Gay of a Certain Age - Oh No, you Covidn't!

You guys, I thought I was invincible!
I've gotten all the shots! I stayed in my apartment for almost 2 years! I'm blood-type O+ for piss sakes!
How did I get the Covid-19????

Let's start with the good news; I'm not dead.

Now the bad news, I caught Covid while celebrating Thanksgiving with the gang.

Over the weekend, one of these folks sent out an email saying that they had tested positive and that we should be on the look out for Covid symptoms. ...But, not me!  I had the 2 Moderna shots and all 4 boosters and if I believe stuff I read on the internets, it helps that I'm O+ AND to top it all off, I'm gluten-free!
Monday I felt the sniffles and immediately tested myself- NEGATIVE. I just have the sniffles, I'm fine.  Besides, I was working from home that day so, I wouldn't have to worry about blowing my nose in front of people all day.

Did I mention that after two years of not visiting New York or seeing any shows on the Broadway, I'm finally going?  Yeah, I even managed to get a fancy apartment right in the heart of the theatre district to stay in! So excited to see 7 shows in five days!

Anyway, Tuesday morning (the day of my flight to New York) my sniffles were a little heavier and I tested like a good, responsible, dumb-ass citizen.  There it was; a red line under the T.

POSITIVE as a Mutha Fucka!

WHAT?? NO!!! WAIT! NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

It hit me like a hammer.  I must admit that, for a brief second, the thought of going anyway flashed in my head.  ...But, of course I couldn't do that.  If not to the people on the plane, certainly not to the Broadway performers who would be out of work, or maybe a show shut down, for at least a week.  Speaking of out of work, my vacation hours suddenly became sick leave hours.

Immediately, I got to cancelling my Jet Blue flight and requesting refunds for all the shows I would miss.

This is them:

Most went well; Luckily I purchased trip insurance, so my air fair was returned with no questions asked.  I got refunds for all my shows (only one asked for proof) except INTO THE WOODS.  That was the last show I was requesting a refund for and I was getting pooped... it was Seat Geek and instead of digging around on the site for where to request a refund, I saw the SELL SEAT button and just pushed it.  I figured it was a popular show and the ticket would sell right away- which it needed to, since it was a matinee ticket for the next day.  No such luck.  I even tried to lower the price by 50%, but Seat Geek wouldn't let me list it for that low.  So, no refund on INTO THE WOODS.  I AM a proud supporter of the arts, after all.  The only other thing I didn't get a refund on was my airport parking.  I totally forgot about that, because of my grief and all.  ...and the disease.

Oh, yeah, I 'm sick, that's right... that's the reason for that ill feeling... not my missing the trip to NY that I had been anticipating for months.  So excited.

Anyway, as far as the sickness, I texted my doctor, Dr. V, 

Back in 2020

and he immediately prescribed Paxlovid, sent the prescription to my CVS and muh DAB, Glenn picked it up for me and dropped it off at my doorstep.  I may be Dying Alone, but it's nice to know I gots a nice little network right now.

I started my five day Paxlovid regimen the morning I tested positive and I must say, that seemed to help a lot. Although, on Wednesday, I was very intimidated, because it only took 20 seconds for a thick red line to burst onto the T column

 So, under the influence of my meds and illness, I slept watched HOLIDAY BAKING CHAMPIONSHIP 

(Not my Photo)

(Not my Photo)

on the HBO Max Tuesday & Wednesday.  It took two days, because I would wake up and go, "Hey, when did HE leave the show?" and go back and try to stay awake through the last one I think I fell asleep on... several times.  When I was awake enough, I watched some Broadway at home, thanks to Broadway HD - a nice pro-shot of MR. SATURDAY NIGHT starring Billy Crystal

Kinda glad I got to see this at home and not use a New York night on this. Oy!

I also watched all of  the final season of DEAD TO ME

Which I really enjoyed.

And I watched FROZEN again. 

(Not my Photo)

 It's really good you guys!

After those two days of sleeping my symptoms away, I felt much improved Thursday morning.  The worst part of the illness was the constant metallic taste from the Paxlovid.  I must confess that the thought of catching Covid scared the hell out of me because I feared the worst.  After only sleeping symptoms away for two days, there are worse things than a taste in my mouth that felt like I'd been giving sexy robots blow jobs... A LOT, for five days.

(Not my Photo)

I spent the rest of my recovery just waiting for the negative test result.  I didn't test on the weekend or Monday to conserve my few tests.

It drove me crazy seeing that dumb faint red line!

So, while I was I trouper during the lock down, loving it, in fact, it was a little harder this time.  It's a little different when you see everyone else out & about when you're stuck inside.  It also is much harder when you have calendar alerts that the Broadway shows you're missing are about to start.  Sure, I could have removed those shows from my calendar, but that would have taken a few minutes.  To make the sting a little more, this trip was the only chance I'd get to see those shows. STRANGE LOOP, INTO THE WOODS and ALMOST FAMOUS have posted closing dates. LUCKILY, I have learned that INTO THE WOODS is coming to Los Angeles, at the Ahmanson in 2023 with most of the Broadway cast.  I can only hope that the other 2 announce a tour, as well.  Also, I have to hope that the other shows are able to stick around until I can organize a trip again.

