, just about back to normal - but the 11pm closing time is still in place until 70% statewide vax gets rid of that. So, the nights are condensed for now- dancers 7 - 11 pm, instead of the old two-shift Sunday shows. They are open every night, tho- baby steps, I guess. It was cool to catch up with the old hands, and easier to chat without being masked. Glad I stopped in, if only to check it out and say hey to the veteran dancers.

Oh hell yes- and don't judge the guy for being "entrepreneurial" !

Glad to hear that both places are back in form- thanks for the update!

I stopped in on Sunday, on my way back from Tacoma, to catch up with Ali, the new manager. It was early, and not all the talent had come in yet, so my expectations were set low. The guys ranged from twinky to a bit paunchy, but the vibe was fun nevertheless. A couple of them were old-timers who recognized me from "ye olden days"- with proof of vax, you don't have to mask up anymore, easier to chat them up. Two of the guys stripped all the way, two did not. I was there early- 6 o'clock-ish- so I suspect the action would heat up later in the shift. If you do come to town, PM me and we can make a night of it!

A dancer there told me long ago, the garter was considered their "costume", and satisfied the legal requirements.

Here in Portland, you'd better keep up with the Timbers and Thorns, else you're likely to get a hand-crafted artisan shiv betwixt the shoulder blades at the local micro-brew pub.

Stopped at the Holiday/Kroger fuel station on my way home from work today- $3.19 but only two attendants working (Oregon, like New Jersey, is a no self-serve state) so I was there for 25 minutes, ugh!

"Sure, it'll be OK to move all your retirement stuff over to us, won't be any issue!" As I relocated to Portland in the late 90's and started a new job at Portland General Electric. " It's part of Enron, you know, you'll be making beaucoup bucks on that, and besides, what could go wrong?"

Stag is set for a "soft" reopening this Friday, May 14th. Oregon's governor, "Shut-Down" Katie Brown, has loosened the screws on restaurants and bars, allowing currently a 25% capacity, so Stag will be limited to 30 patrons for now. New owners and management has sunk a ton of effort into an updated remodel, redoing the stage and seating areas. The new manager, Ali, (known as Aladdin in his previous stripper life), tells me he has 25 performers lined up and ready to go opening night- and has altered the focus a bit. A more main-stream, less "alt-emo" type of dancer is the new focus, I'm curious how that will be experienced. While the interior work is ongoing, the club will be closed on Mondays until more capacity is allowed later on this summer. so, six nights a week, and new staffing, might need a break-in period, but we will see. Silverado, having a kitchen and ground-floor dining area open to the outside, had customers the few times that I've driven past. While the stripper stage in the basement has meant that I'm not yet comfortable attending, I'll have to check the activities soon, once the vaccinations pick up.

Congrats on a great job, well appreciated by us lost boys!

For me, the last 2 1/2 years have been a nightmare of family health issues, death of my partner, being forced to move house, and the job turning sour due to the Covid pandemic - the business was classified as "emergency service provider', so no time off, and staff having to self-quarantine at random times. Thought I'd be able to make it to 67, but now I have a count-down pad in my cubicle, with 172 weeks and counting till I hit 62 and say byebye to working in Oregon, and retiring to Flt Lauderdale and my Ukranian boyfriend. The money's gonna be a little tight at first, but trading cold rains and anarchist craziness for drinks at the beach and a warm soul next to me in bed needs to come about much sooner than later.