A Day Like All Days

SUNDAY

I'd set an alarm for 4:45 figuring Gary would have been up since four and it wouldn't take long to pack the few remaining clean clothes. However, Gary got up a little earlier and I needed to use the bathroom urgently, so I got up about quarter after four and shut off the alarm. We were showered, dressed, packed, and checked out of the hotel by six, and caught the SamTrans 292 bus to the airport just before quarter after six since BART wasn't starting till eight. There were many folks with luggage, and as the bus filled up at the many local stops, we had to be ingenious with bag stowage.

We left the bus at International Terminal A, ascended three flights of escalators, then took the blue Airtrain to Harvey Milk Terminal 1. I needed to use the restroom again, and while I was in there, Gary saw a large group of people coming from the train station. I retrieved my hand bag with toiletries and electronics from my roller bag and we went to tag bags and check them in. I noticed an Express Bag Drop for First Class and Elite passengers, but as we'd already tagged our bags, and the big bear clerk with the black bushy beard was apparently overwhelmed, a gentleman in the queue told us that the regular bag drop was actually faster. It turned out the reason for that was the regular bag drop was automated: just tap the screen and lay down the bag with the tag visible, and the computer does the rest. There wasn't obvious signage pointing to the TSA checkpoint, but a quick look at the map screen got us what we needed. As we were about to enter the checkpoint, a group of several dozen people who appeared to be on an educational tour converged on the entrance and we had to detour to the end of the queue behind them. Cue "Another Hundred People" from Company. When I got to the scanner and filled my bins, a TSO asked if the glasses under the conveyor were mine. I answered in the negative and the TSO retrieved the glasses. It took me a bit longer than Gary to get recombobulated because the machine kicked my second bin aside for secondary inspection. When I was done, I noticed the glasses sitting on the conveyor. We made the long walk to our gate (assisted by a couple of people-movers) and were very happy to find some nice comfy chairs with high padded backs in which to wait.

The flight was fairly uneventful. We took off into the east and turned north over the East Bay. Shortly after takeoff we were both snoozing until brunch (the traditional fruit and cheese plate) was served. I had to wake Gary so the flight attendant could deliver his tray. We landed from the north, coming in low over downtown Seattle and using the western runway (16R).

We retrieved our checked bags and headed for the train station. Along the way, a dude sat behind us and read aloud from some sort of textbook or research paper on parents feeding their children. When we arrived at Lynnwood Station we caught the 512 north two stops to South Everett Station and waited for a Lyft at the kiss-'n'-ride lane. When we arrived home, we alternately nodded off in the recliner. Gary put on some ravioli for dinner, and we were in bed by just after eleven.

FRIDAY

Woke up about 6:30 to pee, went back to bed but not to sleep, and rose just before the alarm would have gone off at 7:30. About nine we went downstairs to check out the playroom on the second floor, then walked around the corner to Mel's Diner on Mission Street. Right out front of the diner, a young dude was lying in the street beside his toppled fat-tire bicycle, being tended to by the occupants of a large black SUV parked behind the bike and a small black sedan parked in the oncoming lane in front; presumably the latter vehicle had collided with the biker as it was missing its passenger side rear-view mirror. We were seated at the window, and watched as in due course a fire truck, an ambulance, and several police officers arrived to investigate the accident and take the biker in for medical treatment. I had pancakes with strawberries and banana slices; Gary had a mushroom omelet with sausage and a biscuit. By the time we finished eating, all the vehicles dealing with the collision had gone. A girl in the family group to my right had her chair slip out from under her and sat down hard on the floor, but her chief difficulty in getting up, thankfully, was that she was laughing too hard.

We left the restaurant and headed for a bus stop a block over on 3rd Street. Along the way I noticed a homeless dude asleep on the sidewalk apparently using his own foot for a pillow. We caught the 8AX bus to City Lights Bookstore. When we arrived, I heard voices overhead and looked up to see a loft space I hadn't noticed on previous visits, along with a street sign reading "Via Ferlinghetti" hung on the wall directly below. Shortly after that, a dude entered the store looking for a pen and was promptly ejected by the staff based on a prior incident. Gary found a book called The Lost Subways of North America, and I checked the table of contents and found both Rochester and Cincinnati included, so I grabbed the display copy and replaced it on its stand with the next copy in the stack. We headed upstairs to the Poetry Room and Gary selected the City Lights Pocket Poets Anthology, 60th Anniversary Edition. I sat in the Poetry Room catching up on my journal before we checked out our purchases and left.

From the bookstore we caught the 8 bus to Fisherman's Wharf, walking along the Embarcadero from Pier 35 to Pier 39 to see the sea lions. I happened to catch a dock worker trying to evict a pair of sea lions from the floating docks. One very obligingly dived into the water, while the other stood his ground until the dock worker retreated momentarily to grab a shield. Suitably armored, he was finally able to coerce the sea lion back into the water. We stopped for fruit drinks and a light lunch/snack of clam chowder and popcorn scallops at the Pier Market before plotting a course for the Tunnel Tops park.

