Author's Update

As is usual, I'm getting this out late. However, Jim and I hope you all got flowers, cards, candy or at most, hugs and kisses on Valentine's day. We bought my sister, Marilyn, red roses for her tender loving care of Jim after his surgery. We bought each other red tulips as a harbinger of Spring.

Since we moved back into our RV late Saturday from Marilyn's, we spent Sunday unpacking. It was good to be inside since it snowed late Saturday night and was cold all day. I took Jim to a Chinese restaurant for dinner. The dinner was delicious, as usual there, and his fortune cookie message was, "You can't love life until you live the life you love." We taped it to the frig.

Jim is doing wonderfully well considering it's only been two and a half weeks from his surgery. He took Andy for a short walk in the snow today using his walker. He wanted to do it alone, but you know me, I was lurking and had his scooter ready.

Even though his pain meds are being managed well, Jim is still a little touchy and irritable. Coming down off of morphine and percocet is a major adjustment to the system. He's handling it well. I'm so relieved he's not in excruciating pain any longer. I still harp at him for bending over without stretching his right leg out behind him so he doesn't dislocate his new hip. I guess you can call me a Harpy. Jim always responds, "I'm sorry, I forgot."

Andy is doing great after his knee surgery. He's putting more weight on his right rear leg. He likes being home, but misses Marilyn and Doug's Westie, Kilty. Down the road, we may get another dog. I really want another Bouvier, but we both miss Dawson and are skeptical about it. Marilyn said, "Not to worry. I've had 4 Westies and they are all individuals."

HAPPY 2009

We can only hope 2009 will be better than the last year that dumped us in such frenzy. Damn greedy, Bush kindergarten gangsters! The Bush time has ended, but Congress is still impotent. Nancy Pelosi is a grinning scared rabbit and she's Speaker again. Maybe the "new guys" will start rejuvenating this country. We can only hope.

Last December, I turned 65. I'm now an official OLD FART! Hooray! I'm at the age where I'm supposed to be taken seriously. We'll see.

I was born in Denver during a raging blizzard. Maybe that's why I've never cared for snow and cold. Why am I still living in Denver? You'll find out later.

Since I last checked in with you, last Christmas, 2007 (sorry about the long time), a lot has happened, but I'll get to it.

This past fall of 2008, the RV Park and areas around were glorious. The warm weather through October, well past November and into December was unprecedented. The changing of the leaves was gorgeous. Denver had its first snow on November 14th. Not a record late snow, but close. It was only an inch and it melted a few hours after dawn. November is usually Denver's second snowiest month. Not November of 2008. We almost broke records for dryness and warmness. However, we were all certain the ax would soon fall. It did, and with a very hard chop.

We had sudden snows mid-December and broke two record lows in two days. The air at 19 degrees below zero is crystalline, but don't ponder it too long or your butt'll freeze to the bench. Dawson and Andy slept on the bed with us during that time. Fortunately, none of our pipes froze. The cold snap lasted four days, then it was back in the 40s. So far, it's been a rather mild winter, but I don't have expectations it will last long.

The RV Park we live in is comfortable. There's no grass or amenities except showers, a laundry and many trees, but regulars come back year after year. We've been here two years and still love it. Nancy, the Park owner, is such a sweetheart we all made her a gilded wicker throne for the partly-enclosed common area. Nancy laughs at all our crazy stories. Sorry, no one wanted their picture on the internet. Most of us are like family and we respect each other's wishes and keep connected.

The photos are from last October-November, taken in the nature area and the park bordering the RV grounds.

This winter, the RV neighborhood is rather empty. We were hoping the park would fill up this January with cowboys and venders for Denver's annual and century old National Stock Show. It must be the economy because only a few RVs came and they are staying in the cheapest "No Hookups" area.

After this past summer, Jim and I ask each other what day of the week it is. Is summer really gone already? We missed a lot recuperating.

