It was 1970 something
That’s Dad Poet, not to be confused with Dead Poet. I understand that there is an entire society for Dead Poets, but I am not yet qualified to join their ranks.
Some sage once said that there is only room in a man’s life for one great passion, or maybe it was obsession. Either way, if this is true I must accept the fact that I will never be famous for anything. One passion? It was true of Jesus in his quest to save the human race; it was true of Buddha with his quest for peace. But then again, I imagine that Jesus was a damned good carpenter and that Siddhartha must have had a hobby or two, maybe butterfly watching?
In the recent past I found myself with multiple blogs for multiple purposes, and I realized that not only was my story a bit hard to follow, but the task of keeping up with its various locations was prohibitive. So I decided to bring all my loves and obsessions together in one central hub, here on The Dad Poet Blog. I’ve talked about wearing “different hats” as if my personalities change with the change clothes, but the truth is that underneath this scalp I am just one person with many loves, challenges and responsibilities, not so different from you.
There might just be hope for this country yet.
I am the tremendously proud father of the three coolest boys to walk the earth. You can read more about them on the Father page and of course in regular posts on the blog home page. I am partner to my direct opposite, the quietest man on the planet. I have become good friends with my former wife, and I am the youngest of a family of six children that makes the show “Brothers and Sisters” downright spooky for me to watch.
I am a poet who has been published in only a few small places, won a couple of minor awards, who writes whenever a pen is near, but never seems to submit his work anywhere. Books about poetry, fiction, birding and cooking are spread throughout my house, along with misplaced coffee cups and empty wine glasses.
I am not an accomplished birder; I’ve never had time or leisure for that, but I am an enthusiastic one, and try to weave a birding trip into every vacation. In the mid eighties I cut my teeth on diurnal raptors and began as a hawk watcher until a friend from Cape May got me into water fowl and what I called hawk bait: the beautiful many colored warblers. I am terrible with recognizing songs though, and the recordings are hard for me to follow. After a while I cannot remember “bzzeet, bzzeet” from “bee buzz buzz.” I am still most happy and comfortable trying to discern distant birds of prey from from a mountain hawk watch.
I studied English, education and religion. I have worked as a cruise tour co-host, a radio personality and program director, a waiter and restaurant manager, a customer service representative and a voice for weather forecasts all over the country. Lately I have found myself something of a reluctant restaurateur with his eye on a return to school after forty.
I have been a choir director, a Sunday school teacher, a youth minister and a cynic. I host a web community for Gay Dads on a global scale, which is where I met the men in the picture who support me in more ways than one, literally my two best friends in the world, Vince in Ireland and Keith just a few hours south of me in Maryland.
Gay Fathers Support Group?
I have traveled but have yet to see Alaska, Germany or Italy. The Caribbean was fun, but my favorite holiday was in Northern Ireland with my oldest son and my partner, Brian, visiting the dear Vince and David. Next time I want to take all three of my sons there.
I love cooking; it’s a way to unwind and to care for friends and loved ones. Oh heck yes, I love the feedback too. “This was the best meal of my life!” was a recent favorite. At work I prefer to be in the front of the house, though lately it seems to me that we have spoiled people in the United States with that old adage, “The customer is always right.”
Favorite book? That’s hard to say, but if pressed (go ahead press me), I might say either Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway or Chiam Potok’s My Name is Asher Lev. Perhaps I’ll post sometime a long list of favorite authors and poets.
Favorite Movie? Big Fish or (You might have guessed it) Dead Poet’s Society and The Hours (Again with Virginia Woolf!), but there are many others.
Favorite TV Shows? Admittedly I don’t watch much, but two foot surgeries a few years ago made me sit down long enough to fall in love with CSI (Los Angeles, not that Miami crap), Without a Trace and the shenanigans of Boston Legal. I also enjoy Brothers and Sisters and LOST.
Okay, I’ve bored you enough. I can’t believe you actually read all of this. Don’t you have a life? For the rest of the story go back to the home page of the blog and for links to my loves and interests see the Father, Birder and Poet tabs on the top of the page.
Peace.
