Fined and Punished

My taxes were a brutal experience this year.  As expected, my accountant had a list of items needing clarification.  With the issues resolved, a large tax bill was presented.  The accountant filed the taxes electronically.  The money due was deducted from my bank account the next day.  The IRS was not happy waiting for their money even though deductions were made from my monthly payments.  I was fined.  Now, I get the distinct pleasure of making quarterly payments.  I thought quarterly tax payments would end when I stopped working but I was wrong.  I know I should be thankful for the income upon which I’m taxed.  And I am.  Still, I find it aggravating that I must give the IRS the money during the year instead of holding it in a high-yield financial instrument until filing time.

Off To Rehab

My sister-in-law predicted she would find my father on the floor dead one day.  Her vision almost came true.  My brother and sister-in-law found my father unconscious on the kitchen floor.  He had been on the floor for three days after falling.  He broke seven ribs.  Thirteen other ribs show fractures in various stages of healing, so he’s had other falls but hasn’t told anyone.  He spent a few days in the hospital before being moved to a rehab center.  After rehab he will either be sent to a long-term care facility or an assisted living center.  My father will never return to his house. 

This is the life changing event which will probably be the catalyst for his descension into death.  He doesn’t want to spend his last days in a facility.  He hasn’t been told he will not return home.  I suspect once he lands in a facility, he will lose his desire to live, which, will hasten his decline.  Time will tell.

I Never Thought……

As a young man, I never thought I’d live past 30.

I never thought I’d have a platinum wedding band sitting unworn in a drawer.

I never thought my life would end as a single man.

I never thought I’d have to cut people out of my life.

I never thought I’d still have friends I made in my 20s.

I never thought I’d know six people who have published books.

I never thought I’d be mentioned in the acknowledgements of two of them.

I never thought I’d acquire a taste for Scotch.

I never thought I’d develop a love for New Mexico.

I never thought I’d have cancer four times.

I never thought I’d be mesmerized by Operas.

I never thought I’d like 1950’s American jazz musicians.

I never thought I’d survive an epidemic and a pandemic.

I never thought there would be gay marriage.

I never thought I’d have a friend who has never worked while also having a friend who has five jobs.

I never thought I’d have planned annual giving.

I never thought I’d live in a city with a large, unhoused population.

I never thought I’d live in a nation suffering from extreme political division.

I never thought I’d forgive my father.

The Second Time

Last Saturday, a lithium battery caught fire in the basement of this house which has been under construction for three years.  The two-alarm fire burned through to the first floor before being extinguished. The entire 14,000 sq. ft. interior was damaged by smoke and will need to be torn out.  Sadly, the house was six months from completion.  This is the second house fire the neighborhood caused by a lithium battery.

Not Happily Married?

Is there anything worse for a single gay than walking into a New Year’s Eve party in a penthouse apartment with a sweeping view of downtown only to find out the sea of handsome men are all couples?  I left before midnight to avoid an awkward moment at midnight when all the couples would be kissing.  As I was getting my coat, I was cornered in the primary suite by man I had talked to earlier in the evening. He hugged me firmly and longer than expected given we had just met, and he was married.  The hug was followed by a very intimate kiss.  Married, but perhaps, not happily.  Happy fucking new year.  That was the end of 2023.  The slate gets wiped clean for 24.

Clipping Coupons

About a week ago, I ran into Mrs. H in the produce section of the grocery store.  Mrs. H and her husband have lived a few doors away ever since I moved into the neighborhood.  Now both retired, Mrs. H was a stay-at-home mom while her husband was a bond trader for a large financial institution. Mrs. H proceed to tell me about her family’s ten-day trip to Tuscany for American Thanksgiving.  I heard about the villa she rented which slept twelve, the delicious food, the day trips to various towns and museums visited. She went on and on while holding a stack of coupons in her hand. I thought it was odd that a woman who could afford a trip like this was clipping coupons.  Does saving a few cents here and there change her life?  Apparently, it helps her afford vacations.

