Category Archives: Family

Family in Phoenix & Sedona, Arizona – May 1-3, 2010

My niece Kristal lives in Phoenix.  We had lunch last Saturday morning at Thefarmatsouthmountain.com, an organic farm with three restaurants, including a breakfast cafe, where we ate al fresco.  It was conveniently located between her place and where I was staying with friends in Laveen.

Then, on Monday, we drove up to see Uncle Danny Stief (of Sedonatalkradio.com).  He gave us a great tour of that stunning area, explaining to us about the vortexes and other metaphysical anomalies in the area (making Kristal’s name quite appropriate).  We had lunch and then Kristal and I drove back to Phoenix in time for me to catch my flight back to San Francisco.  On the way to Sedona, however, Kristal and I were talking so much that I forgot to get gas, and so to be sure we didn’t have to walk in the desert heat, I let the car coast down a mountainside for about eight miles to get to the next town to fill up!

Sedona is magnificent everywhere you look, with it’s vortexes and it’s manmade and natural monuments.  It was great to see my uncle, who is a talented singer, and touched Kristal and me with a few live performances of Elvis songs.  It was the first time Kristal and he met each other, so I was glad to facilitate their meeting and for us all to learn more about other parts of our family.

I’m also glad to have a nice base tan from Arizona last week for the two weekends in NYC I’m going to enjoy later this month!

Guest rooms galore at Hotel Hayden

Not only do we have a semi-private living room area with a pull out queen size bed, but now we have a bona fide fourth bedroom for guests with a bed set up in the basement where the landlord’s son used to stay.  It’s actually quite cozy, and I’m so glad that we have so much space to accommodate people if they want to visit us.

I’ll be videotaping a video tour of the new place soon.

Protected: Alex’s 18th Birthday/Housewarming Party! SAVE THE DATE

For those of you who don’t know, we just moved into a new house in Cherryland (Hayward).  Alex is turning 18 the same month, so we are having a party to celebrate moving into our new home and Alex’s emancipation!

WHEN:  2pm-9pm on Sunday, April 18, 2010

WHERE:  914 Blossom, Cherryland (Hayward), CA  94541

Please RSVP via email (commenting here works) or mobile 917-330-6105 (text or voice).

If you can’t make it, fear not; we will be having another party for Alex’s high school graduation in June and then Joe’s birthday in early July.

RIP Gene Baugh

You were my friend with whom I had so much in common for so many years. You were a rock. I can’t believe this.

Just got terrible news about losing one of my closest gaydad friends in the world, Gene Baugh, in Columbus, who raised his five kids.  I read his autobiography, although I don’t think it was ever published.  He was a huge fan of the Spanish language and had spent time in Spain in his youth.  I flew to Columbus to be in his marriage to a man in 1998, and he and I also spent time together at various gay parenting conventions around the country.  We originally met in 1996 in Minneapolis and stayed in touch quite regularly the whole time, sharing the drama of our kids and our lives before and after coming out.  He was only 56, and a big bear of a man (also very tall).

His daughter, Ruth, who lives on the West Coast now, as I do, went with my daughter and me to our first Provincetown Family Week.  Ruth and I recently got back in touch with each other and today she emailed me with the news that he had been taken off life support as he had requested be done if he should ever be in this state.  He had a stroke on Friday.