Bob's Blog

Bob and Jack featured in coverage of Don't Ask Don't Tell repeal

2010-02-05T05:48:00.000-08:00

Associated Press:

Obama to call for an end to 'don't ask, don't tell'

January 27, 2010 | 4:39 pm

President Obama will call for the repeal of the military's “don't ask, don't tell” policy toward homosexuals in his State of the Union address tonight, an Obama administration official said.

The policy was signed into law in 1993 by then-Democratic President Clinton as a compromise after the military objected to his calls to open its doors to gays.

Obama, who will deliver his State of the Union address at 9 p.m. EST, had pledged during the presidential campaign to change the policy. The policy stops the government from asking recruits or anyone in the military if they are homosexual, provided they did not disclose their sexual orientation.

Critics charge that having gays openly serve in the military would undermine morale and discipline. But others reject such complaints and call the policy unfair.

-- Associated Press

File photo from Feb. 2009 of Jack Reavley,left, 85, and Bob Claunch, 83, who have been together for more than 50 years. They met in the Army while they were both serving in Munich and have been together ever since. They kept their relationship secret for a year before confronting the troops in their unit. Jack had a wife and 2 kids that he left so he could be with Bob, and the two have spent their life together running a radio station and playing extras in TV and film. A documentary about their lives was released in 2006, called "Bob and Jack's 52-Year Adventure". They are now retired and live at Triangle Square, the Gay and Lesbian Elder Housing complex in Hollywood. Credit: Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times

Documentary subjects Bob and Jack given national attention in coverage of "Don't Ask Don't Tell"

2010-01-27T18:05:00.000-08:00

Associated Press:

Obama to call for an end to 'don't ask, don't tell'

January 27, 2010 | 4:39 pm

President Obama will call for the repeal of the military's “don't ask, don't tell” policy toward homosexuals in his State of the Union address tonight, an Obama administration official said.

The policy was signed into law in 1993 by then-Democratic President Clinton as a compromise after the military objected to his calls to open its doors to gays.

Critics charge that having gays openly serve in the military would undermine morale and discipline. But others reject such complaints and call the policy unfair.

-- Associated Press

Jack and I are poster children in coverage of national LGBT elder resource center

2009-10-23T05:50:00.000-07:00

Jack Reavly and Bob Claunch at their Los Angeles, CA home

And we love it!

View the Bay Windows article

HHS to Create a National Resource Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Elders

2009-10-21T20:10:00.000-07:00

FROM the director of Bob and Jack's 52-Year Adventure:

"This is a quantum leap for our new documentary, Gen Silent, about LGBT elders in so much fear
 about getting safe care that they are going back into the closet.
We are turning Gen Silent into a training curriculum for institutions and caregivers that
will be available sometime next summer and this project that we are so passionate about
seems to be happening at the perfect time." 

WASHINGTON--(Business Wire)--
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced plans to establish the nation`s
first national resource center to assist communities across the country in their
efforts to provide services and supports for older lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender (LGBT) individuals... 

See the full article

See a trailer for Gen Silent

Contact: stu@stumaddux.com

Hate filled comment from AOL article on Bob and Jack

2009-03-08T10:40:00.000-07:00

PHYLMIKE34

01:19 PMMar 08 2009

I hope aol goes completely bankrupt and crashes and burns and whoever was over putting this abomination of an article in the headlines trying to make an abomination of a sin look totaly normal,it is a sickness a sin,an abomination the bible calls it,all queers will burn in hell,I hope they burn in hell for this stuff,I will fight the queers with my last breath,they will not parade their sickness around my family .where has the decentness went from peoples heads.

AOL Comments on Bob and Jack article:

2009-03-08T10:35:00.000-07:00

Laststop060
12:13 PMMar 07 2009

To all you bashers, I guarantee if these two men who served our nation were saving your pathetic lives, you'd think twice about calling them names. My own opinion of gay marriage and gay rights has nothing to do with this. How dare you bash others who have different ways of life than you. I guarantee you would never have the nerve to say this to their faces. You are all so brave to bash, go to a gay pride parade and say what you say here, I'd laugh to see you get beaten like a baby seal.

KShoe007
12:17 PMMar 07 2009

Why is this page one news on AOL? There must be more pressing stories that deserve page one status. I have officially changed my home page....... Good bye AOL.

Lyndavan2010
12:18 PMMar 07 2009

People do care what is going on with Gay couples. AOL informs there readers of what is going on in our society. So there is a point in this article. And I think it is sad. Because, yeah, when one of them pass away, the other won't inherit what the decease one had gain.

MMDBEAMER
12:18 PMMar 07 2009

Boo, hoo, hoo............

AOL News feature includes old pics of Bob and Jack

2009-03-07T04:08:00.000-08:00

Bob Claunch and Jack Reavley who told of their struggle to stay together as a gay couple for more than half a century in the award-winning documentary, Bob and Jack's 52-Year Adventure, are featured in Saturday morning's national news section of AOL. The article includes several compelling photos of the couple in their early days and allows readers to comment on the right of LGBT people to marry.

Link to article
http://news.aol.com/article/elderly-gay-couple/373468

Bob and Jack featured in LA Times

2009-03-05T08:23:00.001-08:00

On the day the California Supreme Court hears arguments on Proposition 8, I am proud to have the subjects of our documentary, Bob and Jack's 52-Year Adventure, featured in the Los Angeles Times about the longevity of their relationship.
Bob Claunch and Jack Reavley are doing their part in this decisive battle on gay marriage by being out and open and honest.

Thanks guys for your friendship and your example,

-Stu Maddux, Director

Link to Article

EMAIL FROM FAN

2009-02-25T06:13:00.000-08:00

Hi Bob & Jack

A lovely story and although I haven't seen the movie, I'll certainly add it to the front page and Movie section of my website, GrayGay.com, the place for mature gay men and their admirers.

I'm 50 and my partner Trevor (aged 75) was in a 40+ year relationship with his previous partner. We had a 14-year looooong-distance relationship (UK to Australia) where I was the official bit on the side! but since his previous partner died in 2007, I am now the official bit!

Through Trevor I have met a lesbian couple in their 90s who have lived together for over 60 years - so you'll have to keep going for a few more years to get the record! I helped to find them some local lesbian contacts after we moved from their area to Sydney as all their friends had died or moved away and they had no local support - a common problem.

AFIK the movie hasn't been shown in London, UK (where I lived until 2007) or in Sydney, Australia (where I live now). To promote the movie locally, I'll suggest to the Sydney Mature Age Gays group that they should screen it at one of their meetings and also recommend it to the Sydney Mardi Gras film festival organisers - the 2009 festival is on now so it would have to be for 2010. I also have contacts with the Gay Film Festival organisers in Melbourne & London and will recommend it to them too.

If you're ever asked for other movies to create a gay senior theme for a movie festival, I can recommend, Seventy (very funny) and everyone should see this ad (more movies, ads).

Regards

Paul
Editor of GrayGay.com
The place for mature gay men, their admirers and the GrayGay Guide to places that welcome them worldwide

aul:
Thank-you so much for email. We would so appreciate you including our film in your movie section. The site is well done and we know of it all the way out here in LA!
Congratulations on your time together with Trevor. Was he the younger man and now he's the older man? The best of both worlds.
It's also nice to know that we don't hold the record for long-term gay relationship! No one ever wants to be the oldest at anything. I'm sure that our director, Stu Maddux, would love to hear more about the lesbian couple that you know.
You are right that Bob and Jack's 52-Year Adventure has not been seen yet in London or Sydney and we would all be grateful for any help introducing our story to people there. The film has been seen at the Melbourne gay festival which we heard went well.
It would be so nice to revisit all these places again but travel is SO much harder than just staying put these days. Besides, the weather is beautiful here and we love the city.

Sincerely,

Bob and Jack

MORE on Bob and Jack featured in LA Times

2009-02-20T11:15:00.000-08:00

Bob Claunch (left) and Jack Reavley at a screening of the Stu Maddux documentary
Bob and Jack's 52-Year Adventure at Triangle Square, Winter 2008

Dear Friends....News from Hollywood......We have had one session with a young lady from the L.A. Times concerning Jack and myself. That went so well that she and her photographer will be back Monday. They will get pictures as well as more interviews about this building which houses ,mostly older men. It just so happens that they are mostly gay. It's how the government is seeing that we don't get left out when it comes to housing. So.....stay tuned from Hollywood. More later......Bob and Jack.

Bob and Jack play Wiesbaden, Germany

2009-01-09T16:38:00.000-08:00

Bob Claunch looking out from his quarters in 1950

The film documenting our life-long relationship, Bob and Jack's 52-Year Adventure screens Sunday January 18th at 6pm in Wiesbaden, Germany at the 2009 Homonale Festival.

Jack Reavley was his commanding officer

Jack and I are delighted to be seen back in the country where we met in the service all those years ago. Please let us know what you think of our story! For more info about us visit the website: http://bobandjack.org/

The Caligari Theatre in Wiesbaden

Bob and Jack featured in French Mag: Tetu

2008-12-19T12:29:00.000-08:00

Bob Claunch and Jack Reavley are featured in the December edition of Tetu Magazine. French readers can learn of their life at Triangle Square, Los Angeles' gay and lesbian elder housing complex. Website...

Bob and Jack screen in Sarasota

2008-08-11T08:52:00.000-07:00

Jack Reavley and Bob Claunch in 1952 more pics

This weekend's screening of Bob and Jack's 52-Year Adventure at the Sarasota GLBT FilmFest is a very interesting one for us. Many other seniors will be there because of the make up of that community.
I'll be interested to hear what their reaction is to the film. While our message that all of us are capable of a long-term relationship is geared towards younger gay men and women, we find that the crowds at the screenings tend to be 40+ gay couples. But these folks are our age- in their eighties.
I'm hopeful that there will be a good crowd because people want to see films that they have a connection with. Goodness knows, Jack and I don't have much connection with younger gay men- not that we'd be opposed to it! ;)

Yes we do!

