We like the outdoors, traveling and RVing. Our 100 pound Labrador/Weimaraner "Benni" has taken over our lives since we adopted him as a rescue puppy in 2010. I have a rebellious streak but I am not heroic by any means, thus the "reluctant" part of my blog title. I worked for non-profits and the like so have no retirement plan other than to work as little as possible, enjoy as much as possible and hope for the best, which is not at all practical. We moved from a small house on a few of acres of woods in Connecticut to a small house in a unique community New Mexico in November 2015. I've been with my loving partner since 1988 and we married on October 25, 2014.
Vermont - The Ledges - The Good Old Daysįrom New Britain & Bristol, CT now in Cochiti Lake, New Mexico, United States I am a reluctantly-retired, no-longer self-employed, gay baby boomer who came out relatively late in life due to taking my Catholic upbringing much too seriously.Exploitation of Workers Here in the USA.In Memorium - Brother Richard Jonathan Cardarelli.Why Do My 4 O'Clocks Bloom at 7:30? And A 'Humm.Federal Judge in Connecticut Rules DOMA Unconstitu.And we still enjoy an occasional day of hiking and swimming there. We were nostalgic for the past but just grateful that we were there when The Ledges was in its heyday.
Too bad, because the lake is great for swimming and boating, whereas the River is more for wading and dipping. They replaced the ordinance with some law about "lewd and lascivious behavior".īesides, the water level was kept too high, parking was restricted, and most of the gay guys went to play at the Rock River. Well, the ordinance was overturned prior to the following summer, but things were just never the same after that. I think even Ben and Jerry decided to sell out that year. Gas stations, souvenir shops, Vermont crafts, all saw business slack off. The following summer, the area restaurants were not too busy and the motels had vacancies. Wilmington passed an anti-nudity ordinance. Well, Vermont is known for its indifference to nudity, so this proposal was a big deal.
(A book on nudity in Vermont, written for and by "straight" people described gays at the Ledges as "overt, ostentatious, homosexuals" and then went on to disparage us and our "lifestyle".) She, the homeowner, then got it in her head that nudity should be banned in Wilmington. When, back a few years, rich people began acquiring property around the lake, one uptight homeowner got her hairs in a knot when some guys wandered too far from the main path and displayed overt, ostentatious gayness adjacent to her backyard. And, once out on the water, we could go naked boating as well. That way we could bring our cooler, a gas grill, cushions and all the things we'd possibly need for the day. When we acquired Leon's dad's 12 foot aluminum john-boat with a put-put motor we would sometimes boat in from the boat launch area in Wilmington, a good half hour trip unless you had a real motor. It had steps down to the water and several patios on which four or five guys could sun their bodies, have lunch, and stash coolers and backpacks. Our regular lakeshore "site" which we were guaranteed to occupy if we arrived early enough, was one that I had helped to landscape. More Than A Few Years Back, Just Before The Ordinanc Some of us who like such things, spent many hours creating multi level terraces out of those flat stones that we could move. Unfortunately when they made the reservoir, they didn't bother to place all the rocks with a flat surface in a useful horizontal position. The rocky shoreline was strewn with large and small flat rocks, many the size of small cars. The guys we knew would all bring food and drink and there was one guy who always had a large backpack with more food than could possible fit in it - he reminded me of Jesus feeding the crowd with a few "loaves and fishes".