Tag Archives: friends

Semi Colon

Posted on April 17, 2024 by Callen Harty

Three years ago today, after three days of increasingly more painful abdominal pains, I had my partner Brian take me to the emergency room at about 2:00 or so in the morning. After several hours of tests, I was admitted … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged anesthesia, biopsy, bleeding, blockage, cancer, colon, colon cancer, Covid, diagnosis, doctor, emergency room, family, friends, heart attack, ICU, ileostomy, love, mentor, mortality, nurse, pandemic, physical therapy, stricture, sugeon, support, surgery, survivor | Leave a comment

Still Beating

Posted on December 13, 2020 by Callen Harty

A year ago this afternoon, I was at my desk in the office where I work. I had just taken a sip of a soda and started to feel a bit off. When I stood up I felt a bit … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged beats per minute, blood pressure, defibrillator, disease, doctor, drug regimen, electrocardiogram, emergency room, family, friends, heart, heart attack, heart catheterization, heart disease, ICD, implantable cardioverter defibrillator, ischemic cardiomyopathy, laugh, life, love, medication, miracle, nurse, pacemaker, pulse, resting heart rate, sedation, stent, stress, technology, ventricles, ventricular tachycardia | Leave a comment

Isolation 2

Posted on April 12, 2020 by Callen Harty

When I was a boy I could easily spend hours in my bedroom by myself, playing games with my toy cars. I wouldn’t race them on orange tracks with loop de loops or push them across the floor as fast … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged alone, ambulance, boy, bus, change, child, connection, depression, domestic violence, dump truck, dying, family, Firat, friends, games, Hot Wheels, hug, human, introvert, isolation, lonely, love, lovers, Matchbox cars, Mercedes, nature, people, pickup truck, police car, public speaking, recession, safer-at-home, shy, small talk, social constructs, social contact, social distancing, social settings, socially awkward, society, stories, suffering, taxi, theater, touch, town, toy cars, uncertainty, witnessing, writer | Leave a comment

Isolation

Posted on March 28, 2020 by Callen Harty

Last night I had a dream that we were with a group of about half a dozen old friends. Our time together was at its end. We were outside somewhere, likely a park, and all of the friends were lined … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged afraid, air hug, avoiding, contact, Covid-19, dance, disease, dying, friends, heart issues, hike, hug, humans, isolation, love, neighbors, reality | Leave a comment

The Agony of Aging

Posted on January 9, 2020 by Callen Harty

While I don’t really feel all that old, I am keenly aware that I am aging. I could still live for several more decades, but maybe not. I’m in my 60s now and have had several heart issues. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged acquaintance, acquaintances, aging, Brendan Hartmann, Donato Deshmukh, dust, energy, family, friends, good times, hearing, heart, heart issues, Jim Green, Joe Johnson, journey, joys, Lars Prip, laughter, live, lonelier, loss, love, memories, Mom, mortality, mother, sight, smile, sorrows, soul, younger | Leave a comment

Mortality

Posted on September 16, 2019 by Callen Harty

Lately, even before this last weekend, mortality has been on my mind. My partner, Brian, has been talking about the fact that we’re getting older and how he worries about me because of already surviving a heart attack a decade … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged appreciate, be, blockage, Brendan Hartmann, Brian WIld, brother, car wreck, coronary, death, depressed, existence, fatal, fathers, friends, friendships, gentle soul, goodness, grandmothers, grandparents, harassed, hardships, heart attack, help, honor, Hospice, jobs, kindness, life, listen, love, lovers, memories, mortality, mothers, near-death, next realm, old, police, potential, psomise, quality time, reconnect, rock bottom, St. Louis, young | 6 Comments

Proud

Posted on May 26, 2019 by Callen Harty

Twenty years ago I was working at OutReach, which is Madison, Wisconsin’s LGBT Community Center. I was also heavily involved at Broom Street Theater, a unique theater company that produces nothing but original works. I was an actor, director, and playwright … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged actor, age, angst, Art & Soul Innovations, audiences, Brian WIld, Broom Street Theater, bullying, changed lives, coming out, confusion, Crown Point, director, Eau Claire, emotion, equality, family, feelings, first loves, friends, gays, Green Bay, harassment, hate, ideas, identities, Indiana, joy, laughter, lesbians, LGBT, LGBT Community Center, LGBT rights, life, love, Madison, mentor, mentors, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, non-profit, opinion, OutReach, performance, Platteville, plays, playwright, Pride Youth Theater Alliance, Proud Theater, queer, queer youth theater, reality, River Falls, sexual assault, shyness, skit, Sol Kelley-Jones, stage, suicide, Sun Prairie, Sunshine Jones, survivor stories, teen years, theater, transgender, Wausau, Wisconsin, wonder, youth | 2 Comments

On Trump and Racism

Posted on January 12, 2018 by Callen Harty

Donald Trump is a racist. That is it. Period. Donald Trump is a racist. There should be no further discussion. It is a fact. But in this day and age there apparently are no “facts,” only “fake news,” lies, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Africa, African countries, African-Americans, America, apologists, Aryans, black communities, capitalism, Charlottesville, Chinese, co-workers, colonialism, culture, Donald Trump, economy, emigrate, Europe, exploitation, fake news, friends, Haiti, Hmong, huddled masses, human, immigrants, Irish, Italians, Lady Liberty, melting pot, Mexicans, Muslim, neighbors, neo-Nazi, newspapers, Norway, politiicians, Presidents, race, racism, racist, Richard Nixon, shithole countries, the F word, Twitter, United States, Watergate, websites, white nationalists | Leave a comment

Christmas Reflection

Posted on December 9, 2016 by Callen Harty

Last night as I was driving home under the stars on tops of evergreen trees and past lights behind frosty windows I thought of my mother and I cried. She is old now, bedridden and infirm, somehow staying alive when … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged adults, Benton, children, Christmas, country, Darlington, downtown, Dubuque, food, friends, Hanover, holidays, ice cream, Illinois, Irish, laughter, life, light, lights, love, Madison, memories, Mom, Monroe, mother, relatives, Scrabble, shopping, single mother, stubbornness, tears, trees, Yahtzee | 1 Comment

Dan

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Callen Harty

(published by Life After Hate, 4/21/12) Last week marked the 20th anniversary of the death of my friend, Dan. I’ve been wanting to write about it, but it is very difficult. He was one of the first people I met … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged death, despair, drag queen, feelings, friends, friendship, gay, gay community, generosity, jealousy, love, manic depressive, relationship, sadness, selfish, suicide | 2 Comments