2008-05-24T22:30:00.000-07:00

We announced our wedding plans this morning in a follow up interview on NPR's The State of Things with Frank Stasio. The director of our documentary, Bob and Jack's 52-Year Adventure, has decided to film this latest chapter of our lives and shot this excerpt. Since we've actually been together 55 years at this point, this has got to be one of the longest engagement in gay history! Thanks for a the well wishes that have come in!

Two men together for 55 years to marry

2008-05-17T12:32:00.001-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 16, 2008

Media contact: Stu Maddux (323) 397-2951 stumaddux@bobandjack.org

Photographs are available at: www.bobandjack.org

HALF-CENTURY GAY COUPLE WILL TAKE ADVANTAGE OF CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT RULING

.

(Hollywood, CA) In 1952 an Army sergeant was cornered and courted by his commanding officer. Their romance grew so obvious that rumors became anonymous tips to headquarters. They avoided court-martial by confronting their entire unit. That pivotal moment cemented Bob and Jack together for the rest of their lives. After living through most of the modern LGBT civil rights movement they woke up this morning able to marry each other- and they have decided to take the plunge.

"Our love is still so strong after all these years, yet we were never allowed the ultimate way to express it", says Bob Claunch, now 82, from their home in Los Angeles, CA.

We've always been politically active but neither of us realized how important marriage actually was to us personally until we realized that we actually could become husband...and husband." adds partner turned fiancee Jack Reavley, 83.

No date has been set although the couple would like to have a ceremony this Fall in the community center where they live at Gay and Lesbian Elder Housing in Los Angeles.

The couple's long-term relationship has been the subject of the critically acclaimed documentary, Bob and Jack’s 52-Year Adventure, by filmmaker Stu Maddux. "They want to have a new ending added to the film", says Maddux. "We leave off now with both worried about surviving alone without the legal benefits of marriage. Showing their wedding day will be a much happier conclusion."

Will Bob and Jack get married now?

2008-05-15T18:59:00.000-07:00

Bob Claunch and Jack Reavley on their way to lunch Wednesday, May 14th, 2008

California's Gays and Lesbians won the right to marry today in a court decision that had many of my out of state friends emailing and phoning their congratulations. I suddenly had a fundamental right that I had been denied all my life. I absolutely expected to be joyous and free but instead was overwhelmed. What do I do now? I have a four year relationship that was moving toward domestic partnership in the next few months. But now, that's all up in the air.
Why take half measures? What's holding us back now? Come on, let's go to the alter.
I stopped and wondered what it must be like for Bob and Jack, the gay couple in my documentary "Bob and Jack's 52-Year Adventure." They have been denied the right to marry for more than half a century together.

In my mind they should be first in line at the LA courthouse. They should be on the cover of Time magazine and interviewed on the local news as they tie the knot.
Up to now they've always said that they were all for marriage but it's not for them. Until today, I could have said the same for myself. It was convenient not to contemplate because it wasn't an option.

I wonder, Bob and Jack, are you reconsidering?

Director Stu Maddux to speak about documenting gay life

2008-05-13T07:21:00.000-07:00

Stu Maddux, Director, Bob and Jack's 52-Year Adventure

Hi Bob and Jack!
I don't think I revealed TOO many of your personal secrets last night but here a clip of the show so you can check:

I was on on Pacifica Radio's LGBT show IMRU here in LA with filmmakers Robert Nunez (We're All Angels) and Dante Alencastre (Into The Fire).

Stu Maddux, Robert Nunez, Dante Alencastre

WE, had a great discussion about the panel we are all on this weekend at the ONE Archives. It's about documenting the gay history happening all around us. The hosts were great interviewers.

All three of us will be showing clips from our films at this Sunday's panel. I haven't seen Into the Fire and now I'm very excited to get a peak after hearing Dante talk about how dangerous it was to shoot with transgendered folks in Peru. We're All Angels, Robert's documentary about the Christian Gay Duo, Jason and DeMarco is going to be on Showtime next month and there's so much good stuff I'm curious to see which clips Robert will pick for the panel. From Bob and Jack's 52-Year Adventure I'll be showing the scene where you had the wild sex party in South America during the Pinochet years. No. just kidding, guys. Probably the scene about how you came out in the military. That as we know, was no joke. I've also got a peak of my new film Trip To Hell And Back. I'll try to finally bring you a copy as you asked when I see you on Wednesday.

The mp.3 gives you and idea of what's up but here's the 411:

ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archive Cultural Series:

Where:909 W. Adams Blvd (USC Campus)

When: This Sunday May 18, 2008 2-5pm – free to the public

Director Stu Maddux speaks on gay history tonight

2008-05-12T08:22:00.000-07:00

Director, Stu Maddux, August 2007

Our illustrious director, Stu Maddux (Bob and Jack's 52-Year Adventure) ;)
has been asked to join filmmakers Robert Nunez (We're All Angels) and Dante Alencastre (Into The Fire) to discuss documenting gay history on the radio program, IMRU.
It airs tonight (Monday May12th) at 6:30 pdt on Los Angeles public radio station 90.7
That's "Pacifica Radio" KPFK for you locals. They stream live so click on the link above.

The press release from the organizer says that they'll be telling "some shocking behind the scene stories"
I don't know if they take calls but we'll be listening so we can give Stu a hard time if he reveals too much. We DO have a few skeletons in, strike that, out of the closet.

BTW- We are doing great, Stu! See you on Wednesday for lunch.

Bob and Jack screen in Calgary, Alberta

2008-04-21T19:12:00.001-07:00

Bob and Jack's 52-Year Adventure will be included in the 10th annual Fairy Tales Film Festival in Calgary, AB, CA. Details coming soon. The film of our half-century relationship together is now two-years old. The number of festivals screening us is growing smaller now. At one point we were having about a half dozen a month. How quickly time passes when you are our age. It seems that it was just yesterday that we were wondering if any festival at all would screen us. What a wonderful adventure this film has been!

Film about gay couple with 50+ years screens at gay housing

2008-03-18T09:52:00.000-07:00

We were just delighted at the turnout for our screening at Triangle Square, the LGBT Elder housing complex in Hollywood, CA. Maybe its because...we live there! The pictures have just been posted on our website. Thank-you very much for the flowers and the framed picture. It is so special. And a big thanks to Julissa Espinoza MSW, the Program Director here. She is just fantanstic! We are so lucky to be surrounded by such good people.

Bob

Bob and Jack screen at Gay Lesbian Elder Housing

2008-02-21T05:04:00.000-08:00

Gay and Lesbian Elder Housing, Hollywood, CA.

Hi friends:
We've lived here for close to a year now. There are many gay and lesbian seniors in this complex who have lived full and interesting lives. But you know how it is, the person next door could be a famous movie star and we wouldn't know it. We are all living our own lives. And unfortunately there's not a lot of things to do in our neighborhood. There's ample revitalization in Hollywood but not all the amenities just yet. So, it's not like we get into a van and drive to the dance clubs in Weho. The Spotlight Room a block away is as far as most of us get.

Bob Linscott of LGBT Aging Project Boston gets the skinny from Bob Claunch

So that makes next week all the more of an event for all of us. WE are going to be the movie stars, at least for the evening. All of us are gathering in the community room to see the documentary that Jack and I are in: Bob and Jack's 52-Year Adventure. It's the story of how a gay couple has survived a half century together. The film has been very successful and we've enjoyed being a part of the questions and answers after screenings so very much.

Life partners Jack Reavley and Bob Claunch with Director Stu Maddux during a screening in 2006

But it's been almost a year since we've been able to travel anywhere to do that. Since then, the film has played all over the world and we haven't been able to attend because of our health. But now it's coming to a retirement community near you! I wish that it was open to the public. I wish that they were shining the spotlights lights like premieres at Grauman's Chinese Theatre a few blocks away. But it's just for the residence here. And that's fine. Because it will give us a chance to get to know our neighbors even better. I'm sure there is the subject of a great documentary waiting behind every door.

See Bob and Jack's 52-Year Adventure in San Diego this week

2008-02-11T11:04:00.001-08:00

Hello my friends!
The folks at SAGE in San Diego are having a Valentine's Day film event with gay ROMANTIC movies. What a great idea! What's even better is that Bob and Jack's 52-Year Adventure is included in the line-up. I must admit, that's pretty darn validating! Not that Bob and I need validating. We've come this far when the validation was very thin at times. But maybe it will help others see that they can have the same lasting relationship that we have. Or better yet that the same struggles that couples, gay or straight, have today we had just as badly back then. Oh who cares, just go and laugh.
There are two shows absolutely free and open to the public. And we'd love to get your opinion of our life story.
Happy Valentine's Day! -Bob

Pics from Bob and Jack screening

2008-01-21T11:17:00.000-08:00

Hi Bob:
Our fundraising screening in Raleigh, North Carolina has been one of the most rewarding experiences yet with Bob and Jack's 52-Year Adventure. I've posted the pictures on the website. Thanks to everyone at the Galaxy Cinema, Equality North Carolina, Ray Richardson, Bob Winstead and all my NC boys.
Stu

BOB AND JACK get week-long screening to benefit human rights

2008-01-03T06:45:00.000-08:00

Bob Claunch, Director Stu Maddux, Jack Reavley on the balcony
of the couple's Hollywood apartment at Gay and Lesbian Elder Housing Dec. 23, 2007

