True Acceptance?????

As I venture out in the Portland scene, I find that people are very liberal here. Everyone recycles, many people are Democrat, and there are vegetarian and even vegan dining options everywhere I look.

Coming from the Midwest, you would think I would find this a breath of fresh air. In some ways I do, but in others I don't. It does mean that my boyfriend and I can be totally open in public and not have to worry about getting our heads bashed in. That is pretty good actually. On the downside I am beginning to notice a brand of Portland liberal that in the name of diversity is as unaccepting as the right wing conservatives back in Tulsa.

I have come across a few of the "militants." The ones who are very liberal, very cause oriented, and they appear on the outside to be just wonderfully accepting of diversity. They are not. They actually have little tolerance for anyone who might be more conservative or less into the environmental issues that they feel strongly about. In short, they are just as close minded as their conservative counterparts.

I believe in free thinking and exchanging a diversity of thought. This world would be pretty boring if we just had the environmental liberals or the right wing conservatives. We need all types of people to make this world interesting. Am I on a soap box? Yes. If you don't agree with me then that is fine. In fact that is great because we then have the opportunity to open a dialogue that could be interesting and possibly educational for both of us.

Note: I do realize the irony that in my own way writing this blog entry makes me close minded about the militant liberals or the religious conservatives. Hmmmmmmmm!

The BagdadTheater

GOOD FRIDAY MORNING!

My boyfriend and I went to the Bagdad Theater last night for the first time and watched a movie.

www.mcmenamins.com/index.php?loc=9&id=176

Be sure to check out the "View the Bagdad Theater and Pub Photo Gallery under the picture.

The movie was "Hancock." The movie was average, but the theater was incredible. It is one of those old "Golden Age of Hollywood" places where it magically transports you to the middle east with it's moroccan decor. One of the great things is that they replaced the chairs in the balcony with sofas and comfortable chairs. In front of these are skinny tables where you can put your beer, pizza, Jack Daniels, nachos, popcorn. Yep, I said beer, pizza and Jack Daniels. In fact, you can order beer by the pitcher there and bring it into the theater. It is a very comfy and cozy. We will definitely be going back.

We rode our bikes to the theater. It is amazing how much we ride our bikes here. I almost feel guilty when I fire up the truck these days. Most days I ride my bike around the neighborhoods or take the bus if I'm heading downtown. The oil price isn't a big deal for me right now. If I don't take a trip outside of the city, I think I could make it on a tank of gas a month. Wow! In Tulsa there were days of errands where I could use a quarter of a tank just in that day.

After the movie we rode our bikes to the Fat Straw, 4258 SE Hawthorne Blvd, where we had bubble tea. Yumm! Then we rode our bikes up and down Hawthorne and decided to have fish and chips for dinner.

It was a wonderful Portland evening.

What is next Portland? I can only imagine all the great little surprises you have in store for us.

Well, I have to go study the real estate stuff again.

People Watching

I have to admit, when it comes to people watching there seems to be an over abundance of characters in Portland. I mean this in a good way. One thing I've noticed is all of the tattoos. I have nothing against tattoos and have even considered getting one, but I have never figured out what tattoo I would want to look at for the rest of my life. I did one time put a deposit down on a pink snagglepus that would go just above my ankle. I had the one picked out where he is wearing a black top hat and carrying a cane. As I thought about it, I wondered a couple of things. First of all, is it too gay?????? Second of all, do I really want to be in an old folks home someday sporting a big pink pussy cat on my ankle? Needless to say, I did not go through with it.

I digress. Back to people watching. It seems like everything is so laid back here. People wear a lot of vintage fashion from 30 or 40 years ago. The other day I saw a woman in line at the supermarket wearing a coat that looked good, but all I could think was that somewhere an old lady is mourning the coat sized hole in her shag carpet.

One of my favorite things I love about Portland is the unexpected. Most of the time human behavior is fairly predictable, but sometimes little things happen that are so unexpected but pleasant. I was driving downtown the other day and looking out the window at the stoplight. I was watching this older heavy set woman walk down the other side of the street. She caught my eye and gave me a big smile and flitted across the road in the crosswalk. The smile was so unexpected and so genuine. I smiled back of course.

On the bus tonight I saw a huge variety of people in just the 15 people occupying the seats. I could go into each one in detail, but that would take too much time.

I love to study people and their mannerisms and expressions. So often people say so much about what they are thinking or feeling without even opening their mouths. Eyes are another good thing to watch. Eyes often tell the story behind the superficial exterior.

I saw a bumper sticker today that read, "Keep Portland Weird." I agree, and I think that sums up the people watching experience in Portland.

Good Night!

Chance of Rain in Portland

Just finishing a light lunch at the Chance of Rain Cafe in Portland,
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=57454545
It is great. It is on a side street off Hawthorne. The atmosphere is very laid back and they have great chicken nachos. Unlike the nachos in the midwest which usually come smothered with cheese, these have enough cheese to make it nice, but you can still taste the nachos. Overall a good lunch experience.

Nudity

Read in the paper last Sunday about a woman who was riding her inline skates in downtown Portland nude. The police received several calls, not because she was nude, but because they were concerned for her safety. The police approached her and told her she couldn't bike naked. They told her she need something to cover the lower regions. She pulled out a bikini bottom, put it on, and happily skated away with her top ta ta's hanging out.

About a week ago I saw a woman riding her bike without a top on Hawthorne Ave. She was waving her hands around like a naked mermaid. On the back of her bike she had a sign that read join me for nude bicycling.

My reaction: Hmmmm, this is a hard one. I mean I'm from the midwest and gay. Unlike most men, I kind of don't really want to see the breasticles. But, if men can run around topless then why can't women? I don't know. My reactions are mixed.

Portland at last

We arrived in Portland about 10 days ago after a very adventurous Oregon Trail. The first few days was a fenzy of getting things unpacked and trying to figure out where everything is in this new city.

It can pretty much be summed up with one phrase, "I don't think we are in Kansas anymore."