Palm Springs Weekend

Most of you probably don't remember the 1963 movie "Palm Spring Weekend" staring Troy Donahue, Connie Stevens, Ty Hardin, Stephanie Powers and Robert Conrad. It was actually shot in Palm Springs and Cathedral City. The hotel where the movie took place is still there, it was built especially for the movie and later sold once the movie was finished. It has always been a Gay hotel even though it has seemed to change hangs many times during the years. I have many fond memories of laying by the pool and attending different parties there. It was alway a popular place.

Well today we are leaving for our own Palm Springs Weekend. It is Gay Pride Weekend and we always try to make it down there to celebrate with the Desert Folk, so many of them are my friends!! It has actually been a while since Patrick and I have had the chance to run away and have a weekend by ourselves, so off we go. Next week this time I will be in Texas to spend a week with my sister and brother and all the little rug rats in my family. So this weekend my

Pooh and I are off to have good time.

Enjoy your weekend whatever it is you are doing!! I will be reporting back to tell you about

our little adventure!!

later dudes!

Happy Halloween!!! 2008

Wow, where has this year gone????? Here we are celebrating the most festive Holiday of the Year....Gay Christmas!!....or as most of you know it....Halloween!

We are not doing much tonight, decided to hang out here at home instead of joining the other 250,000 people at the West Hollywood Carnival. But before we settle in for the evening I thought I would share a little blast from the past with you. Think back...what were you wearing for Halloween, 1991? Well here is a glimpse of what I was wearing that evening.....what you can't see are the fabulous heels I was wearing, and yes I did do alot of dancing in them that night. Also in the picture are my sisters in crime, the two best girlfriends a girl could ever have. On the left (in white) is my sister Trixie and on the left (in black) is my sister Goya. We were a force to be reconded with in the day!! (and trust me, we still are!)

Happy Halloween!!



later

Happy National Coming Out Day!!!!!

Just in case you did not know it, today is National Coming Out Day! NCOD was started in 1988 by Dr.Richard Eichberg and Jean O'Leary in celebration of the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, which was held in 1987. At the National March on Washington, 500,000 people marched on Washington, DC for Gay and Lesbian equality.
Now days, NCOD events are aimed at raising awareness among every day people about the Gay and Lesbian community and to provide resources for those coming out, their families and friends.

I have often been asked when I knew I was Gay, and while I have long known I was attracted to guys, say from around the age of 10 or 11, I really did not know their were other people in the world that were like me until I was in my middle teens. For many years I really thought there was something very bad wrong with me that I was not a like the other guys in my class at school. Of course they were always talking about their girlfriends and things and while I had many girls who were my friends, I just was not attracted to them in a boyfriend/girlfriend sort of way.
So I kept my "dark secret" to myself and played the game so no one would know I had this "major defect". Yes I even had a girlfriend for a while in High School. I really tried to fit in but inside it was not working. When I was around 14, my family started getting involved in the Baptist Church, and it was there that I found out there were many people like myself in the world and God hated them all. At least once a quarter, my Pastor felt like it was his duty to
warn us about the horrible creatures that God hated so much call homosexuals. It was
during this time in my life that I really started to hate myself. I would pray and pray and ask God to change me and not let me have thethoughts I was having about different guys at school and please make me like I was suppose to be. (Little did I know at the time She had already made me just like I was suppose to be!) It was a very depressing and self hating time in my life. Now if you had known me at the time, you would not have seen a depressed, self hating guy, O no you would have seen some who was always upbeat and fun to be around, you would have liked me and probably would have wanted to hang out with me. Everyone loved me, except me.
Now you must realize a couple of things, this was during the 60s and early 70s when being Gay was a very bad thing. Anywhere in the US of A you could lose your job if they knew you were Gay or Lesbian. We had no laws to protect us against anything. You could be arrested and taken to jail just because you were in a Gay bar. And also I lived in a very small country town in Southeast Texas. I had no one I could talk about this with at all. I honestly thought I was the only person like me in Silsbee. I was alone with my deep dark secret, and hating the awful person I was, everyday.

I kept my secret with me for many more years, doing whatever and acting however I needed to so people would never suspect who I really was. I have to tell you that when you carry self hatred inside of you for a long time, it eats away your soul. I was a great actor, most people in my life never suspected at thing. I even married and had 3 beautiful children, had a nice house and a good job. But after 10 years, the marriage ended in divorce and I was a wreck, a really big total wreck. I went into a really bad depression, my doctor told me if I did not get away from all of it I would end up having a nervous breakdown.

