This poster was created by Joseph DiGiorgio, a famous artist. Me and my actors posted it all over the East Village but it shocked lots of  New Yorkers in 1968, a year before Stonewall. GEORGIE PORGIE was contraversal (sic) not only for its theme but I had a beautiful black man play a statue with his rather large cock on display. The Times critic said he played the role ‘to a standstill.’ What I love about this poster is that DiGiorgio turned the black man into a political statement.

I’m leaving in a few minutes for L..A to check out the Getty Museum. My friends, Willie and Ken, are going to wheelchair me down there–five days in the wilderness.

A view out my window TO  my porch garden.

FROM THE WEEKEND’S ART SECTION OF THE NY TIMES:  When Joseph Papp, founder of the PUBLIC THEATER, first read THE NORMAL HEART, lARRY KRAMER’S SPRAWLING 1985 PLAY ABOUT THE EARLY DAYS OF THE AIDS CRISIS, HE THOUGHT IT WAS A MESS. “THIS IS ONE OF THE WORST THINGS I’VE EVER READ” PAPP SAID. BUT THE PLAY SO MOVED HIM THAT HE ADDED, “AND I’M CRYING.”

OLD-OLD AGE BULLETIN: Talk about crying?  Not really but my eyes are sill glazed for from the drops DR. SWIFT put in them so he could test the pressure. I was worried because when I saw him about three weeks ago he told me that the pressure in my right eye was going up–up- up and if it continued on that path I might get glaucoma and go blind.  I have been dutifully putting in the drops that he had given me and—yipee ky yeah—the pressure went down but I’ll have to put in the drops every night for the rest of my life.  The tiny bottle of eye drops cost me $90. because I had lost my MEDICARE CARD.  Two days ago I got a new one.   I guess it was worth the ninety bucks.

Flowers in my garden this Autumn.

OLD-OLD AGE BULLETIN:  I felt great for two and a half days but then I rode my cherry red scooter without the queer flag to the Delancey Street Restaurant to meet Martin Spector for lunch..  I guess going  over the bumps on the way over and back discombulated me so now I’m feeling quite dizzy and low on energy.

I’m excited about going to L.A. to see the Getty Museum and Villa with Ken and Willie who will be pushing me around in my wheelchair.We’ll be gone for five days–so sweet of them to do this for me.  I’m going to visit James Carazzo, an actor-singer who was in the oiginal New York production of HAIR and the Hollywood production. Both of them were directed by the TOM O’HORGAN,  I interviewed Tom for RETURN TO THE CAFFE  CINO, an anthology that I co-edited with Steve Susoyev.

Two hours later.—the dizziness is much better. and I’ve got my energy back.  Whee!

RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES FROM THE SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS.  Yeah, my lover of  eight years busted  for making a movie where he whipped a man with a tattoo of a bluebird on his butt. Mike (Marvin) didn’t lose his license to practice medicine  but he was convicted of two felonies that were later suspended.  The chief witness against him was Kenneth Anger  the director of SCORPIO RISING, who Mike knew casually. He had  taken Mike’s movie to a drugstore to get developed and when the cops arrested him he squealed and gave them our address in Sunnnyvale, Ca.  Luckily I was in New York when they raided our home.  Later they dug up the backyard to find the bodies of  this American BLUEBEARD. Detectives searched all the ‘sordid haunts’ where the twilight men hung out–they were looking for GEORGE, namely me. After eight months of headlines Mike  was sent Vacaville State Prison for an evalulation–was he nuts or or was he a danger to the public?  After three months at the institution he was put on probation for I don’t know how long. He joined me in New York but was never the same and we finally split up.  He had a complete nervous breakdown and was confined to a mental hospital.  I haven’t seen him since then but  I did talk to him about 30 years later. He was back into practicing medicine.

This is my photo totally untouched (I think) in 1947 but I was terrified of  losing my hair. I was twenty-four years old, studying  acting at  the Shuster-Martin School of  UN-DRAMA .  I was dying to go to Hollywood and become a movie star like Alan Ladd  or Cornel  Wilde. I was an empty headed  jerk who had volunteered to get slaughtered in the Second World War.  I hadn’t yet met my wife Nancy who turned my head around so I could see what the world was all about–YES, THE U.S.CONQUERING THE WORLD. She knew I was gay before we got married.  She was an amazing free-spirited woman in the Fifties who believed in the killer capitalism of  Ayn Rand–turned to the  teachings of  the economist Henry George—then to Communism and in later life she became a BORN AGAIN CATHOLIC.   However, she was still  a radical and thank god she was not a mealy mouthed OBAMA LIBERAL!

