BijouBlog

By Will Seagers

Hi folks! Will here. This blog will be unique in that it will have few pictures... to protect the innocent! LOL.

This week's installation deals with my travels and a family reunion in Pennsylvania. This reunion was a long time in the planning, re-planning and finally the get together itself. I had been talking with my brother in Pennsylvania about coming out to visit him for the past several years. I had never seen his home. At my current age of 72 - time's a wasting - I thought it was a good time to make the journey.

This all started around March or April of this year. It quickly morphed into a whole family affair, i.e. Reunion! I am the oldest sibling of six with five of us remaining. We all became quite excited about the upcoming affair. Many of us had not seen each other for more than a decade. Our initial date was set for mid July.

My brother hosting this get together in PA. was stricken with a sudden eye ailment that required surgery and recuperation time. Flight plans for me and RV trailer park reservations for my sister and her husband had to be redone. No biggy. My poor brother suffered several setbacks during the summer requiring additional surgeries... and more time to heal from them. A date was finally set for September 22nd as the start of a marathon week for this gathering. All travel plans were altered to meet this date.

The weeks, or should I say months, leading up to this date were filled with lots of chores and odd jobs around the house for my brother. I was quite astounded to hear that during his recovery he painted porches, laid out a new patio and thoroughly cleaned up his rather bucolic multi-acre property! Stamina is a family trait.

Knowing that our whole family loves music, I sent him a lovely pair of B&W speakers and a CD player. I also helped him select a new AV receiver which acted as the central nervous system for everything!

Also during the time leading up to departure, I kept a rather strict eye on my diet and made my trips to the gym a priority. Yes, at 72 I am still that vain! No sense letting it all fall away! And, the Monday before my trip I got the new Spike Vax COVID vaccine... just to be sure.

My flights out to PA were not without issue. Sleeping rather poorly in the nights preceding the trip, I was fatigued and not so steady on my feet despite my gym work outs. Stress can build up very quickly. At the end of the first leg of my trip (Dallas – bound), I had to ask the lovely ladies sitting in my row if I could get to the aisle rather quickly as I had a connecting flight to make and I was not feeling to coherent, to boot. Luck was with me. All three ladies were doctors! Not only did they help me to the aisle but they whisked me through the throng of passengers standing in the aisle pulling down their carry-ons. I was amazed with how their take charge attitude got me to the front of the plane and to the nearest gate agent for further assistance. All three of the doctors thought I should seek medical attention STAT. I told them I was just a little dizzy and that this would pass. None-the-less they ushered me onto an electric cart that sped me to my next flight... the gate was 1.2 miles away! Little did I know that DFW is the world's largest airport and that my connecting flight was at the opposite end!

Although the flight from DFW to PA was uneventful, it was delayed and got me into the airport about an hour late... 1 am! I was delighted to see my brother waiting for me near the baggage claim area and to see my bag pop up soon after the carousel started. Seven hours of traveling that day. Oh, BTW, all I had were two biscuits and some water. Nothing like the fine dining when I was a steward 50 years ago!

I was the first guest to arrive. Upon being shown my room and getting out of my travel garb, my brother, his wife and I shares a late night snack then headed for bed.

The next morning, Friday, I was given a tour of my brother's house. I liked it a lot. It was built in the mid-sixties and had a lot of mid-century charm. I was blown away with the property that it sat on... somewhere between two and three acres. A pretty big parcel for a city home.

Later that afternoon, another sibling arrived from Philadelphia... he is next in line - age wise. After he was shown his room, we had some libations... his being one of his beloved exotic beers! We chatted and caught up on lost time.

Saturday was the big day for arrivals. My sister, her husband along with my youngest sister came in from N.J after their 3+ hour drive. They brought their own accommodations with them - their RV. They arrived in the late morning. Soon after, my niece arrived with her new beau... a charming and lanky fellow who somewhat reminded me of Sting! With everyone there - it was party time!