Jim had left-foot surgery in early June for a severe bunion and hammer-toe. He had to wear a special shoe for over a month. Since it was his left foot, he could drive the truck, but not our purchased-for-a-steal, stick-shift '94 Geo Metro that gets 43 mpg. We bought it during the time diesel prices were well over $4 per gallon. Peppy paid for itself in three months in gas savings.

Jim's surgery was successful and he's amazed at his normal-looking foot.

Jim had just gotten the special shoe off when he had a bicycle accident and landed on his head. He cracked his helmet and broke the same vertebra that Christopher Reeve shattered. Jim needed immediate surgery. The surgeon inserted a screw to hold the vertebra together. He had to wear a neck brace, day and night, for 12 weeks and couldn't drive. The neck brace caused him untold misery in the 90-plus heat of summer. I drove him everywhere, and Jim truly goes everywhere. The latest catscan showed the bone in Jim's neck isn't healing properly and he'll have to have additional surgery. Neither of us is looking forward to that. After that major operation, he'll have to wear that cursed neck brace another 12 weeks, day and night. How miserable can that be? I don't mind driving Jim places. I've been to parts of Denver I've never seen before. I often get teary-eyed thinking of his constant misery. I just know in heaven, I'll be waving up at him, trillions of rows closer to God.

Jim's next neck surgery won't be until late February, and he has to remain "calm" until then. Jim calm? I may have to duck tape him to the recliner!

Also, this summer, I had to have an emergency procedure to put two stents into my groin arteries. The left artery became totally blocked an hour before the ordeal. They said I could have had a fatal heart attack. Later, I was told the left stent wasn't working properly and I might have to have bypass surgery there. A catscan proved otherwise. I'm doing fine as long as I take many brisk walks. I have to walk alone. Jim can't go that far or fast and the boys stop, sniff and pee every five seconds.

In October, my sister and her husband took Jim and me to Seattle for Marilyn and my second cousin's wedding. Seattle is a grand city. We may relocate our RV there for an extended stay, depending on all our medical crap.

I was hoping for rain while in Seattle since it only rained 3 times in Denver this past summer, and I love rain. However, it was sunny and dry the entire time we were there to the delight of the residents. Marilyn, Doug, Jim and I shopped the famous market where they toss the fish. At the market, I bought 3 dozen in-shell oysters and a thick slab of halibut to be flown back with us.

While in Seattle, we took a ferry to Victoria, B.C. to visit the Butchart Gardens. Spectacular! Flowers were minimal because of the season, but the turning leaves were unbelievable. The Butchart Gardens was once a quarry. After it closed, over a hundred years ago, Mrs. Butchart began planting the area. Her great-grandchildren continue the practice. It's unbelievably beautiful.

Jim and I love Seattle. The city has a dynamic skyline. I've always loved skyscrapers, and Seattle's are electrifying. I guess the residents were pretty pissed off about them in the 80s, but now they love them, and well they should. It's a Class A skyline in my skyscraper book. The pics were taken during a ferry ride around the bay and from the Space Needle.

The morning of the wedding in Seattle, our vet in Denver woke us at the hotel and said that Dawson's stomach had twisted while at the kennel, and he was near death. He had to have immediate surgery. Dawson, our gorgeous and loving Bouvier, is still full of life and strength. Through tears, we knew we had to have the surgery done, though we couldn't afford it. Dawson is a major part of our family. Andy would be devastated without him. "We'll charge it!" I yelled into the phone. Marilyn and Doug were also glad I yelled that. They gave us a no-interest loan, "pay back whenever you can." God bless them. They are so good to us, and they love Dawson as much as we do.

Dawson (Dos) is now doing fine, but Andy still stays close to him. However, during an ultrasound tracking Dos's mild pneumonia from the surgery, they found a mass growing near his heart. "It's inoperable," Marci said. "We don't know how fast it's growing, but he has no fluid around his heart and shows no signs of trauma, and that's a very good thing." We're relieved we had his gut surgery so we can still experience him. A later x-ray showed very slow growth rate of the tumor. Knowing Bouviers live only about 10, and Dos will turn 10 on Lincoln's birthday next Feb. '09, we're going to pamper him, record his ultra-deep bark, take scads of pictures of him and enjoy every moment of his majesty.

