Yo and his girlfiednd the Angel were laying in bed at the Angel's apartment in Bellevue. Outside they heard a drunk lady with an blackcent shouting at the top of her lungs.

Yo said to the Angel "What's a black woman doing in Bellevue?"

The Angel answered "Are you racist?" She was a bit offended that Yo would make such a comment.

As if prompted the black lady shouted "Am I the only black women in Bellevue Washington? Where are the other niggers! Certainly not here."

Yo kept his mouth shut.

Fall came so quickly.

A week ago, it was mid eighties and sunny. Today it is mid sixties and rainy. Typical Seattle fall weather.

RO and I have bought two rocking chairs for our front porch. Something to sit in with a nice wool blanked over your lap and enjoy a glass of wine wine while we watch the drizzle.

I am aware how old this makes me sound. I would say that I am growing happy with simplicity.

BIB and I went hiking today for the first time since early August. He was worried that he  couldn't make it up the mountain; that he lost his conditioning. He did just fine. He is dating a man. They like each other. Both of them are healthy and HIV+. I wish them the best.

My neighbor's car's windshield was getting cloudy. Not foggy on the inside. The glass was turning opaque.

He knew his insurance company paid to replace broken windshields but wasn't sure if it would do so for cloudy windshields.

So he smashed it with a baseball bat.

The weather has been wonderful here. I very much appreciate it. Last year, right after Labor Day, the rains returned. This year, it's sunny with highs in the 80s and overnight lows in the 50s. Perfect weather to be outside. Perfect weather to sleep.

Sunday, Clem and I went swimming at the local beach. There have been no life guards since Labar Day. None the less, the beach is packed with everyone having fun.

I got a nice new BBQ. An infrared one, on Tommy's advice. It makes wonderful rotisserie chicken.

Last night, RO and I went out for pizza and beer. We stopped in at the new bear bar. I many of the guys there where old acquaintances-- Behr, C4, J, L,S, people I haven't seen in a very long time.

About six months ago C6 had a heart transplant. He said he feels wonderful now. C6 carries a picture of the man whose death gave him his heart.

The problem with meditating is that half way through, I forget that I'm meditating. My mind wanders and by the end I'm thinking about dinner.

My barbershop now has a legal marijuana dispensery in the back. I know its legal-- when I asked the owner how business was doing, he told me how legal it was that his legal business could legally provide legal pot to legal customers after the customer legally presented a legal prescription that was legally checked by a legally licensed legal marijuana dispenser to treat legally approved conditions that only legal marijuana could treat.

The customers certainly looked like they needed legal marijuana. They all appear to be afflicted with that condition that causes bulging muscles in otherwise healthy young men. Until legal marijuana came along i think this condition could only be treated by regular trips to the gym.

I'm not anti-pot. I am concerned that the current laws don't do a better job of fostering personal integrity than the old.

I've read a bit more about medical marijuana in Seattle and now I understand his 'legal' response. Technically they are not allowed to sell marijuana. They can provide other medical services and they can accept donations. But, no pot for cash. Now his odd legal position makes sense.

Am home again. My parents place was wonderful-- fresh air, great weather. It just felt nice.

I'm at my parents now. It's been years since I've been here in the summer. My brothers and I are together for the first time in a very long time.

It's unbelievably pastoral here. Our dinners are made with vegetables and chicken all grown within half a mile of the kitchen. Dessert is berry pie, also grown on the farm. I can see why my parents love it here.

My parents are growing old. They act like they have accepted the fact that there bodies are breaking down, and that one day they will die. That's unsettling for me. I haven't accept that yet. I still believe they have years of healthy life ahead of them.

But maybe not. Mom has had heart trouble. Dad can't walk far without breathing heavily.

I've lost 15lbs and two pant sizes. I think it took four months to loose the weight. I never agressivly stuck with the diet. I was happy as long as my weight stayed the same or went down week over week.

This is the first time I've ever dieted to loose weight. I hope it doesn't come back.

We've kissed and made up.

RO and I have decided to end our relationship. Not much to add. We still have many details to work out.

Yo cooked dinner tonight, which I really appreciate. But, dinner was a half baked garlic & cheese potatoe with hummus and chips. He admitted that he forgot to think through the rest of the meal.

Good wine.

The weather has been great this week. I am taking my first week off in along time. Two years? I've been puttering around the house, reading in the hammock and going on hikes. A great vacation.

The weather has been perfect in Seattle. Sunny. Highs in the mid seventies. Overnight lows in the sixties. I've taken this week off work. We've spent a couple days on the peninsula on the water. I'm now home, in a hammock reading and composing my blog.

Summer is slowly eking its way to Seattle. While the rest of the country struggles with the heat, Seattle has been cloudy and cool. Most days we don't cross 70F.

I've been working on reviving a motorcycle. Its been sitting in the garage since 2006.

I've never ridden a motorcycle before. When Steven gave me his 93 cruiser, I decided to learn.

I have Yo as my guide. He worked in an engine repair shop, so he generally knows what he's talking about.

We are texting a lot. My motorcycle knowledge is small .

Me, "it has power, but it won't start."

Yo, "hold in the clutch. Its a safety interlock."

me, "duh..."

A few minutes later I managed to start the bike. But fuel was dripping out of it. I texted this to Yo.

He wrote back "hit the carburetor with a hammer."

"huh? why?"

"trust me"

it took me thirty minutes to find and get at the carberator, but after i did, and tapped it with a hammer, the dripping stopped.

yo was very impressed with himself when i told him it worked. Then he told me that carbs have a float that probably got stuck while the bike sat in the garage. Tapping the carb freed the float and closed the overflow hole.

I'm very impressed.

The yard

This summer I am putting extra special attention on the yard. Its becomming a great place to hang out. We had a campfire last night and made smores.

I've also bought a chainsaw and a leaf blower to help with the yard. We've cleared away alot of shrub trees with the chain saw and now have about a third more space.

Work is going well. I have two guys who work remote. One from Denver and one from Atlanta.  They were both in town this past week. So we did months of team building in one week.