Remains of the Day (12/21)

The Randy Report: Out-and-handsome singer Tom Goss and Liz DeRoche celebrate the 200th anniversary of "Silent Night"

Towleroad: Andy Cohen is going to be a (real) daddy

NPR:  Justice Ginsburg has cancerous growths removed from lung, no evidence of remaining disease

Instagram: Bosnian tennis player Damir Dzumhur likes to play video games in his briefs

The New York Times: Mattis's resignation creates new cracks between GOP lawmakers and Trump

Sun-Sentinel: South Florida trans teen Jazz Jennings gets gender surgery and boyfriend

The Daily News: That John Roberts is now the "swing vote" is very frightening, but I'll take it

Hunk du Jour: Underwear-clad Tarik Kaljanac quenches his thirst

The Guardian: Meet the German Jayson Blair

Gay Star News: Abortion is now legal in Ireland as president signs bill

Dlisted: Open post hosted by your new favorite UPS delivery man

Back2Stonewall: Yet another reason why I have no use for the state of Florida

Dennis Hensley: Everyone's playing the funnest new party game -- You Don't Know My Life!

The Daily Beast: Michael Urie on "Torch Song" closing and coming out in Hollywood

Gothamist: The Half King, a mainstay in Chelsea with wonderful Shepherd's pie, will close in January

Baseline: Model Stefano Tsitsipas needs a haircut

The WoW Report: Parkland survivor turned activist David Hogg is going to Harvard

OMG Blog: Fashion model Matt Nicol flaunts his enormous schlong

Hot Cat of the Day: Unlike Larry, Harvey wants nothing to do with sinks or the bathroom. But when Damian was in there looking for an allergy pill last night, he just had to help out! 

Larry's sinking feeling

RIP, Teddy

So sad to hear that my sister-in-law Patty's little boy, Teddy, passed away. I fell in love with the little guy when we visited Damian's sisters in Alameda, Calif., early last year. I remember leaning in to kiss Teddy and being so surprised when he didn't lunge for my face -- or bite it! -- because I'd made eye contact with him, as my crazy Larry did. I hope he's taking a nap somewhere with his cousins in the big cardboard box in the sky. xo

Larry Hall

God I miss this little guy. Sometimes I'll leave a bottle or glass on a flat surface then end up feeling like Alvy Singer with the new girl and the lobster when Harvey just looks at it like I'm crazy.

Happy International Cat Day!

From Harvey ...

and the eternally lovable Larry, whose autopsy came back "inconclusive."

Read my final update to the many kind people who so generously helped out with Larry's medical expenses on GoFundMe HERE.

Glass Half Full?

Harvey's great, but he's no Larry in the drinking-glass department. :-)

Happy Birthday to Debbie Harry!

If you had told me when I was a kid that I would end up living for 20 years in the same neighborhood as my teenage dream, I'd have said: "Well, I better've!" The Blondie chanteuse turned 71 today -- on what would have been Larry's 9th birthday -- and shows no sign of slowing down, which is more than I can say for me. Happy birthday, Debbie!

Larry stuck around for my birthday and just narrowly missed his own. Miss my little guy. :-(

Breaking in the new scratching board his stepfather got him on his birthday in 2015 ...

Phil Collins Is 'Not Dead Yet'

Order HERE.

Bittersweet seeing this cover -- and title -- of the upcoming memoir by my late friend Larry Brickman's all-time favorite artist. I named my cat after my friend who was taken from us way too soon so that my furry friend should meet a similar fate doubly crushed me. As I told Larry's mother when I asked her if it was OK to name my new pet after him, "I want to name the kitten Larry because I just can't bear to not have a Larry in my life." (I still can't.) Wish they were both here now -- Larry to lie on my chest and the older Larry to surprise with a copy of this new book. :-(

In Paris with the first Larry in my life, circa 2001.

UPDATE:

Look what came in the mail today -- a tree was planted in Israel in Larry's memory today, courtesy of my old friend/roommate Paul Samson. Incredibly sweet gesture. xo

Special Delivery

Not sure what is making me bawl more -- that Larry's vet sent these beautiful flowers to us, or thinking about how much fun the little guy would have had destroying them, Mutual of Omaha's "Wild Kingdom"-style ...

Song of the Day: 'The Lovecats' by The Cure

Going through albums of photos of my little love cat and smiling from ear to ear remembering all of the adorable things he did -- like when we finally got him a new litter box, only he wouldn't let us set it up for a few days because he liked hanging out in it too much on the kitchen table, where he discovered it 10 seconds after we got home. :-)

The World Just Got a Little Less Cute

We said goodbye to Larry yesterday. The little guy was truly one of a kind -- and I loved him very much. :-(

The Eyes of Larry Walsh

#Miralax

You're looking at the face of a kitty who had his first bowel movement since Saturday. (I think I was more relieved than he was!) Larry also had another belly drain on Tuesday and has been holding his own since, but is down from 16 pounds in November to 11.8 pounds now, which supports the doctors' theory that there is a very serious underlying condition behind his chylothorax. The drains are draining my bank account -- your donations have been incredibly helpful! -- but we plan to keep him comfortable until he tells us otherwise. xo

More info HERE.

Larry Says #WearOrange

And not just because it's laundry day!

From HERE.

The Larry Sanders Show

From HERE.