Jack and I are very excited that our documentary will be raising money for civil rights issues all next week. God knows we are ready for it after 55 years together as "friends", "long-time companions" "partners"- if you only knew all code words we've lived through. We witnessed with our own eyes the lunch counter sit-ins in the fifties, the feminist movement in the seventies: It's amazing that we are now actually getting to work ourselves on issues that affect both Jack and I so directly.
All the awards for this film have been amazing, but this screening in particular is so rewarding to think about because its a fund raiser. I hope anyone reading this will spread the word.
Our documentary, Bob and Jack's 52-Year Adventure, will screen from January 11th-17th at the Galaxy Cinema in Raleigh, North Carolina. (DETAILS) We are gladly donating the film print (screening fees, etc.) and the theater has offered to give the proceeds to Equality North Carolina. The Galaxy Cinema is so gracious to bring in the film's director, Stu Maddux, for questions and answers on the 11th-13th. I know that people we find the experience something that they talk about days later; and, I hope that you will write to use here with your thoughts and maybe share your experiences as well. -Bob

Bob and Jack, at 83, Maintain Gay Card

2007-12-31T06:18:00.001-08:00

Jack Reavley, Bob Claunch at Director Stu Maddux at a screening in Los Angeles, CA

A CLUE AT HOW THE GAY COUPLE STAYS IN TOUCH:

Hi Bob and Jack:

Thanks so much for the subscription to the Advocate and OUT Magazine. We are enjoying them both and I've already read through the January issues. I've always admired all the gay savvy periodicals on your coffee table. Now I feel like I will have a fighting chance to keep MY gay card in 2008 as much as you both do. I do wish that they would have made you guys one of their OUT100 this year. You would have been perfect for it.

Stu Maddux, Director
Bob and Jack's 52-Year Adventure

Bob and Jack win in Long Island

2007-12-11T08:04:00.000-08:00

Bob and Jack's 52-Year Adventure has just won the Jury Award for Best Short Documentary at the Long Island Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.

"Thanks-you" to the panel that decided on us above so many great films on the festival's program. It truly makes Jack and I feel that our lifetime together is special to more that just us.
As a movie fan, a JURY award is so wonderful to have in addition to the audience choice awards that have come our way.
The award certificate came as a message in a bottle through the mail. Very clever!
I stupidly got rid of the bottle part before taking a picture. No matter. I think this picture I've borrowed from another screening probably shows how I looked when I opened it. -Bob

A recent screening at the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center

From Bandanas To Blogs

2007-12-04T07:15:00.000-08:00

Bob, I thought your readers would find this as fascinating as I do. It's written by our biggest supporter in the Boston area.
Best regards,
Stu Maddux, Director Bob and Jack's 52-Year Adventure

From bandanas to blogs
by Bob Linscott
EDGE Contributor
Thursday Nov 29, 2007

We have come a long way from the days when the only way to meet another gay person put us at great risk or relied upon secret codes like colored bandanas, earrings or hidden societies like Mattachine. LGBT folks coming out today are one mouse click away from meeting hundreds of other people like themselves. Now, most dating sites ask if you want to date a man or woman and you can even customize your potential date by specifying age, height, weight, hair color, or education.

To appreciate the relative ease of connecting today I would like to look back at the ways gay and bi-curious men found each other over the past three generations. In many cases we did so at great risk of bodily harm or social exclusion.

In order to explore this question, I turned to the men who attend Ethos’s weekly luncheon for LGBT seniors, and my colleagues in the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus and the JP Men’s Group (for a middle perspective). The input from LGBT youth comes from my years as an educator and GSA Advisor. A subsequent Generation Us column will explore the same issues with women.

Ralph, a man approaching his eighties and one of my regulars at the Café, had a good chuckle when I told him about my research for this story. He said "I can answer that easily. The way we met in the old days was the three B’s: Balconies, Bushes and Baths; those are all gone now." Ralph stumbled into the gay scene in the ’50s by accident; he loved watching movies, especially John Wayne westerns. He was surprised by the number of people that would congregate in the dark balconies of the theaters. Then, when someone sat right next to him in an empty row he caught on. After that, Ralph became an avid moviegoer since that was the easiest way for him to meet other men.

Camille, in his 80s, spoke about the baths in New York City. He has a fondness for that era in the mid-’60s because "it provided a sanctuary where we could truly be ourselves. It was more than a place for sex, it was our entire social outlet. We could talk openly there but we couldn’t associate with one another in the real world. It was also a pure time, before AIDS entered the gay scene and changed everything."

Some men, especially those who grew up in rural areas, also spoke about "the bushes." Tom, a colleague in the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus, described growing up queer in Ohio in the early sixties as "not fun and very lonely." He heard rumors about the city park and that became the only means he could connect with other gay men. He said it was very dangerous and he was assaulted there once.

Clearly not all men met through sexual encounters back then. Some, like Jim, 74, sought out a socio-political gathering of gay men known as the Mattachine Society. He felt that finding the courage to attend that meeting was the only way to meet other men like himself.

The next generation of men I spoke with, the men who came out in the ’70s and ’80s, had new means available: personal ads and the bars. Although gay bars have been in existence for ages, people felt safer to venture out and frequent them, given the end of police raids thanks to Stonewall and the emerging gay rights movement.

Almost all of the men I spoke with who came out in this era mentioned their first contact with the gay community was through bars like Sporters, Chaps and Buddies. Dean, another fellow chorus member, who came out in the late ’80s, said that the first people he met were through newspaper personals in the Globe and the Phoenix because there wasn’t a Worldwide Web back then. For some this seemed like a safer route than the bars, provided that you could figure out terminology like "SWJM Greek Active ISO GAM French Passive."

There is one thing that clearly defines the experience of the younger gay community, those who came out in the ’90s and present decade: the Internet. Some of the daring ones came out in high school or college but almost all of them made their first contact with another gay person online, on websites with chat rooms and personals like America Online. Later, more specialized sites catered to strictly gay and gay curious clientele such as Planet Out, Gay.com and Manhunt. Ed, a recent college graduate, says that "with the advent of Facebook (which launched in February 2004) students who are willing to self- identify their orientation on their personal profiles can easily find all the other students who are gay, bi, lesbian or transsexual."

With the increased visibility and acceptance of gay issues in mainstream culture students are coming out at younger and younger ages and technology is trying to catch up to them. Harlan, one of my former students, now a high school senior, came out when he was 13. There was absolutely nowhere for him to go in middle school so he had to wait until high school and he transferred to a school with a Gay Straight Alliance. Many of the gay websites do not cater to youth, but fortunately new websites strictly for LGBT youth started appearing on the scene. Websites such as Mogenic (claiming to be "The biggest gay and lesbian youth community on earth") and The Gay Youth Corner (GYC.com) are very popular for youth 13 to 24.

The ease of connecting with hundreds of other gay men one’s own age would have been unfathomable to some of the seniors I initially spoke with. Many of these men risked their lives and reputations to seek out the company of gay men.

So, have we lost anything with the swift and easy access to the Internet? One figure, clearly mentioned fondly by the first two groups, was the "older gay mentor." Many men who came out in the ’50s through the ’80s describe the archetype of the "wise older gay friend" who taught them about gay life. None of the young men I spoke to mentioned such a mentor or role model. Has their access to the Internet, gay newspapers and the support systems within high schools and colleges for LGBT youth taken over that role?

Because of the rapid change in the way we have met over the decades, one question looms in our future. What’s next? Will future generations have gay bars or gay choruses and other venues to meet face to face? If increased social acceptance means assimilation, how will that impact the way the next generation seeks the company of other gay men and women?

copyright 2007 Bay Windows

Advice for couples: learn to say, "No" this holiday

2007-11-26T07:34:00.000-08:00

As a couple that has been together for more than a half-century I can tell you one thing that has not changed: holiday stress. It is the touchy topics of money, family and weight gain all wrapped into one. Not to mention these optional aggravating circumstances: Too much drinking and partying, maxing out the credit cards, the relative or friend who traditionally puts the moves on your loved one, the kids who are turning into brats with each passing year, the list is endless.
What has helped us in the past is realizing at the beginning of each season that none of this- NONE OF THIS- is mandatory. We are not required, not matter how guilty a relative or friend makes us feel, to run this gauntlet. It is fraught with dysfunction, addiction and resentment. It is also filled with love and joy but I think you get where I'm going with this. Don't let the good be invisible because all you see is the chore of getting through another year. My gift for you this holiday: learn to say, "no thank-you".
Some of these things have kept Jack and I talking to each other by New Year's Day:

A mutually agreed upon spending limit on each other.
One maybe two holiday parties a weekend.
Always having a car (or other mode of escape) with us when we visit relatives. "Running to the store" has been a huge stop gap when I feel the buttons being pushed.
Saving at least one holiday for ourselves (no travel, no hosting, no presents except to each other).
No drinking (smoking pot, whatever) out of sheer boredom. (Because believe me, things REALLY get interesting).

We would love to hear your tips for surviving the holidays. In the meantime, please try one of these and I bet that you will really enjoy your time with loved ones! -Bob

DVD released about 1/2 century romance between two men

2007-11-15T06:17:00.000-08:00

NOVEMBER 15, 2007
Contact: Stu Maddux (323) 397-2951 stumaddux@bobandjack.org
Photographs and trailer available at: http://bobandjack.org

DOCUMENTARY ABOUT HALF-CENTURY ROMANCE BETWEEN TWO MEN RELEASED ON DVD

Film highlights how the two gay men met in the military, how they confronted the troops in their unit and how they struggle today as an unmarried couple in their eighties.

(SILVER LAKE, CA) In 1952 an Army sergeant began going out with his commanding officer. Their romance grew until the rumors became anonymous tips to headquarters. They avoided court-martial by confronting their entire unit. That pivotal moment cemented Bob and Jack together for the rest of their lives. 52-years later they share how they've remained a couple: how one man left his wife and children, how together they moved to a small town and became a fixture in the community, and today how they survive in their eighties without the benefits of marriage.

