KeithCam Writing; Car Shopping; Park Walking; Ioan Watching; Genre Reading

A very special thanks to Keith of Keith Cam Live for a wonderful letter in response to my message. Thank you, Keith! (Alas, as of the 02/07 updating, I have no memory of this - my message or his response.)

I went car shopping today. Gads! What a depressing experience that was. There is no such thing as a simple, little car that will get me around town. Just something I can drive to work, to the grocery store, to moms. Nothing fancy. And everything is so expensive. Yikes!

And what is it with these utility vans? You could buy a Mercedes for what one of those cost. How many drivers really need to haul a soccer team, or cart large canines to the vet, or lug a ton of groceries?

The only thing I saw that was reasonable was a used golf cart being driven by the security guard.

After about an hour of meandering around car lots, my first thought was to opt for a shot of morphine to ease the pain. However, I had to settle for a walk in the park. I used to go almost every evening and ramble through the serpentine trails which weave back and forth. Although not very large, the park contains an extraordinary selection of trees from sweet gum to red oak to hackberry to winged elm. The only reason I know this is that several years ago an Eagle Scout labeled the trees as part of a project. My favorite was the shagbark hickory which was a tree worthy of a tale by Tolkien. Alas, it suffered the ravages of rot and had to be cut down.

I keep glancing up to watch A&E's re-broadcast of the "Horatio Hornblower" miniseries. Emmy for "Outstanding Miniseries," and very well-deserving of it. Ioan Gruffudd, the Welsh actor playing Hornblower, is beyond compare. Brilliant actor with the looks of a young Olivier. He can come trim my sail any day.

The newest edition of "Genre" has a long list called "2000 Years 2000 Queers & Our Allies." It appears to be part humorous, part serious. Some of the names and comments are delicious:

Bugs Bunny, queeny rabbit
Quentin Crisp, Queen of England
David, nude icon
Bette Davis, smoker
Dorothy, friend of fags
Ganymede, Zeus's boytoy
Gilligan, Skipper's bitch
Jane Hathaway, butch banker
Captain Hook, swishy chickenhawk
Michael Jackson, kiddy ride fan
Ken, Barbies's just a beard
Colonel Klink, big queen
Ricky Martin, "Loca"
Little Richard, "Tutti Frutti"
Ernie and Bert, Sesame Street "room mates"
Tinky Winky, gay recruiter
Velma, Scooby Doo dyke
R2D2 and C3PO, bickering droids

I would have included Dr. Quest and Race of Johnny Quest. They always seemed awfully chummy.

PAX!