June 2007 Archives

I thought this was an interesting concept. In fact, I think it is right on the mark. I would rate my self at 99% gay. I say that because when I was attending summer school at the University of Oregon years ago, Kent and I were staying in a dorm. One day while I was showering (it was a shower room with four shower heads in it), a young woman entered the shower room to take a shower. At first, I was surprised by this boldness, but decided, “Maybe they do things differently in Oregon. Why the hell not? She needs to shower too.” This dorm housed both sexes, but they were separated into different wings. I didn’t find out until later that she shouldn’t have been there, and was in fact crashing at the dorm because she was homeless for the summer. I think she was a student who wasn’t attending summer classes, but didn’t want to go home for the summer.

I looked at her and asked a question in a very naive voice, “So.... that’s a breast huh?” She laughed in a way that told me she knew from the moment she stepped into the shower that I was gay (guess it even shows there), and asked me, “Would you like to touch them?” I said emphatically, “NO!!!!!!?!?!?!?!!!!”

Silence and awkwardness followed.

We both lathered ourselves up. I finally said, “Well.... maybe...”. Life is about experiences, don’t you think? She stepped towards me, and I touched her breasts, all with the innocence and curiosity of children. Then shrugged my shoulders and said, “Hummmm... I don’t get it. What’s the attraction? This does nothing for me.” She laughed and said, “And that’s why I’m in the shower with you. Wash my back?” I agreed. She washed my back. It was all sort of a surreal (but practical -- we both got our backs washed) experience.

But then, this rather handsome dark-skinned guy stepped into the shower with us. He looked at both of us all lathered up and had the distinct look on his face of, “What the hell?” We stepped away from each other, and he proceeded to shower.

Silence and awkwardness following.

He finally broke the silence as he turned to her and said with a good amount of disdain, “Who are you? You can’t just come in here like this with us naked and all! This is a man’s shower!” He was pissed. She smiled, pointed to his penis and said, “Well, tell that to him. He seems to be happy that I’m here.” I quickly got the hell out of there.

I would see her off and on, usually entered and leaving his room. Apparently, he agreed to let her stay for the summer in his room. Who knows what she had to do to get him to agree to that.

So, my curiosity was satisfied and I’m still mystified on what the attraction of breasts are to straight men. But that’s ok. There’s a lot they don’t understand about me either. And in this day and age, I accept that as long as we can accept each other’s differences.

In a very closed society some one who is “80% gay” might never come out and in a very open society someone who is even “20% gay” might try it. These are gross simplifications, but you get the point. In fact, this is in some ways exactly what the culture warriors on the right have been warning about.

The Christian right (and the religious and cultural conservatives of a great many societies) have been worried about this for a long time. They are right. As society opens up, we will likely be more “gay.” Or in reality, be closer to our true nature, wherever that might lie on the bisexuality continuum.

Where the cultural right is wrong is when they make a value judgment on that. Of course, there isn’t anything wrong with that all. In fact, since it allows us to be closer to our “real” nature without societal judgments on our natural sexual preferences, there is something very right about it. (source)

I wrote on this yesterday. I look forward to the day that fairness and equality are looked upon as the right thing to do.

(Washington) A bill providing federal funding to the District of Columbia has passed the House after a clause stating the money could not be used to fund a domestic partner registry was reinstated....

When the bill came to a vote on the House floor late Thursday Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA) offered an amendment adding back the anti-gay language.

The amendment passed by a vote of 224 to 200.

"In the wake of a hateful and divisive White House veto threat, we are disappointed that the House of Representatives voted to approve the Goode Amendment and add anti-gay language into the DC Appropriations bill," said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese in a statement. (source)

Kent sent me this link and I just had to say something.

I remember this all quite vividly. In 2004, President Bush didn’t seem to have a problem with allowing states to give gay couples the benefits of marriage, as long as it was called something other than marriage.