When we reached the F streetcar stop, a fellow in a Mets cap inquired whether one could buy tickets on the streetcar; we informed him we weren't sure. We took the streetcar west along the Embarcadero to Jones and Beach; apparently Mr. Mets Cap was going the opposite direction, as were a couple of dudes of mismatched ages (daddy and boy?) who asked moments earlier whether this was the stop for the Castro. From Jones/Beach we walked around the corner to Columbus and North Point to catch the 30 for the Presidio, exiting at Mason and Tunnel Tops. Along the way we passed the Presidio Theater where one of the films on the marquee was My Old Ass. When we arrived, we found a trail leading to a beach at Crissy Field, where I found a restroom and we spent some time watching flocks of gulls alternately soaring in front of Alcatraz and dive bombing the surface of the bay in search of seafood. There were also many shirtless joggers, children playing in the tide pool, and people walking dogs. In particular, I noticed a nice-looking dude with a Westie, a brunette lady with a black Lab (which, we noticed, took a crap in the tide pool), and a petite lady with what appeared to be a short-haired Sheltie puppy that was not getting along well with the Westie.

We found a more direct walking path to Mason Street and caught the 30 bus back to the hotel. About a third of the way there, the bus went from a few available seats to crush loaded at a single stop, as a high school was just concluding classes for the week. I considered moving to share a seat with Gary, but soon realized that these seats fit one bear and one high schooler better than two bears.🐻🐻A large proportion of the students left the bus in Chinatown, where they were immediately replaced by their elders at every stop so the bus remained packed until we all left at 4th and Market. We stopped by Walgreens for more Snapple tea, then returned to the room to recharge our phones and ourselves.

Around quarter to seven we made our way to the Chieftain, an Irish pub on the corner of 5th and Howard a couple blocks from the hotel. The waitress was very pleasant and helpful, and spoke with a light Irish brogue. Several different sports contests were displayed on the various TV screens around the place. Gary said he wasn't that hungry and ordered a Caesar salad, while I had the beer battered fish and chips, with cider for both of us.

After dinner we returned to the hotel to change clothes and relax. I discovered that the Lone Star Saloon was celebrating its 35th anniversary this evening, so we decided to skip the Coach event at the Stud and head there instead. We left just after nine and headed for Market Street to catch the 9 bus. As we waited, a pack of young dudes on Solowheels and skateboards came racing down Market on both sides of the bus island; later, we saw a couple of them having a chat with the police. We left the bus at 11th and Harrison and walked the two blocks to the bar. At 10th Street, I spotted Felix from the South Seattle Bear Social going the opposite direction and said hi.

As we entered, I spotted Jaecub in his chair and introduced him to Gary. I didn't see Charlie behind the bar, so I went ahead and ordered drinks from the young bartender in the middle of the main bar. Drinks in hand, we went out on the patio and I found a seat on the central platform next to a couple of rather cute cublets. I overheard one of them talking about Seattle and chimed in that we were from there. The fellow who brought up Seattle was just leaving, but the red cublet he was talking with introduced himself as Carl and, when his other half arrived, he introduced himself as Jon. They live in San Diego; Carl is from Louisville by way of Atlanta, and Jon is from Pennsylvania and lived in several places around PA and Western New York before heading west. We spent most of the rest of the evening swapping stories. A cute cub with a thick black beard came by while Gary was at the bar; his name is Dylan and he's involved with both the Cubcake event and the Sisters based on clothes he was wearing. Another cub from Cubcake, J.J., came by selling raffle tickets and Jello shots; Jon bought an arm's length of raffle tickets and I bought a Jello shot. Toward the end of the evening we got into a conversation with a cute cub wearing a shirt with a pig logo in German (Schweine); I introduced myself and Gary and his name is Esteban. Also, Jon introduced us to Scott, a white-haired bear who wore a yellow-bordered leather harness over a T-shirt.

As it was getting to 11 PM, we decided to head back to the hotel. We walked back to 11th Street and caught the next 9 bus. It was fairly full and I had a seat up front while Gary stood by the driver. A lady with a young girl of an age to be her granddaughter sat behind a stroller bearing a hefty Chihuahua; they all left at the stop before ours. We returned to the room, where Gary surfed the net and I caught up on journaling. I prepared for bed around 12:30 and was snoozing by one.

WEDNESDAY

Woke up about 3 AM to pee, tried to go back to sleep but was unsuccessful until I returned to the toilet to poop. Got back to bed just after four and slept fitfully until 7:30. Took about two hours to bathe, dress, and pack most of the way, then headed downstairs for breakfast about quarter to ten. They've moved the breakfast buffet into the Media bar and grill in the Atrium central lobby as opposed to the small open-air café in the other Atrium space, which appears to be closed to the public for use by special events (as evidenced by the banquet tables set up in the atrium proper). The decor is the same as it was in its former location. I had a nice chat about cooking techniques with the lady preparing my omelet.