Bob and Jack’s 52-Year Adventure, an award winning documentary about their relationship by filmmaker Stu Maddux, has just been released through the film's production company MAD STU Media, LLC available at Amazon.com and the film's website http://bobandjack.org .

"It's been just amazing. People trying to find lasting love or fighting for the right to marry seem to be so inspired by our story,” says Bob Claunch, now 82, from their home in Los Angeles, CA. " We didn’t have it easy but we didn’t give up.”

“That’s what makes the film a good message for young people too”, says partner Jack Reavley, 83. “We especially hope young gay men and women know that they can have a lasting relationship like we have despite the message out there that you can’t.”

Bob and Jack’s 52-Year Adventure has already screened at more than 30 international festivals to critical acclaim:

"It's a real life love story to rival "Casablanca." - Boston Globe
"...an extraordinary documentary not to be missed." -Gay and Lesbian Times

"Anyone in a relationship, gay or straight, will see something of themselves in these two lovely and still in-love men..." -AfterElton, LogoOnline.com

MORE REVIEWS

"We certainly had great interest from smaller distributors" says, Stu Maddux the film's director and producer. "But we want to be in the front of production companies attempting self-distribution. The traditional distribution formulas are so lopsided that it's become much wiser in the long-term to hold onto an asset that is so evergreen in nature." ABOUT THE PRODUCERS

DVD BONUS ELEMENTS:
Feature run time: 42 minutes
Q@A session with Bob Claunch, Jack Reavley and director Stu Maddux
Archival Photo Gallery
Theatrical Trailer
2nd Extended Q&A session from film premiere

BONUS FILM: 1961 anti-gay educational film, "BOYS BEWARE"

RELEASE/STREET DATE: November 19, 2007
Retail price: $19.99
Rated: NR
Available at: Amazon.com and http://bobandjack.org/dvd.html

For complete reviews, photographs and trailer visit: http://bobandjack.org

Bob and Jack's 52-Year Adventure at LIGLFF

2007-11-10T05:30:00.000-08:00

At FilmOut in San Diego earlier this year

Saturday evening Bob and Jack's 52-Year Adventure, our life-story together and how we made it this far, will be at the Long Island Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. I hope you like it and that you'll let Jack and I know what you think of it all.
We really need reviews on our Amazon.com page too because... we just released the DVD!
I'm sorry that we couldn't make it to Long Island or to Bern, Switzerland. It's so difficult for anyone to travel at the moment much less two men in their eighties. We are doing just fine though. Happy and in good health. We just celebrated Jack's 84th birthday last week.

Some of my favorite pictures: Jack a few years ago...and many years ago!

If you'd like to learn more about us, Jack and I did a wonderful Q&A session here in LA that's on the DVD. I just played it again a few days ago and didn't realize that one of the extras is the anti-gay film "Boys Beware". Amazing!

-Bob

BOB AND JACK SCREEN IN BERN, SWITZERLAND THIS WEEKEND

2007-11-07T18:43:00.000-08:00

Bern, Switzerland

Hello everyone!
Jack and I are doing just fine and getting ready for another pleasant Fall here in Los Angeles. Today was the first day of real coolness. I say "coolness" but the temperature is forecast for 39 F in Bern, Switzerland this weekend. That's where Bob and Jack's 52-Year Adventure will be screening on Saturday and Sunday. Details are here. It looks like such a beautiful spot and we wish we were going. We will be there with you in spirit though!

Film wins Audience Choice Award in Memphis

2007-10-26T05:04:00.000-07:00

Bob and Jack'2 52-Year Adventure is the winner of this year's Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary at the OutFlix Gay and Lesbian Film Festival in Memphis, Tennessee.
Thank-you, Memphis, for voting for us.
I know that it can be a pain to fill out those little ballot forms but it means a lot to Jack and I.
You've helped two older gentlemen feel that much more validated!

Bob: "I'm back on line!!"

2007-10-23T05:25:00.000-07:00

Director Stu Maddux helps Bob transfer his email account

It's great to have my computer again!
I'll try to catch up with you as quickly as I can. I have quite a few backlogged emails from everyone.
Thank-you Stu (director) and Joe (producer)!
They came over to get me back on line once I bought my new computer. I feel like such a writer now with this little laptop. It reminds me of a portable typewriter. Something few of you would probably recognize.

Bob Claunch writing copy for AFN Broadcast, Munich, 1952

Stu is hauling off the old desktop computer off to the recycling center.

Not having the computer for a two weeks was actually easier for me than it would have been for most people because of my age. Jack and I remember a time when there was no television for goodness sake. But I must say that it has given me such a connection to the outside world that I do cherish. And I don't care what people say about the "lost art of letter writing". It was a pain in the ass compared to email.

More later- Bob

Director and Producer back from Washington DC

2007-10-21T06:43:00.001-07:00

Director Stu Maddux in front of the Oval Office

Bob:

Joe (producer) and I had a great time at Reel Affirmations in Washington DC.
It's a very well done film festival. The people are very friendly and organized. Usually it's one or the other...or neither! The city has absolutely crazy traffic and I swear to God we were going to hit a J-walker. We had to drive all over the city do some shooting for our next documentary, "Trip To Hell And Back". Fitting title if you'd been in the car with us.
So at the end of the day it was nice to find the welcoming arms of the people at the festival. Whew.

I've just posted pics of our time there at: http://bobandjack.org/festpics.html

We also got some very exciting news about that next documentary.
I'll post it here first when it's official from the festival!

Bob and Jack screen in Nation's Capital this weekend

2007-10-11T03:34:00.000-07:00

Director Stu Maddux (center) and Producer/Partner Joe Applebaum (left) of Bob and Jack's 52-Year Adventure will be in Washington DC for a screening of the documentary at Reel Affirmations this Saturday at 11am. It should be a great event. We are paired with the most perfect film: Emile Norman, By His Own Design. Details are on the website. We'd love to get your thoughts on Bob and Jack. If you saw the film please comment here (or especially on your own blog). It helps us a great deal to spread the word. We are also in need of reviews of the film on amazon.com where the DVD is now offered. Here's the link to the exact page. I'm going to write a book someday about what a grass roots effort this film has become.

BTW-both Bob and Jack are doing great at their new place here in Los Angeles for gay and lesbian seniors. We visit on Sundays when the farmer's market is going on right outside their balcony. I'm sure there's a very un-pc joke circulating about fresh fruit outside and old fruits inside. .. bob says they are making a lot of friends.

-Stu Maddux, Director, Bob and Jack's 52-Year Adventure

Hi everyone, Bob's computer is fried.

2007-10-08T19:47:00.000-07:00

Hi there. This is Stu (director). Joe (producer) and I had to take Bob's computer in to the shop today. I think he downloaded too much porn or something and it won't even power up now (just kidding, BC). He should be back on the blog in the next week. I'll be filling in for him in the meantime. Now here's my chance to finally put up this picture of Bob and Jack from their work as extras in the eighties and they can't do a damn thing about it for at least a week!!!

hee hee!

I just got this email from someone I once worked with...

2007-10-05T06:37:00.000-07:00

The other night I was searching the internet for different radio stations and people I used to listen to and work with. Imagine my surprise when I searched for you guys. Not because you were gay (hell, everybody in Raymond, Washington knew that) but that there was a movie. Mom will be surprised too. Every time the Golden Girls is on she mentions the episode that Jack was in. I told her I've seen both of you on WKRP sitting in the lobby as sales manager candidates.

I was thinking that you should show the movie in Olympia. I showed the website to my daughter's gay roommate and mentioned that it should play here because of the large gay community. His comment was that "it's mostly lesbians". I said that it shouldn't matter.

True love is damned hard to find for everyone. I've always told my kids that when they find the right person they will know it and, if they are lucky enough to be partners, to work hard to hold onto that. You guys found it, fought to keep it, and made it last longer than most couples.

How could anyone be against something like that?

John

Here's a comment from my MySpace page

2007-10-03T03:53:00.000-07:00

What a moving and adorable photo! It's a sexier photo to us (two guys in their 50s) than all the gym-buffed nude guys proliferating the Internet. This is real love. ~Johnnie and Toby, 31 years together so far!
(photo from our MySpace page)

Reply to Birthday cards. I'm 82 Now

2007-10-01T10:38:00.000-07:00

Good to hear from you, Jo. And thanks for the birthday card. We've been busy too. The staff here at the apartment complex gave us a nice party on Thursday afternoon. They are sure good to their tenants. Most of them are gay and we all have similar stories to tell. Jack and I were told by several how effective and interesting our documentary is. We felt like movie stars. We hope to show it here at the complex. We have a handsome room for it to show in. Guess we have screened it many places. and I truly enjoy looking over the film's website to check in on everything and then blog about what's going on. We were told by Stu and Joe (director and producer) that Lisbon loved us. The affair was packed. They came home last Sunday tired but happy.
Now, Sunday morning means Farmers Market. It's a pleasant affair every week and people flock to it. It involves about five blocks and there's even music to bolster the affair. I'm surprised that there's no dancing.
Thanks again, kids, for the birthday cards.

I'm feeling fine on this 82nd year and Jack is well, too, except for his problems, but he seldom complains. Bless him and you, too. Bob

Thanks Queer Lisboa!

2007-09-29T06:39:00.000-07:00

"Bob and Jack's 52-Adventure" apparently screened to a full house last week at Portugal's premiere gay event: Queer Lisboa, Lisbon's LGBT Film Festival. While we could not go, and while we LOVE those beautiful Portuguese men (see below) , director Stu Maddux and producer Joe Applebaum attended. They report that it was not more fun that your average festival but that everyone was quite classy. They couldn't seem to stop talking about how kind and professional the organizers were. Stu says he had hoped that everyone would laugh at all MY funny lines, but he's not surprised that the audience was more quiet because of the language difference. We could not afford to offer them Portuguese subtitled version so I'm just so glad that it was as successful as it was. "Inspirational", is what most called us during the Q&A session. Can't beat that!

