L'aura del Campo

Cloves and cappuccino and the gifts of gods

Winter: 12 Sultán (January 30)

TREASURE OF THE DAY

I could wait till Laen's birthday on February 4th to highlight this in my blog, but I'll choose today.

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I read this quite a while ago and didn't rate it. Of course, it is bold to be able to be oneself, and freeing, too.

I remember when Laen went to Chile. Glad he told his mom. Glad she accepted. Sad, she didn't tell him first. Parents could make life so much easier sometimes!

I really liked this part:

Tiffany then arrived from the lunchline. As she sat down Andrew told her "Hey, Josh is gay!"
Oh great... I thought.
Tiffany said, "Yeah, you didn't know?"
What the hell? When did I tell you?

I was going to send this to Laen privately, but then thought, no. There are many WDC authors here that do not accept 'homosexuality'. Most come from specific religious backgrounds; fortunately, almost all are also very kind-hearted. A few are not. Some, especially those who are young, base their beliefs on what they've been told. They are ignorant of what occurs in real life. They will learn as they grow older. For now, they have no gay friends. Too bad if they ever choose not to be Laen's. Their loss.

Perhaps some youths will check out Laen's port. Learn about him through his writing and biography "Invalid Item"  . They can even respond to a poll "Invalid Item"  . They could even start a KIND dialog (no dumping on Laen allowed).

2006-01-30
afternoon, 49 degrees. 53 in Neosho, MO.

Chris Parsons got ahold of me by email. Can't wait to find out what his great news is. Wonder if he is still in the Neosho area? Jonathan should be around there if Chris isn't. Parts of Southern Missouri are as backwoods as it gets.

One should never complain, says the stoic. Yet, if I do not speak up I am treated poorly. Will people know how I feel if I don't occasionally tell them? I ponder this on a good day, when I am not feeling overwhelmed by events beyond my control. (Basically, I am NOT stoic. But I've been known to clam up.)

Sure, my car still has a flat tire after Don came to help me with it. Can't get the tire off, stuck. Doesn't seem to be slashed but doesn't hold air either. At least the battery wasn't dead.

And my temperature has been on a rollercoaster: at least 101 on Saturday, 99.8 last night, 96.8 this morning, 97.7 after I was up an hour. My normal temp is 97.6-98.6 and runs a bit lower than average.

Hubb finally has some great news, so does James. Robin moved into his own place and Brian will soon. Chris emails me he has great news, but I sure don't. Maybe Chris' news will be good for me too? I can only hope.

The weather: Fantastic!

The coldest part of the year here is January 8 - 17th. The coldest temps on record (-22, -23) were recorded in a December of many years ago. Below Zero weather can occur between December 6th and March 12th. February mean temps rise from 32 to 40.

Compare this to where my mother lives near Buffalo, NY:

The coldest part of the year is January 13th - February 6th. The coldest temps on record (-20) were February 2, 1961 and February 9, 1934. Below Zero temps can occur from December 3rd through March 19th. February mean temps rise from 24 to 29.

We are past the traditionally coldest part of the year. The down side is that it has been too mild and the wildlife will suffer. I'm not missing the way the cold lingers in WNY.

Not to mention that this place gets SUNSHINE ! Yet, Western New York is beautiful when it is covered with sparkling snow. Coffee or hot cocoa is a must. The late Spring makes the area excellent for growing grapes, cherries, apples. Here fruit can come out too early and get nipped or seared by the heat. WNY rarely gets overly hot. Ah ... but here we have sunshine.

QUOTABLES

"My body is a temple. Why not smoke incense?" from notes I took April 13, 2004 in Tulsa at the Gypsy. Possibly from Wes or Dan. That was the night Wes told me: "I hit on straight men because they are unavailable!" Wise man. Why rile up his boyfriend! I found these rummaging in an old notebook with a sketch about cappuccino and clove cigarettes:

Cloves and cappuccino

Cloves and cappuccino define
the roundness of our conversation
at the café table.
We sit and whine
about the thoughts of others,
of ourselves and chocolate,
of the gift of gods,
of handsome men.

The best is always unavailable
we weep, but show no tears
as scented cloves envelopes us.
Our body is our temple,
we incant,
imbibing the elixirs
of our caffeinated cocoa
and inhaling essence of the clove,
then dream among our sacred pillars
waiting for the visit of the gods. [161.76]