Dan's Take On Why I Enjoy Atlantis Gay Cruises

WHAT MY HUSBAND LOVES ABOUT ATLANTIS CRUISES

By Dan Evans

First of all, he’s really delighted that the company charters an entire ship,so we are in a floating all-gay environment for a week or more, except for the crew of course, as we don’t know their romantic interests. Then, as soon as he comes onboard, Jim will put up, on our cabin door, photos of us from past cruises and a bulletin board so he can report on our daily activities, usually excursions to the fascinating ports we visit. He enjoys working out in the gym when there are ‘days at sea.’ We both like being able tomeet some fellow shipmates from former trips, be they from England or Pennsylvania. In the late afternoons he never skips the famed Martini Bar, where the bartenders juggle with the cocktail shakers, sometimes 12 at one time! Jim enjoys the leisurely dinners withshipmates old and new. When he can, he loves lying in the sun near the pool. And for three daytime parties, he dances, whether it’s dog-tag T Dance or the Splash party, where everyone gets wet repeatedly. In the ports we take extensive excursions, and Jim will lookup good places to eat, in between taking countless photos that he can share on FB and on his extremely informative blog, Hard to Port. To coin a clichéd phrase, there aren’t enough hours in the day on these cruises, but they are always tremendous highlights of the year for my husband and they his favorite trips.

Why A Lot Of Gay Men (Including me!) Love Atlantis All-Gay Cruises

Jeff Pham, who will be on our upcoming cruise, posted this list of things he's looking forward to on the cruise. He has the spirit, for sure!

Seeing our Aussie shipmates starting their great migration to Europe is the first signal that another Atlantis adventure is about to begin. Here is a list of things I am so looking forward to: That first lingering bear hug from friends we haven't seen in so long. That first (but not inappropriately lingering 😜) bear hug of friends we have yet to meet. Laughs over drinks and dinners with said friends. Exploring new sights and experiences of this part of the world with my hubby. Seeing friends (and snapping their pictures) on board and in port. Dog tag tea dance!!!!! (And adding to our collection) Holding my hubby's hand everywhere we go on the ship. The first sunrise at sea. Lure of Leather!!! Costume reveal!!! Dancing under the stars in the middle of the Mediterranean with 3600 friends. 2:00 am french fries run at the Ocean View Cafe to refuel before going back to the dance floor. Napping in a covered lounger in the solarium curled up in hubby's arms. Creme brûlée for dessert every night. EVERY night. Lining up to go into the main theatre for a show at night. Make out sessions under the stars with hubby on the great lawn. Cracking open a few bottles at the Sunset Bar around sunset with hubby and friends. Using up all the memory in my phone, iPad & camera memory sticks and jamming them with pictures and videos of our antics. Floating in the bear pond in hubby's arms. ... So much more to list. So much more to savour. For now, I'll just wish everyone safe travels and remind you to rest up and recharge. You'll need all the energy you can muster for the next three weeks! Remember... Smile. Say hello. Be open. Be respectful. Have fun. Let's make this the best cruise ever!

We Are In A National Emergency: What Is To Be Done?

We are in the midst of a national emergency. The US presidency has been corrupted by a racist bigot. Robert Reich:

It is now clear for all to see, if they hadn’t seen it before: Trump is a morally unfit to lead this nation.

What we must do: 1. We must pressure all of our elected officials of both parties to unite against bigotry, white supremacy, and racism. It is time for a bi-partisan delegation of congress to visit the White House and convince the occupant to leave for the good of the country. 2. We must continue to oppose the racists and bigots at every turn, in the streets if need be. We must not repeat the mistakes of Germans in the 1930s who stood by and did nothing. Martin Neimoller:

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

NEVER AGAIN!