Larry likes the box almost as much as I like the Sanders Bumpy Cake that came in it from my Detroit best friend, Mark, for my upcoming birthday (June 8)! As for the little guy's health, we're kind of in a holding pattern right now as he is doing reasonably well at the moment after some very dark periods. The next step would be performing a CT scan, thoracoscopy and/or a pericardiectomy, none of which is likely to help -- but all of which would be incredibly taxing on his now-frail body. Each time he gets the fluid tapped, it takes him longer to rebound. It was so bad the last two times that we actually had made appointments to have him put down in recent weeks, but each time he overheard us discussing it he suddenly rebounded(!) -- which has convinced us that sedation is his worst enemy. With that in mind, we've decided putting him under general anesthesia for what the doctor thinks will be exploratory at best and deadly at worst is not worth it, at least not right now. Although he's running at about 25%, he is acting an awful lot like his old cute self -- eating, hanging out with us again and purring up a storm -- and seems as happy as he can be given the circumstances, which for those who are not up-to-date is most likely a slower-moving cancer (mesothelioma is their best guess as it is hard to detect without an invasive biopsy). Everything could change on a dime, but for now we're just enjoying every second we have with him as we feel like he is on his eighth life. xo

Larry On

Thanks to everyone who has inquired about Larry. Specialist at Animal Medical Center ran some more tests and had some interesting theories about what is ailing my little guy, but still nothing definitive. (An abnormality of the pericardium or mesothelioma -- which occurs spntaneously in cats, unrelated to asbestos -- have been hypothesized.) Larry has slowed down enormously, which has given us pause about even pursuing this further -- but then he will bounce back again and convince us to carry on. Will let you know where we go from here. The CT scan remains on the table, so donations are still greatly appreciated. xo

Learn more HERE

Mr. Pink Nose Rides Again!

Uber kitty

Larry saw a renowned internist at Animal Medical Center today, something that would not have been possible without so many kind donations to his GoFundMe campaign. Still processing everything that the doctor told us, but the good news for now is that my baby is back home where he belongs after getting a huge amount of fluid drained from his stomach and chest cavity. I had to get to work, but Damian tells me when the little guy got in the door, he immediately used the liter box, chowed down on his food and starting purring up a storm! -- xo

More info TK. 

From HERE.

Poor Larry got busted lying about his age ...

A Larry Big Day

Just wanted to check in with everybody about my little guy, who came out to visit yesterday (above) after lying low for most of the week. It's now been over two weeks since his last tap and he has had zero coughing/wheezing fits, which once seemed like an unimaginable dream. No matter what happens next, I can't tell you how great it's been to have some less distressing time with Larry -- and I owe it all to everyone who has donated to our GoFundMe campaign. Sadly, his belly does appear to be filling again, albeit not as quickly as last time, With that in mind, I've made the decision to take him to see yet another costly specialist a vet friend strongly recommends at Animal Medical Center to see about tapping him -- and as a second "second" opinion of sorts, with the dwindling hope that a cause for the chylothorax can be located. Appointment is tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. -- wish us luck!

Those who wish to make a donation can do so HERE.

Hoping Fur a Miracle

Although we are taking it day by day, I'm happy to report that little Larry had a pretty good weekend -- which is noteworthy given that about a week ago we had booked a tentative appointment for "humane euthanasia" when it appeared he was rapidly deteriorating. Not only was he able to lie in his favorite (adorable) pretzel position without coughing/wheezing ...

he was also on high alert for pigeons ...

and found a comfy place to hang out after we comfort fed ourselves. (Adorable!) Many weeks ago I had tried to get Larry in to see a doctor at Animal Medical Center known to be "the best" in the business only to find out there was a six-week wait, which seemed to be too far out of reach. Turns out his appointment was/is for this Friday -- so barring anything catastrophic this week, it looks like we may be taking him in to see Dr. Palma after all. Although we've been told there isn't anything else that can be done for Larry -- and he does, indeed, seem to be slowing down -- I'm still hoping we can get a definitive diagnosis so we can at the very least start the right palliative care, if not suddenly have an explanation for why his cavities keep filling with lymphatic fluid. A huge thank-you to everyone who has contributed to Larry's medical fund so far -- I will, of course, keep you posted on any updates. Despite the odds, I still haven't given up on the little guy!

Learn more about my critter's plight HERE.

UPDATE:

After seemingly being too tender to be touched all weekend, look who jumped into bed this morning for some cuddle time? Needless to say, this week has started out on a very high note! xo

Throwback Thursday

Throwing back to 2007, before Larry was an oversize package!

Learn more about my little guy's health crisis HERE.

This Woman's Work

By the grace of God, the fluid has only returned to Larry's belly -- rather than also being in his chest cavity -- which has made breathing normal for an entire week, something he hasn't been able to do for months. (The stomach fluid is obviously incredibly bad news -- and the chest could change on a dime -- but it's still been nice that he can be comfortable.) Still awaiting some test results, but have reached out to the Animal Medical Center for a(nother) "second" opinion (more like fourth). I may be delusional at this point, but just look at him. I know he's got a little life in him yet. xo

More info HERE.

Cat as Cat Can

One of the most difficult things about Larry's health crisis is not knowing from one moment to the next if "the end" might happen at any moment -- and yesterday was particularly scary. I came home from work and when he jumped down from his perch to greet me -- per usual -- he completely lost his equilibrium, all but falling down on his side. He then stumbled into the bedroom, and spent the better part of the evening in a dark corner under my desk, a place he's never hung out before. (When Troy was ready to say goodbye to us, he hid under my bed.) Just when I was ready to sign Larry's death certificate, he surprised us when we were in the kitchen doing dishes and paying bills and joined us, as you can see above, which made me the happiest man in New York City! To learn more about his situation, click HERE.