I briefly considered visiting the State Fair of Texas during the time between checkout and the trip to the airport, but decided with all the walking I'd been doing the past few days and the hot weather, it wouldn't go well. Instead, I returned to the room, finished packing, and turned on "The Facility" on FS1 which had been playing at Media during breakfast. I left the room about 11:30 to check out and stash luggage at the bell desk.

I next caught a Lyft to the Hidden Door in a luxurious Volvo SUV. I extracted some cash from the ATM, bought an Angry Orchard, and sat out on the patio. When a space opened at the table where he was seated, I introduced myself to a petite cubbish dude with a thick black beard and wearing a light cowboy hat, known as Bama (as that's where he's from). Two of his three table companions were on their way out; one of them was a gentleman a decade or more my senior who used a walker, and the other two were busy bundling him into the car. Bama had lit a cigarette as soon as his companions left the table, as the man with the walker (who Bama loved) wasn't fond of smoking at his table; I told him I'm not a smoker, but neither am I an anti-smoker. I mentioned I was in town from Seattle, and Bama mentioned his sister lives in Spokane. The third man, a blond, clean-shaven dude about my age, returned to the table and introduced himself as Mike as well. Almost immediately after that, Mike realized he was late for an appointment, and Bama wanted to catch up with a friend in person since he was not responding to messages, so they left together. (Sigh.)

I had an amusing moment while journaling when the heavily made-up woman on an ad on the muted TV in front of me appeared to be giving football commentary in the (offscreen) voice of the dude on the TV to my left. I chilled on the patio watching football coverage on ESPN2, sipping Angry Orchard, and people watching.

About quarter after one I moved indoors for the air conditioning and watched Wheel of Fortune till around 1:30, got bored and sat at the bar. Just as I was about to order another drink, a fellow came in and greeted the bartender, then sat by me. His name is Julio and he had driven all night from St. Petersburg, Florida with a stop in Red Stick (Baton Rouge, LA) to escape Hurricane Milton. He used to bartend at the Hidden Door, and is a master barber in St. Pete. Bama arrived from his errands shortly afterwards and the three of us got to talking. Someone (possibly Bama) sent us both tequila-based shots. I drank mine; Julio was working on sobriety and passed his back to the bartender, who gave it to me as well. Julio and I hooked up on Facebook, and eventually Bama and I as well. I mentioned to Julio that I worked in Unix and Linux security and he mentioned he was taking online classes in the field. It got to be about 2:20 before I finished my last drink and said bye to Julio.

I called for a Lyft back to the hotel, which was a festively-decorated car driven by a cute Hispanic cublet named Lazaro. For the first time, I heard the GPS giving directions en Español. The actual directions appeared to be recorded by a native speaker, but the app sounded like an English speaker phonetically sounding out the Spanish text. I arrived at the hotel, claimed luggage from the bell desk, and was soon on my way to DFW in another Lyft, driven by Chris who reminded me of Barry Bostwick as Brad Majors, with a slim build and heavy-framed glasses.

I got through security in record time and was seated in Sonny Bryan's Smokehouse for a late lunch by 3:30. At ten to four I took my traditional circuit on the Skytrain from my gate all the way around, which takes about 20 minutes. On the first leg of the journey I had a chat with a cornfed young blond dude and his buddy with smoldering eyes, a stubbly beard and legs for days; they left at the first stop for terminal D. At the second stop for terminal B, a cubby dude who reminds me of Chris Daw boarded and sat beside me; he left at the second stop for terminal A, and two ladies a bit older than me boarded there and sat opposite me the rest of the trip.

I arrived back at my gate at ten after four, just as predicted. There was a bit of a delay in boarding while the aisle wheelchair was extracted from the aircraft after use, but soon enough I was onboard and settled in with a paper cup of sparkling wine. My seat mate reminds me of Rob from Atlanta, only scruffier. A passenger across the aisle had a small dog under the seat; I saw a dog-sized bag in the overhead bin but was soon reassured the yapping was not coming from that bag.

We left the gate a few minutes late to accommodate some connecting passengers, but were soon airborne, taking off into the south and making a long, sweeping turn to the northwest. About an hour into the flight, I snapped pictures of some interesting cumulus clouds just southeast of Amarillo. (Chrysler Cirrus, Dodge Stratus, Plymouth Cumulonimbus - j/k). It was otherwise fairly clear until we crossed the corners of Oklahoma and New Mexico into Colorado, and the clouds became thicker just south of Pueblo so I decided to close the shade and put up the phone till after dinner. By then the weather below us had cleared, and I got a couple of shots of the Rockies just west of Denver. Right after that, my seat mate got up for the restroom and I took the opportunity to pee right after he was done. Then I turned on music (Burt Bacharach), had another ginger ale, and relaxed. I did notice a curious mountain ridge that looked like a face as we crossed the corner of Wyoming that fits in the "notch" in Utah. We hit some rough air as we approached the Snake River valley between Idaho and Oregon and passed through another cloud bank. It didn't clear much until we passed the Tri-Cities in Washington.