My sister and her family were living in Casper, Wyoming at the time of my divorce. My brother-in-law was working as a directional driller and his job was located there. My sister has always, ALWAYS, been my best friend. Now of course I was close with my Mom but my sister and I have always had a special close relationship. She knew of course what I was going through and
when they were home visiting during this time, she tried to talk me into moving up to Wyoming with them and getting myself together and making a new start. Of course I told her there was no way I could, I could not think about not getting to see my kids (which I got to see for a few hours one day a month) and my life was there an blah, blah,blah. So when their visit was over, they went back home to Casper, without me. Things continued to go downhill for me emotionally over the next few weeks, I was getting more depressed. My whole family was really worried about me. I did not find out till a few years later they were really afraid I was going to commit suicide, which actually never entered my mind. Then while I was at work one day, I realized I just could not take it anymore, I walked over to my desk, picked up the phone and called my sister and told her I couldn't handle it anymore and could I still come stay with her.
That is all it took. In about 2 weeks, I had quit my job, got rid of my apt,packed up everything I owned and was living with my sister and her family in Casper, Wyoming. There were conditions for me being able to come live with them, I could not work for 3 months, they took care of what few bills I had, I was to rest, hang out with my sister and get myself back together physically and emotionally, and after that 3 months, we would go from there. I was so fortunate to have people who loved me so much. They provide me with a truck (yes a truck) to drive an a credit card to put gas in it. Spending money would "appear" on my dresser from time to time. In short,
I truly believe and will always believe, they truly saved my life.

It was during these 3 months as I tried to put my life back together, that I was able for the first time in my life start dealing with something I had always known but kept buried deep down inside of me, I was Gay. I went to the Casper Library and found some wonderful books on being Gay and I ready everything I could find. (Now I need to stop and clarify something here, before
I got married, I had had sexual experiences with a few other guys so I was not totally stupid
about what guys did together). I came to realize more and more that I wasn't this sick horrible creature that I always hated. It was not an overnight transformation but it was a good start.
I "accidentally" met a guy in the mall (no not in the restroom!) who I suspected was Gay and the second time I went into the store where he worked to buy something, he actually invited me to have coffee with him and I did . As we were having coffee he flat out ask me if I was Gay and I was a little shook up and I told him I was pretty sure I was. He told me he was and if I needed to talk he would be happy to listen. Wow, I finally had a Gay friend! We did become friends and he introduced me to several of this friends. It was a real eye opener for me. Of course I was still very much in the closet to my sister and her family so I wanted to go out with some of them I would just tell her I was going out with some of my new friends, which was true. It was during this time my life really started to change. I was actually discovering more about myself and liking who I was. During one of the trips to the mall with one of my new friends, he told me this certain clerk who worked at B Dalton Book Store was Gay and his name was Calvin. We didn't even go into B Dalton's that day but I looked in and saw what Calvin looked like. A few days later
I went to the bookstore to actually buy a book and Calvin waited on me. Now it was a Gay themed book that they did not have in stock so he ordered it for me. Well I left the mall and drove home and when I walked in the phone was ringing. I did not think anything of it, but when I answered it , it was Calvin from the bookstore, and he asked me out to a dinner party he was going to that night. He had picked up the fact that I was Gay from the book I ordered. I have to tell you I was speechless. So that night I had my first date as a Gay man and then that lead to a second date which lead to Calvin and I being partners for over a year and a half.

Now when Calvin and I decided to move in together, I knew that I would finally have to come out to my sister. I can in no way express to you who terrified I was. I had heard stories from some of my new friends about how their families and friends had reacted to their coming out and it was not all positive. One of my friends family had disowned him and did not want to have anything to do with him anymore and this was so terrifing to me. I just did not know what I would do if my sister reacted like that. But I had to do it. So one night when my brother-in-law was away on business, I asked my sister out to dinner. It was during dinner that I kept trying to tell her I was Gay, I almost broke down and cried once I was so scared and finally she looked up at me and said" Honey, why don't you just go ahead and tell me you're Gay before your steak gets cold". My jaw must have hit the table. I could not believe she already knew and she said she had known for years and was just waiting for me to come to grips with it on my own. I asked her who else knew and she said her whole family knew. My two nephews loving called me "Auntie James" behind my back. They knew Calvin was much more than just my new best friend. I will always remember the weight that was lifted off of me as we sat there an talked about it. I was finally able to talk to her about everything.

That was the first time I had come out to someone I loved. Through the years I have come out to the rest of my family and have always had a positive experience. I have also come out to all my friends through the years and unfortunately I can not tell you they have all been positive experiences. Some walked away and I have not heard from them since.

