Little White Man

Oh these shopping moments in Berlin that give me so much joy…
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Sauna night at Olivin

I’m not certain, but I think the last time that I was at the sauna may have been with my blind date.  He was very tall, lean, dark haired and handsome.  A basketball coach. He was beautiful naked but strangely shy.  I liked him for that and had to resist staring.

But that was then.  Tonight, Eleni and I are in the showers when she says, hey, this is where we first met.

Of course.  I had forgotten.  We two lovers then of the same man meeting for the first time.  And here we are two years later, or nearly so as Eleni points out.  Speaking of the lover is, by my decision, verboten.  Eleni is bursting at the seams though, wanting to whisper to me of their last encounter as we sweat it out in the sauna room.  I stop her and we whisper instead of people sharing the evening with us here.  One man, standing outside in the rear garden under the cold shower had turned our way, innocently enough, cooling off from the scented heat of the last Aufguss.  Eleni and I look at each other, our mouths fallen open.  Oh my, say her eyes.  Oh my, say mine.  And we share a low giggle.

Two weeks ago in Vienna

Goldegg

At breakfast in Vienna with Ralf
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McCain beat by a community organizer. And now, the real work.

I have had about 3 hours of sleep but still didn’t manage to be awake for the 11 a.m. EST call of the election.  Vicki rang up at 7, sounding more calm than she had in weeks.

All the jubilation about the Obama victory aside, we are all still awaiting the results of California’s Proposition 8.

Mr. Obama, as everyone declares your election “transcendence” over historical bigotry, I will look to you — the media’s celebrated biracial prodigy — to take a stronger and more principled stance in support of same-sex marriage.

And, no, “civil unions” are not the same.

I look forward (my god, for the first time in many, many years) to our country walking a new path.