Crotchety Old Man?

[mrdreamjeans]

Am I becoming a crotchety old man? If my behavior last night is an indicator, it just might be. I skipped dinner before the performance and so was feeling a bit peckish following the show. There is a Hamburger Marys two blocks from our hotel. I knew I could get a late night meal there, so I made a beeline to the restaurant minutes after the curtain came down. When I walked into Hamburger Marys, the bar side of the place was hopping. There was big fund-raiser for Equality Cincinnati. The host(ess) was in drag, dressed like Barbara Bush in black suit and pearls, with teased helmet of hair. I asked to be seated near the door where there was some light on the table.

Within minutes, I had ordered. Now, realize there were hundreds of Gay men and women on the premises; the restaurant was quite full. The music was loud, the bass thumping; a drag show in progress; around me the place was hopping; people were having fun.

What did I do? I sat alone at the table eating my burger, dressed in my sweats and baseball cap, glasses perched on the end of my nose, calmly reading the USA Today Sports section, occasionally looking up with some annoyance at being disturbed by the whirl of activity around me. On some subconscious level, I even realized the cute, goateed waiter was flirting with me. But, what did I do? I complimented him on his service and asked for a refill of my soda:)

Am I getting old? Am I no longer willing to subject myself to noise and smoke for the opportunity of a chance meeting? Am I getting so focused on being professional, so unwilling to drag myself into work bleary-eyed and hurting, that I can’t have fun on the road? I prefer to think that I’ve evolved and am no longer willing to put myself in situations, or in the midst of a crowd of people, I won’t enjoy. I like to believe I have better things to do with my time. Oh hell .... listen to me .... I'm just becoming a crotchety old man:) Now, where did I put that disco fever?

ps.... Tonight was the "Evita" tour's 250th performance!

Comments

[ciddyguy.livejournal.com]

Unless you feel like an old man, I don't think you are.

I'd have been in the same mood most likely as not having eaten for a while and was hungry too.

At the end of the day I do feel that whatever you decide to do is up to you and you will find fun where you are most comfortable. We all change and none of us can continue to do the all nighter or even the late night and get away with it the next day as we grow older. :-) I know I certainly can't.

If it makes you feel any better, I was listening to some disco era stuff while out doing errands today. :-)

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

I don't feel like an old man, but I've noticed I'm much less tolerant of noise and smoke lately. If "Evita" was a show where I carried a lesser vocal load, I might feel a bit differently; but beginning a show with a string of High C's as I do right out of the box, makes me much more likely just to curl up with a good book after the show, instead of hitting the bars. (Course, Cincy's had three clubs close in the past six months, all of them catering to the crowd I'm most likely to enjoy.)

[bearhedded.livejournal.com]

Sometimes a big ol' scary drag-queen isn't the first thing you wanna see when you're de-compressing from a nights' work.

Oddly enough, I skipped a drag-show last night for that very reason!

The Timberline is closing its' doors forever tomorrow, and, unless the drag show starts busking on the sidewalk (and I've seen Lily run around the outside of the building DURING a number), they're out, too......

A few friends reserved a table, but we're in the middle of tech week for 'Seussical', and I'm the walking dead right about now. MANY things to get made for photo-dress tomorrow.......a few that won't be there 'til previews, at best.

But, y'know, I KNEW I was a crotchety old man already!

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

The Timberline is closing??! Damn!!!! it's never been the same ever since they switched buildings and played around with formats, screwing their two-steppin' crowd out of a welcoming home. But it means my friends at Bearoke are out of a location too. I hope Jonathan finds a place that will welcome the group I enjoy so much!!! HUGS!

PS... Have a good opening for "Seussical"! There's always that hell week before it all comes to life. We two old crotchety men can speak next week, when we've both had a day off:)

[pagerbear.livejournal.com]

**pagergasp** You read USA Today?

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

Of course, I currently have no other allegiances:) It's come a long way from its readers digest format of the early years. It's also one of the few options available in Europe where I first got in the habit of reading it. Other than the Sunday NY Times, it does far better in its coverage of sports and entertainment than any other paper I might choose to read on the road.

[mikeybill.livejournal.com]

Maybe you're becoming a crotchy old man ;-)

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

LOL! Nope:) Lately, I've only been checking guys out only from the neck up. Hmmmm...maybe, that's the problem. Lest anyone be misled, I really don't feel old, just a step slow. *grin* I saw plenty of my favorite kind of eye candy last week in Montreal, but had so much extra work, on my plate, I just behaved:)

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

ps...Welcome to Live Journal! Feel free to "friend" me if you like and say hello from time to time. I read your note about the Mineshaft. I have stories of that place from 1980, right after they used the club in the movie "Cruising". People who weren't there and didn't experience it, often don't believe me when I tell them what it was really like. Take care and get over that nasty cold!!

[bruinwi.livejournal.com]

You're not becoming a crotchety old man, you're becoming ME.

Oh, you poor thing...

Seek help IMMEDIATELY!

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

It would be an honor to be you, my friend:) I'll seek attention, not help. LOL!

Oh, NO!

[tkn1114.livejournal.com]

Oh, no no no! Please! Daddies are hot! Daddies are hot! (sobbing) They give good b*** jobs!!! :0) And I'm not EVEN into daddies - only those that give good F/B!!! :0)

[gotmoof.livejournal.com]

Becoming? You've been a crotchety old cuss for the last 10 years.

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

I knew you'd be direct and to the point:) Good thing you shared many of those ten years with me or otherwise I'd have never known. Meanwhile, you can go back to your bust enhancement exercises...and one...and two...and three.... LOL!

[apparentparadox]

Maybe I missed something, but I didn't see any "crotchety" behavior -- you didn't tell those others to turn down that damn music, right? And while other people were having fun, you were also having the kind of fun that you wanted to have.