We landed from the north on the far runway (16R) and parked at the North Satellite. It took a while for the checked bags to arrive at the carousel. I waited for the shuttle cart to the light rail station, but gave up and walked. Of course the cart passed me in the other direction. 😞 I made my way to the front car of the train and sat opposite a young lady in a wheelchair until she left at Symphony Station.

When I arrived at Lynnwood, Gary texted me where the pickup lane was, the same side of 46th Avenue but the opposite side of the tracks, and I soon found Gary in the Vue. When we arrived home, I quickly unpacked and sent a message to Colleen and Sheila at 10:00.

MONDAY

Got up at 2 AM for a 6 AM flight. Gary drove me to the airport and was prepared to drop me off at Arrivals, but it seems everyone else got the memo and there was a sign saying "ARRIVALS CONGESTED, USE DEPARTURES". I got my checked bag tagged for me at First Class, then made my way to checkpoint 5 and waited for it to open at four. It took me a bit longer to get recombobulated since I had a laptop in my briefcase and my CPAP in its bag. I used the new single-seat unisex restroom, then made the short walk to the gate, where a young Giants fan with a thick, dark beard sat off to the side. The gate area filled up gradually, and despite being desperately thirsty, I remained seated and zoned out between bouts of net surfing. With priority boarding I was one of the first to board the aircraft, so although I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention to the incoming stream of passengers I did notice at least five hot bears, two of whom appeared to be of an age to be father and son based on build and beard color alone, but were tall enough that I couldn't see above their beards as the luggage compartments were in the way.

We took off to the south in darkness, but the sun soon peeked over the horizon. I nodded off until it was time for breakfast. I had the bacon and eggs with potatoes, fruit, and a buttered roll. After breakfast I journaled briefly, then closed the window shade and relaxed. I managed to nod off a bit, waking only when offered a snack (I chose a Kind Bar) and when a call went out for a medical professional to go to the aft galley.

On arrival, we had to wait to deplane so paramedics could get the patient off the aircraft for treatment. I didn't have to wait very long to retrieve my checked bag and catch a Lyft to the hotel.

They had a room ready and I made my way to the Atrium end of the hotel. I observed that the floor designations started with L (lobby) and M (mezzanine) before resuming with 3; by that metric, the seventh floor should be R. I got to the room, unpacked, and napped briefly before lunch.

From there I hung out at the LEAGUE booth until it was time to join the Day of Service. I started with the child comfort packs, which began with bear stuffing (think Build-a-Bear, with dogs and cats and elephants as well) and concluded with filling a bag with goodies and adding the stuffed animal and a handwritten card. I was apparently enjoying the bear stuffing very much, judging by people's reaction. 😊 I also put together some food bags.

Afterwards I returned to my room and relaxed for a few moments before catching a Lyft to Community Beer for the evening's festivities. I had tacos (steak, barbacoa, and al pastor) with all the trimmings, and a berry-infused beer. ICAE presented tribal dances in full regalia (it's not a costume). I tried a vanilla-flavored beer while the dancing continued. Afterwards I had a margarita to clear the bitterness of the beer, and a nice chat with Mark.

I rode back to the hotel in Mark's SUV with Rob and Bill. I returned to the room, stripped, and prepared for bed early, snoozing by 10:30.

MONDAY

Got up about 6:30 to pee and went back to sleep until our alarms went off an hour later. I was done with my shower by eight; Gary had gone back to sleep and reset his alarm for 8:30. I chilled and surfed the web until 9:15 or so, then got dressed for the Reds game.

We left the hotel around 9:30 and met Colleen and Sheila at a small family restaurant on Hamilton Avenue in Mount Healthy (a name bestowed on the town by Cincinnatians fleeing a 19th century cholera epidemic). Ryan and Brynn were already there with their paternal grandmother and aunt who had just picked them up from Colleen's house. Shortly afterwards, Rab and Luke (Erin's younger son) arrived. We had a nice conversation over breakfast. As we were leaving, I asked about scheduling for tomorrow and we agreed to play it by ear, tentatively looking for a visit between two and four on the way to the airport.

From the restaurant we drove to the Central Riverfront Garage and caught the streetcar to Findlay Market, only to find it closed on Mondays. So we immediately walked to the other end of Elder Street and caught the same streetcar we'd just left on its return loop. Our next stop was Washington Park by Music Hall. We took a few pictures and sat down to plot a course for Lytle Park, until I looked up the location on the Cincinnati Parks website and it said it was closed for construction. So we decided to visit the Public Library main branch a few stops further along the streetcar line. As we exited the streetcar at the library, a tall black dude with a booming voice startled me as he addressed someone halfway up the block and across the street. After we entered the library and I pointed out the transgender book display in the lobby, we proceeded to the second floor and selected two books on home improvement. We took the books to a couple of comfortable chairs in the atrium and looked at a few projects for the house, then recorded the serial numbers to order them online and returned them where we found them.