I finally tested Negative on the Wednesday I was scheduled to go back to work. 

I had run out of my own supply, so I had to borrow a cup of Covid Test from Glenn, all he had was this weird one, but beggars can't be choosers...

 Fortunately, because I was scheduled for vacation time, and scheduled to work from home on Monday anyway, the Work only had to worry about my physical absence for 2 Tuesdays. Also, because I had contracted the Covid during the Thanksgiving weekend break, we didn't have to worry about tracing back which employees I was in contact with. I credit the vaccinations and quick action of Paxlovid regimen for my quick recovery.

I feel lucky that my bout with Covid was so uneventful (as far as I know), especially since 1.1 million people in the US have died from it. The thing is, now I don't feel as invincible as I had had before. ...or maybe complacent is the word.  Anyway, now I worry I may get it again and miss things I have planned, like my trip to El Paso for Christmas, or shows I have tickets for.

Like INVINCIBLE

I worried that I might miss this show because of illness. And, now that I've seen it, I know I'll never get a chance to see it on the Broadway.  (It was a fine cast, but the show is loose and some song choices and treatment were off the mark- missing a lot of the big hits and when they are present, one should not  have to work THAT hard to recognize a song.)

As a Gay of A Certain Age, I have realized that I should not take health for granted and not become complacent.  We knew from the beginning that the vaccines don't necessarily prevent infection, but lessen the impact.

I also learned, at least for now, I have a nice network of friends and DABs who will help me in times of need.  Thank you friends- this includes you, Dr. V!

The Trials of Man Solo: Broadway Producers Hate Single People!

 

It's no secret that I've been having an affair with Broadway for many years, and we've been getting along famously... Until now.

I have not visited the lovely New York City or Broadway since January 2020 and I can barely stand to be away for so long.  I have missed entire runs of shows...

The way my visits usually go is that I'll see an announcement for a show that really captures my fancy and I build a theater-going weekend around that show.  Because I am not a rich man, I check my usual airlines for the best (cheapest)  flights that will maximize my time there.  Lately, I've taken to catching a red-eye after work on a Wednesday, getting me in early Thursday morning.  Then, I go to my friend's apartment (Again, not rich and avoiding prohibitively high hotel rates) take a good nap and wake up refreshed and ready to catch a Thursday night show, leading into a weekend of 5 shows, until I leave on Sunday night.  

Let's rewind to when I find a show I REALLY wanna see;

Usually, I head directly to Theatremania.com

They offer great discounts for shows that wanna boost audience attendance. In my case it's discounts for brand new shows that are just starting out and can put people in seats and, hopefully, get some good word-of-mouth advertising going.  If the show I want is not there, I use the site to get regularly priced tickets, which are going up and up.  Then, I'll go back and see what other shows I haven't seen (or I really enjoyed enough to see a second time,) are offering discounts and continue building my weekend.  Sometimes, I miss the window for the discount offer and head over to regular price and pay up.  I will say that shows offering discounts will get my attention first, especially if I'm on the fence about wanting to see them.  It usually turns out to be a 50/50 ratio of discount & regularly priced tickets by the time I'm done.  I'm not looking to break the Broadway bank, demanding discounts for ALL the shows I see, but I'll take help where I can get it.

As pandemic regulations started to relax and vaccines & boosters for Covid-19 and Monkey Pox were poked up inside me (Hopefully my Polio Booster still holds), I decided it would be a good time to return!  I was excited by a good number of shows opening this Fall and surprised by a few shows that extended into my visiting dates.  I  excitedly headed over to the discount site and

THEN THIS HAPPENED

All of a sudden most of the discounts were listed as BOGO (Buy One, Get One).

WHAT THE FUCK?

Now, I have to be part of a couple to get a discount ticket to a show??

This is straight on discrimination against single people!

Honestly!  Why am I punished and denied a discount for not having a boyfriend/husband???

FUCK YOU, WHOMEVER DECIDES ON THESE DISCOUNTS FOR THESE SHOWS!!!

(Also, for the record, I have no interest in seeing this MJ show - discount or not.  It was just an example) 

There need to be laws to protect single people from this type of discrimination.
Why does it cost more to be alone?

This goes along with paying more for single occupancy on cruises and trips!

Besides, who else is gonna buy that single seat 1/3 into the row?

I can not type noisily enough to express how offended I am by these assholes.

Also, what if there are 3 people who want to see a show together?

Today, out of 20 discounts offered, 13 are BOGO and I am denied a 50% discount that couples get to enjoy. That's not right and I hope there is a lawyer reading this that will help me with a class action suit populated by all of us who are dying alone and enjoy theater, but don't get to enjoy the discounts offered to couples.

AUGUST In February; or When Mother Loved SHREK

Today is my mother's 82nd birthday!

I love my mother and am grateful for every birthday she gets.

I remember I wanted to do something special for her 70th birthday, a while back.

While those thoughts were forming in my head, 

my sisters were talking about a special gathering for that occasion 

with the siblings that were scattered amongst three states

coming together.

Of course, that made sense.