Saturday night was the main event with all of us present. I had made DVD copies of a VHS tape that my brother and I had taken at a Thanksgiving Dinner back in 1986. Everybody loved seeing the entire family as it was back then. With my Mother and Father present as well as aunts and uncles, it brought out both tears and laughter. Similarly, my youngest sister made copies of a beloved family photo complete with its iridescent silver frame for each sibling to have.

The first of my brother's planned outings was a trip to the State Capitol. It was a most majestic complex to say the least.

Besides tasty breakfasts and robust dinners at home, we enjoyed fine local restaurants, too. With both of my brother being beer aficionados, we also had a tour of a local brewery complete with lunch.

Another of our outings was a hike through a wildlife preserve. Unfortunately, Mother Nature greeted us with a cold and damp clime. Nonetheless, we persevered.

As the week came to an end, our family group began to disband. Regrettably, we said our goodbyes pledging to get together soon again.

My trip back was in the early afternoon. And, not coming from a major metropolis nor going to one meant connecting flights. The way home was rather circuitous to say the least. From Harrisburg, PA, I flew east to Philadelphia > Phoenix > and finally east back to N.M. This time it was about 8 hours traveling time! My... how the air travel has changed!

But, there was a nice surprise in store for me in the last leg of my travels. I had noticed a good-looking young man conversing with the gate agent. He had ID tags on a lanyard around his neck... indicating that he worked for the airlines. This last leg of the trip was on a rather cozy jet. As fate would have it, the aforementioned gentleman was sitting right next to me! He was even more handsome up close! I started a light conversation by noticing his company ID. I coyly asked him if he worked for the airlines. He said: "Yes. I am a pilot." Well, that opened the door to a really nice conversation that lasted for most of the one hour flight. I told him that I was a steward with Eastern Airlines fifty years ago! I detected a slight accent and inquired. He said he was from Spain. (The fantasies were building!) I rattled out some trite Spanish phrases from which he got a kick. His girlfriend was working as the first class flight attendant. She came back to give him a Scotch and soda. She asked me if I wanted anything. I was quite pleased and requested a Chardonnay. This was the crowning touch for a long and (otherwise) tedious journey. He was sexy, good looking and charming. And, he thanked ME for my company and the nice conversation we had. (If he had only known how many times I had mentally undressed him!) Discretion is the better part of valor!

So, my title for this piece? Even though it was a wonderful and memorable week, I wound up catching COVID! With five flights, four airports and a family gathering, it was truly "The Perfect Storm" for catching the dreaded bug! P.S. With the recent shot and my doctor's script for an anti-viral, it was a mild case. Thankfully, I am back in the saddle!

Bio of Will Seagers:

Will Seagers (also credited as Matt Harper), within his multifaceted careers and participation in numerous gay communities across the country in the '70s and '80s and beyond, worked as a print model, film performer, and DJ, just to name a few. He made iconic appearances in releases from Falcon, Hand in Hand, Joe Gage, Target (Bullet), J. Brian, Steve Scott, and more, including in lead roles in major classics like Gage's L.A. Tool & Die (1979) and Scott's Wanted (1980). He brought strong screen presence and exceptional acting to his roles and was scene partners with many fellow legends of classic porn.
 

 

By Josh Eliot

My beautiful home state of Rhode Island, “Little Rhodie” as we affectionately call it, is famous for its sandy shores and seaside Colonial towns. It is most known for its capitol Providence and, attached by a bridge, the islands of Jamestown and Newport. Newport prides itself on starting the very first jazz festival, America’s Cup, and the Gilded Age Mansions such as The Breakers. With over 400 miles of coastline, it features an amazing “Cliff Walk” that ventures past the backyards of these enormous “summer homes” originally owned by America’s wealthiest families including the Vanderbilt’s, the Astor’s and the Morgan’s. Taylor Swift purchased and occupies an 11,000 square foot mansion on Watch Hill, a nearby beach community in Rhode Island. There is a lot of beauty in this small seaside state, the smallest state in the country in fact, one that you can literally drive across in 45 minutes to an hour. If you do take that drive, just beware that not everything in the state of Rhode Island is as welcoming or inviting. In fact, there is quite a dark and scary side to some of the state’s history.