Our next stop was Fountain Square. An older lady was selling tiny bracelets made by her granddaughter on the corner before we crossed 5th Street to the square proper. We stepped into Graeter's ice cream shop and ordered double scoops in lieu of lunch, which we ate at an umbrella table by the fountain. When we first arrived, the main fountain was shut off, but it sprang to life as we ate; presumably, like the International Fountain at Seattle Center, it's on a schedule to conserve water. We finished our ice cream and took pictures of the fountain, then boarded the streetcar one last time to return to the Banks.

It was about three and we had two hours before we were to meet James and Shib, so we walked a long circuit down to the waterfront, along the river, up a long flight of stairs (about five stories) to the Heritage Bank Arena deck (which a younger couple practically ran up and then collapsed in a heap at the top), and around the ballpark, ending up at the foot of Main Street across from the restaurant. About ten to five we climbed the stairs to meet up at the restaurant entrance. James arrived at five and told us Shib was already inside, so we joined him at the table upstairs on the balcony. Gary and I had shrimp in a spicy sauce and fried pickles, while James and Shib had chicken nachos. We had a nice conversation over dinner, and arrived a few minutes late for the ball game (taking our seats midway through the first inning).

It was Bark in the Park night, and all game long they showed puppies and cute kids on the scoreboard. The game got interesting in the third inning, with St. Louis' only run of the game answered with two back-to-back home runs for a total of three points. The Reds scored three more runs in the bottom of the fifth (there's a liquor ad in there somewhere) for a final score of 6-1. Spencer Steer was the star of the game with two homers.

The game was played quickly, ending almost at the dot of nine, and despite the crush of traffic on 3rd Street and Central Avenue getting to I-75, we were back to the hotel by ten. We picked up cookies in the hotel market on the way back to the room since we'd eaten no lunch and little for dinner. After polishing off the cookies, we packed up the suitcases while watching the news. I finished journaling and got to bed just after midnight.

SATURDAY

Woke up about quarter after seven to pee. Noticed Gary sneezing so I turned the thermostat up to 72 and reset my alarm for 8:30. Took a bit too long in the bathroom so I suggested we dress for breakfast first and shower later. We arrived downstairs for breakfast about twenty after nine. Gary spotted a daddy bear with a thick black beard and quite a few children. After breakfast we stopped by the front desk to decline daily housekeeping for bonus points, checked out the pool, exercise room, and residents' lounge, and returned to the room to get our showers and relax.

At eleven we left for the American Sign Museum. We explored on our own until noon, then joined the guided tour. Our tour guide was Alex, a tallish, lean dude with a shock of dark hair and a booming voice. He took us through the progression from unlighted (pre-electric) signs, light bulb signs, neon signs, and molded plastic signs. After the main tour ended in the event space with original barn signs and an assortment of local neon, we lined up for the sign-bending demonstration. The glass-bender, Borg, welded some tubes together, demonstrated a right-angle bend, a double-back bend, and a loop-de-loop "O". This last piece he proceeded to attach electrodes to, then cleaned out by applying a vacuum, introducing just a bit of air, then zapping that air with electricity. Once it was clean, he evacuated the tube again, then filled it with neon and sealed it. Finally, he applied electricity again and it lit up. On our way out of the museum, we stopped by the gift shop for refrigerator magnets and a book.

We returned to Sharonville the way we had come and stopped at Skyline Chili for a late lunch. We had 3-way chili and I also had two cheese coneys. Gary noticed a huge young bear behind the counter. After lunch we returned to the room and kicked back for a bit, and I caught up on journaling. I had a nap while Gary watched the Olympics gold medal match in men's basketball, USA vs. France, featuring his boy LeBron😊. (The USA won.) I woke up with my alarm at five.

Shortly after six, Sheila called and told me she, Len, and Scott were going to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner and to watch the Bengals game. We met them there about 6:30 and had a nice conversation over dinner. Len wore a patch over his left eye because of a burst blood vessel which interfered with his vision. Afterwards we decided not to stay at B-Dubs for the conclusion of the game, but went back to their house to have coffee instead. The Bengals lost to Tampa Bay 17-14, much of which could be blamed on a series of false starts by #79, Jackson Carman. We returned to the hotel and I texted Colleen to see about what to bring for the reunion, journaled, and prepared for bed, turning in just before midnight.

