this week's photo: "Winter, Ethan and the Horse"

While working at Griffith Park Boys Camp I came across 2 Gems that will forever be in my heart... Those Gems are the late and more than great AMIR, and my friend, my big sister and soul sistah, and many more things... WINTER.

Amir: Amir was a man that was among the nicest people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing while I worked at the camp... his spirit was bigger than everything and his generosity and kindness rivaled saints... His garden, tucked up into the hills of Griffith Park (by the golf course... FIND IT!) means many things to me and every time I go there I can feel his presence. I Love and Mis you Amir... but you're always with me... 

Winter: Words can not express what Winter is to me. The moment we met I knew we'd  be attached forever. As I said... words can not express. She is AMZAING's inspiration.... and Ethan and Damien (her Son and her Love) have made her even more incredible... I love the the three of them and I am honored to have them in my life... 

Now, onto the FOTO.....

                                                                                                                                           Winter was the Nature Specialist at the camp at the time I was 
Head Counselor. She was so natural herself that it was 
a perfect position for her to be in. And since she was one of
few females at the camp she definitely stood out. (And yes, many of 
guys - campers and counselors alike -- were quite fond of her).

Shown here with her "been here before" son, Ethan, you see that
the connection with nature is very strong. The eye contact with the 
horse was more than a moment... even after we passed the horse
looked back , as if to say "later!". 

This photo is a glimpse into this visit to Griffith Park and Amir's 
Garden. It's a special place and a special bond that Winter and I 
share with Amir and each other. If you want a full look into the 
photos from the entire day, click the link below and take your
time.. you can also click the red button at the top right corner
to see the pics in slideshow format... enjoy!  

  Amir's Garden with Winter, Ethan, Albert, and Amir! 08/2009

Max Overwhelms me, one Fall morning

I knew the leaves were changing and the park would be beautiful... Fall is definitely my favorite season. I actually prefer Fall AND Winter, but I love the air in the Fall. So brisk, just warm enough to dress lightly, but cool enough to pull out that jacket you've been wanting to wear (or buy).

Anyway, Max is always ready to get outside and run about so I accompany him on a walk through the southwest corner of Central Park. It was a beautiful day and the colors were popping. I was having a field day with the camera settings and eventually realized (a real light bulb situation) that there was an "autumn leaves" setting... needless to say, I had many "OH MY GOD!!" moments behind the camera... during this time, the wound from my "release" from employment was still fresh. I also was finally getting to know Max and his outside habits. Work prevented me from spending many daylight hours with him so I was emotional on many levels. I always thought Max was smart, but he amazed me with what he did next...

we're walking along and I see a group of children with their teachers in the park and NATURALLY I drift into thinking about my old job and you know... just ugh! Well, I'd 'swear on a  stack of bibles' that Max knew exactly what I was feeling and turned around to completely make my day........

Well what could I do then? All sadness evaporated and I felt overwhelmed on that Fall morning. The funny thing, he stood and just looked at me, and then went back down. I asked him, "Max, puh-LEASE do that again so I can take a picture?" and as if he understood English (I think all dogs do, they just let us think they're dummies) he stood right back up and held the pose AND THE FACE for about 4 seconds!

Max has brought so much joy into my life and Albert's and everyone loves him.... EVERYONE. Even my non-"animal" friends (sounds weird... friends that don't like animals) can't get over hi face and  general cuddliness... but this day we bonded and I knew that he understood me. He's an incredible little being...

here are a couple other pics from that day  and to see a complete album of photos from that day, click the purple link below. enjoy                 **Ricky**

Fall Leaves in Central Park




























photos by Ricky Jones Jr, circa '09

Craziness on the Train! (by Misty's request)

the story says it all...

The train was moderately full... It was about 2:30am and we were coming from Final Destination 3d... Our subway ride was only 2 stops.....It started off as an agressive play fight btwn two drunk people (m vs. f) of a certain age, both black. The lady had a tall colt 45 in her hand... She was telling the man "stop diggin in yo damn nose and use a damn tissue" and she said MANY other things in between...(He man was responding "we can just take this to the bed and get it over with right now and stop playin around!" And other things of that nature.  She pulled out a tissue started to get raunchy as she alluded to her nether-regions... I think She even coyly rubbed the napkin in a certain spot... A guy from far away on the train starts making LOUD comments that were so unnecessary (by the way, albert and I are sitting between them... Not close to them at all but we were literally the midpoint to their line segment... Drunk from champagne and full from rosh hashanah dinner) he was saying things like "she oughta be ashamed of herself, I have daughters and they better not be comin on the train sayin shit like that, she needs to DOOOUUUCCCHHHEE!" Yes he said it like that... He went on and on and keep in mind that he's no more than 25 or so. The colt 45 lady started listening because she realized that the guy was talking about her. Then, she said to him "are there some faggots on the train that need to clear something up?" He didn't hear is at first so she said it a couple more times and added "yeah I said faggot because obviously you don't like pussy, you so worried about me n shit!" (And many other things were said). She went on to say "if I was your momma I woulda had an abortion..." The guys gets even MORE stereotypical by jumping up and charging over to this woman shoutting "you talkin bout my mothuh! You talkin bout my muthuh!" And he's really agressive and up in her face and she's like "hit me then! What u gonna do? I'm a woman!....... I'm pregnant!" He was saying "what?! You pregnant with a colt 45 in your hand?!" And things of that nature..... (Obviously the woman wasn't pregnant... Or was she? -i don't think so)