I still wanted to do something special for her

and finally thought, why wait until her 70th?

So, for her 69th birthday, 

I took her to New York.

What would be more special than sharing something I love

with the mother I love?

That whirlwind weekend

included site seeing, tasty meals and

SEVEN BROADWAY SHOWS.

Yes, I think I exhausted my mother

with the stage.

We saw, in order; HEDDA GABLER, starring Mary Louise Parker, 

SHREK THE MUSICAL, 
BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL,

AUGUST OSAGE COUNTY,

IN THE HEIGHTS,

PAL JOEY...

I loved showing my Ma around the town

and she seemed to have a good time.

Nowadays, memories are slipping away from her, 

but she still remembers going to the Big Apple with me.

I've chosen my favorite pics of her on that trip,

hopefully as a reminder to her of some of the details...

...And, of course, because I am me, 

our last full day in New York was her 69th birthday

and the last show we saw was

MAMA MIA

because that's who she is!

I may visit New York very often,

but there will never be as special a visit

as the one with my mother,

when we were on the top of the world together!

I LOVE YOU, MA!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Merry Solo Christmas - Welcome To My Usual!

 Hello, gentle readers!

Happy Holidays!!  THIS YEAR SUCKED!  ...And because this year sucked and we're still going through the Covid-19 shitstorm, experts and officials are insisting we stay home and not gather with people outside of our households.  As a household of one, that means I'll be spending the holidays alone.  It also means BUSINESS AS USUAL!  Come on people, stop your whining, put on a mask and sit alone for a little while!  I do it every year!

Okay, to be honest, I usually fly home to El Paso, Texas, stay with my besty, Ted, visit family and enjoy the holiday for a few days.  Then, I fly back to my West Hollywood apartment and sit alone again.  As you know from previous years, usually I'm the only one to see my Christmas tree in person.  I usually entertain myself with holiday music, food and movies.  I look forward to annual parties & gatherings with different groups, but this year that won't happen.  If it does, it'll be via Zoom.  I'm okay. I'm used to that.  All I'm saying is that if I can do this every year, YOU CAN DO IT FOR ONE.  Please, stay in, avoid gatherings of people and wear a mask when you go out.  Certainly, it's easier to preach it, than do it, so if you do go against recommended behavior, do it carefully. 

Now, the actual reason I'm here...

Does my tree look gay to you?

This year I went a little nutso supporting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and bought a few Broadway themed ornaments by Glen Hanson...

I got the Grand Dame, Angela Landsbury
as Mame riding the moon

Harvey Fierstein as Edna Turnblad

from HAIRSPRAY

Carol Burnett as Princess Winnifred
from ONCE UPON A MATTRESS

And

Barbra Streisand as Fanny Brice
in FUNNY GIRL

I'm saving Glenn Close in SUNSET BOULEVARD for next year...
Is that gay?

How about these new ones?

It all started last year with the blue merman I got to commemorate our Halloween picture

Then, next thing I know, this year, there's a bunch of shirtless hunky guys in my tree!

Then, there's this...

Jackie Beat has been a tree treat since 2018, or earlier

Yeah, Broadway, shirtless hunks & drag queens...  I think my tree is sufficiently gay this year.

Here's my favorite ornament

a Mark Ryden Snow Yak

I was so excited to get this, because, usually, when I try to buy something by Mark Ryden, it sells out in 30 seconds and then can instantly be found on ebay at a $300, or more, mark up.  Assholes.

So, here are a few other "new to the tree" ornaments to fill out the Christmas tree, which I bought as souvenirs from travel or to support local artists...

Of course, you saw the cover photo for this post - Santa wearing a mask and if you look at his hat, you'll see that the ball is broken.  I was disappointed when it arrived at my home broken, but then I thought, "No, that's about right."   So up it went AS IS.

Thank you for taking the time time to see my tree and make me feel a little less alone

Getting Out - My Facial Hair Hero

I recently saw LOBBY HERO on the Broadway.  I really liked the play and thought the acting was great on everyone's part, but the thing that stuck with me most was Chris Evans' mustache!

As you can see from my Playbill and early promo stuff, I went in not knowing about his fuzzy caterpillar. So, imagine my delight!

Listen, I've never thought I look terribly great with facial hair.  My beard can only be grown so long until it starts curling in and becoming very itchy.  Also, I've never gone more than a few days with a mustache.  Look, here's me with various hairstuffs on my face...

I think I look okay, but not great.  Even when I feel like I might be on to something, it's not long until I have to shave it all off and put on a dress.

Me in a dress

(Speaking of which get your tix for our next run starting March 29
HERE)

So there I am in NY, sitting and watching the show.  As an audience member, I'm really enjoying the show; as an actor, I'm admiring the performances; as a tragically single gay guy, I wanna jump on stage and lick Sugar free Vanilla, almond milk Matcha Latte foam off of Chris Evans' mustache!!

Part of it was because I wish I looked that great with a mustache and part of it was I'm gay and that's freaking CHRIS EVANS a few feet away from me!

If you're in New York any time soon, I recommend the play and the mustache.

I mean, c'mon!

I stole this pic from (and there's more to see) HERE

No, seriously, it's a great show.