THURSDAY

Left the house about five after six in a very nice Lyft. The driver had difficulty entering Broadway northbound to Everett Station; I suspected construction traffic, but when we arrived at Everett Station, the bus schedule app was showing 10-15 minute delays on all routes using I-5 south due to police activity. I looked up the situation online and found a car had hit and killed a pedestrian on the freeway at Route 526. We selected the 510 bus (an artic) over the 512 (a Double Tall) and were soon on our way. As the bus came to a stop waiting to enter the crowded freeway, I noticed a neighbor whose back yard overlooks Broadway and the freeway had put up a Statue of Liberty replica on their deck.

The bus was stuck in that traffic jam for an hour and a half. At 8:30 I called Alaska Airlines to rebook the same flight the next day, as I was certain we would miss our flight. The agent found us seats in the exit row. The bus cleared the traffic jam and stopped at South Everett shortly after that. Gary called us a Lyft home. When we arrived, he took care of the hotel reservation and I called Hertz to readjust the car rental, since the app and website wouldn't let me. I also texted Colleen and Sheila to let them know about the delay. Then I checked in for the new flight and realized we needed to move from the exit row in case we needed seat belt extensions (which are forbidden in an exit row).

That done, we had breakfast at Buzz Inn and ran some errands. I fell asleep in the recliner and went upstairs for a nap around 2:30. Gary joined me there and filled me in on the cause of the morning's issues: a dude in his 50s from Mukilteo had jumped from the overpass. We slept till 5:30. We got up and fixed dinner (pork chops with leftover spaghetti and coleslaw) around seven. By nine I was back in the chair and failing asleep again, so I gave up, prepared for bed (noticing Gary was already asleep) and was snoozing by 11:15.

SUNDAY

Woke up about seven, used the bathroom and took medication, then returned to bed till the 8:00 alarm. We prepared for the 10 AM Coffee Concert by the Atlanta Women's Chorus, Phoenix Rising. Unlike the previous three days of Festival, today we attended events in all three main venues: Coffee Concert and Closing Ceremony in MCC auditorium, block 7 in Orchestra Hall, and block 8 in Central Lutheran Church. Phoenix Rising was phenomenal (🎶 doot doo, de do do 🎶). The work featured projected informational slides discussing the historical events which inspired the music, tailored to the Georgia audience.

After the concert, we took the Skyway to Orchestra Hall and continued to Target for batteries for Gary's meter. As we entered the store, I noticed a dude aggressively begging for something in pantomime and broken English from a customer exiting. On our return to Orchestra Hall, I suggested we get food as there would be no time between concert blocks. He wasn't hungry, so I went to the food truck and got us both Jarritos sodas (fruit punch for Gary and pineapple for me) and myself a carnitas (pulled pork) quesadilla. We sat with James and Ed, with a few other Seattle folks at the next table including Jerry, who I hadn't met and who spoke with a British accent, and Christian, who wore a custom "Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels" T-shirt. Later Riley (who Gary hadn't yet met) and TJ joined us.

When I finished my lunch, we went upstairs for block 7 which closed with SWC. The opening act was Vikerlased from Estonia. They were followed by the Wisconsin set, featuring One Voice Milwaukee and Perfect Harmony Madison. I ducked out for a bathroom break at the beginning of the Hudson Valley chorus' set and on my way back to the hall, was greeted by Chris, a big cub from the SMC second tenors who I hadn't yet met. SWC was amazing with their selections from Banned and Beloved, which somehow sounded much better in the space than in Town Hall.

We hurried to the church for the next block, arriving in time for the Ukrainian trio Qwerty Queer's last number. After the Taiwanese G Major Chorus' performance, we moved to the other side of the balcony for a better view, and as groups of people left, we found even better seats. For the Eugene GMC, we were seated behind a straight couple about our age and around the corner from the Jims from Portland. After that performance, the front row opened up and we were joined by two guys, one of whom mentioned "Mother" who I remembered from our joint concert with NCMC in Cleveland back in 2002. So I asked if they were from NCMC and they were. The younger dude was Randy and the older one was Don. Don remembered that season and the Regional Festival in Cincinnati when Dennis Rosenbaum and I "sat in" with NCMC because RGMC wasn't going. When the Turtle Creek Chorale took the stage, the straight couple, now sitting behind us, mentioned their son Louis was singing bass with TCC. We were going to try to get his attention so he knew where his folks were seated, but thought better of it. The TCC performance (with assistance from Atlanta Women's Chorus and the GMC of South Florida) featured the church's massive pipe organ, a nine-piece brass choir (with a cute cub with curly black hair and beard on French horn), timpani, piano, and drums, plus two bagpipes on the final number, Amazing Grace. Let's just say we were taken to church. Wow.

We returned to the hotel and were seated in the bar and grill for dinner. We chose sandwiches and fruit, knowing we had dessert in the room fridge for after the closing ceremony. I had a moment of panic when I asked for the bill and no one seemed to know who had taken our order, as we needed to be back to MCC auditorium by 7:30 for the closing ceremony. Fortunately, it was a short walk on the Skyway and they held the show for 10 minutes so people could get into the hall.

