Saturday: Went to o'Grady's to watch the hockey game. There were not as many people there as the last time I was there for a game. I sat at the bar and talked to the bartenders, a lesbian and a straight guy. We had a great conversation before the game, but just as it was starting a lesbian hockey team came in, so they got really busy.
I was sitting by myself when Chicago scared and I let out a yelp and some of the girls looked at me, then one with a Black Hawks t-shirt whooped it up too. Anyway, after the first period a straight guy came in and sat at the bar. His eyes were locked on the 20 or so hockey players. He chatted a bit and then expected me to be his wing man. I could tell that these girls were not even close to being available to him. I told him, he said I was a shitty wingman. He bought two girls who were having birthdays, beers. He got himself seated at the table, but you could tell he was an outsider, he couldn't. The lesbian bartender was cracking up. When they started to pay attention to the game in the third period, he basically disappeared.
At the start of the third, Mallory showed up. She wasn't really a fan of any team, she was just watching hockey. We chatted, and I saved her seat. She had lived in Savannah, Georgia, Los Angeles and California before moving to Canada.
I had gone to the washroom after the game and when I came back my seat was occupied, Mallory was speaking to Jill, I think she came from the hockey table. The bartenders moved all my stuff.
Mal asked if I'd go to the bar next door with them. I said sure. I was a better wingman for Mallory than for the straight guy. It was a great night. Mal who is new to Toronto met some people to hang out with.
Sunday, I slept in and had a coffee when I got up. Robert wanted to go out. I thought we'd get something to eat along the way, that didn't happen. He wanted to buy a Blue Jays shirt. We were stopped in a sports store on Yonge and they mentioned a weather watch for temperature and then the game. He asked if I wanted to go. I said yes.
We got to the Skydome and then we needed to buy tickets. There were a couple of scalpers on the street and they had two sets of tickets, some 4 rows above the Blue Jays dugout and some higher up. I asked Robert if he wanted to buy some of the tickets. I heard a conversation on how much the dugout ones were, a guy was talking them down from $150 each, he said the price on ticket was $75. They agreed on $100 he bought all 4. Robert was then ready, we went to the window and got singles kind of close to each other. The seats are small and of course I was in a middle one. I had fun trying to fish camera out and change lenses. But everyone was good. I got a pile of pictures, I learned sports mode on camera - which was 10 shot bursts.
I was staring so I went an got some food, I know, stadium prices, the chicken Shwarma's weren't to badly overpriced. But I missed third inning.
The Blue Jays went on to win the game, then we walked back to the apartment. I needed to have a nap and the heat was pretty bad. We were lucky our seats were under a tier.
Later we were supposed to go to a Pride party at the Garage. Robert had the time wrong, I was there and there did not appear to be anything happening but food.
I wondered around and had something to eat. Robert was going to come over after his nap. After I ate I walked down Church Street. He was already at Flash. I asked if it was worth going in (it has a cover) he said no. I went to the Black Eagle, it was dead.
A couple of times I passed this guy in a red shirt and shorts, with a back pack. I just noticed him, he wasn't bad looking. After texting with Robert I decided not to go into Flash, I went to the bar Mal had taken me to the night before - Crews. It was packed. There was a drag show going on in there. It was kind of an American Idol version, with bitting sarcasm in the critiques as only drag queens can do.
I had a beer, although I really didn't fee like one. Sun stroke and hangover were still issues. Red shirted guy came in, he stopped by me and told me to stop stalking him. Apparently I had missed a couple of times we had passed. He asked me to buy him a beer, so I did.
He didn't want to stay and watch the drag show, he said lets go out back. I didn't know there was a patio. On Ontario patios you can smoke. Which is why he wanted to go there, I don't smoke. Anyway, guard up I went along, sometime you do, eh.
He was looking for a chair and they were all taken. One table with what appeared to be a family had space open for one. He happened to know them. Apparently he had met them at their hotel the day before. This guy's name was Cory and he went into this Bro, Dude kind of persona, I just wanted to get the hell away. But the family were kind of interesting. They all had Blue Jay shirts on. The son had caught a ball at the game, he was Andrew. They did a whole lot of braying, the dad was in on it too.