Maybe you are maturing, though, and doing what you want, rather than what you think that others would want you to do.

On the other hand, wearing sweats out in public? You're definitely an old man.

[bearfuz.livejournal.com]

It's only 'cause the leisure suit was at the cleaners. (grinning, ducking, running)

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

Well...um.. actually, they're Nike running gear; I was wearing a tee-shirt and tennis shoes. I came right from the show and we'd had a three-hour rehearsal in the afternoon. (It's not like I paired them up with a cable knit sweater...LOL!) I don't own a matching sweat suit:)

Hamburger Mary's was also the only place downtown near my hotel still serving food, so despite my different agenda, it was the only choice. Now, where did I put that leisure suit? ...*grin*...

However...on a more serious note.... I've never been one to follow trends or to do anything other than exactly what I want to do, nor have most of the people I call friends:) Hugs!

[canismax.livejournal.com]

Yeah, i can relate to what you're feeling. I been there many times. And after some soul searching I realized hey, I'm not getting old, I'm just allegeric to drama and B.S.

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much!!! I just think it's healthy to poke some fun at myself from time to time...and trust me...if there had really been someone there that I was interested in, I'd have put my glasses away ( they're just for reading anyway:) and have invited him over to read the sports page with me. :) HUGS!

[bonkishnurtaz.livejournal.com]

Nah, not as far as I am concerned; BTW, when are you coming to Tucson? hugs

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

End of January 2006!

[lfkbear.livejournal.com]

I must be a crotchety old man, too. As I read your post, I thought, "now what's wrong with just having a quiet burger and a paper?" The mating dance can get tired, no matter how old you are.

And for me, there are time when knowing that you could "get some" and you opt not to because you wanna chill is good enough.

You're a quality man. Enjoy that. And when you're ready to slay the bar dragons again, the urge will carry you through.

Congrats on your 250th performance!

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

Thanks, my friend! You don't even know me and you get me!! I just like to poke fun at myself from time to time, to remember that many of the activities that I pursued in my past...like the constant prowl for notches on my belt, led to nothing but a series of belts that fell apart because there was nothing of substance left!

I appreciate the compliment. I'll step out and "slay the dragons" again when I'm ready to meet someone new. But he'll have a lot to overcome, because I've had two terrific men in my life before and I want the same quality next time around! HUGS!

[rock-bear.livejournal.com]

Join the club!

When I'm out on tour we get free tickets to clubs and parties and I frequently find myself hunting the streets by myself for somewhere that does a nice cup of tea and decent pudding.

I have a feeling there is a big change in culture happening because I know more and more people are feeling like us, I predict a huge market change into peoviding quiet places for civiloised people to relax in quietly.

Its such a pity I was born too late for gentlemans clubs

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

Maybe we can bring the gentlemens clubs back:) I read a novel a few years back called The Swimming Pool Library. I'd love for something like that to exist once again.

I do know that I feel like I fit better in another time and place. I'll take some teasing for it, but I miss the late 1970s and the easy, sleazy atmosphere...where people weren't afraid to be sexual...where it wasn't all some faceless hook up over the internet, but immediate and hot. Like the pining in your recent post. Yes, it was dangerous, but it was somehow more uncomplicated.

If it makes me old to want quiet and relaxation after a hard day's work, then may I be toddering:) HUGS!

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

*grin*... I was just hungry... it was the only place close.... I stubbornly tried to do exactly what I do at other meals when I'm on the road and alone... read....but then, I do have to take responsibility for my behavior...

I mostly am a loner...so that part isn't unusual. Maybe the post is more about wishing I had a good friend or two on this tour...or visiting me on tour (like last week in Montreal), to share the time with. Maybe it's more about missing people....

Hugs!!!

[quietkub.livejournal.com]

HUG!
you are not a crotchety old man!! you were just tired and wanted some "Me" time while having dinner.

Your a very outgoing person and I dont think you have much difficulties running into chance meeting.

anti social times occur...it all depends on the mood..maybe you were feeling laid back and just wanted to chill?

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

It's our perceptions of ourselves, isn't it? You talk about being shy, but I just thought you were charming in your reticence when I met you last week. I talk about being a crotchety old man, but the truth is that I can be articulate and outgoing when I'm with a group of people I like and feel comfortable with...otherwise, I feel just as shy and retiring as you do. I just wanted to puncture my behavior a bit. I wasn't in the mood for drag shows, loud and smokey clubs and idel chatter ( plus I didn't see anyone I remotely found attractive), so I grumpily hid behind my newspaper:) I hate it when the desire for food triumphs over my preference for a quiet environment:) HUGS!

[rossbear.livejournal.com]

BECOMING crochety?! Please. Anyone that's witnessed you and your Dad dish it out knows you can hold your own with the best of them! But being opionated is one of the reasons I love ya. Getting old? You betcha...almost as old as me. But I'll always be older...nananananana!

Couldn't help but LOL when reading the statement, "I’ve evolved and am no longer willing to put myself in situations, or in the midst of a crowd of people, I won’t enjoy" when you had just done that by sitting down to a burger in the middle of a DRAG show. I KNOW that is your fave entertainment! But I understand that life on the road, especially eating late, is always an adventure....as Montreal proved once again.

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

Well Steve, you must remember you've had access to my opinions longer than almost anyone, so you've seen the good and the bad:)

As to the burger in the midst of a fundraising drag show, my hunger won out (as it usually does:).But in my defense,I didn't know there was going to be one; a lack of pre-knowledge should score points somehow...and not make my claim too nonsensical. LOL!

Being opinionated is one of the reasons I love you too! Liking sports is another. New Years Eve 1981 is another....*eg*....

Can't wait to see the pictures from Montreal!! HUGS!