Joan Garry's top 10
10. Choralography is not for everyone.
9. Authenticity is your superpower.
8. We are an army of storytellers.
7. Lining up backstage is not our strongest suit.
6. Joy is doing what matters.
5. Solos are not what they're cracked up to be.
4. Choruses can't deliver on their mission unless they are well-run nonprofit organizations.
3. Harmony offers hope.
2. Standing on a stage openly LGBTQ+ is an act of bravery.
1. We are part of a movement.

After the show we returned to the hotel via the Skyway. I bought more soda and we returned to the room and launched a chorus of "The Party's Over" before tucking into our leftover desserts. Gary organized our bags, packing dirty laundry in the blue suitcase and cleaning out the green carryon bag. I pulled out the new bag and overpacked it significantly, so we pulled out some of the overflow dirty laundry and put it in the blue suitcase, which allowed both cases to close. I organized the clothes I planned to wear on the plane and was ready for bed around midnight. We finally got to sleep around 12:30.

FRIDAY

I got up about six AM to pee and took another dose of ibuprofen before returning to bed. When my alarm went off at 7:30, I used the bathroom again, checked the schedule for the morning Coffee Concerts and decided to suggest to Gary that we skip them. He agreed, and I reset the alarm for 9:30. My tooth was still sore, but tolerable. We crossed the street to Nicollet Diner but there was a wait till the top of the hour, so we returned to the hotel. I was grateful for the big vat of oatmeal on the buffet, as I suspected (correctly as it happened) there would be no time for lunch.

We proceeded to Central Lutheran Church for the first block, which was to close with OurSong Atlanta. On the way, we stopped by the GALA store and picked up T-shirts and a water bottle. When we arrived at the church I was impressed with the setup of the large temporary stage and the flags and banners decorating the balcony. Of note: the Quarryland Men's Chorus from Bloomington, Indiana wore hi-vis construction vests. At least one of the soloists as well as their artistic director were big bears. Diversity: the Voices of Sarasota were very much a senior chorus, although their artistic director was a significantly younger bear with a bald head, thick, dark beard, and a kilt.

I stayed for OurSong's first number, then returned to the hotel for SMC rehearsal, which went well. Afterwards I went back to the room to stash our purchases. On the way down the elevator I had a nice chat with a cute otter-pup named Randy from Modern Men (Coachella Valley). He inquired about Dennis and Paul. I took the Skyway back to the Convention Center en route to the church. Along the way I had a brief chat with Fritz who used to sing with SMC and moved to DC three years ago.

We returned to Central Lutheran for the afternoon set entitled Southern Harmony. As I entered the front door of the church, I followed a hot bear, and I immediately noticed a cute cublet with interesting ink named Oblio, who introduced me to his buddies in the Eugene GMC, including Rob and the bear I'd followed, Seth. I missed the men's chorus from Charlotte, but got a seat in time to see the combined men's and women's choruses from there. The men then left the stage and the women completed their set. Before the next set began, I walked across the church in search of Gary, who ushered me to a seat beside him. I was surprised to find my other neighbor was Bill Eadie who I'd met in Cincinnati when he was Dennis Rosenbaum's roommate. He's retired from choral singing for health reasons. The Steel City Men's Chorus, from Birmingham, AL, opened with "Our Greatest Fans" by Eric Lane Barnes. When their director mentioned ELB had written the song for them, someone said loud enough to hear across the church, "Good Lord!" or some such. They were followed by the Appalachian Equality Tenor Bass Chorus, who gave a rousing rendition of "I Know Where I've Been" from Hairspray. The set closed with Nashville in Harmony, who performed three numbers we've done with the combined Seattle choruses, most notably Lauridsen's "Sure on This Shining Night".

After the final performance, Gary needed to use the restroom, and I had a brief conversation with Oblio and Seth and was introduced to their director, a cute cub named Evan. I found Gary on the outdoor patio. Since I hadn't eaten lunch, we went over to the remaining food truck outside the church. On our way, I overheard someone saying a member of his chorus was catching a "Goober" instead of an Uber. I grabbed a basket of fries loaded with pulled pork and cheese sauce. As I ate, we were joined by a contingent from the Sacramento GMC who had just finished a set across the street in the Convention Center auditorium.

The evening promised an embarrassment of choral riches. We hurried to Westminster Hall for the TransFusion Cabaret to see Mitch perform with the Trans & Nonbinary Festival Chorus. The queue to get into the venue was extremely long and wrapped around and around the church corridors. By the time we reached the hall, it was at capacity and they had to add an overflow space elsewhere in the church. The master of ceremonies was Dick Von Dyke, a drag king (not to be confused with comedian and actor Dick Van Dyke). The organizers made the wise decision to shuffle the program to bring the Festival Chorus on first. After their performance, we left to make space for others, went outside and listened to the band performing on Peavey Plaza across the street. We then proceeded to Brit's Pub for dinner; there wasn't space on the roof deck but we managed with a high table in the bar area.