Coming to terms with who you are is a very liberating experience. But every one's experience is different. Every time I go to a Gay Pride event anywhere, I always think as I look over the crowds, that for every Gay, Lesbian, Bi or Transgender person there, there is a story of when they realized they were different and their journey into being who they are today. So when you have the opportunity to have a LBGT person as a friend, just realize that the person they are today is the result of a very long road of self awareness and pride.

Like I said before, coming out is a very liberating experience, but is it not a one time event.
It is something all of us in the LGBT community have to do over and over everyday. As we travel to new places and new friends come into our lives, there is always another time for us to come out. I know one day, maybe not in my lifetime, but one day, who we are as won't
matter and every one will justbe accepted for who they are.

later

ps. Just a few years after I graduated High School, I found out that there were 5 other Gay guys in my graduation class besides me. I had know all of them from the first grade all the way to graduation. We were all so in the closet we did not know about each other. One of them, Benny,
I had a crush on from our freshman year through graduation. And I found out that he too
had had a crush on me during the same time. What a help we could have been to each other
if only we had known.

We Had A Gay Ole Time........

Well this weekend was the 11 Annual Unofficial Gay Days at Disneyland, and of course Patrick and I were there!! Well we were there on Saturday. It is a three day event, starting Friday afternoon and ending on Sunday evening. Now is called the Unofficial Gays Days because it is not sponsored by Disneyland. The weekend includes cocktail parties, a mini Shorts Film Festival, and of course Dance Parties!! (One on Friday night called " Wonderland "and one on Saturday night called " Kingdom"). There's a Scavenger Hunt, and different special lunches, like one for Gay Families, one for Gay Youth, one for the Bears (not the ones who live in the wood well I take that back, some of them just might). On Saturday they try to get everyone together for a group photo, we did not do this one, we have in the past and when we got our pictures there were so many people jammed together you couldn't really see who we were.

Now you may be asking yourself just how we could tell (aside from out Gaydar) just who all

was a member of our Gay Tribe, well that is pretty easy, you see, members of the Tribe are asked to wear a RED shirt, usually a T shirt, but not necessarily. And with around 30,000 members of the Tribe in attendance this week, you pretty much saw RED everywhere.(a little word of explanation, Saturday is Gay Days at the Disneyland Park and Sunday is Gay Days at California Adventure)

Now the ones I really have a soft spot in my heart for on these weekends are the poor unsuspecting Straight guys who come to Disneyland the first weekend in October wear a red

shirt!!! It is not hard to spot them, they all seem to be holding their wive/girlfriends so tight

up against them the poor things can hardly breath! Example: Patrick and I were riding the Monorail over to Downtown Disney to meet some friends for dinner. We get on the Monorail and sit down and as I usually do anyway, I put my arm across the back of Patrick's seat. Soon after we sat down and man and wife got on and sat across from us. They were laughing and talking and soon after they sat down, very soon, he reaches over and grabs the poor woman's hand and starts holding it and kisses her not once, but twice before the monorail ever moved. She actually looked a little starteled. He looked at us a couple of times and did not let go of her and until we got off the monorail. I have never been able to figure out makes some straight guys so afraid of us!

We did have a really good time. We rode so many different rides and went to so many different shops and just hung out. It was fun to people watch and meet other members of the Our Tribe, share some stories and just have fun together. There were couples there who had been recently married and that was really awesome to see. Disneyland has these really cute buttons they give newlyweds if you go to City Hally and let them know. We saw a few of those around.

Toward the end of the day I got a text message from our friend Kenny and when he found out we were at Gay Days, he and his husband (legally!!) came over from Long Beach and joined us for Dinner and we watched the fireworks together. It made for a really great ending to a very funfilled day. (check out http://www.gaydays2.com/)

( We took pictures of course and I will try to get them uploaded soon. I an volunteering with the "No on Proposition 8" campaign and this week I am scheduled to volunteer 3 night after work so it may be toward the end of the before they are posted, but check back, they will be here!!)

later!

Just to let you know the "Chop Suey Cafe" (Patrick's blog) is back open for business so

don't forget to go by and check it out! The link to his blog over at the "Blogs I Read" list.