This is my second out of three Halloween-inspired blogs I am writing this month. Today I will focus on a few of the places that literally made my blood run cold as a child and teenager. Now, of course this is a blog for Bijou World, so I’ll try to squeeze in the occasional blowjob with facial cum shot along the way!
 

The Sockanosset Training School for Boys, affectionately known to all Rhode Islanders as “The Bad Boys School,” opened in the late 1800s. It was part of a “state farm” which included an asylum for the insane, an adult prison and a state almshouse. The gothic looking dormitory cottages were built in 1881 to 1895. The approach to dealing with “Wayward Boys” was to offer them structure and discipline through labor-intensive work such as farming, construction and shoveling coal from a small coal mine on the property. There are many stories about the headmaster abusing his powers and submitting the boys to mental and physical punishments. When our family would drive past the Bad Boys School, my mother would never miss an opportunity to tell us that we would be sent there if we didn’t behave ourselves. Something dozens of mothers and fathers across the state used as leverage to keep their kids on the straight and narrow. This certainly worked for my brother and me, as Sockanosset was terrifying from the outside. I can’t imagine what it was like inside! In disrepair for many years and due to lack of funding, it closed down in 1985 and sat there vacant for over two decades.

Before moving to California to attend film school, I took a lot of pictures of the building and grounds knowing one day I would somehow find a way to make a movie about this place. As you can see from the pictures, it was definitely the thing that nightmares are made of, and stories of spirits haunting the grounds were rampant. Years later when Chi Chi and I were assigned Powertool 2, I considered using my photos as the exterior shots of the prison, but when I saw how “vanilla” the script was coming I struck that idea. If production with Catalina Video had continued past 2006, I’m sure I would have eventually found a way to make the movie Bad Boys School, probably with an S&M or Leather twist to it. I’ve been accused many times of making movies that don’t necessarily fit into the porno movie mold. Hey, what can I say, I was a young horror movie buff who just happened to have complete control (mostly) on the projects I wanted to direct. With Thrill Me!, it was: “Dead bodies and porn don’t mix!” Well, you know what? I made it mix! In Night of the Living Bi-Dolls, it was: “Are you nuts? Zombies are not sexy!” Well you know what? I made it sexy and it won Best Bisexual Picture that year! For Single White Male, it was: “A criminally insane lead is not a proper subject for a Catalina Feature!” (a Scott Masters quote). Well, you know what? Rob Cryston won Best Actor at the Gay Video Guide Awards that year and I picked up Best Screenplay.

So why wouldn’t I do a Bad Boys School movie some day?! The image on the faux lobby card below was a must; no matter what the box cover looked like, that shot had to be there. Says it all, don’t you think?

Now, let me get back to what I was saying about the criminally insane! The Boys Asylum - Ladd School - really does take a top prize for one of Rhode Island’s most haunted. Founded in 1908 by Joseph P. Ladd and originally called “The Rhode Island School for the Feeble Minded,” this caring and loving facility carried out cruel treatments like shock therapy, ice-bath therapy and lobotomies. The boys dormitory filled up in 1909 and a girls dorm was erected. Consisting of 10 buildings on 331 desolate acres, it also featured padded cells, operating rooms, a morgue and crematorium; more like an overcrowded prison where the occupants slept head to foot with only nine inches of separation between beds. Most were committed to life sentences, often never having committed crimes. Women were confined until menopause or death and sometimes sterilized for extramarital affairs or having a child out of wedlock. Known in modern day as Ladd School, it continued to function as a facility until 1986. Sitting vacant and isolated before this hell hole was finally demolished in 2013, the property was a hot, white hot, spot for paranormal activity.

