Because one day I could be him.

[Rex]

I used to be so nice to the beggars and peddles in NYC when I lived there and then I heard many of them fake being crippled or homeless just to get money. WTF...

I am usually nice to people though, especially the elderly.

As for Jasun, aren't you married? Why do you think you'll be alone when your old? Isn't it legal for gay couples to adopt kids in some states?

 

[neruda]

This is sobering.
Are there old folk communities catering to gay people?
Retiring homes, hospices etc.

 

[Garawr]

Good on ya. I'd be a bit afraid of picking folks up, even in WeHo. Not that I don't think that I'd be able to defend myself, but I'd rather not put myself in a situation that would require it.

 

[Kulindahr]

Wow.

Two things came to mind when I read that:

One was just the other day when I bent to lift a big flower pot (like, big enough to almost hide in) that I'd set down in place a few years back. I got started, and couldn't get it more than two inches off the ground. I was feeling too proud to ask for help -- besides, not too many people in the neighborhood would help the "pervert" anyway. I'd given up, when here comes a guy, maybe 25, and asks if he can give me a hand.
Who knows, maybe his name was Jasun.

The other was the last time I picked up someone like that in a city. He looked like crap, but a still small voice said it was okay. I was packing, so I shifted in my seat to feel just where things were and feel sure I could clear if I had to, and said, "Yeah, hop in".
It turned out he was a Marine on leave, totally stressed from his first deployment, right out of ROTC, hit family troubles, and got himself messed up. When I learned that, I asked him where he really wanted to go.
It was more than a bit out of my way, but I dropped him at the doorstep. The I went and found a quiet place to park, and cried.

 

[Garawr]

And I still have yet to see Milk. Bah!

 

[Yooper]

Jasun is right. Some day we all will get old.

I had the privilege of attending a Gay Man's 75th birthday party on Saturday Night. A great time was had by all. A buffet, drinks, live entertainment. It was really fun!

A slide show was shown on the video system chronicling his 75 years. Fun Photos! The pictures of him, with buddies, in black and white, almost qualified as Vintage Porn!

The party was held at a local bar, and was attended by at least 100 people of all ages. It was really cool to see the 20-somethings wish him a Happy Birthday.

He clearly isn't going to die alone.

Remember, kids, when you see the old trolls like me (and older ones!) lurking around the corner, we really aren't trying to stalk you! --at least MOST of us. We have cool stories to tell, and some of us actually know how to use a cell phone!

 

[belamy]

Stranger things have happened.

An actor just won an Oscar for playing a gay character who actually has sex.

He was competing against a foul-mouthed, drug-user loser... he was supposed to be the best choice out of the worst

 

[Garawr]

and some of us actually know how to use a cell phone!

Can you teach my mother?

 

[Yooper]

Can you teach my mother?

I have trouble running mine--I only know how to respond to a text message but have no idea how to initiate one-- but the dude who had the birthday actually has an iPhone! And he was showing some recently discovered porn on it during the course of the party.

So, sadly, no I can't help your Mom but I know someone that can!

 

[frankfrank]

Good on you Jasun! I'm not even as surprised as some of the people in here are - you've made a lot of posts during my 3+ years of JUB which have shown that you have a lot of love to give.

That's often been true, in fact, of many posts which seemed, on the surface, to be coming from a hard-ass. I've seen some of the recipients post, later, that your intensity, and not pulling punches, was something that they paid attention to, and they ran with the ball you threw at them, and made it to the end zone.

I'm not quite ambitious enough to actually hope that I can someday ride with you across the Outback on your bike, but I hope we can someday sit down and talk a while over lunch, or a couple cold ones.

And, yes, I think about the getting-old-without-a-support-system every so often, because I'm about there ALREADY. If something were to happen where I became incapacitated, I have absolutely NO support system in place. As far as family goes, I have no family whatsoever within 430 miles (Jackson, Michigan) and he's a cousin who certainly couldn't possibly move out here. Two female relatives (nieces) at 470 miles are (I hate to say it) "trailer trash" type who certainly wouldn't supply any kind of support system, and furthermore I've not even known how to get ahold of either since the mid-Nineties because their addresses change 4 or 5 times a year and I'm always several addresses behind!

There are no other known relatives within 1,150 miles...and unfortunately my friends in Macomb are people I don't yet know well enough, OR who don't have wheels and cannot drive, or are utterly unreliable.

I have in my papers that, if something happens requiring liquidation of my estate, somebody has to come here the 600 miles from Oklahoma City to do so. There is nobody else I know, who I trust...and who is at all willing.

 

[aadams990]

Very kind of you!

Wanna get married?

 

[Garawr]

He's already married!

 

[aadams990]

Oh, nice! lol. Just my luck!

 

[JUB]

You are a very great guy jasun. Its so refreshing to know that there are still people out there with the caring compassion you have.

 

[neruda]

To answer my own question ( well, coz you guys tend to get so one track):

http://www.ehow.com/how_17099_find-about-gay.html

 

[Críostóir]

Maybe I was just too much of a pussy to say "no." I didn't do anything but say "yes, I'll drive you a couple blocks." I can't imagine that anyone here wouldn't do it too.

Well, I wouldn't, but mostly because I don't have a driver's license or a car and wouldn't be in the situation in the first place.

 

[Fire]

You are a very great guy jasun. Its so refreshing to know that there are still people out there with the caring compassion you have.

Jesus Christ you guys, he gave the man a lift, not a kidney. It was good of him to do for sure but this circlejerk praisefest really wasn't the point of the thread.


As for me, I've given very little thought as to who will take care of me when I get old because I don't expect I shall ever be old. That said, the topic has been a sort of theme of my life, having spent part of my childhood visiting shut-ins through the church and most of my highschool years as primary caregiver to two ailing grandparents. It can be extremely disconcerting to imagine growing old alone, but we should never fail to let situations like this impress upon us the importance of helping others.