Pictures are at http://bobandjack.org/festpics.html

Hi Guys, it's Stu. I just posted pics from the Portugal fest...

2007-09-29T06:31:00.000-07:00

Just wanted you to know that they are at: http://bobandjack.org/festpics.html

I saw your film

2007-09-27T03:14:00.001-07:00

Hey guys,
I saw your film at the NC Gay and Lesbian Film Festival and thoroughly enjoyed it. I had the opportunity to speak with Stu, as well. I loved your story and the film was one of my favorite at the festival. It definitely was my favorite documentary. You're an inspiration to the gay and lesbian community, myself included, who want a lifetime relationship.

I hope you two are doing really well.

Best wishes,
Gordon

Portugal loves Bob and Jack

2007-09-25T06:36:00.000-07:00

Hi Bob and Jack it's Joe (producer):
We got in last night and are still on Lisbon time but I wanted to tell you that the festival was just great and we seemed to make a lot of headway with the program directors at other festivals in Europe. Besides, the crowd loved you guys and it was a packed room. STU DID NOT read the little opening comments that he had crafted because it didn't seem appropriate once we got on the ground there. It would have come across kind of self-serving, he thought. We'll let you know here when the pictures are posted.

Hi Bob and Jack. We are leaving for Lisbon this morning

2007-09-15T04:00:00.000-07:00

I thought you and Jack would get a kick out of this. Here's a pic of friend Bill Haugse (editor of Hoop Dreams, Sunset Story) helping me write a few words to say in Portuguese when our film screens next Wednesday night at Queer Lisboa. Bill speaks the language very well because his ex-wife is Brazilian. Whether I can pull off the pronunciation or not is making me nervous. I know that speaking Portuguese is not necessary but it is respectful. My attempt last night was so dubious that we've packed a video camera at the last minute to get the audiences reaction! I'll post it for you here next week. I hope you guys will look for other updates here too. It will probably be too expensive to call from overseas.

Stu Maddux (director)

ps- Do you know where we were 1 year ago today? Fresno Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.

Why marriage? Why on a federal level?

2007-09-11T06:20:00.000-07:00

My first passport 1948

Why? Just read this letter I got last night and it will be crystal clear: (names deleted)

hi guys
i am from brazil, and i loved your story, i am 48 y.o, and i have a lover that lives in fortlauderdale i just come back from there, he is 71 y.o, we have been together for the last 4 years, i was living ther for 40 months together, but now my visa expired and i had to come back but he always come to see me, and i spent the last 3 months there, we love each other v ery much, i never loved any man or woman like that, i hope god we become together forever like you guys, you are a inspiration for me in this lonely times that i have to come back, god bless you guys, love always.

More moving emails

2007-09-08T18:50:00.000-07:00

Another letter that really made my day. Thank you so much for writing it. I took your name out only because I thought you might prefer it that way- Bob

Dearest Bob and Jack,

I feel like I know you.
I just finished watching your film at the Gay and Lesbian Film Festival in Durham. I found it to be wonderful and heartwarming. You two have lead a courageous life which has paved the way for people
like me and my girlfriend. Things will be even better, I hope, for the
young kids just coming into adulthood.

Bob reminds me so much of my girlfriend's father. Sadly, though, his
life has been much different from yours. He lived his life in the
closet. He just came out a couple of years ago, in his 70s, separated
from his wife and now lives in California. They are both much
happier.

Thank you for allowing the movie to be made and for sharing your
stories with us.

Amazing letters lately

2007-09-06T04:36:00.000-07:00

We have gotten some of the most wonderful letters yet since our screening in North Carolina. They have made me feel so much better after the Marine who threatened to 'cut my balls off' (see below)) and showed how very thoughtful and intelligent people there really are.
I want to share a few examples over the next few days but I'll take out their names. By the way, you can hear the NPR interview that led to many of these letters here.

Greetings to Jack & Bob,

I am a straight, single woman who works with many of the Gay & Lesbian community in my job for a wonderful organization called Replacements Ltd., in Greensboro North Carolina.

I listened to your interview on the NC Public Radio, August 23, 2007, around noon. I was immediately caught up in your story, your voices, your courage to be true to yourselves and to each other. You have a very important story to tell. Each of us has a story to tell. When Bob I believe said they were leaving to go to Washington and he went to say goodbye to his Mother and he said Mother please pray for us, and she said to him pray for yourself. It took my breath away. I was so glad to hear he had reconciled with her before she passed.

I have a father who has abondoned me, and so did his family, I loved a man for 12 years who was killed by a drunk driver and could never bring himself to be faithful or committed to me, and I gave up a pregnancy because of his selfishness. And somewhere along the line, I don't know that I've ever been true to myself, during this short life. So I want you to know how lucky you are to have each other, and how important it is to tell it to those who will listen and share in the beauty that this life has to offer.

You are an inspiration and you are special human beings in my book. I just want you to know that you are making a difference in peoples lives not just the Gay and Lesbian community. For it is when we are true to ourselves, that then we can share our gifts and our essence of who we are with the world, and isn't that why we are all here?

If never we meet, consider us this........Be not forgetful to entertain strangers for some thereby have met Angels unawares. Hebrews 13.2

Peace Be With You Your Friend in Reids-Vegas

Snaps from North Carolina

2007-08-31T08:06:00.000-07:00

Hi Bob and Jack!
I just posted the pictures from the festival in North Carolina. Everyone there was exceptionally smart and thoughtful. But alas, I am back in L.A. now.
Hope that you'll check them out. You were asked about a lot in the Q@A!

Stu (Director)

Hey guys! Look at what happened afterwards

2007-08-25T16:52:00.000-07:00

Check out the bump we made in hits to the website right after the radio show was aired:
Look at where they all came from:

Radio Interview with NPR's Frank Staccio

2007-08-25T09:58:00.000-07:00

What a rare experience! Jack, myself and director Stu Maddux sat down for an in-depth interview with NPR's Frank Staccio before our screening in North Carolina this weekend. The staff at WUNC in Durham were so well researched and the host was so genuinely interested in our story that we're sure it's the best interview that we've given to date. The program is called The State of Things. I cried twice even though we were in Pasadena linked up all the way to North Carolina! Please do listen and let us know what you think. It is available as a podcast as well.

DVD Just Released!

2007-08-21T10:36:00.001-07:00

It's hard for me to believe that it was a year ago that I was wondering if we would make it into any festivals and this morning I am holding a new DVD that just went on sale. Our life condensed onto a shiny disk for $19.99. Quite amazing to be adding yourself to your own movie collection (No, I didn't have to pay for it).
I'm supposed to talk about the DVD release today but let me just do a little cut and paste from the DVD page on the website and add some commentary:

DVD Features:
Film (41 minutes) (The best damn film you'll ever see)

EXTRAS:
Q@A session with Bob, Jack and director Stu Maddux (we were quite funny)
Archival Photo Gallery (we were quite cute)
Theatrical Trailer
2nd Extended Q&A session from film premiere (more in-depth answers)

BONUS: 1961 anti-gay educational film, "BOYS BEWARE": (you want to know what it was really like back then? Watch this clip and get the DVD for the complete film).

Thanks for checking it out my friends! We are so proud of it. -BC

I can't top that...

2007-08-14T20:06:00.000-07:00

I'm forgoing my update today so that I can re-read the previous entry (below).

2007-08-13T17:05:00.000-07:00

Friend request gets us a death threat

2007-08-13T11:31:00.000-07:00

(From Stu Maddux, director)
We add friends on our networking sites: MySpace and Facebook to help spread the word about the film and its message. We pick people who identify as gay or bi in the cities where we are screening. Right now I'm helping Bob add friends from Memphis and Raleigh, NC.
This was the response from Sgt. Franklin Smith, USMC of North Carolina .
"I hate Faggs
im in the fucking Marines and I fucking kill
and you fucking fuck with me at all in any way
i will fucking kill you, slice your balls off , slice your throat,
and put your balls down your throat
got it fucker?"

Wait, wait a minute. What just happened here?
I must have accidentally invited a straight, gay-bashing killer to be our friend.
How could this have possibly happened?
I guess its "fuckin" easy to do when his profile says he is interested in meeting women and men...
Let's just zoom in here a bit....here we go:
Still This can't be happening. He must have thought we were making a pass at him, right?
That would be pretty ludicrous.
Our profile makes it clear that we are only looking for friends, that Bob is in a relationship and that he's 82 years old.
Whatever he thought. What ever he believes, no one on the web deserves a death threat. Certainly not the elderly couple shown above. I'd really love to hear peoples' thoughts on THIS one.

A letter to the editor

2007-08-10T07:32:00.000-07:00

Hi guys, its Stu (director) here:

I was doing my weekly search for articles on the web and found this letter to the editor in response to a recent story on us from Arkansas. It really brings up an interesting point. Thank-you Billy Glover whoever you are! This helps us get the word out.

Bob and Jack

The article you did June 21 on Bob and Jack, who’ve lived together 52 years and counting and a documentary about them shown at the Arkansas LGBTQ Film Festival is very good. The two men met in the army in Word War II and stayed together, living in Raymond, Wash., running a radio station, and then moved to Los Angeles in 1980 and live there in retirement today.

If they could do this then, everyone should be able to do it today. I would like to have known what “resources” they had, what books they read, how they were “prepared” to find each other and stick together, when so many others didn’t, for whatever reasons. I wonder if young men and women in the military in Iraq and Afghanistan today will have a similar experience.