Here is an excerpt from The Pawtucket Paranormal Society from a day trip to the property before it was razed:

“As we got close to the place, I began to feel a strange feeling settling into my gut. I can not say that I knew straight away this place was causing it, but I had a feeling. We drove onto the property and the feeling grew so much stronger, like there was a veil we passed through. We began to pass old, dilapidated, boarded up buildings, when a wave of sadness washed over me. I began to feel the hatred that seeped from the very ground we drove on. We stopped a few times so I could take pictures of the buildings, when I began to hear the whisper of many voices, all young and seeming to plead for mercy. When we came to the Fogerty Building, it felt like all the bad pooled in one place. The whispers grew stronger, they wanted to be released from the hell that bounded them. We came to what was left of one of the playgrounds. All that remained was a rusted, twisted swing set with one swing remaining. Dawn (team leader) did not want to get out of the car because [as] she stated to me later... she had the feeling of being watched. When I got close to the swing set, I heard a young girl asking me to follow her. I approached the swing… I had to feel it. I had to know how many sad souls sat upon it. When I got close to it, I heard the child say, 'Mine, mine, mine.' I proceeded to touch it. When I did, I immediately felt pain go up my right side and across my chest. It felt like I was being burned. This place is a tumor on the face of the earth.”

This report was just one in a long line. In previous instances, various investigators noted: a low moaning sound haunts the basement; blasts of wind can be felt and noises of footsteps and shattering chains can be heard; an ethereal figure haunts the halls; the walls bleed. A horde of “orbs” were caught on film, as well as a peculiar dark figure. One investigator’s camera slipped from her hand and, when she picked it up, it was slapped from her hand again. In the morgue, noises of a little girl can be heard as well as the sound of heavy footsteps. On the second floor, there were voices of people talking, things getting thrown and people screaming for help or weeping.

The list goes on and on, but I won’t. You know why? Because I don’t want a fucking thing to do with this place! I have no wish, desire, craving or itch to make Ladd School a movie. Nope. Nada. That is a bridge too far… even for me! Oh, you know what? I’ve just noticed that I never got to that blow job. Apologies. I promise it will be included in my third and final Halloween blog this season. It’s called Vampire's Grave, and it’s named after a real place located a short distance from the “actual” Conjuring house, which is also in Rhode Island.

I’ll add the BJ to that one!

Bio of Josh Eliot:

At the age of 25 in 1987, Josh Eliot was hired by Catalina Video by John Travis (Brentwood Video) and Scott Masters (Nova Video). Travis trained Eliot on his style of videography and mentored him on the art of directing. Josh directed his first movie, Runaways, in 1987. By 2009 when Josh parted ways with Catalina Video, he'd produced and directed hundreds of features and won numerous awards for Best Screenplay, Videography, Editing, and Directing. He was entered into the GayVN Hall of fame in 2002. 

By Will Seagers

Hi Folks - Will here. These last few blogs have been of a more personal nature. This one will let you know what makes me tick!

I always admired the way my father carried himself and how he dressed. I learned that meant including a watch to finish off the look. He was not much for jewelry or fancy watches... a simple Timex with a striped fabric band usually did the trick.

I don't remember wanting or having a watch for myself until I was into my late teens or early twenties. They were usually very nice watches that my father won in sales contests or the like. If they were too fancy he considered them "fag watches" and passed them along to me. LOL. Unfortunately, I don't have any pics of these "hand-me-downs" to show. But, I do remember they were both Bulova Accutron watches - great timepieces of the day. One was a round face and the other was a tank (Cartier styled) watch. I loved them and wore them with pride until the "watch buying bug" really bit me!

That happened back in the early 70s when I was a flight attendant stationed in San Juan, P.R. Although I noticed all the great Rolex watches worn by members of the flight crews, I had my heart set on on a more artistic representation in timekeeping - a black ceramic Rado watch. Beautiful lines that even rivaled the Movado Museum watch.

