THE BOYS OF SUMMER

 As summer ends and autumn settle in, I have been reminiscing of summers past.  As a very young boy at the beach in Santa Cruz, riding the Big Dipper Roller Coaster.  In High School surfing and sailing in Santa Barbara. Bonfires at the beach and swimming naked in the sea and the swimming holes in the Santa Ynez Mountains.  Fucking on the beach with my girlfriend.  My last summer before graduation was the Summer of Love.  My first sexual encounter with a guy in the sand dunes the following summer.  Summers in Mexico, Southern California and Catalina.  My summer in Japan.  Sex in swimming pools.  Doing Summer Repertory.  Lots of camping trips; Big Sur, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Oregon, family reunions in Utah, Arizona, Tahoe and Idaho.  My favorite summer of all, swimming naked and tanning nude on the beaches of Mykonos , Santorini and Naxos.  The three summers in Napa, acting and directing Shakespeare outdoors. This summer was all about work and the new theatre company.  It flew by.  I miss it already.  When I was younger, I wore my speedo sometimes because I liked the tan line.  I either had an all over tan or my white ass was framed in tan.  Haven't worn one in years.  There comes a time when you gotta put the mankini away.  I'm hoping the sun will come out today and I can get some sun.  I feel better with a tan.  I know I look better.  Hopefully, any sun damage I may have done to my skin has already occurred.  I've had many summers filled with love and fun.  Old friends and family came to see the play last weekend.  I've been reflecting a lot lately and my life is good.

 And the tan line....

MORNING SHOWER

ASS WEDNESDAY

ANOTHER FINE MESS

DAISY CHAINS

MY HERO

If I have a body type that I most admire, I would have to say that Ben Cohen exemplifies it perfectly.  If you combine his rugger good looks and body with his intelligence, compassion and strength of conviction, he's damn near perfect in my book.  He quit rugby to focus on his foundation StandUp to combat homophobia and bullying. 

"The Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation, Inc. is the world’s first foundation dedicated to raising awareness of the long-term, damaging effects of bullying, and funding those doing real-world work to stop it. We stand up against bullying regardless of to whom it happens. Because lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people are often targeted by bullies, we give particular attention to this community. We include removing homophobia from sports as central to our mission."

MENAGE A TROIS

ASS WEDNESDAY

In Memoriam

Today is a day of mixed feelings and emotions for me.  I'm one of those who is not convinced a group of barely trained, unorganized Muslim terrorists were able to pull off one of the most horrific attacks on American soil.  There are just too many unanswered questions.  Regardless, my heart and my prayers are with the survivors and the families of those who perished.  Like when John F. Kennedy was assisinated, I will always remember that morning on September 11, 2001.

SHREW

The Taming of the Shrew opened this past weekend to enthusiastic audiences and very generous reviews.  It was a lot of hard work and it seems to be paying off.  I now have more time on my hands and it looks like I will be returning to blog for awhile at least.  The play is performed outdoors and the weather cooperated magnificently.  Balmy clear nights and the matinee was sunny with a slight breeze.  We had many angels show up to help and miracles occurred daily.  The community has really gotten behind us and for that we are greatly appreciative.  Fortunately, we were able to get a lot of press, which is priceless publicity.  Looking forward to this weekend and what it will bring.  We close on Sunday.

ANOTHER FINE MESS

MONDAY MORNING MEN