I think the people involved in making the documentary and the people in Little Rock that did the festival deserve thanks.

Billy Glover

Bossier City, La.

The gay debate is three blocks away

2007-08-10T06:45:00.000-07:00

Hello my friends,
I hope you watched last night's debate held by HRC. It was held about 3 blocks from our new apartment.
It was simply astounding for the two of us to remember a world with not even 3 channels of TV in many places and a time when politicians used the word queer openly. Jack was working in New Orleans as an announcer in 1954. Can you imagine how hard it was to keep a lid on our relationship?
Now there's a gay channel hosting the presidential candidates talking about gay marriage!
I know that we have a long way to go but please take a moment to remember how far we have come. Any gay person under 40 is truly fortunate to be living in this age.
Unfortunately, we couldn't watch. The cable guy doesn't come to our new apartment until today!
I'll be searching for a replay though.
Here's the TV I watched Jack on. It was more reliable than Time Warner ever will be!

Great Review from New Zealand

2007-08-07T08:18:00.000-07:00

I've just had a chance to finally watch on the website a very gracious review from a film critic at one of the big networks in New Zealand. We screened there earlier this summer. It just always startles me to here someone actually talking about US.
Boxes everywhere loves. Got to get back to it!

Stockholm Apparently Rocked!

2007-08-03T12:19:00.001-07:00

Hi guys it Stu (director):
I've just been emailing back and forth with Marta in Stockholm. To fill everyone in, she saw our film in Seattle last Fall and liked it so much that she's worked these past months to get it screened in Sweden. The screening there was this morning at about 6:30 our time (1:30pm their time) Here she is at the podium graciously doing the honors for us. She sent us some news with the pictures that just made me want to hug her...

Stu, Bob, Jack:
Success! We almost filled the room, which means an estimated 150 people came to see your film! Two people came up to me afterwards, one missed the beginning and just wanted to know, and I quote 'Don´t take this the wrong way, but WHO are you?' and then he also wanted to know if it would re-run so he would be able to see the whole film, and the other one just wanted to say thank you for a wonderful film.
The whole bunch of them seemed to enjoy the show, they laughed often and applauded afterwards, and I think you might get one or two visitors from Sweden at bobandjack.org.

Afterwards, me and Anna celebrated by buying coffee and donuts from my store, pictures are included.

(I particularly like the one where I pretty much bend my jaws to their cracking point as I try to master eating one of those American style super size muffins.)

I had a great time championing your film, and I´d really love to fly transatlantic again just to be able to see you guys. We´ll see what the future holds as far as traveling goes.

Read in your blog, Bob that you just got yourselves settled and I´m so glad it all worked out for you.
Take care!

We made it to Gay &Lesbian Elder Housing!

2007-08-03T06:54:00.001-07:00

...and we love it! Here we are in our new apartment before movers to arrive.

The place has a balcony and we can't wait to start growing some flowers. (hint, hint friends who might be considering housewarming gifts).
That's the CNN building over Jack's shoulder.
The library is across the street and there's a Border's a half block away. We think it's going to be perfect for us.

The movers did an outstanding job and were so friendly.
The cable company DID NOT. The installer said he couldn't pay the $8 for parking yesterday so they would have to reschedule the appointment for 7 DAYS from now. We have resorted to rabbit ears on top of the TV to get a fuzzy version of KABC 7 HD!

Here I am on the phone for the 4th time yesterday with Time Warner. Unbelievable but so predictable with them.

It hasn't dampened our spirits too much.
Jack has already met a few of our fellow gay seniors here. He says he's taking out the garbage but I'm beginning to wonder.

Well be unpacking for a while longer. They had to put a coffee table in the bathroom temporarily until we figure out how to make everything fit. The bathroom is so big because its wheelchair accessible. Yes, that gold demi-lune is staying in the John.

Here's Jack plugging in his electric blanket in the middle of August. We are so happy to finally be here.

Stockholm Next

2007-07-31T05:36:00.000-07:00

We screen in Stockholm this Friday and we feel very honored. A Swedish woman who loved the message of the film when she saw it in Seattle last year has been championing it for months now back at home. Finally it's being shown at Stockholm Pride. Thank-you Marta Engman! We went back and looked at our pictures and there you are in the front of the line!

It amazes me what one person can do. Maybe someone there will be helped. We love Stockholm too. It was our last trip abroad in 2003.

See you on the other side! We are moving tomorrow. -Bob

"BOYS BEWARE" to be on DVD

2007-07-27T16:24:00.000-07:00

The 1961 institutional film "Boys Beware" is going to be included as an extra on the DVD to be released in mid-August. At first I was put off but now I'm delighted. It's a good look at how screwed up attitudes were when we were just trying to live our gay lives in the fifties and sixties. The film was made to be shown to high school boys in Physical Education and health classes about the perils of "homosexuality".

As funny as it is today to watch, it's also quite sad. It makes me remember how really criminal we were supposed to be back then. Those attitudes really had a psychological effect on many of us. And they wonder why so many of us older gays and lesbians just stay in the closet. Watch Boys Beware and you'll get it. For updates on the DVD release slated for August 19th or to get an email once its available at the site: http://bobandjack.org/dvd.html

Packing faster...

2007-07-24T22:14:00.000-07:00

This is kind of what it looks like from our window. It's very nice here usually but Ugh.
The move to our new apartment at the Gay and Lesbian Elder Housing is exactly a week away. Can't wait to get there.
I don't know what the hell they're doing with all this construction at Park Le Brea but its noisy as hell here. We have to keep to windows open because our unit doesn't have central air and they do all that damn construction during the day when everyone is at work. What about us?!

Nothing else to report at the moment. That's what we are focused on. Jack is stressed. We both want to get to the new place yesterday!
Stu are you still helping us on the 1st?

Packing

2007-07-19T17:03:00.001-07:00

We're just 10 days away from our big move into the new Gay and Lesbian Elder Housing Center in Hollywood. Everything is in boxes. I found this picture Jack when he was a teenager.
What a catch.

Stu back from Little Rock

2007-07-09T12:55:00.000-07:00

This just emailed from our director:

Hi guys.
You were missed in Arkansas. You would be very proud of the young people in Conway, Arkansas and the pride parade I went to. It was pretty amazing.

These are the front lines in our fight for equality as you can sense from the photos.

There are more on the website. I'll call you in a couple days to stop by. The Arkansas Times did a nice article. You made the front cover!
I've got copies for you. -Stu

Bob and Jack move to Gay Elder Housing

2007-07-01T22:40:00.000-07:00

I cannot tell you how happy we are this afternoon. It's like a huge burden has just been lifted off of our shoulders.
Jack and I just found out a few hours ago that we have been accepted to the new Gay and Lesbian Elder Housing complex that just opened up here in town.
We can certainly afford the rent where we are at this year and next year but how much longer are we going to be around! We just keep going and going and going. The money isn't going to last forever. And social security doesn't give us survivor benefits even though we are registered domestic partners.
That's why today for the first time, we feel like we are home free. The rent there is a third of what we are paying here. And now we both know that we won't outlive our savings.
We gave up on getting in months ago. And suddenly got the call. So know its time to start packing.
We move August 1st.

From the Big Apple to Little Rock

2007-06-19T20:28:00.000-07:00

Here’s to everyone in Arkansas this weekend.
I hope you can see our film at the Easy Street Piano Bar and the Arkansas LGBTQ Film Festival. Looks like they are making a nice intimate setting. That always makes it more fun.

I love the Q in LGBTQ. I for one was never questioning but Jack had a lot of questions about himself.
I know that a lot of young people probably think that we older gay men want to label you, gay, straight and so on. But after being labeled queer, faggot and homo all our lives, I think we are happy that you can say no to all that.
But back to matters at hand, director Stu Maddux (gay and not questioning) will be at the screening. The festival organizers came up with such a nice flier.

We are so thrilled to be the opening night film for your festival. We only wish that we could be there in person. Stu will do a good job for us though. Be sure to let him know what you think at the DVD signing the next day at A Twisted Gift Shop. The details for both events are on the website

Have a great festival, ARKANSAS. We are honored to be a part. No "question" about it!

Director locates Bob and Jack's life long friend

2007-06-15T07:19:00.000-07:00

Hi Bob.
After...the after party. Once the screenings at NewFest, the New York LGBT Film Festival were over, I had one last mission. I needed to track down your friend, Robert Adams. I better tell everyone else the story.
He is the good looking blond on the far right of this picture. We use this photo in the documentary; and after a screening, people want to know more about him. (BTW- our Bob is three over from the right).

This picture was taken in 1952 when everyone was in their mid-twenties. Everyone has stayed in contact until last Christmas when no greeting card arrived from Robert Adams.
Unfortunately in our gay community, that is often how an older person learns of a friends death. There is no support group to call with important news because many older people are estranged from their extended family. Friends often pass away without word. And so the best way to know if a long-distance friend is still well is simply receiving a Christmas card from them. So why not resolve this nagging question in a more humane way.

Bob, you had told me how you both met while he was biking across Europe and you loaned him 20 dollars; how later he gave you and Jack a place to stay NY while Jack worked out the separation with his wife.

I knew that he became a well known classical radio announcer here in New York

I had his address and phone number. But I didn't know what to expect when I called the number.

Well he's alive but I didn't know if his quality of life had deteriorated and all this was going to be a depressing end to my trip.

He invited me up to his apartment in the West Eighties for lunch.

Not only is he in great shape mentally and physically, he is just as articulate and curious as he always has been. And, the smile is still as radiant as it was then.

If I look this good with I'm in my eighties then I will fill blessed.

He has someone helping him around his home who served us soup and sandwiches. And so we sat at a small table discussing everything from Buddhism, to some of the famous composers he had met, to the Stonewall riots.

