At thr Detriot Airport

I'm waiting at the Detroit airport. The usual minor emergency.  My partner left his phone in the car. Lucky we have arrived 3 hours early. This is typical stuff, one of us get an upper respiratory infection- so last minute covid flu test. And I can't poop [ i did the big job last night]. All par for the course. 

Overnight trip to Grand Rapids

I moved from Grand Rapids 13 years ago. I never fit in there; it wasn't for a lack of trying on my part. Looking back, I tried too hard. I was lonely, Very Lonely. Loneliness clouded my thinking and judgment. I was consistently reinventing myself in the hope of being liked and fitting in. Nowadays, it's called rebranding yourself. South Park did an excellent episode about it, with Butter.

He rebranded himself, with much the same results as I got. I see myself in Butter.  Always trying too hard. 

I always feel apprehensive when I go back for a visit.  I hate being reminded of the loneliness and isolation. That being said. It has grown into a lovely one, primarily due to the big bucks from Amway.  Circle Theater was doing a production of Jesus Christ Superstar. Circle Theater is on the campus of Aquinas College, a catholic college. College, it's hard to imagine that a musical that was 

 on the cutting edge is now a standard. Grand Rapids is the birthplace of the wet burrito My favorite burrito restaurant is the Abode. 

And my personal favorite is the all bean burrito 

New England Cruise.

 We are starting to prepare for our next cruise. This one will be simpler. A New England cruise starting in New York and ending in New York. We are traveling with Bear Cruises.  Which sounds way more interesting than it is. It's just middle-aged men, not really fitting into any other category. We have taken. Bear cruises before; it was good. The other BC guest could have been friendlier. They did warm up near the end of the trip.  The head of the cruise company  was very nice, 

We are traveling on the Norwegian Getaway Cruise ship, as we have never sailed with Norwegian before, so we're unsure what to expect.  The entertainment is devoted to magic and illusion performances.  Holding nearly 4.000 passengers, she is a large ship with 11 bars. 

                                        

 I have most everything I need for the trip. I did purchase a pullover sweater suitable for the dining room. I read where there will be cobblestone streets, so I will be packing my expensive stabilizer walking shoes.  Something for the White Party and the Hawaiian shirt party. As  I have said before, my clothing should do double duty.   

High School reunion

  My 50th  high school reunion is being held for 4 days. I am not going. This was no decision I took lightly. Actually, I had been pondering and contemplating for a long time. In the end, it was my subconscious in a dream that won out.  In the dream, I was attending my class reunion; everyone was happy to see me. I felt loved, and my presence was wanted. I was pleased, then a giant voice over stated, "This is an example of magical thinking." The voice was right. 

     I had zero chance of being popular in high school or even having friends.  I have two learning disabilities. The first one was dystexia. At the time, not much was known about it. God knows I didn't understand it. The second one is probably a result of brain trauma. I leave out words when I write. It's a type of aphasia; not much is known except that it is not found naturally.  I was also from a poor family, transplants from the hills of eastern Kentucky, which was a big deal in central Indiana.  The third strike against me is that I am gay. I didn't have much chance of being a good fit in high school. Still with my magical thinking, I kept trying..  I didn't figure out until much later in my 50s that you can't change people's opinion of you once it is set.  

  To be fair, I made a few friends from high school on Facebook after the fact, and I treasure them. They give me a connection to the past, something everyone needs.  I have reached out to tons more, all of whom I had a connection to with fairly pleasant memories.  No one replied back, and one even blocked me.

 Still, I feel actual sadness about not being part of the celebration.  With my magical thinking, they would grow and see me as I am now. Take me for who I am, but the truth is, most people go to high school reunions to relive what they perceive as a happy time in their lives.  They would go back to name-calling and body slamming me against lockers if they could, without thought that they were hurting another person. 

In homeroom in junior high school, I sat next to a girl with big brown eyes and a high, thin voice. Every day during home room, she would hiss the most disgusting thing under her breath. " You make me sick' "Don't look at me." "You're gross." You get the picture. One day, I had had enough and told her to shut up. She started crying. I was severely punished and humiliated by the teacher. I was embarrassed and ashamed.  She was getting comforted by the girls.  Years later, I went to the 20th HS reunion. There she was, of course, with my magical thinking, I thought she would feel some guilt. No, she was back to hissing nasty comments under her breath at me. Darn magical thinking. But remember those innocent eyes?  The guy behind me said, "What the hell happened to her? She looks like she would kill you in an alley." 

 Hope you have fun, RHS class of '75. Stay away from dark alleys

Trondheim

 Our last stop was Trondheim. We did a city tour on a bus with a tour guide.  We would have enjoyed it just as much if we had taken the hop-on, hop-off tour.  I was told the must-see was the Tronheim Cathedral. It was beautiful, but unfortunately, the Chapel was closed. The Rose Window was the inspiration for Cry the Beloved Country, which was the inspiration for the musical Lost in the Stars. When that was revealed. Five members of the 15-member gay tour began singing the musical numbers from " Lost in the Stars. It was a lovely town, easy to get around. It was my partner's favorite saying, that he could imagine himself living there. Later that night, back on the ship, we were treated
to the Northern Lights. 

Nordkapp farest point north

 Our last stop was in Honninggvag on the Southeast side of the island of Mageraya. We drove to the Nordkapp (North Cape) on the other side of the Island. The ride over was scenic with a lot of herds of Reindeer, including 3 solid white ones. There was a visitor center on Nordkapp explaining the history of Nordkapp.  The visitor center was huge, complete with a movie theater, chapel, coffee shop, and a store for souvenirs. The grounds are breathtaking, one picturesque view after another. I did need my gloves and knit cap. Also, the ground is uneven, so I wore my expensive stabilizers, New Balance, to help with back pain. 

Tromso , Norway Gateway to the Arctic

 Tromso is a city on the Island of Tromsoya on the Tromsoysundet strait in Northern Norway.  It was here that we discovered a wealth of Norwegian culture and legends, along with the northernmost McDonald's. We first went to a planetarium to learn about the Northern Lights.

We visited the Polar Museum, where we learned about Arctic explorers.

The McDonald's in Tromso, Norway, beating out Russia and Finland for the honor of being the world's northernmost mcdononalds

Arctic Circle

We hit the Arctic Circle at 1 PM, whatever time zone we were in. 

They say less than 1 percent of the world's population ever makes it to the circle, so yes, it's a big deal, and no, not really.  It is an imaginary line . So arriving there is more symbolic than an actual accomplishment.  Still, at the end of the trip, we got a certificate that you could put in a frame. A polar plunge pool party took place at 1, with over 100 people jumping into the water at the top deck.

Alesund Fjords

In Alesund, we took a boat ride into the Fjords. There are no words to describe how beautiful it is. The weather was good, you will need a knitted cap or ear muffs, and some gloves. I wore a sweatshirt.  This was my highlight of the trip. Make a reservation ahead of time, as the event will likely sell out.