Talk like a man

Walk like a man, talk like a man

Walk like a man

Volunteer Park

After my day of walking around Seattle I was ready for dinner. Sam and Danny asked if I had any preference for dinner. I was in the mood for something spicy. We went for Thai food at a place called Jamjuree. I asked if it was a regular haunt of theirs. They told me it was where they had first had dinner together when they were dating and told me how they had met. I regaled them with a couple of tales from my dating back catalogue including the member of cabin crew I picked up on a short flight from Aberdeen to London where I managed to get through 4 G&T’s on a 45 minute flight as he kept coming to see if I wanted another drink and the time I first went out with a lawyer who I had met through work. The lawyer and I went out for drinks and then decided to go get some dinner. We spent a lot of time talking about LGBT workplace stuff so I wasn’t entirely sure whether the evening was a date or a work thing. I picked up the tab for dinner but charged it to marketing and claimed it on expenses. We went out for dinner the following week and he paid, saying “you paid on our first date”. By then though I had been reimbursed for the expenses so I kept quiet.

Autumn leaves

After dinner we were all stuffed so we went for a walk to help our digestion. Our walk took us past Molly Moon’s and despite the fact that we had all previously said how full we were we stopped in for some amazing ice cream. My theory is that no matter how full you feel ice cream can always find space because it will have melted by the time it reaches your stomach and it just fills in the small gaps between the rest of the food already there. The guy behind the ice cream counter was cute but I figured he was probably straight as we spent most of the time talking about football (soccer) after he worked out I was English. I managed to maintain a decent level of knowledgeable sounding conversation for a gay. I wouldn’t be able to name the goalie of the 1973 FA Cup winning team or anything but I know they use the round balls and that Man City isn’t some sort of gay holiday resort.

I decided that the following day was going to be a healthy one – lots of walking, a salad for lunch, light on the drinking. It started off very well. I walked back up through Volunteer Park (having checked that my camera had its battery in it) and continued on through to the Washington National Arboretum. The leaves were starting to go autumnal and it was a lovely walk on a sunny day. I hardly saw anyone else while I was there. It gave me a great place to sit and catch up on writing a couple of postcards for my sister and Mother and filling in my journal. I had a healthy lunch and walked back, resisting an urge to go get coffee and cake.

Washington Park Arboretum

Sam had to head down to California so Danny and I decided to go out for a drink. I figured all the walking I had done had meant I had earned a drink (or several). We went for happy hour at The Grill on Broadway. We passed on food, Danny explaining that there were better places nearby to eat. We got through a couple of Long Island Iced Teas during happy hour. They went down very well. We headed across the road for some sushi afterwards before continuing our tour of the gay bars. I was told that it would be pretty quiet as it was midweek. It had been difficult planning my travels around the gay scene as I would invariably hit some places during the week and miss out on experiencing the full nightlife at the weekends. The next stop on our bar tour was Elite. It was a fairly small place and we settled in to a table that was free having got a pint of the local lager. There were a couple of people sat at the bar, a couple on the next table and a group in the next room. I was introduced to Chuck, a friend of Danny’s. He asked what I was doing in Seattle midweek in autumn. I explained my trip and managed to rattle off the list of places I had visited so far. It was beginning to get too long for me to do in one breath. We chatted for a while, Chuck and Danny gave me suggestions of things that I could do with my remaining day in Seattle. I made a mental note of them.

Talk like a man 

From Elite we moved on to The Lobby. Chuck gave us a lift but didn’t join us as he had work in the morning. The place was much bigger and quite funky. There were not that many more people in it though. We got a drink and found a seat. Danny told me it would be the last drink of the evening as he was feeling a bit tipsy and probably should head home as he had work in the morning too. I said that was fine. Over our drink Danny told me that him and Sam had had a few reservations about hosting me but my jokey email had made them decide to take the plunge and offer me a place to stay. I was glad that my humour had worked. I could appreciate that it was a big step to take. I told him that I was really pleased they had decided to do it, not just because it meant I had a place to stay but because I had enjoyed meeting and spending time with them both. After we finished our drinks we headed for the walk home.           

As we were walking home from Lobby our route took us by a bar called Purr and Danny headed in. It was karaoke night and very busy. Danny made a beeline for the bar and ordered a couple of drinks. He handed me mine and we found a spot to perch. We had maybe been there a couple of minutes and Danny had only took a few sips of his when announced that he needed to go home. He asked if I would be ok getting back. I said that I was. I had Google maps so would be fine. I was left alone holding two drinks. I put Danny’s drink down. Luckily the group of guys next to where I was perched were really friendly and I got chatting to them. I finished off my gin and then headed home about half an hour after Danny. His jacket was in the lounge so I knew he had made it home.

My morning the following day was a quiet affair. I took the opportunity to unpack my suitcase and totally repack, the first time I had done that in a while. I seemed to have accumulated a number of leaflets, receipts and scraps of paper from various places and filled a bag with rubbish. Having repacked I headed out for some lunch and had a nice walk through the city and took in a few sights that I had yet to see. Sam was back from his trip so the three of us went to the local burger place, The Deluxe, on the final night. They had a special deal and all the burgers were $5.59. The place was very busy and a little cruisy with a lot of tables of gays. After dinner they took me on a drive out to a couple of great spots to get some photos of the city at night. It was a nice final evening in Seattle. The previous days walking (and drinking) had caught up with me though and I had an early night. The following morning was coffee with Sam and Danny and then the goodbye routine that I had become used to. I told them both that they would be welcome at mine in London whenever they visited provided it was after May 2012 when my travels were finished and provided the other 78 gays from my trip weren’t all visiting at the same time. Danny gave me a lift to the train station ready for my train to Portland. As I waited for the train I mused that during my whole time here I had not eaten any lamb or mutton which made me sheepless in Seattle.

“Walk like a man, talk like a man” 
Lyrics from Walk like a man from the musical Jersey Boys