Charlie

In the eyes of the straight world, my partner was definitely the senior partner in our relationship (age, income, family background), but from the perspective of gay acquaintances, I was definitely the senior partner in the gay world in which we became a couple (I had been an officer in a gay rights organization when he was still in the closet--he wasn't even out to his gay brother until after we became a couple). Age can be a state of mind as well as a number.

When I met my future spouse, I was 25 and he was 33, which seemed like a big age gap to me then. I was the same age of one of his younger brothers (he was the oldest of four brothers, and he had one younger brother who was older than I was). However, I was actually more sexually experienced than he was, because I had come out at a much earlier age than he had. By the time we were both middle-aged, however, I looked older than he did (like my own father, I lost my hair in my late 30s, while my partner still had a full head of hair on his deathbed), and the age gap didn't seem noticeable at all, until he retired and I was still working. But even after I had retired also, the age gap soon became noticeable, because he lapsed into Alzheimer's and it was almost like I was his child taking care of him. In other words, age gaps are malleable factors that work in many different ways.

What a handsome greyhound.

The "Map me" function is useful when deciding on a masseur, because one wants to know where in a large urban area one has to go for the service. That's why I wonder why so many of these ads show the provider located in City Hall courtyard.

When I hired providers. I never told them any more information about myself than I would tell a stranger I picked up in a bar: my first name, the area where I lived, and what kind of work I did (if he asked). Why would he need to know my last name, my exact address, or the name of my employer? If the hire was satisfying, and I thought I might want to hire him again, I might tell him my last name, since he might have other customers with the same first name, and he would know who it was when I contacted him again.

There are some cultures in which it is okay for close family members of males (e.g., fathers and sons) to kiss one another, and of course it is normal for men in certain situations to share sleeping accommodations (e.g., military comrades in battle), but in most cases behavior that is usually indicative of sexual intimacy between two males is frowned upon, whereas the same two behaviors between two women is usually considered just a sign of close friendship.

My spouse was the oldest of four brothers: the two older boys were gay, and the two younger boys were straight, so they obviously didn't conform to that pattern.

Perhaps. The only time I was ever in Budapest, I arrived by hydrofoil down the river from Vienna, and that view does look vaguely familiar (except for that young man).

Umm, isn't that a "cityscape"?

"In bed with.." and "Having sex with..." are not necessarily the same thing. In most societies it is considered normal for women to openly show affection for one another, by things like kissing, while that is considered much more questionable between two men.

We are revealing our age with this repartee.

I wonder if he has a brother named Almond Joy?

OMG! He actually has a blue collar!

In 1967, my first partner and I had a close friend who published a gay magazine (Drum) that was available to subscribers only. He had recently acquired a young boyfriend who had ambitions to become a professional photographer. One weekend I went away somewhere, and when I got home, I asked my partner what he had done while I was away, and he just said, "Oh, I hung around with Clark and Jimmy." When I received the next issue of the magazine, I was stunned to see that the back cover of the issue was a color photo of my partner, lying naked on his back in a field of grass, one leg discretely raised to hide his genitals. I exclaimed, "Why did you do that?!" He said, "Oh, Neil Edwards [a well-known physique photographer] was with us, and I thought he was just teaching Jimmy how to take photos. Clark didn't tell me it was going to be published." Knowing what an exhibitionist my partner was, I didn't really believe him. I still have the copy of the magazine.

I have been called an "old fart, " but I don't think I smell bad.

They look like a rather rowdy group to have as neighbors.

If you were eating on the patio, I wouldn't be upset by a roach. If it were in the kitchen, I might not eat there again. The local paper in Palm Springs prints weekly reports from the health inspectors of their evaluations of local restaurants, and tells you what grades they give to the restaurants, and why. I always read them.

When one is attracted to someone who isn't conventionally "attractive," it is usually because he has some attribute that other people might consider a "fetish."

All assholes look pretty much the same to me, so I have never seen the attraction of rimming.

The "Puppy Bowl" winner before the "Super Bowl" was harder to predict.

I'll bet the car is older than he is.

I think Bridge is mostly a game played by senior citizens. I was taught the game by my partner's grandmother many years ago. When I moved into a senior community, I was immediately invited to join the group that plays Bridge at the lodge once a week, and they are always looking for new members, even from people who don't live here. My brother-in-law lives in a retirement community in Texas where he is in charge of an enormous Bridge group (12 tables). Another game I was taught by friends was Rummikub, and there is a group here that plays that every week at the home of a male couple, but I often played it with one of my housebound neighbors after I taught him how to play (it can be played by only two people). When I was growing up, the card game that was popular was Canasta, but I don't know of anyone who plays it now, and I have long since forgotten how to play it.

I certainly don't recognize it.

What a cute couple!