It Was A Party Weekend.!!!....(part 2)

Since we got home a little late on Friday evening, I let myself sleep in some on Saturday. Actually I have never been one to sleep in late on the weekend but lately I have really gotten into it! So it was nice to be able to sleep in a little longer this Saturday. But I really did so because I knew I was going to need my energy because we had another party to go to Saturday afternoon!! ( I was just telling someone yesterday it is really rough being so popular!! lol)

So around 11am we head off to Brea to attend the 1st Birthday party for one of our "nieces", Jordan. Jordan is the daughter of our very good friends Cindy and Jeff . Jordan has on older sister named McKenna, who is almost 3. They are the cutest things you have ever seen.!

The party was held at the Cedar Creek Inn in Brea. The resturant has a really nice enclosed patio that was festively decorated by Cindy. Now let me say a word here about Cindy and her decorating. She is AWESOME! She did everything from designing and creating the invitations, to putting together the beautiful center pieces that adored each table. She is the most creative person I have every known. If any of you remember our Holy Union in 2004, Cindy designed and created our invitations, really beautiful.

Everyone had an assigned place to sit, and Patrick and I shared our table with the Jung family

We had met them last year when we attended the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach

Cindy and Jeff had given us all tickets for Christmas and we sat right next to them. The food was really good and I have to say the service from the staff at Cedar Creek Inn was great.

After the party was over we decided that since we were already in Orange County we might as well go by the South Coast Plaza Mall. I mean you can't be that close to it and not go!!! For us Gay Men it is a real necessity!! Now for those of you who have never been to South Coast Plaza, it is bigger than most small cities. It cover two sides of a freeway, yes you can walk over the freeway from on side to the other but you will wish you hadn't . There is not a bus to take you back to the other side. So we scoped out the Mall for a little while and then headed back to the LA area. We were a combination of still way too full and a little tired. Something a little nap would have take care of.

Sunday was just a hang out day for me. Got a few things done around the house but Patrick had one more Birthday celebration to go to!!! His cousin Mandy"s birthday was a couple of weeks ago but she was in Hong Kong, so they celebrated Sunday. I got to sit that one out!! thank goodness.

So we ended up have a real part weekend!

Like I said, it is really rough sometimes being so popular!!

later.

p.s. Next weekend: GAY DAYS at Disneyland!!!!!!!

It Was A Party Weekend!!!....(part 1)

Well it is Sunday evening and the weekend is coming got a close. Looks like before we know it we will be back at the coal mine starting out a new week. But this weekend was a real festive one here in the Lee-Neff household. Starting with Friday evening.

Friday evening Patrick and I attended the Wedding Banquet for a friend and co-worker of Patrick's, Danny and his beautiful bride, Silvia. Now I had met Danny a couple of times over the last couple of years when we attended different doggie parties with Tobee. He and Silva were also here at our house last December for Patrick's birthday party. They are both very lovely people and lots of fun too! When Patrick first told me they were getting married and he had been invited to the Wedding Banquet I really did not think anything about not getting invited.

I have rarely gone to things like this with Patrick over the years so I did not even give it a second thought when he told me about it. But a few weeks ago Danny came to Patrick to make sure we knew that I too was invited and they were expecting me to come with him. I have to admit I was a little excited. It is always a special thing when we get invited as a couple to things like this. But it also meant I would have to dress up!! Most of you know I am pretty much a jeans and Tee Shirt kinda guy, but I think I pulled it off ok. I was happy with how I turned out!!

If you have never been to a Chinese Wedding Banquet, you would be in for a real surprise. This one was held in the Ball Room of the Hilton Hotel in San Gabriel. I was really a beautiful place.

Of course I only knew about 6 or 7 people out of the two hundred so guests and from what I could tell I was one of three Caucasian people I saw, all guys. So some of the important things that were being said, Patrick had to translate for me. But we were at a table where I knew most of the people so I had plenty of people to talk to.

It was a real beautiful banquet. We were served a regular 10 course Chinese wedding meal, ten being the perfect number. There are certain foods served in a certain order and all of it was very good.

By the time they served the last course and then the wedding cake for desert, I was pretty much done in, along with every one else! It started at 7pm and when we left at 11pm, it was still going strong.

I have to say, being apart of the Chinese culture has really enriched my life, in so many ways.

It is a culture that isrich with tradition and customs that are not only beautiful but very meaningful. There is a reason for everything they do in their ceremonies and as I have been expose to the different aspects of the culture and have been able to learn more about it, my life has b eenchanged and enriched so much. I feel I am very fortunate to have had the opportunity to experience it.

So to our friends Danny and Silvia, we wish a long and a happy life together, filled with much love and many fun adventures in the years ahead!

California Adventure, here come....

