Gee, I am glad I've had a few days to collect my thoughts and to sort our my feelings. They've been chaotic ( Read more... )

Partially at the request of designerotter I am going to attempt a written version of what I've been telling for almost five months now in the GLBT Awareness class I help facilitate for Fort Worth city employees ( Read more... )

The title suggests that the process of re-building my life was delayed for a number of years. On the contrary, it was a slow and deliberate undertaking from the day I moved out until I finally overcame the intense pain of a failed marriage ( Read more... )

Wasn't that the name of a country western song? It certainly colored the next phase of my life for a seemingly indefinite period of time. It was not something I'd ever imagined being a part of. I wanted a stable family life. I wanted to be the perfect husband father. It was unrealistic ( Read more... )

The move to southwest Iowa in 1976 was a bit of a compromise. I wanted to teach in the state that generally sets the standards for what public education should be, to teach Spanish, and to provide the wholesome rural environment that I felt would be best for my three young children. That summer, the bicentennial year, was a busy one. Mark, our ( Read more... )

I almost feel as though I should apologize for such lengthy personal posts, but I didn't feel (at my age) I could answer Mrdreamjeans' queries succinctly ( Read more... )

Unlike many young people, I had little experience of having worked for a paycheck until after I finished college. Of course, I'd worked long and hard hours on the farm, especially after our primary direction was a dairy cows. During college I worked two summers as a wrangler with horses and guests in two Colorado settings. After college I entered ( Read more... )

Mrdreamjeans has suggested a topic by asking how satisfied I am with my work/job. Of course, I am long past regular workdays. I retired early at age 62 in 2003 at the end of the first semester from an Oak Cliff high school because I was miserable in that particular setting and had absolutely no administrative support. I am not sorry. It was the ( Read more... )

Day Eight: A Colorful Ending ( Read more... )

Day Six: Time for Ourselves before a Party Hosted by Ecuador ( Read more... )