MIKEY IN WAITER SHAGGING SHOCKER!

AT BUNNY'S FORMER PALACE, NO LESS !!!


:: Mikey & Bunny just weeks ago at Joan Collins' 109th birthday.

SATURDAY ::: 06 August 2011

While Big Bunny was away sitting on Ken's big deck for the party of the season -- well, it'll do for Lake Erie in August -- Mikey had ventured off to the former CASTLE BUNNY, which is now in shambles at the hands of the evil Dick Tater Todd.



Around the enchanted pool, Mikey had a glass or twelve of wine and ended up molesting a server and passing out on the floor of Bunny's former boudoir -- yes, in what was once Bunny's actual bedroom!



Bunny, caught out Sunday morning at a nearby café wearing a daring combination of De La Cour sunglasses & a La Camilla dashiki, missed Mikey's drunken whoring entirely and had no comment.



==


:: Bunny-on-deck (sans Mikey) flanked by revelling admirers.

==

MUSIC:



==

One Year Silence.

[June 2010 already ?!?]

This blog has sort of died a death -- again.

Not only do I have very little to tell right now (I'm still in patently unstimulating Midwestern America most of the time!), Facebook gets most of my post-worthy efforts.

Feel free to stalk & gawk at:

www.facebook.com/thebigbunny

The wall & photos are quite public so enjoy!

Thanks.

x/RICHARD

Pure Love.

[Cool but sunny day here in Not-Quite-Canada]

Touching & poignant PSAs from Singapore ...

For my mum:



For my Boo Bean:



For anyone who believes in love:

My Ray.

[Akron - One year on.]

Although I am perceiving that people are expecting 'something' from me today on the anniversary of Ray's death, I am quite unsure of what to say -- and am certainly unsure of what to do. I find myself reflecting quietly and cherishing every moment he & I shared. There are no pretty or poetic words that could begin to describe just how much I miss him.

As I find myself without much to say publicly, perhaps it would be okay to share the eulogy I wrote for Ray a year ago.

These words still reflect much of what I feel for Ray and paint a fairly accurate picture of him -- a truly wonderful man who had a profound & positive impact on the people around him. His death was a loss to us all. The world needs more like him!



Ray was persuasive and irresistible. He somehow convinced me, as I was gearing up to leave Atlanta and return to England, to drop everything and move to Akron, Ohio ... a place I knew nothing of .... except that Chrissie Hynde was from here ... and even she had run off to London decades before.

For me, Ray was all things orange ... random moments of love and life punctuated by the ringing of his mobile phone ... a compulsion for pickles ... and a more recent, worrying addiction to Starburst jellybeans.

Ray could fall asleep during any film but stay awake all day on a Sunday watching The Food Network.

He leaves behind dozens of mismatched flags from 20 years of Collage, a collection of shoes all over the house and the many greeting cards he’d buy for his mother and forget to mail.

In my mind, I see Ray falling asleep listening to his iPod ... in Baby Snoopy pyjamas (handmade by a loving friend), a shirt with a mustard stain (self-inflicted) and a knitted scarf (made for him by the mother of one of his students).

For a person who battled so much with his own body, Ray’s spirit was happy and free. He could be silly and make me laugh even at the worst of times. I will miss his silliness the most.

Many called him a friend ... some considered him a brother ... his students called him Mister Boggs ... to the guard girls, he was ’Daddy’... but to me he will always be my Boo Bean.

-- RICHARD IAN TRACY, 06 April 2008

Prop8.

[For Tricia & Michelle ... Dave & Arturo ... and everyone who loves someone.]

No argument in support of the rights of same-sex couples to legally marry could be more eloquent than this.

Please watch this video:



Thank you.

x/RICHARD

Bells for my Belles.

[AKRON]

My friends Tricia & Michelle are trekking out to California to get married later this month.



This is for them:



Thank you guys for everything you've done for me.