A Personal Statement Of Principles

I did not compose the following, but I agree with all of it: This is where I stand. Period. I make no apologies to any or all of my FB friends for this. I know some are tired of political postings and rants. But apart from non-committal posts of recipes, meals, flowers, dogs, seashells, balloons, pictures, cats, drama, humor, our own art, and even beautiful expressions of spiritual beliefs, FB is (until it gets taken away) a vehicle to express our outrage at how far our country has currently fallen on the humanitarian scale. To me, FB is a useful vehicle for my passion and activism. The fevered ego currently occupying our White House, his power hungry cronies taking positions of authority in his Cabinet and administration, and the majority of Republicans in Congress are a real and active threat to me, my way of life, and all the people I love. And unless you are worth billions of dollars, they are a threat to you and your life, too. So, I will Resist and I will continue to be a part of the resistance, and proud of it. If you can join in or hang with it, fine. But, I refuse to "play nice" in the face of what these people are doing. Our country's well-being demands that we stand and resist. Some people are saying that we should give #45 a chance, that we should "work together" with him because he won the election and he is "everyone's president." This is my response: • I will not say #45's name. • I will not forget how badly he and so many others treated former President Barack Obama for EIGHT YEARS... • I will not "work together" to privatize Medicare, cut Social Security and Medicaid. • I will not "work together" to remove civil rights from ANYONE. • I will not "work together" to destroy marriage equality and make it a states right to deny love between two people. • I will not "work together" to allow men to make choices about a woman's own body, or to restrict health care for women. • I will not "work together" to deny health care to people who need it. • I will not "work together" to increase the profits of the insurance companies. • I will not "work together" to deny medical coverage to people on the basis of an alleged or actual "pre-existing condition." • I will not "work together" to build a wall. • I will not "work together" to persecute Muslims. • I will not "work together" to shut out refugees from countries where we destabilized their governments, so that we could have something more agreeable to our oligarchy. • I will not "work together" to lower taxes on the 1%. • I will not "work together" to increase taxes on the middle class and poor. • I will not "work together" to help #45 use the Presidency to line his pockets and those of his cronies. • I will not "work together" to weaken and demolish environmental protection. • I will not "work together" to sell American lands, especially National Parks, to companies which then despoil those lands. • I will not "work together" to enable the killing in any way of whole species of animals just because they are predators, or inconvenient for a few, or because some people want to get their thrills killing them. • I will not "work together" to waste trillions more on our military when we already have the strongest in the world. • I will not "work together" to alienate countries that have been our allies for as long as I have been alive. • I will not "work together" to slash funding for education. • I will not "work together" to take basic assistance from people who are at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder. • I will not "work together" to allow torture and "black op" prison sites. • I will not "work together" to "take their oil." • I will not "work together" to get rid of common sense regulations on guns. • I will not "work together" to eliminate the minimum wage. • I will not "work together" to support so-called "Right To Work" laws, or undermine, weaken or destroy Unions in any way. • I will not "work together" to suppress scientific research, be it on climate change, fracking, or any other issue where a majority of scientists agree that #45 and his supporters are wrong on the facts. • I will not "work together" to increase the number of nations that have nuclear weapons. • I will not "work together" to put even more "big money" into politics. • I will not "work together" to violate the Geneva Convention. • I will not "work together" to give the Ku Klux Klan, the Nazi Party and white supremacists a seat at the table, or to normalize their hatred. • I will not "work together" to increase voter suppression. • I will not "work together" to normalize tyranny. • I will not “work together” to eliminate or reduce ethical oversite at any level of government. • I will not "work together" with anyone who is, or admires, tyrants and dictators who murder their opposition. • I will not "work together" with #45 because I will not allow one man to feed upon the fears of the populace, blaming minorities for their condition or their inability to thrive. This is the line, and I am drawing it. • I will stand for honesty, love, respect for all living beings, and for the compassion and humanity that is the center of Life itself. • I will use my voice and my hands, to reach out to the uninformed, and to anyone who will LISTEN for what's really so dangerous about #45, his friends and the Big Lie they spin to the world: • That "winning", "being great again", "rich" or even "beautiful" is anything more than nothing when others are sacrificed to glorify its existence.

Seen In St. Petersburg In July

Dan's Paintings At The Pines Biennial