Anyway, it turns out Andrew was now a Doctor, having just graduated. The father, Al, was a former member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, Tammy was the father's fiancé and Nicki was Al's daughter. Andrew was bragging about it being his 100th Blue Jay game. He kept mentioning sitting in 100's over the dugout.
The Al and Tammy live and work in Calgary. Ok this got interesting. I mentioned to Al I was at the game too, and I showed him some pics I hade taken. Al passed my iPhone to Andrew and he enlarged a picture, he said Oh My God, you got a picture of us! I was directly across the Skydome from them and they were sitting near a guy with a bright yellow shirt. 
He asked when I got there, I said during the first inning, we were having fun trying to buy tickets. It turns out we had met outside the Skydome. Even better, when Robert and I were walking back to the apartment we were behind them almost all the way. I remember Andrews shirt (for most of the way back to apartment I was on the phone with my Dad). They are staying at a hotel around the corner for us.
Andrew and his Dad ride bikes,Andrew had ridden his Dad's out from Calgary...it took him four days.
Al and I started to speak about Ireland and Ulster. Cory chimed in a couple of times, but it was clear he was out of his element, al actually went red. We talked about Michael Collins and we both agreed on some things. Touchy issues still but we saw it the same way.
He moved to Canada as a cop and brought his four kids and wife with him. They originally moved to New Brunswick but managed to mover everywhere. He quit the Police Department and got himself a steady job :) - he is now in oil and gas.
Beers were flowing, jokes were great, Tammy, who is a Newfoundlander was great. They had never been in a bar with drag queens before. Cory, remember Cory? he kept taking off and going dancing with Nicki. Nicki is the daughter, she was wearing a baseball hat (Blue Jays) most of the time, when she took it off - Holy Cow, she was beautiful.
Tammy had assumed that Cory and I were together, I told her the whole story and then she wondered if she should be nervous about Nicki. Andrew said Nicki could take care of herself and then spoke about her wrestling him in the morning.
There was pretty person family thing that went on. It was obvious that Andrew had something to say to his Dad, and he picked that moment to say it. No, it wasn't that. But Dad took it pretty hard. Anyway, it was special to have shared that. Eyes were not dry and Andrew buried his head under his baseball hat for awhile.
Cory came back a couple of times and asked for a beer, I got him one more. I wasn't offering. He kept saying we'd hang out later. By then I figured he was a straight guy that used people to have a good time. Tammy wanted to go see the drag queens, but you couldn't smoke in the bar. This whole family and Cory smoked.
They closed the patio and finally we got inside to see a drag queen perform. Tammy asked for my number and made me swear I'd go down to Calgary to visit.
Cory did start to hang out with me when the bar closed. It appears he lived way in the West End, and had no money. Andrew gave him $4 and I gave him $3. He wanted me to lend him some cash and he'd pay me back today.
I told him that he should have planned his way home earlier, I said he had enough to take streetcar on King or Dundas, he said he lived North. I told him I couldn't help him. He then headed to the family. they knew what I was up to. anyway it was a good night and the craic was good. Al said I used the word right and it was good.
Today, well there is another game tonight, kind of want to go to Wheatsheaf, but it maybe crowded. May go back to O'Grady's but would prefer to go to a place with hockey fans.
Today I went to Real Sports to buy a You Can Play t-shirt. The store is located by the Skydome, apparently I had walked passed it two times. I asked Robert if he wanted to come, he said No, it's too far. I asked if he wanted me to get him one.
You Can Play is run by Patrick Burke, his brother Brendan was a gay hockey player. He died a couple of years ago. His father and brother have been advocating for gay sports players. 50% of the money from tshirts for to the organization. 
Never will I ever ask a gay man if they want me to pick up clothing for them. After finding the store, it was pouring and none of the buildings, restaurants or stores North of Front Street on York St have numbers. The map for the store shows it as being at York & Wellington. It isn't - it is two blocks South of Front, 4 South of Wellington.
I take pics of the shirts, send them to Robert by email as his phone cannot accept SMS pics from an iPhone. WTF Samsung sux. So I text him and tell him the sizes in the colours. He asks me to send a pic, I said i sent them. then he asks for the sizes in each colour, this went on three times. The staff in the store thought I was nuts. Finally I said the store is at 15 York Street.
I need to get going to get to a place to watch the game.
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