Have you done any traveling?

Since retiring, I’ve lost count of the number of people who have asked me if I’ve done any traveling.  It’s as if the benchmark of a successful retirement is taking many trips.  I was well traveled before I retired.  I’m not in a rush to jump on a plane. 

One of the Best

It was a meal thrown together a few days before Thanksgiving, but it turned out to be one of best dinners of my life. Just the basics with one dessert along with good liquor.  Only four people, which allowed for hours of conversations covering intimate events in our lives.  The bond between us was strengthened.  I feel these people will be in my life until I die.

Scenes From New Mexico

Northern New Mexico

Downtown Santa Fe alley view

Downtown Santa Fe

Chimayo

View from a friend’s portal

Santa Fe suburban sprawl

Santa Fe sunset

An Enchanting Time

Two weeks before my trip to Missouri I spent six wonderful days in Santa Fe.  Mister D hosted a cocktail party on the Sunday I arrived.  All the usual suspects were there.  It was a very festive evening.  Natalia’s husband was trashed and had to be escorted home next door. 

Early fall is one of my favorite times in Santa Fe.  The light is simply glorious.  I don’t know how to describe it.  You must see it to believe it.  Artists who have experienced the fall light in Santa Fe can relate to this.

D and I had lunch and dinner out almost every day.  Lunch with Cindi and the Girls at the Tea House on Canyon Road one day after touring the galleries.  A most leisurely lunch was enjoined in Taos with Cindi and our mutual friend, Mark, on another day.

D and I spent one morning on a docent lead tour of the newly opened Vladem Contemporary Art Museum in the Railyard District.  After the tour, we hung out and talked with the docent for another hour.  After the museum we had a long and most enjoyable lunch with Natalia at La Choza.  After a few margaritas, Natalia opened up about her years in Los Angeles when she lived in Laurel Canyon and managed Ed Ruscha’s studio.  She hung out with the artists and musicians who lived in Laurel Canyon at the time.  Natalia reminisced about having her art featured in a Whitney Biennial and having works acquired by the museum.  Sadly, she feels her art career peaked in her 20’s.  The final round of margaritas was ordered after that statement.

One afternoon Cindi, D and I drove to El Santuario de Chimayó, commonly known as the church with the holy dirt.  On the drive up we passed Embudo Station where years ago I spent one of the most memorable afternoons of my life.  I was with Cindi and the ex that day.  I think fondly about that day every time I pass Embudo Station. 

It was off-season in Chimayó so there were very few tourists and pilgrims milling about.  Cindi lit a few candles before dragging me into the gift shop to peruse the various religious paraphernalia and assorted red chili mixes offered for sale.  After church, we had a delicious dinner at Rancho de Chimayó.  The drive home offered views of an iconic sunset so common in the region.

On my last night in Santa Fe, I had drinks and dinner with Madame and D at Horno.  It was another wonderful evening of good cocktails, delicious food and interesting conversation.  The Heiress was too tired to join us as she had been meeting with lawyers and financial advisors in the afternoon.  The Heiress and her sister have assumed control over her mother’s affairs and the various trusts because of her mother’s rapid descent into the hell of Alzheimer’s.  It’s all too tiring for the Heiress.  She has never had to work.  Dealing with lawyers, accountants, bankers and financial advisors needed to manage a vast fortune is the first time she ever had to do anything remotely similar to work.  It just zaps all the energy out of her.  It was so much easier to simply wait for a monthly check.  The rest of us really don’t relate to her situation.  All of us have worked most of our lives.  The Heiress has had fifty-nine years of freedom.  A few meetings every month will not do her in.

My craving for green chili and good margaritas had been satisfied.  Thanksgiving discussions have begun.  Madame is offering to host at her secluded house nestled among pinyon pines in the desert.  I may find myself back in the land of enchantment in a few weeks.