So, I took advantage of my flying benefits one day and took a short hop from San Juan to St. Thomas - a mere 20 minutes away. This was the place to come and shop for watches and jewelry! I remember walking into a duty free shop and right up to the Rado display. Out of the corner of my eye I could also see the Rolex display. I felt like someone yanked me by the scruff of the neck over to the Rolex counter. My jaw dropped as I eyed a very simple and inconspicuous "Air King" model. After only a few minutes of gazing at it and (of course) trying it on, I was out the door and headed back to San Juan. That watch stayed with me stayed with me for decades.

"Rollies" were know for their quality and for holding their value. And, when some rougher times arrived in my life I sold mine to keep me afloat financially. I immediately felt a hole in my life (and in my heart). I was determined to get one back on my wrist ASAP! That happened shortly after I met my current spouse back in the mid 90s. A wonderful and lucky event happened in my life. I wound up with a painting that no one else in my family wanted from my recently deceased (Finnish) Aunt. I knew it had value. But, I was blown away when we took it to an auction gallery in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. A very distinguished man rushed over to us and asked about the painting. I recognized him from The Antiques Roadshow. Yep. He was of that caliber! Long story short, he took it to Amsterdam for the summer and showed it to many potential clients. In the fall he invited us to the auction where it was about to be shown. My spouse and I were shocked when the auctioneer announced, "The opening bid for this rare Dutch Masters oil on wood painting will start at $12,000!” It ended up at just under $25,000. My partner and I were delirious. It was quite an unexpected chunk of change! After the dust had settled, I went to the Tudor watch store on the west side and replaced my Air King!

That watch remained with me for over a decade. It was one day in my store that a client who was a gemologist from a local Rolex dealer commented on my watch. It was sort of a back handed compliment. She said to me that my wrist was really too big for the 34mm watch face and that I should come and look at a Submariner - which measured 40mm. So, I did. And, that started an almost decade long cavalcade of buying and trading up Rolex, Panerai, and Breitling models. It was a glorious period of time - I enjoyed every minute of it.

When I decided to stop working I literally pulled the plug in one fell swoop. I was very uncomfortable in my final retail selling position and needed to be free from all of the pettiness of the retail scene. I didn't have anything lined up in the wings. So, I made a pact with myself to sell to sell my final Rolex, a GMT Coke model, back to the jeweler from whom I bought it. It pained me to do so. I thought I would never see one again. And, that has been the case, so far. It was a nice lump sum to put in my bank account as I figured out how to start my retirement years. All of my crazy buying patterns came to an abrupt halt. And, I have survived!

During my retail working years I also enjoyed adding various clocks to our home. I love regulator clocks, cuckoo clocks, mantle clocks and of course my French styled Bonnet Grandfathers' clock. It's really very amusing when the hour arrives in our home - it sounds like a clock store!

So, there you have it. You know a little bit more of what makes me tick! In a day when most people tell time by their cell phones, I delight in looking down at my analog watch face or looking across the room at these pieces of history, waiting for them to chime. And, in very quiet moments, I love to listen to the subtle murmuring of the machinery of time... tick tock, tick tock.

PS, folks - I am a Capricorn, the sign ruled by Saturn and, in Greek mythology, Kronos, the keeper of time.

Bio of Will Seagers:

Will Seagers (also credited as Matt Harper), within his multifaceted careers and participation in numerous gay communities across the country in the '70s and '80s and beyond, worked as a print model, film performer, and DJ, just to name a few. He made iconic appearances in releases from Falcon, Hand in Hand, Joe Gage, Target (Bullet), J. Brian, Steve Scott, and more, including in lead roles in major classics like Gage's L.A. Tool & Die (1979) and Scott's Wanted (1980). He brought strong screen presence and exceptional acting to his roles and was scene partners with many fellow legends of classic porn.
 

 

By Will Seagers

Hello, Friends! Matt here. After writing a blog a while back mentioning Jim Bentley and my common love of Moluccan Cockatoos, I am back to do more detailed story telling of my lifelong love of birds.