I wish you absolutely ridiculous happiness!

x/RICHARD

TAKE-CARE-O

[BIG BUNNY LOVES BOO BEAN - Love never dies]

Whilst plundering through my Gmail online at work this week, I found a message from Ray that I had never seen, never received, that had never downloaded to my Mac.

It was a photo, taken with the camera on his mobile phone, telling me he loved me in ASL ...



Ray would sometimes sign that to me after getting out of the car at work. It was one of our things.

Given the slightly 'secret' nature of our relationship (at least locally in Akron), Ray & I developed many ways of saying 'I love you' to each other. If we were not alone when ending a telephone conversation, we would say "take-care-o" (trailing off on the 'o'). This covert expression of love came from my misunderstanding him saying 'te quiero' a few times -- only to have me respond "you take care, too!"

Ray & I told each other "I love you" often and were both increasingly aware of how each time might be the last time.

If our love was ever a secret, I guess the secret is well & truly out by now.

I don't think Ray would mind me sharing this audio of his voice from October 2007 -- an example of the silly but lovely messages he would leave on my voicemail.

Words can't express how happy I am to have that recording -- or convey the contrasting joy & sadness I feel when it randomly plays on the iPod.

I cherish each little reminder I have of how much he loved me ...



In return, my love for Ray grew to be boundless. The intense amount of time we spent together in his last three months is the most cherished of my entire life. We had achieved a bit of a 'yin/yang', for lack of a better phrase -- and after his coma in December, no moment was taken for granted.

What Ray & I had together was good. It was love -- pure & simple. We chose each other and, while swimming upstream through illness & stresses external to our relationship, we held on to each other.

Life can be cruel & unkind but I have no regrets about coming to Ohio to be with Ray. I know what it means to be wanted, needed, appreciated and truly loved because of Ray Boggs.

No matter where I go in this world, Ray is with me always. Nothing or no one can ever diminish what we shared or take it away. He is a central part of my mind's landscape and I carry his love & kindness in my heart.

I miss you, Ray. I celebrate your life each & every day. And I love you ... whole bunches!

x/RICHARD

==



==

RAY

[AKRON - Updated - See links below]

Ray Boggs, who was my reason for being in Ohio and, indeed, still in America, died Tuesday night after a long battle with a rare liver disease.



At the time of his death, Ray was surrounded by his closest friends, while dozens more waited outside. His mother held his left hand and I held his right as his heart stopped beating ― an honour I will cherish for the rest of my life. Ray was 44 years old.

Ray touched so many lives as a primary school teacher, a colour guard instructor and friend. After 20 years of leading Collage Winter Guard, as well as directing colour guard at various high schools, a virtual family of young women still call him 'daddy'.

Many called him a friend ... some considered him a brother ... his 'kids' called him Mister Boggs ... but to me he will always be my Boo Bean.



Ray will be entombed at Rose Hill Burial Park in Fairlawn, Ohio. He has a 'penthouse' in a mausoleum by the lake, as he wanted, thanks to the generosity of friends.

My heartfelt gratitude goes out to all those who have been there for me in this difficult time, as we strive to celebrate Ray's life, support each other and grieve the loss of our dear friend.

x/RICHARD

==

Read his obituary here.

Read a features article about Ray's life from the Akron Beacon Journal here.

Read the WGI's tribute to Ray here.

Read MEPA's remembrance notice here.

Read the Norton High School Marching Band's memories of Ray here.

Read a transcript of my eulogy for Ray here.

==

Happy Bunny Day

[AKRON - Better the bunny you know ...]

Beware of imitations!



Look for the BIG BUNNY seal of approval ...



Gotta love da' feets!

:-)

x/RICHARD

10 YEARS!

[16 March 1998]

Ten years have passed since I graduated from college at Georgia State University in Atlanta.

My BA is in Minority Relations ... which is, essentially, lots of sociology & psychology paired with minority studies.

In the photo below, I am right of centre about five rows from the back.



Did you spot me?

:-p

This is a glimpse of how I looked ten years ago:



I still have that sweatshirt but it's in storage back in England.

x/RICHARD