And the one thing he kept saying was, that the most important thing in life is love.

There is the small problem of the DVD that I gave him.
He has no idea how to play it.
But he says he DOES have plenty of people in his life who can show him.
As always check the website for the latest: www.bobandjack.org

Hi Bob its Stu at the NY Screening

2007-06-10T13:31:00.000-07:00

Hi Bob and Jack! The screening went just great. The film that we were paired with was "Emile Norman: By His Own Design" and it's produced by two people who I think you'll recognize next to me: Michael Tucker and Jill Eickenberry (LA Law, Arthur). During our "joint" Q@A we were all amazed at what a perfect fit the two films were.
Emile Norman documents the life story of the artist by the same name. Do you guys know him? He lives on the central California coast and is a contemporary of yours. Their film was beautifully done. I'm honored that we were together.
I'm leaving tomorrow late in the day but before I do I'm still planning on visiting your friend Bob Adams on my way out of the city. More on him later.
Now that I've seen the calibre of films here at this festival (clearly a collection of the best gay cinema in the world this year), we should all be very proud of all our work. -Stu

ps- more pictures are on the website

Director Stu Maddux Sheds Baggage

2007-06-07T08:22:00.000-07:00

Hi Bob!

I just wanted to let you and Jack know that I’m on my way to New York for our screening at NewFest. We play with another documentary called Emil Norman: By His Own Design. I hear that it’s very good and I’m expecting a good crowd.
I’m flying into Newark but I’ve just discovered that my bag is going to LaGuardia. I’ll have to sort that out when I get on the ground. As always, I wish you guys could be here. I’m sure you would be a hit. I’ll call after the screening with a report.

Stu

3 Big Screenings This Weekend. Why Not OutFest?

2007-06-01T13:02:00.000-07:00

Boy have we come a long way since that post last year when I was wondering if we would get into any festivals.
This weekend we have screenings in New Zealand, Connecticut and Wales (I'm moving West to East here). Three in one weekend? And all the people we have met. It has been such an experience!
This month marks a year since we debuted the film here in our community center as you can see to the left. It was a great crowd and the champagne flowed. Since then we've been in about 2 dozen festivals around the world (Toronto, Chicago, Sydney, Seattle, Boston...next week we will screen at NewFest in New York.
So why then won't they screen us here in our hometown? OutFest, the Los Angeles LGBT film festival rejected us AGAIN. Last year I figured the film must not be good enough. This year after all the prestigious festivals that excepted us I just try to realize that it has nothing to do with the film. After all, it is quite flaky here in tinseltown! And honestly, I do believe these festivals try hard with the hundreds of entries they receive. Hell, maybe the DVD didn't play.
AND WHO THE HELL CARES! How can you beat being seen simultaneously in Hartford, New Zealand and Wales. To anyone who sees the film out there: Jack and I would love to hear your thoughts. Please write us here.

Festival Win in LA

2007-05-25T11:49:00.000-07:00

We have won the award for best short film at the Silver Lake Film Festival in Los Angeles, CA.
There were so many entries that I am really very surprised. I believe this is the festival where Little Miss Sunshine premiered last year. So, we are just yet again amazed at how our story seems to resonate with people. We're going to dedicate this one to Olga: Jack's lesbian secretary at AFN. She's the one that helped us confront the troops in our unit about our relationship. The trailer really explains it well.

Bob on Boston

2007-05-23T10:03:00.001-07:00

Director Stu Maddux sent Jack and I this picture from the Boston screening last weekend. I think he must have been sad to leave. He told us that he made some wonderful new friends.
We just want to thank everyone there for taking good care of him. Jack talked by phone to Bob Linscott with the LGBT Aging Project after the screening and they struck up a great conversation. That's the group that co-presented the film along with the Boston Gay & Lesbian Film/Video Festival. Bob opened his home for Stu to stay in. That was no small favor, Bob! We have pooled our frequent flyer miles to travel to festivals, if that tells you how tight money is for our film. So having a place to stay is a huge help. As always, I wish we could go ourselves. There is some very preliminary talk of another screening in Boston so maybe it will work out next time. Especially after looking at some of the men in this picture. Stu is posting more pictures this week on the "photos from screenings" page.

Yes, Stu I'm on It...

2007-05-16T10:38:00.000-07:00

Yes the boy is right. We are also screening at the prestigious Toronto Gay and Lesbian Film Festival this weekend. Jack and I wish everyone there the very best. And to you Stu, come home to us safely. You are very important to us.

Notes from the director

2007-05-14T07:17:00.000-07:00

I'm very excited about all this great stuff happening in Boston. I'll be there this weekend for the Boston Gay and Lesbian Film/Video Festival.
We will screen Bob and Jack's 52-Year Adventure at the Museum of Fine Arts, followed by a Q@A session and a reception. Sounds pretty classy.
But as exciting as all that the film is the Boston Globe's Pick Of The Week. I am amazed.
I already felt pretty damn honored to have this film seen in Massachusetts and I wonder if people there realize how much the rest of us look to their example in the fight for gay marriage. I will give you a full report, Bob, when I get back on Monday. Meanwhile, you were going to send a message to our Toronto friends. Hmmmmm.

The most delightful part of Silver Lake...

2007-05-10T18:25:00.000-07:00

The most delightful part of our screening at the Silver Lake Film Festival last week was the gathering afterwards at a small cafe just a few doors down from the theater. For a few moments it was as if Jack and I were back in Paris again where we spent our first secret vacation together. This place (Cafe Figaro on Vermont) has the look and feel down pat. Now all these years later we were with several young people (that would be anyone younger than us!) who had just seen the film and wanted to know more about that trip and the many others that Jack and I have taken in our 55 years together.
This film has truly become a wonderful part of our adventure. It is shown in Toronto and Boston on June 19th. Unfortunately we can't attend. Stu Maddux our director is very excited to be in Boston though.

Silver Lake Film Festival this Sunday

2007-05-03T09:27:00.000-07:00

We get to go mainstream this weekend in our old neighborhood. I say mainstream because its not a gay film festival, but I'm sure those fun people at Silver Lake Film Festival in Los Angeles would prefer any other word but mainstream.
It looks like its going to be an eclectic mix of music and movies with a few star sightings here and there. AND WE'LL BE IN THE MIDDLE OF IT ALL. Our film screens on Sunday at 2pm at Los Feliz 3 Theater 1. It's playing as a short film so there will be a number of other films in the program too. If you go just be ready for that. We'll be there for any Q@A that crops up and maybe retire across the street afterwards at a nearby restaurant. Care to join us? We are so excited about being edgy for once!

Film wins in Birmingham!

2007-05-02T13:54:00.000-07:00

Hi Bob, good news from Alabama! I don't think Catherine would mind me posting the following:

Hi Stu,

Congratulations! Bob & Jack won AUDIENCE CHOICE for Short at Birmingham SHOUT!

Everyone really enjoyed it… I hate that it didn’t work out for you to come.

Where shall I send it? The award is a handcrafted bronze piece.

Catherine

Catherine Pfitzer
Executive Director

April 25th, 2007 Birmingham Bound, kind of...

2007-04-25T23:30:00.000-07:00

Hello to you all in Birmingham, Alabama. We are so grateful to be screening there this weekend. Jack and I originally planned on being there in person but I can't make the plane trip because of some health issues at the moment. Don't worry adoring FANS! We both do hope to be our adorable selves for a while longer yet. We do indeed get invited to festivals quite a bit (I think there are 9 at the moment). But Birmingham Shout was one we had chosen to fly to because of how hard everyone is working to have a gay film festival in the area. We think its important to support it and we hope you'll do the same. I was born in Birmingham so there's a personal connection too. Stu the film's director was born in Montgomery.
Alas, it wasn't meant to be. It is quite frustrating at our age when you have to pull back like this. Especially for Jack and I- we love the spotlight! You will love the film though. It's a helluva story!
Since we can't make it in person, Stu wants me to ask you how we did? The festival web page is all set up to rate our film or comment.

Bob:

2007-04-25T11:00:00.000-07:00

Hi Bob,
Yea, that website is awesome. I also wanted to add couple of ways that people can help us spread the word. THESE HELP US SO MUCH!

Add us to your MySpace friends
our url is: http://www.myspace.com/bobandjacksfilm

Write a review at our IMDB or YouTube pages

Just blog about it and include our website: www.bobandjack.org

We are totally grass roots here, we really want to know what you thought.

Hi Bob, I've set up your blog here...

2007-04-24T15:22:00.000-07:00

I've moved all your blog entries here to Blogger so that people can comment and I can add thoughts about the film. All your entries for the past 12 months are below BUT the links to photos and such may not work at the moment.
You can still send people to the website though: www.bobandjack.org

Hope you guys are recuperating from the piano bar in San Diego.
We screen in Birmingham this weekend.

Monday April 23rd, 2007

2007-04-23T15:09:00.000-07:00

The audience in San Diego was so encouraging and ADORABLE. The photos from the screening tell the story. We get so much out of hearing your questions and your hopes for a lifelong relationship like ours. Good job Michael McQuiggan and Krista Page (two of the many who pulled it off). And a special thanks to the effervescenct Tom Kirkman at S.A.G.E. Not only for co-presenting the film, but especially for getting a lot of very interesting people in those theater seats!

Tuesday April 17th, 2007

2007-04-17T15:08:00.000-07:00

Hello San Diego friends. We are getting excited about coming down to see you this weekend! I hope that you will take your lunch break on Friday at noon and join us for our screening at the Ken Cinema. We really enjoy answering questions during Q&A sessions.
In fact, please introduce yourself if we miss you at the screening. We will be at Film Out all weekend. Jack and I are such great film buffs (BTW- if you haven’t seen Blades of Glory we HIGHLY recommend it) (Netflix now has Boy Culture-its coming in the mail).