Once again, my childhood buddy, Michael, who I have mentioned in several of my blogs, shared yet another hobby with me - having cage birds. It was his grandmother, " Nana," who started us both on this journey. In her backyard and in her house she had quite a "community" of birds. In her back yard was a freestanding modestly sized aviary filled with many finch varieties as well as some soft-billed birds. Inside her home were Cockatiels and some very operatic Canaries! I was mesmerized by this collection. On almost a monthly basis, Michael and I would accompany Nana to "The Bird Farm" for supplies and sometimes new family members! That's when the bird bug bit me!

I decided to build an indoor aviary in our basement... much to my father's surprise. I built it under our living room's bay window. So, when I added the flat wall of wire mesh to enclose it, a trapezoid was the resulting shape. Sorry, I have no existing photos of this aviary. It turned out surprisingly well. I was quite successful at breeding finches that I traded to the local pet shops for bird seed and other avian supplies. Every time there was a family gathering, the basement and the aviary were part of the celebrations.

When I went away to college I had the depressing task of disbanding my aviary and "farming out" my rather large bird collection. While in school and staying with my Aunt (the Finnish one), a very good friend of mine gifted me with a Toucan. I was blown away by this spectacular gift. He was the original Biki Noka - Finnish for big nose! Not every experience in the bird world was a pleasant one. At this time (1969), aviculturists had not perfected a diet for many exotic soft bills like Toucans. You had to improvise a lot. The suggested diet of the time was soaked Monkey Chow with plenty of fresh fruits and veggies. Alas, the tough part about Monkey Chow was that it was very hard on birds' livers. Ultimately,I lost this beauty and I was crushed. It was several years before I had birds again.

"San Francisco, Open Your Golden Gates" - bird cage gates, that is! When I settled in with my first partner Tommy, I felt secure enough to start back up with a new bird family. This time, I was not only interested in finches but in Parrots and Cockatoos! Finches and rare Parakeets came first. I had great luck again in breeding them. My "aviary" in the living room bay window seemed to be the perfect spot for all sorts of finches to live happily and reproduce. I regularly went to pet shops in town where my little folk were eagerly scooped up for sale. My first attempts with parrots were a wild captured cockatoo and an African Gray - both with no success. The wild captures were too afraid of humans to bond.

It was around 1986 or so when I went to a bird show in town (S.F.) and met a local breeder of fine Cockatoos by the name of Gloria. She had a spectacular female Moluccan Cockatoo with her at the show that wasn't quite weened or ready for sale. I left her my name and number for when this youngster became available. In two months the bird was ready. I traveled down the peninsula below San Francisco to a lavish compound/park where Gloria bred her birds. I made the purchase that day and took my "Gloria" home. I had never known a bird to be so affectionate and cuddly. Tommy and I loved to hold and caress her.

In 1989, I lost Tommy to AIDS. Without him at home to lavish her with attention, I had to re-home Gloria. Cockatoos require enormous amounts of attention and will self-mutilate without. I came home to find her cage bloodied from her attack on her own air sacks. I was in tears. I tried to make it work. But, Gloria needed the constant attention I could no longer give while I was away at work. A painful lesson and memory. A similar tale was to be told bout "Bingo," my one and only Macaw. He was adorable and cuddly but would go berserk and shriek when I left for work. It was not fair to my neighbors. A great friend with a bird collection came to our rescue and gave Bingo a great home.

It was 1991. I was recuperating from my devastations in S.F. at my Aunt's house in N.J. I was shell shocked... I needed a bird! Oddly enough, a wonderful opportunity opened up with a friend of my Aunt. This friend was desperate to find a home for their Yellow Headed Amazon parrot. I moved like lightning to get that bird! It was a life saver for me and the bird! This bird was already a great talker and loved me from the jump. I had this bird for several years until I had to move. My sister rose to the occasion and was delighted to be his new Mama!

Next step - my new life with my current spouse in NYC. I was bird-less for almost two years. It felt like a hole in my heart. So, I started up with finches, then Love Birds. Then my partner discovered a great bird store downtown - Urban Bird. While touring the store, we came upon Dede. It was love at first sight. Dede is a Red Lory... a talker and one of the cutest birds on the planet. Besides being a striking color, Dede had quite a rambunctious personality. Without hesitating, we made the move. A couple of weeks later, my partner was back at Urban Bird and happened upon a beautiful Citron Cockatoo. So, we went down to see "Louise" and she came back home with us.