By this time we were getting to our stop and it was getting crazier so we rushed off in shock.

All of this happened in 7 minutes...

Many details were lost hear and there but u get the gist...

Crazy RIGHT?!
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

???

up, then down in a matter of seconds
confused
full of wonder, but not the good kind
processing the thoughts that are formed about me 
wondering why i'm still being misunderstood
saying one thing and having that one thing be interpreted incorrectly
makes your mind weary
makes you ask questions that possibly can't be answered
makes me uneasy
can it be the me who i thought was on display is seen as someone that i'm not
will there ever be a time where i won't dwell on the irritances
the irritators have transferred their energy onto me
how to approach
should i approach
is it worth it to approach
i wish there was a coach to get me through these trying times
in my mind there is never rest
and when there is, it's always interrupted
irritation
irritated
still full of that not-so-good wonder
still confused

Nina Flowers will Always be the Winner to me!!!

From the beginning of the first season of RuPaul's Drag Race I knew Nina Flowers was incredible. There was something about her that served the "from another planet" tea... as the weeks progressed I saw the looks change but the personality remained the same. She was and IS fierce, but it was more than that that attracted me to him. He was someone I saw on tv that I could admire for a change. Personality, YES. Character, YES. Sincerity, YES. and let's not even go into those looks and that makeup!!!! He's incredible... (and such a cutie pie)

Unfortunately, the best don't always take home the title... Bebe Zahara Benet... the winner of the race. I wonder why she won over Nina. I never lived for her, but I can not take away from her fierceness, talent, and realness. and by the way, I LOVED her verse in "Cover Girl" the most out of the three... "Face Face Face, I give Face...." HOWEVER, Nina is still my favorite and she proved it on Friday January 22, 2010 at the F Word... 

I was walking through the uppermost floor and I glanced through my wig to the left and saw a familiar smile. Naturally the music in the club was loud but the voice and gestures looked very familiar. I knew it was Bebe... even if she was not in drag. So I said, hey aren't you Bebe, just wanting to say a "congratulations" or something... she said "no, that's not me." ...............ok..................  so in turn i replied "Well, tell Bebe when you see her congratulations" and walked away stunned (half stunned that a comeback came so quickly, half stunned that she would deny who she was!!!)  I also wondered... maybe I was wrong. Maybe it wasn't Bebe.... (NO! It was confirmed that she was there by a friend the next night) How dare she?!!! Yes she served "Cameroooooon" and wanted to support her country..... okay. We live for that. But to deny who she is when there are those (plenty, I'm sure) that believe she shouldn't have won in the first place????? for shame ... (and for the record, off the top of my head I do not know his real name, or how to pronounce it, but c'mon... anyone watching the show would call her Bebe... we should know this, right?)

So still gagged, I traipse up and down all those damn stairs at Rebel and eventually make my way to the potty.. As a exit the stall I see a guy finishing up and going to the sink... I had to wait a sec... but then I started to see familiar features... I start to say aloud "is that who I THINK it is?!!!" oh my goodness, is that you Nina!!! I know that's not you Nina!!!" and he says "yes it's me gurl!" with a huge GENUINE smile... after washing my hands and exiting the bathroom I proceeded to steal a hug (or four) and go IN about how much I lived... in the back of my mind I'm remembering someone named Bebe...

Jorge Flores (Nina) made my night and confirmed that she is INDEED the winner.. 2nd to none. Not to mention someone that won't even claim the name that gave her the title, and all these years of experience that she throws around... (is she jaded already? was there behind the scenes drama? ) Thank you Nina for being a true spirit and welcoming soul. How refreshing to have met you post-Bebe... It was a pleasure to meet you in person...Much continued success for you always! As for Bebe.... for shame!  (RUPAUL, DO YOU FEEL ME...you said it best... "What's the tea? gurl tell me what's the tea?"

jickyrones :-)

Miss Nina, you better WORK!