I'm still working on Book 6.

"Why is it taking me so long?" you ask.

Chill out. We're all wondering what's happening with Jake and Wiley. They've been skimpy with their reports and if you're expecting me to "make up" the story of their life, I can't. I hope their messages come a little faster this year. Oh yeah, for you anal-retentive elitists, Elmore Leonard (a well known author) said, "Real life has no plot."

At last report, Wiley stormed into a Denver judge's office in 1888. He found James McParland, the Denver head of the Pinkertons, talking to Judge Longoria.

Previously, while heading toward Judge Longoria's office in the Tabor Opera House, Wiley told Jake, "Listen to what the judge says, and say anything you want."

Wiley curtly greeted James McParland, then demanded that the judge explain why he was harboring a killer.

After listening to Longoria's explanation, Jake's comments caused a shouting match. When an unknown man charged through the still open door of the judge's office, a deadly confrontation occurred.

Please don't look for Book 6 soon.

Book sales are nonexistent lately. Golden Feather Series only has enough funds to reprint Pinkerton Partners, publish Book 6 or publish Emerald Valley (which is free on this website yet scads of emails have requested I publish it). Two items will have to wait, and we may have to use the money in the business to live on.

Hey, calm down! Few of us have money these days and books are expensive. We'll all manage if we become sensible. Just get enough to eat!

Obama was elected President. We must pray he doesn't go awry. He has a horrendous job ahead cleaning up the shit that Bush spewed over the world. Can Obama's efforts wrest this country from the horrors of the Bush Administration? We can only hope. Bush won't act so smug when he's plunged into the abyss.

I don't mean to be crabby, but George Bush, Dick Cheney, Carl Rove and most Republicans (even many Democrats) should be imprisoned for allowing the murder of thousands of our troops and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi citizens. The Bush Administration's occupation of Iraq for greedy power, their constant lying, torturing, wire-tapping, price gouging and favoritism are unparalleled in America.

It's unbelievable to me that WE allowed Bush to do what he did to this country and world.

After the past 8 years, however, many of us still shrug our shoulders at national news and grab another potato chip as we surf the TV channels for inane sitcoms.

It pissed me off that California, of all places, voted against gay marriage. Of course, they made the wording of the ballet confusing. Also, having lived in California for many years, those folks are lacking. They need another earthquake to wake them up! We gays are doing it in protests. Jim and I participated here in Denver.

However, we gays need to be pissed off for an entirely different reason than just "rights." We need to be pissed off that the "hate-washed," snake oil conservative christians, the insecure "masculines" and the prejudiced uneducated still make inroads with their lies about us gays. They also take the "Name of the Lord Thy God in vain." They use Jesus' name in vain to justify hate and bigotry. As gays, who understand love, we have a duty to stop that.

Jesus loves us gays dearly. How do we know that?

We've all heard or read the account when Jesus cured the Roman centurion's servant at a distance. The centurion rushed up to Jesus, bowed and begged Jesus to cure his slave. Jesus had never met the soldier or his servant. It was well known at the time that Roman centurions brought male servant "lovers" with them into the field. Jesus knew that. Jesus cured the soldier's lover instantly and told the centurion that he had the greatest faith he'd ever seen.

Shouldn't that make us think? Maybe Jesus didn't SAY anything about us gays, but he DID stuff for us gays. Old adage: "Actions speak louder than words." We've gotta listen to the actions!

We gays have to quit considering ourselves as sinners! Those religious right and conservative christians keep yelling that we gays are horrible sinners. Even the media thinks so! Who do they all think they are? I think they should call themselves Paulists since they only quote Paul. Paul may have been knocked off his horse by "God," but he fucked up, royally. Many scholars now think St. Paul was an untreated manic-depressive who couldn't resolve the fact that he was gay and Jewish. I don't know about that, but in the past four decades, Paul's rantings have shouted above Jesus' words of peace and love of one another. The Christian religion has gone the way of Paul.

