Seven Uh-Oh

Victor hosted my 70th birthday at his bay front home on Fire Island.  If you're wondering about the lame cake decoration, it's a poor execution of a concept designed to reflect my snowbird life.  That frightening number should have been much bigger for obvious reasons and I had hoped the images would be piped, not edible (who knew?). 

Victor and I met in the Pines when I was still in my 30s and we eventually became housemates.  Despite the difference in our economies, we also had a blast in Italy.  During all those years, I never realized he had a talent for floral arrangement!

Gay men as lucky as I have been built their families in the Pines.  I've rarely felt as much love in the room as I did when we were enjoying Cosmos, pizza and birthday cake. With two exceptions, I've spent at least three summers with every one of them.

Christine flew in from DC for the occasion.  I've known her since 1989 when we met on the job.  She first visited Fire Island during the Muller Cottage years, so she knows the drill well enough to bring a lovely gift for her host.  And the birthday boy, too--Christine is taking me to see Jessie Ware in October.  I can't wait!

Anthony and I met in 1989 when he responded to an ad I placed in the Village Voice to help fill the Muller Cottage.  He left the Pines long before he met John, his husband of eight years, but they regularly entertain several former housemates at their beautiful home in Baldwin.  Anthony converted several hours of home video he shot during the summers we spent together and gave it to me on a thumb drive.  It includes footage of my 40th birthday party, a decidedly more modest--and tearful--affair!

Chris, who's been my housemate longer than anyone,  should have been in this photo, but covid kept him away from the vulnerable alta cockers.

I couldn't resist photographing Victor's pill dispensary.  So far, just 20 mg of a daily statin keeps me in the pink.

As well as the occasional Cosmo.  Thom spent hours squeezing lime juice before putting on his party shirt.

Steven, Marty & Andrew are a generation younger than us.  Thanks to Randy's penchant for younger boyfriends, they joined the extended family in 2005.  A flashback blog entry about our summer at 485 Tarpon is high on my to-do list.

Patrick couldn't make the actual celebration because Grayson, his and Marty's son, had a Riverdale bar mitzvah to attend in the city, but he and his brother Matthew stopped by earlier in the day with a couple of bottles of bubbly.

Grayson has the distinction of being the only baby I've ever shared with in the Pines.  

511 Fisherman, 2012

Look at him now--aging is so much easier to see in other people!

West Palm Beach, 2023

Of course there was plenty of birthday loot, too.  Thom and Chris gave me a Tumi carry-on bag.  Would you believe I've travelled all over the world with the soft Hartmann luggage my father gave me when I graduated from college?  It has seen almost as much of the world as I have.

And when I returned home, this birthday tableau from Florian was waiting.  That mid-century Christmas house on top of the t-shirt even lights up!

It turns out Magda & Joe, who just had their third child, attended the celebration in spirit.  Their birthday greetings teased "Because you're so special, here's a kitten farting a rainbow."  Who could ask for anything more?

During the party it occurred to me that my mother and father would have been blown away by Victor's house.  IF they could have gotten past the gay art.  It's not the kind of place you can de-gay (which I once did prior to a parental visitation at 47 Pianos).  But that's the good news about aging:  you finally have the perspective to appreciate what really matters in life and stop giving a shit what people think.

This fellow guarded my bedroom.

Gay decor can be camp as well as homoerotic.

And now for the bad news.  Bette Davis, whose grave I recently visited, once said "Old age ain't no place for sissies."  How does turning 70 really feel?  Look no further than this Pines telephone pole ad for the answer.

But for now, I'll let Gloria Gaynor have the last word.

Thanks again for hosting, Victor, and to everyone else for helping me celebrate an unwelcome milestone.  Five more years!

More Pines Guest Stays:

• 72 Bay (2022)
• Pines Thanksgiving (2022)
• Fire Island Forever (2023)