Charlie

With so much time and nothing to do, yesterday I decided to start cleaning out my files and getting rid of things I don't need to keep, like insurance policies on houses and cars that expired years ago. I found an envelope about a catered milestone birthday party that we gave in Philadelphia in March 1983. Along with the menu and the bill from the caterer, I found the list of three dozen gay friends we had invited. Looking through the names, I realized that some of them must have come to the party already carrying HIV in their bodies (the virus hadn't been identified yet, and AIDS still didn't have its name), because over the next several years, more than a third of the men on the list developed AIDS, and all but one of them died. There was no social distancing in our small house, but it didn't matter, because the guests couldn't have spread the virus through friendly social contact, as we later learned from infectious disease specialists. Some ignorant people feared any contact with those who were HIV+ but most of us rallied around them. Yesterday, our neighbors asked if we would like to come to dinner one night this week. Like us, they have been self-isolating for the past month and are as tired of eating alone every night as we are. They are good friends, and we have eaten often at their home. Yet I hesitated and debated about saying yes. During the AIDS epidemic, scientific knowledge encouraged people to come together, and the gay community developed more social solidarity than it ever had before. In the novel coronavirus epidemic, scientific knowledge encourages us to avoid one another socially. Psychologically, I am finding sensible behavior much harder to maintain in this epidemic than in the first one.

Actually, I don't think you would have done much basking yesterday. The sun was shining, but the wind was howling non-stop all day long. The highest gust at our house was 42mph, and it was a cold wind out of the mountains.

Ditto, except for the shower.

I have the same problem with glasses fogging, even though I wear fairly loose fabric masks. Maybe I'm just full of hot air.

It is admirable that some newspapers are suspending their paywall online, even though their ad revenue has tanked.

I already have a beard, but I am shaving less often. I am also showering less often, using deodorant less often, changing my clothes less often.....

When I tell my spouse he looks like a bum, he always replies, "I'm an old man. What does it matter what I look like?" Maybe I should send him to the supermarket next time.

Of course, I am in Palm Springs right now. It is a partly sunny day, temperature only 76 and quite windy, which makes it even cooler. Not a great day for lounging at the pool. There are no restaurants open, no bars open, no tourist sites open, no souvenir shops open, the tram to the top of the mountain is shut down, and the gay inns are closed. There are few gay guys on the streets downtown to gaze at; they can show off their bodies as much as they like, but they can't reveal their faces, because they are required to wear face masks. Altogether, you are probably better off at home.

My genital stroking is never mindless.

OMG!!! I picked him up once at an organ concert in a church! He was incredibly sweet

I haven't had a haircut since January, and my hair is longer than it has been since I was in my 20s.

If you are allergic to cats, it is possible that you are somewhat allergic to dogs as well. I would check out dog breeds that tend to cause less allergy problems for owners before adopting a dog simply because it is really cute and sweet. Dogs that are heavy shedders are generally more problematic for someone with pet allergies than breeds like poodles which have heavy coats but don't readily shed them.

But new viral diseases are showing up more frequently, think SARS, MERS and COVID-19 all within the past twenty years. They are also being spread more easily as people travel more widely and easily. I don't think this is a once in a century black swan. And if we don't manage to develop a very effective vaccine (after 35 years we still don't have one for HIV), we may be adjusting to COVID-19 for more than just a few months.

Well, Epigonos, you are pretty clever in the kitchen. Could you buy the ingredients and make your own candy? My brother-in-law, who usually has trouble making his own breakfast, has been making his own ice cream; he makes an excellent imitation of Ben & Jerry's cherry Garcia.

Lots of people right now are adopting dogs from shelters, reasoning that it is an ideal time to get a dog and train it, as well as have companionship when one is sheltering in place. Therefore, many shelters are running out of adoptable dogs. What worries me is all the people who have to go back to work at some point and then discover they don't want to leave the dog at home alone while they are at work and when they want to go out and play after work. I fear that a lot of animals who have become bonded with owners who are there 24/7 will then be returned to the shelters. I don't think that adopting a dog is something that should be done without careful forethought and commitment for the longer haul. I think you are right to be concerned about the issues you have mentioned.

An official order from the city of Palm Springs.

His ad says he is going to be available in Palm Springs this Sunday and Monday. I wonder where he plans to stay, since hotels, AirBNB, etc., are not allowed to take reservations for anyone other than essential workers, and I don't think escorts qualify. Only essential travel is allowed, also, and if he is going to be in Miami the next day, he will have to fly, but there are hardly any flights leaving PSP. Oh, and I hope he knows that he has to wear a face mask whenever he goes outside.

Luckily, we lived in Philly, and just drove across the river to NJ when we needed stuff for a party. But one had to be careful, because PA authorities watched the liquor stores there for folks with PA plates who bought a lot. Friends went over there once when they were having a big party, but they saw someone eying them suspiciously from another car in the parking lot of the liquor store in Cherry Hill, so they drove their puchases to the PATCO train stop in Camden, put it all in shopping bags, and one of them took the train across the river, while the other one drove across the Ben Franklin Bridge. Sure enough, he was stopped by cops waiting at the Philly side of the bridge, who were dumbfounded when they searched the car and found nothing. They let him go, and he went to the PATCO station downtown and picked up his partner with the bags.

I read somewhere that PA Liquor Control Board was trying to find a way to sell online because they are losing so much money. It would be difficult, because the purchaser is required to show proof of age at time of purchase.

It's really hard to maintain that kind of hard-on while sitting naked on a cold metal open step over the ocean.

Yes.

Once they have been cremated, there is no possibility of ever identifying them if someone should step forward looking for them.

I still have only my one glass of wine with dinner, as always; however, lately I have been tempted by the thought of a nice glass of Harvey's Bristol Cream sherry in late afternoon.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in his prime.

Lookout from the top of the tram on Mt. San Jacinto, above Palm Springs?