The Southwest. It is not an easy thing to move across the country with birds... in a car anyway. So, My partner flew with them from NYC to the desert. They had to go to a vet first to have their health certified. That's when we found out that Dede was a boy and Louise was indeed a girl. They adjusted to our new location quickly. The second "Biki Noka," an African Gray, joined the family in 2001. He is my "papa's boy!” Smart as a whip and a loving bird, as well.

Our complete family is currently 19 birds consisting of Dede, Biki, and Louise; in addition there's a pair of Love Birds, a Jenday Conure (Biloxy), five finches, three parakeets and three Cockatiels. They are a handful and a lot of maintenance... but, I love every minute of it. I particularly love Sunday breakfasts when my partner is home and cooking up a storm. At the table he and I act like trees for all of the "kids" to perch upon. I am so happy that our lives have settled down and we have been able to keep these birds for decades! They're our kids! Yes, after all of these years I am truly glad that "the bird bug bit me!" They are incredible creatures!

Bio of Will Seagers:

Will Seagers (also credited as Matt Harper), within his multifaceted careers and participation in numerous gay communities across the country in the '70s and '80s and beyond, worked as a print model, film performer, and DJ, just to name a few. He made iconic appearances in releases from Falcon, Hand in Hand, Joe Gage, Target (Bullet), J. Brian, Steve Scott, and more, including in lead roles in major classics like Gage's L.A. Tool & Die (1979) and Scott's Wanted (1980). He brought strong screen presence and exceptional acting to his roles and was scene partners with many fellow legends of classic porn.
 

 

By Will Seagers

Hi folks, Will here. Although I consider myself neither a consummate world traveler nor an accomplished linguist, it has brought me great pleasure throughout my life to study, visit and listen to the people of many lands.

Admittedly, I was born with a curiosity bug. Even as a wee child, I wondered how things worked and what things meant on a larger scale. My first exposure to a foreign language was through my great aunt and her Finnish family. She was my mom's aunt through marriage. Although like myself she was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, the rest of her family and lots of her friends were born in Finland, primarily Helsinki.

I remember hearing my great aunt's parents (who lived above her in their city duplex home) chattering away in Suomi (what the Finns call the Finnish language), not understanding a word of it. I loved visiting for not only the exposure to this marvelous tongue but to savor a treat and a staple in most Finnish homes - "Finnish Bread," correctly known as Pulla. A loaf would be left out on the kitchen table where coffee, tea and just nibbling would be the treat of the weekends. I loved it. Almost like a coffee cake but not nearly as sweet, it helped me develop a taste for more subtle flavors that would remain with me throughout my life.

My great aunt would occasionally join their conversations. I would watch and listen very intently. Afterwards when we went downstairs to her flat, I would ask her what certain English words were in Suomi. That started it all. I learned some very basic vocabulary and some wonderful little phrases that I would recite to myself and my siblings. It is interesting to note that until the mid 1800s, Finnish children were taught Swedish in school. Their own Finno-Ugric based language had not yet become recognized!

Next in my timeline was second grade. I had just escaped the rigors of parochial schools for kindergarten and first grades. I was so afraid of the nuns that I literally had stomach cramps as I left for school in the mornings! In second grade, things changed. I had a wonderful repatriated French lady as my teacher. "Miss Garneau" was lovely and had a charming French accent. She occasionally peppered her teaching with French vocabulary. Although it wasn't until high school where I actually took French classes for three years, the seed had been planted for me to study this language.