April 15th, 2007

2007-04-15T15:03:00.000-07:00

On this tax day in the US. Let me just remind all you gay couples out there or those wanting a relationship like ours that when you get to be our age- there aint no survivor benefits for all that social security your paying into. We get no exception just because Jack and I are cute and funny. We worry about it every day.
Please push not just for couples benefits but for the more than 1000 privileges and benefits that come only to married couples in this country. Enough soapbox. I need to go to the post office.

April 13th, 2007

2007-04-13T15:02:00.000-07:00

We’ve been nominated for a Tinny!
What's a Tinny?
It’s the grand prize at the Swansea Bay International Film Festival in Wales.
Yes, it is indeed a tin can.
I want that damn tin can.

April 9th, 2007

2007-04-09T15:02:00.000-07:00

Hi there all,
We had some rough news this week. I had to cancel our trip to Birmingham Shout (The Gay and Lesbian Film Festival of Alabama). The film is still playing but I felt so ill on Tuesday that I was scared to death and the idea of going myself seems too much to handle healthwise. I won’t get into it here but the doctors say I shouldn’t fly. We are so disappointed because the folks in Birmingham had made a special point of trying to get us to come for the weekend. I know that Stu particularly believes in how hard they are working to make a top-notch gay and lesbian festival there. We really believe that its in places like Birmingham were our message should be heard.
It’s not like one of us can go and the other stay home- Jack and I are kind of a match set at those Q&A sessions. If you’ve seen us at one-you know! We so enjoy them too. We feel like stars. But it is so damn frustrating at times! Here we are at the moment of getting to tell our life’s story, people want to put us in front of a crowd and health gets in the way.
I sometimes get so tired of being reminded that we simply can’t do what we used to even ten years ago. Hell, we were still globetrotting then. Now just getting on the plane can be a problem.
But, Jack and I are still heading to San Diego on the April 20th for the Film Out Gay and Lesbian Film Festival and we are so looking forward to it. Our pilot, the film’s producer Joe Applebaum, will be at the controls of Stu’s 97 Honda Odyssey.

March 22nd, 2007

2007-03-22T15:01:00.000-07:00

Acceptance to the Silver Lake Film Festival here in Los Angeles! The screening date hasn’t been chosen yet be we are pretty damn honored! Joe, start baking for the reception. Somebody dust off the champagne bottles. Jack! Where is Jack!

March 17th, 2007

2007-03-17T15:00:00.000-07:00

On this St. Patrick’s Day, check out the film that we are screening with at the Boston Gay/Lesbian Film/Video Festival. We are in good company. Those folks in Boston have put together a great program. The film is called: Freeheld.

March 02. 2007

2007-03-02T14:59:00.000-08:00

Jack’s eyesight isn’t quite right lately. The catarac surgery last year made everything so clear and it was like the old days when we used to read books together. But as the weeks have progressed some of the cloudiness in his vision has returned. He has remained in good spirits though lately and I’m so grateful.

February 12, 2007

2007-02-12T14:59:00.000-08:00

We’ve been invited to go to San Diego in April. The film will be screened at the Film Out gay and lesbian film festival. Delighted to accept! I hope we can meet more of you young people there as well as you folks from our generation. We know you want to know how we are still together! Come ask your questions. Ask away! Check the screenings page for all the info. It makes us feel so alive and happy too.

January 12th, 2007

2007-01-12T14:59:00.000-08:00

Jack and I have been filling out a bit of paperwork these past few days in hopes of cutting our rent in half and taking the stress out of living longer. We want so much to get into the new Gay and Lesbian Elder Housing building across town. It is a fantastic new place- the first of its kind in LA- for low-income members of the community and its just been completed. As we grow into our mid-eighties together, our income gets lower. It’s always hard to feel as comfortable spending money because we don’t want to out live our retirement funds. There is a day in everyone’s life when you realize that you simply can’t work anymore. In any case, we’ve been big supporters of GLEH since before the groundbreaking. Housing is so expensive in this city. We hope there will be an opening for us but there actually are so many couples like us who qualify too.

December 27th. 2006

2006-12-27T14:58:00.000-08:00

It was a quiet Christmas with friends. No Christmas card from Bob Adams this year. I wonder if he’s gone now. Every year now there is someone who’se Christmas card doesn’t come and that’s really the only way we know if someone has died. Our generation doesn’t have the family support group that hopefully these younger people will have. We don’t hear about friends illnesses through their relatives. Its another reason that we have to be openly gay if we are going to grow old successfully. We have to remain a part of our family’s lives beginning early. Our partners have to be a part of that family too.

December, 09, 2006

2006-12-09T14:58:00.000-08:00

We are getting ready for 2007 with about a dozen festival entries this month, several of which are to festivals that have contacted us first. That’s always a good sign. We’ve had a couple of independent distributors show some interest in the past few weeks as well. But if there’s one thing that we’ve learned its to go slow. Besides, I have to get to the Grove now to get Jack some presents. You can imagine how hard that gets after more than half a century!

November 18th, 2006

2006-11-18T14:57:00.000-08:00

Lot’s of young people last night at the LA Gay & Lesbian Center. Their questions were really thoughtful too: gay marriage, equality in a gay relationship… Julie Kliska and her volunteers there made us feel so special. Somewhere on this website there is a picture of me carrying the flowers on stage that they gave me, us.
It was very fitting that the film should be back in Los Angeles last night since it has been five months to the day since we premiered here in our home town. Since then the film has been screened at five festivals. And now…there are no more scheduled! I wonder if it’s the holidays or maybe, this is the end of the fun?

November 11th, 2006

2006-11-11T14:56:00.000-08:00

Lot’s of interesting questions at the Dallas screening. There was an gay Air Force veteran who was in Munich in the early fifties at the same time we were. He raised his hand and confirmed that it was just as wild and crazy and GAY as we said it was in our movie. That was a nice way to end the screening. The problem is that Stu didn’t have a chance to get his name before the crowd left and he was trying to find him the rest of the weekend. Air Force vet: if you are reading this, we hope you will email us here! Or anyone else that was there then. We must have mutual …acquaintances.
November 2nd, 2006

Simultaneous screenings are happening this Saturday at Noon at OutTakes Dallas and Reeling Chicago. Cross your fingers! We'll be at home getting ready for the LA Gay & Lesbian Center Screening on the 17th. Joe and Stu, please get pictures, in Dallas!

October 15th, 2006 Seattle, WA

2006-10-15T14:55:00.000-07:00

Stu Maddux (director) is at the Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film Festival where he reports only “medium” attendance to our film but lots of people coming up afterwards. He says that we were scheduled on a Friday at 5pm before the opening night film, “Shortbus”. Well that explains a lot. Hell, we would have saved our money too to get an early look at that Shortbus film! Stu says it was a great film and he has nothing but great words about this festival. It is an honor just to be chosen and the festival folks are apparently treating him very well. Wish we were there!

September 19th, 2006

2006-09-19T14:54:00.000-07:00

Fresno Audience Award for Best Feature goes to our film!
We had the most incredible time last weekend in Fresno, California. My little headline above says only part of the story- we were treated so well by everyone there, the film was extremely well attended (SRO) and this festival is just a “must attend” event for film makers.

August 25th, 2006

2006-08-25T14:53:00.000-07:00

Joe Applebaum (producer) and Stu Maddux (director) report that their trip through the Southwest to spread the word about our documentary took a creepy turn this morning. They were in Colorado Springs, CO to drop off a DVD of our film to For The Family, the “family values” group. “This place is a campus,” Stu said. “It’s as big as a city college.” Joe noticed a city police car following them almost from the time they exited the highway.The two kept trying to find the front entrance of the complex and the Colorado Springs Police Department kept following. “The only thing that I can figure is that we were profiled”, says Joe. “We were two gay looking guys in a van with California License plates driving up to For The Family = Code Orange!” Stu and Joe decided to drop the DVD in the mail. They turned back onto I-25 and the cops stopped following.

August 15, 2006

2006-08-15T14:53:00.000-07:00

This is something that's not very new, but it's timely. I, several years ago, took to writing about my association with jack. I called it "out from behind the mike." It's really a "no holds barred" revelation of how we met in Munich, Germany, in 1951. If you've seen our documentary you know it took place in the army. The book tells of the meeting and subsequent happenings for the following fifty-five years. I sent the writing to several agents and publishers and they were nice enough to write back and say they couldn't handle it. That was ten years ago. Things have changed now and if you are interested in learning more about the book, I'll be happy to hear from you. Email me here

August 7th, 2006

2006-08-07T15:17:00.000-07:00

There is a great article about us in IN Newsweekly (Boston, MA.) about our world premiere in Providence, RI at the Rhode Island International Film Festival. That’s an event I really wish we could go to! Now going that far away would be pushing it with Jack! Maybe I could have talked him into it. We’ll start with Fresno, CA. and I’ll keep you posted!

August 4, 2006

2006-08-04T14:51:00.000-07:00

It’s turning out to be a great week for us! Sunday we learned that Fresno Reel Pride also wants to screen our documentary and actually have us up for questions and answers about our lives together. Stu told us that he got the call while he and Joe were bicycling on Hwy 1 in Central California. How picturesque.

Down here in LA, I was very glad that it was Jack who took the call. Jack likes staying closer to familiar surroundings a lot more these past few years. So when he seemed so excited about going to Fresno- I can’t tell you how happy it made me.

Jack and I actually lived in Fresno together for about a year in the late fifties. One reason that we moved there was to deal with all the depression from the weather in Washington state. This was way before so many people took anti-depressants! But, we eventually felt that we needed to go back to Raymond, Washington where our first radio station was.