On the Monday of our vacation, Patrick and I slipped away from everyone and headed to California Adventure. The original plan was for us to start at California Adventure and end up at Disneyland. For a long time we have wanted to go to the Parks during the week so there would not be so many people. So we decided we would go on Monday, August 25, and beat the crowds....WRONG!! It seems most schools had not started back yet and EVERYONE who had not been to the Parks during the Summer decided Monday must be a good day for them too.
It was so busy. We got there right after the Parks opened and we still had to stand in line to get into California Adventure, which is never that busy!

So once we were in we headed across the Park to ride the newest ride,the Toy Story ride.
As we were walking over there, I got a great idea, so I turned to Patrick and said, " Hey Honey, let's do something we have not done before, we at least I haven't done it. Let's ride the roller coaster!!!" Patrick kept on walking and just shot me that side ways look I get every once in a while and said " Are you sure?" Haven't you ridden it before?" So when I said I hadn't
he gave me that look again and said " Well ok, but if we are going to do it we are going to do it now before it gets too busy". Now I am not a big fan of roller coasters and when we were first dating I had a very bad experience with one at Six Flags Magic Mountain, but that was years ago and California Screaming had never seemed that bad of a coaster to me. So off we went. When we got here we only had to wait for the very next coaster. The only thing I had requested is that we not sit in the very first car. So we ended up on about the middle. We got in and away we went, to the lift off area. Now I don't know if you have ever seen the California Screaming coaster , but it goes out to the launch area and stops and then they count down the time for you till it gets to one, and then you take and are going 60mph in about 10 secs. Well let me tell you, it hit one, and we took off and I knew right then and there this was not the smartest decision I had made that day. I suddenly remember why I don't ride roller coasters, but hey, when you are strapped in and going that fast, only one thing you can do, hang on and pray it will be over fast.
Well honesty, once we really got started I was screaming right along with Patrick, but I think it was for a different reason. I did ok and we came to the part where we made the big loop in Mickey's ear and as we approached that, I just closed my ears and it did not seem so bad. After you make that loop the ride is pretty much over and you go back to where you started. Ok, well I survived what will truly be my last roller coaster ride in my lifetime and we headed back to let the next group of thrill seekers take their turn. So we stopped, were unbuckled and Patrick jumped up and hopped off and I stood up to follow him and for some reason my feet kinda got tangled up with each other and guess what? yep..down I went. Now fortunately for me I somewhat caught myself on the side of the ride so I did not go face first into the cement, but I did go down on my left knee, hard. The thing I do remember is that when I hit, the whole crowd of people waiting to get on the ride went "WHOA" in unison. Now Patrick was several steps in front of me so he did not see how graceful I went down, but he did run back and make sure I was ok. Honestly, I was a little shaken up, a little embarrassed and in pain. When I looked down I had taken the top layer of skin off just below my knee cap. One of the Crew members asked me if I was ok and I yea, I was old and I fell all the time. We went to the restroom to check out really how bad my knee was and while I was checking on my knee, Patrick found the nurse's station so we headed over there. Now. like everything else at any Disney Park, it was so blended in with the other buildings, it was much bigger than it looked. We went in and a very nice woman came out of the back and I told her what happened and she took us into one of the exam rooms and took care of it and I left with a nice band aid on my knee. But let me tell you a little something about the "Nurse's Station", it was huge. They are ready for any emergency that can come up there. I believe they could do open heart surgery if they had to . It was awesome.


Well I was not going to let a little thing like a nose dive off the roller coaster stop us from having a fun day and we did just that. We did have to stand it line for the new ride, but it was totally worth it. The line moved rather quickly and we had so much fun on the ride. Be sure and do the Toy Story ride if you are California Adventure. ( I am not going to tell you about it, don't want to spoil it for you, but it truly is allot of fun)

We did several other rides we enjoy and since it was hot (did I mention it was HOT), we headed over the the Raging Rapids ride. I really enjoy this ride but I can't get Patrick on it much since we usually get totally soaked, but since it was so warm (did I mention it was HOT) he was more than happy to ride. We lucked out and go to ride with some truly fun people who were veteran riders like ourselves who truly wanted to get soaked. And we were not disappointed!!


After a while we decided we would come back and do Disneyland another day (We are Disney aholics, we have the annual pass where can go everyday if we want). So the last ride we did before we headed out is really and truly my favorite ride of all time, Soaring Over California.
If you have never ridden this ride, you are so missing out on one of life's treasures. For me, the only thing wrong with it is that it does not last longer than it does.


So after that we headed back to the house. The first full day of vacation was so much fun, even if I had a bum knee.


later.


To see pics of our day at California Adventure go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/texaninla/