Spanish. While in a rather progressive middle school and in sixth grade, we the students were offered the opportunity to take primary level languages. My childhood buddy Michael and I chose Spanish. I have mentioned Michael in a number of prior blogs. We had fun bantering our basic phrases back and forth. I found myself progressing rather rapidly in terms of grasping both vocabulary and grammar. I tucked this away to use with my future study of French. And, many years later in 2008, I won a prize at work in a sales contest for a trip to Barcelona. Funny thing... that part of Spain preferred Catalan or even French over Spanish. At the time of my visit, political upheavals were happening in downtown Barcelona! The town and surrounding areas were quite beautiful. The food was amazing, too. Being on the Mediterranean, seafood of all kinds was abundant. I had never seen olives the size of baseballs before!

Oh! Let's not leave out Puerto Rico, where I was based as a flight attendant for Eastern Airlines. The Spanish was quite different and very colloquial. It was amazing just how much I could understand from my background in French. And oh là là, those Puerto Rican men!

French. As I just mentioned, Miss Garneau was the catalyst to start me on a lifelong Francophile journey! I was lucky to have a very talented and very strict French teacher for my three year stint in high school. Although he did not have the best of accents, he was thorough and complete with instructing vocabulaire and grammaire! I took to this language like a duck to water. I fantasized about seeing Paris and then traveling out to Normandy to see Mont-Saint-Michel - the legendary castle fortress on its own island! Well, with some of the funds that I had been making in movies and print work, I finally made it to Amsterdam and Paris with my first partner Tommy in 1988. Oh! And, let's not leave out that I used this French to make announcements as a flight attendant. "Eastern vous souhaite la bienvenue!"

Amsterdam was easy... everybody spoke English (as well as all of the other principal European languages.) Tommy and I visited the legendary bath houses while there. We both got in "trouble." But, the fellow I tricked with was very charming and decided to come with us to Paris... our next stop. While in Amsterdam, my trick and now our tour guide showed us much of what this city had to offer as well as teaching me a few Dutch words and phrases.

Back to French - or should I say France! After having taken a wonderful train from Amsterdam to Paris, we arrived at Gare du Norde (the northern Parisian train station) and boarded a taxi to get to our little hotel - Hotel Claude Bernard - by the University Sorbonne. So, here it is "showtime!" I had to speak French with a French person. I was quite daunted, to say the least. After pouring out my carefully picked phrases to our charming lady taxi driver, she said I did a great job! Whew! that was a relief. I didn't take many photos of France, as I had a camcorder with me - that got quite a workout! The three of us had a wonderful time seeing the sites of Paris with me, "Mr. DeMille," filming away!

I decided to rent a small Peugeot and take a run out to Normandy to see Mont-Saint-Michel. I remember holding my breath as we negotiated our way out of Paris and onto the open road west. I also remember nearly wrecking the car as I yanked it over to the side of the road when I first laid eyes on Mont-Saint-Michel! It was more magical and mystical than I ever could have imagined. A castle rising out of the North Atlantic! It was one of the highlights of the whole European trip.

And finally, German! While I took French in high school my friend Michael took German, as did one of my younger siblings. Michael delighted in showing me that you had to wait to the end of the sentence to argue with anybody because that's where the verb was! For me, it wasn't until junior college that I took German as an elective course. I LOVED IT! Once again, I took to it like a duck to water. I loved the vivid differences in grammar and pronunciation from French. What I learned in one very short semester has stayed with me to present - including pronunciation. I was and still am able to construct minor conversations with a few of my German speaking friends... all of this from a six week course. Ich habe nicht vergessen!

So, I have "tasted" a fair amount of the world by travel and language. It is wonderful to feel a part of this beautiful globe of ours!

Bio of Will Seagers:

Will Seagers (also credited as Matt Harper), within his multifaceted careers and participation in numerous gay communities across the country in the '70s and '80s and beyond, worked as a print model, film performer, and DJ, just to name a few. He made iconic appearances in releases from Falcon, Hand in Hand, Joe Gage, Target (Bullet), J. Brian, Steve Scott, and more, including in lead roles in major classics like Gage's L.A. Tool & Die (1979) and Scott's Wanted (1980). He brought strong screen presence and exceptional acting to his roles and was scene partners with many fellow legends of classic porn.