STEEL BUCKHARDT and his co-star in the road company production of HAIR here in S.F.  His body language was wonderful and I fell madly in love with him.  Who wouldn’t?

HOT FROM THE LOCAL GAY RAG:  “Despite being known for decades as a haven for gay men  S.F. doesn’t have any out gay men ranking above sergeant on its police force.  Police Chief  Greg Suhr said that would change by ‘the end of the year.’ In an interview at the BAY AREA’S REPORTERS OFFICES, Suhr said  he was very proud that  Sergeant   PETER THOSINSKY, 52, is expected   to be promoted soon to lieutenant. Thosinsksy, who has been on the police force for 30 years said the agency has been ‘very accepting.”

ACCEPTING?  ONLY AFTER WE GOT OUR HEADS BUSTED BY THE COPS AS WE FOUGHT THEM FOR I DON’T KNOW  HOW LONG.  MAYBE IN  COMPARISON TO  THE  L.A.P.D  WHO BUSTED ME ON FRAMED UP CHARGES THREE TIMES IN THE FORTIES AND THE FIFTIES.  ALL I CAN SAY IS  THAT PETER THOSINSKY  HAS BEEN ON THE FORCE FOR 30 YEARS AND ALL HE IS GETTING IS  AN EMPTY PROMISE.

This is Ken Booth before he lost all that weight. He sill in gorgeous and it was the last time I saw snow–yeah in Yosemite about four-five years ago.  I’m the shrinking gay man. When I was in my fifties I was five feet nine but  in this photo I was about five seven–something like that.

Just got back from one of my addictions–seeing all these gladiators killing themselves in front of 70,000 crazy, drunken assholes.YEAH–THE  SO CALLED SUPER BOWL where t-shirts SELL FOR THIRTY DOLLARS TWO MINUTES AFTER THE GAME.  GO! GO! ONE PERCENTERS!!!

OLD-OLD AGE BULLETIN: This is the third day of my anti-depressant that I can’t remember the name of.  Up and down—but my anxiety is sort of gone–I think

A scene from 17 LOVES 7 17 KISSES- (1966)-a play I didn’t include in my anthology of gay plays.  I also did not include A DRESS MADE OF DIAMONDS. Why didn’t I?  I don’t know.

Wow! It was about ten days ago that I was visited by a psychiatrist from the V.A , Dr/</M.  I know this expression has not been using in a long time but “DR/</ m.  WAS BUILT LIKE A BRICK SHITHOUSE–had a gentle manner and seemed to be interested in my welfare.  I was pleasantly surprised when he said he had looked  on my this blog.  I think he had been told about it by Mike /^& H. my gay NURSE PRACTIONER (SIC).  After looking soulfully into my eyes the good doctor wanted to know about my anxiety. He finally prescribed  SERTRALINE , which is not an anti-depressant but before I go further I’m going to look it up on WIKIPEDIA and I just did that and guess what–it happens to  be the generic name for ZOLOFT, a very popular anti-depressant.  Actually my hunk gave me the lowest possible dose of  Sertraline.–12 milligrams.  I have to cut the pill four times for my dose.  I must say it is very powerful—at times I feel a little whozzy but at other times I feel stoned.  God, I’ve become such a pillhead , a little over two weeks before my 88th birthday!  Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Wearing one of my many–many–many hats in Monterey. Actually, I bought it in a thrift shop by the Bay and promptly lost it.

Steve Susoyev dropped by and gave me a cap with the red star of China on it.  I honor Mao Tse-tung for liberating China from the clutches of the supposed FREE WORLD–namely  Great Britain and Uncle Sam. However, Mao  turned into a bloodthirsty maniac later on in life.  I think it was the English Empire that introduced opium to China and as a consequence the Chinese people were propagandized into evil looking denizens who spent their lives on their backs smoking opium in a sinister looking den–a cliche that is still prevalent in this country.  That has been turned around–now it is the EMPIRE OF THE UNITED STATES THAT IS ADDICTED TO EVERY KIND OF DOPE IN THE WORLD.

Joanie Fritz,  a New York  Off-Off  Broadway actor and firebrand activist, who was in my writing  workshop 35-36 years ago.  She now lives on East Fourth Street in the Village and I am very proud of her.

OLD-OLD AGE BULLETIN:  OOPS!!! My memory is definitely slipping!  I was so busy yesterday that I actually forgot to post anything on this blog.  So…so sorry.  I had to go to the V.A.’s chest clinic to check on my coughing and wheezing.  I’ve been on 5 milligrams of the steroid prednisone (sic) but my new doctor, David Sayah, has put me on a 15 day dose, starting with 60 milligrams for three days, 40 milligrams for three days—then down to twenty–ten and five.  The wonderful thing the steroid does is give me energy—energy and more energy!