After dinner, we returned to the hotel for showers and went across to the Millennium Hotel for Bear Soup. We chatted in the pool with Gianluca, a bear from Winnipeg with a choir, and Scott. LeDerek, an inked bear who reminds me of DJ from Seattle, left shortly after we were introduced. We talked about ELB's music, and when Gianluca asked what he was doing now, I used my Music of Assisted Living joke. As I was dressing to leave, Winnipeg bear pointed out that I was wearing swim trunks that matched the bear on my T-shirt. 😊

Bear Soup ended at ten and we returned to the room to chill. We ended up going to bed about 12:30 am.

WEDNESDAY

I woke up just before four to use the bathroom (line one and line two) and didn't get back to bed until 4:45. My alarm went off at 7:30 and I prepared for the day while Gary slept in until I was done just after eight. I exchanged messages with Colin who I met at the leather contest in March, and we agreed to meet in the lobby at nine for breakfast at the hotel buffet. We chatted over the meal and left about 10:30 to return to the room, where I put on a swimsuit and Gary changed into workout shorts. Around eleven we went downstairs and I hit the pool for about 15 slow laps (I lost count). While I swam, two very tall maintenance dudes (one at least 6' 6" and the other maybe 6' 2") came in bearing a huge ladder that had seen better days, and proceeded to repair a fallen cover on a fluorescent light fixture. They'd wrapped up by the time I was done swimming, and Gary arrived from his workout shortly after that. We returned to the room about quarter to noon to chill out for a bit.

Just after noon we made our way to Peavey Plaza alongside Orchestra Hall and caught the tail end of rehearsal for the opening ceremony and the performance by Di Bayke Klezmer Band. We met a couple from Palm Springs, Bill and Bill, and had a nice conversation with the younger (or at least more agile) Bill, whose husband remained perched on a scooter a few yards away across the aisle. About halfway through the klezmer set, Gary spotted Gianluca from Ottawa on the fringe of the plaza, and he came over to sit with us for a moment; a lady from Denver was nice to take our picture together. The last song was about "a little feygelah" which actually in this context means bird. After the performance I introduced myself to Mordechai from Denver who had responded on Facebook to my story about the GALA 2000 opening ceremony with Kristin Chenoweth and Harvey Fierstein performing a gender-swapped "Do You Love Me?" from Fiddler on the Roof.

After that, we went around the corner to the Devil's Advocate restaurant and bar for lunch. Larry from the SMC first tenors and his wife greeted us through the window. I had an Italian cold cuts sandwich with fries and a dry cider, while Gary had a meatball sandwich with fries and a ginger ale.

After lunch, Gary noticed it was threatening to rain, so we returned to the hotel. Along the way, the fellow collecting autographs on his T-shirt was standing in front of the hotel, so we both signed before ducking into the lobby. I bought us sodas from the market opposite the registration desk and we caught the elevator back to the room. We were joined by a fellow from South Florida who inquired what became of Captain Smartypants and, for that matter, ELB. I mentioned the Pitch Crew and their performance tonight, and briefly noted what Eric was up to before the elevator complained about us holding the door open. Just after we reached the room around 3:30, the rain began coming down in torrents, so we settled in to wait out the storm.

Just before five we made our way to the convention center and waited briefly for the sea of people to enter the auditorium for the relocated opening ceremony. While we were there I greeted Brayton who is the artistic director for Columbus GMC, and Jim from Portland GMC came by and said hi. When it became clear we would not be able to enter the auditorium in time for me to make our 6 pm call for tech rehearsal, Gary walked with me to the designated meeting room and exited to head for Orchestra Hall and the early Mni Sota Confluence performance. It soon became clear that all five choruses scheduled for the block would not fit into the room, so the first chorus stayed in the room and everyone else had to wait in the hall. Around quarter to seven, Carlos from Chicago came by to say hi, and almost simultaneously Chipper from GMCW, who used to sing with SMC, arrived in search of Paul as production manager for Festival. Around quarter after seven, the chorus before us was called to the warm-up room and Paul took the opportunity to get us lined up for the performance while we were in the large hall space. Tech rehearsal went well considering the logistics, and our backstage wrangler, Kevin, was a cute pocket bear with a thick brown beard.

We were done by 8:15 and I rejoined Gary in the ballroom where the ensemble performances were going on. We stayed for the Pitch Crew at 9:15 and the following group, Denver's Take Note! (whose set featured "Fuck You" by Lily Allen), and then left to grab dinner at the Nicollet Diner. Gary had a sandwich with fries and a big vanilla milkshake, I got a Reuben sandwich with onion rings and lemon lime soda.

We returned to the room about 10:30 and tied up a few loose ends before bed. Gary was asleep about quarter after midnight and I turned in just before 12:30.