Peace and love of one another is the way I choose. I don't care if you care.

Why would God make us gay if he didn't love us? We gays know full well that God made us gay. It's no damn choice! Anyone who believes it's a choice is an insecure straight.

Jesus said he "chastises" those he loves. Makes you think, doesn't it? Well, doesn't it? We gays are chastised constantly! Damn it! Get with the program!

How can God not love us gays? We have always, and willingly, "done unto others as we would have others do unto us." That's our signature, and our lamp oil.

We gays have a duty to teach what love really is since we know what it is.

We gays perform miracles daily with love.

"Yikes! My soap box just caught fire!" Stamp! Stamp! "Yikes!" I tossed it out the RV door and watched it burn on the concrete slab by the picnic benches. As it burned, I hoped it would catch the souls of my gay brothers and sisters on fire with love, truth, justice and fortitude.

Jim and I went to the International Gay Rodeo finals here in Denver last October. They were great, and fortunately indoors at one of the Denver Stock Show arenas. That weekend was only the third time since May that we'd had several days of low misty clouds and rainy weather. Believe me, it was welcomed along with the rodeo!

I went outside for a smoke during a nightly rodeo gala at the host hotel and heard a woman yelling at an obvious stranger. "I hate this town!" she shouted. "I can't see the mountains! I think they lie about the mountains!"

I grinned at the uncomfortable victim and walked up to her. "This is only the third time this summer we've had rain."

She stabbed her cigarette at me and squinted. "You lie! It's all about advertising to get people here for skiing. There are no mountains!"

The guys standing around all looked at each other and chuckled. I said, "Stay a few more days and you'll see."

"I'm from Chicago," she yelled at me. "I hate this town!"

A weathered, hunky cowboy snuffed his smoke. He turned and pointed at her squinty-eyed. "I'm from Dallas ma'am, an' the airport here is open 24 hours. I don't plan on leavin', but you can get yer crabby ass outta here in two hours." He stomped back into the hotel.

It was great seeing Cowboy Frank and his partner Tom. The four of us always spend as much time together as we can when they are in town. We long to visit their haven back East. Cowboy Frank manages my website. He's constantly telling me I have to send him more stuff. He's right.

Jim and I dearly love them and we're glad to hear that Tom finally decided to retire.

Cowboy Frank has been building websites since early 1996. He began his web career by creating the first major National Park web page for Manassas National Battlefield Park. In 1997 he was made an Honorary National Park Ranger for his volunteer work on the park's web site, a prestigious award, which at that time had only been given to 120 individuals in the history of the Park Service. Examples of others who had received this award include such names as Ansel Adams, President John F. Kennedy, Hank Williams Jr. and Lady Bird Johnson. Frank is the owner of CowboyFrank.net which houses the world's largest publicly available collection of gay rodeo pictures on the Internet. It is also the home of the most popular webcam review pages on the internet. Frank is the webmaster for the International Gay Rodeo Association, IGRA, and he loves horses, gay rodeo, computers, and digital photography.

During our recuperation this past summer and fall, we've house-sat for my sister and her husband many times...sometimes for weeks at a time. Marilyn and Doug travel a lot! They live in one of the oldest affluent sections of Denver, though their mansion is "modest" compared to others in the area. We've tended to their Westie, their huge house, their saltwater fish tank, their messages and appointments, UPS deliveries, the dry cleaners, the decorator, the painters, the lawn crew.... Anna, their housekeeper, laughingly said, "My dears, I hate it when you boys are here because I have nothing to do!"

Anyway, because Marilyn and Doug are pleased with how we've cared for their dog and their home, they're taking us on a 2-week trip into Costa Rica and cruise through the Panama Canal and around the Caribbean on Crystal Lines. Wow!

We can hope that 2009 will be better than the last eight. Let's make it a year for us gays to count what blessings we have, bolster our vigilance for what we still need, and discover who else needs nurturing.

HAPPY 2009!

Dave Brown and Jim Bannerman, and Dawson and Andy

Email Golden Feather Series Dave2@GoldenFeatherPress.com