“I don’t think we should deny people rights to a civil union, a legal arrangement, if that’s what a state chooses to do so,” the president said, just days before Election Day. “(S)tates ought to be able to have the right to pass ... laws that enable people to, you know, be able to have rights, like others.” Apparently either the president has changed his mind, or this position does not extend to the D.C. government.

Now, the Administration is saying that they strongly opposed to a D.C. Government bill that would afford gay couples in the District of Columbia the rights of marriage. “The Administration strongly opposes the bill’s exclusion of a longstanding provision that disallows the use of Federal funds to register unmarried, cohabitating couples in the District, to enable them to qualify for benefits on the same basis as legally married couples.”

Yesterday the Bush administration issued a veto threat of the House Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act -- which funds certain federal government and DC agencies -- because of a domestic partnership provision to allow same-sex couples to qualify for the same benefits as straight couples.....

“The Administration strongly opposes the bill’s exclusion of a longstanding provision that disallows the use of Federal funds to register unmarried, cohabitating couples in the District, to enable them to qualify for benefits on the same basis as legally married couples. Under Federal law, legal marriage is the union between a man and a woman. Federal tax dollars are not used to extend employment benefits to domestic partners of Federal employees, and D.C. should not enjoy an exception to this rule. If the final version of H.R. 2829 does not include this longstanding provision, the President’s senior advisors would recommend he veto the bill.” (source)

So, I guess the President has changed his mind? Or perhaps, like so many other things, has simply fed us a pack of lies? Or perhaps, the President doesn’t really have a brain to work with and is simply relying on the likes of Dick Cheney (who tells the President what to think because the President can’t really put together a coherent thought anyway) to come to this conclusion. Surprising though if that be the case. I forgot that Dick Cheney is so supportive of his gay daughter and her partner friend/acquaintance.

Go figure. And here I thought that the Administration would be supportive of legal rights of gay couples for D.C. It’s not as if they are asking for “marriage”. They said they would be supportive of a “civil union”, or a “legal arrangement”.

They lied. AGAIN.

Saturday, June 16 – drive to Lake Crescent Lodge

We left Seattle today for Lake Crescent Lodge, located just on the north edge of Olympic National Park. What a beautiful setting. It reminded me somewhat of our visit to Redfish Lake in Idaho (although for you reading this who are politically aware, Washington State is a BLUE state!). That means they don’t beat or behead heretics like me at sunrise!

We settled into our room, a room that had a nice view of Lake Crescent.

Here are a few photos of the lake.

View entire Lake Crescent album

View entire Lake Crescent album

Sunday, June 17 – hikes to Marymere Falls and Sol Duc Falls

Today we took two hikes. One to Marymere Falls, and then to Sol Duc Falls.

The hike to the Marymere Falls started from the lodge. We hiked ¾ of a mile in through densely but beautiful forests. We had to cross two bridges, and towards the end of the hike had to climb a fairly steep climb to see the falls. It was well worth it. The falls was 90 feet high, and a very simple veil of water falling over the rocks. Simple, and beautiful.

View entire Marymere Falls album

The Sol Duc Falls were also ¾ miles in, after a short drive from the lodge. The level of intensity for the hike was about the same as that of the Marymere Falls, but the falls themselves were much more powerful. Just before the falls, the river splits into three sections, and then plummets to the rocks below. The falls are powerful and very impressive (photos). It was also quite wet because the water was falling with such force that it was spraying up on the plants, soil, and trail.

View entire Sol Duc Falls album

Friday, June 15 – Tillicum Village, salmon roast

Today, I’m taking a 45 minute boat ride (one way) to Tillicum Village on Blake Island. There, I had time to wonder around the village a bit before going inside for the salmon feast. They roast salmon around large hot fires. They stack the wood up evenly, then lay the salmon out flat where it is quickly roasted with the open fire.

This is all served, along with many other dishes, in a big hall. During lunch, a performance is given of the different dances of the Tillicum Indian heritage. It was simply amazing and was probably one of the most outstanding moments in my life that I will remember.

After the lunch and performance, I was able to talk to one of the Indians who routinely roasts the fish. I also had time to stroll along the trails of the island before leaving for Seattle. I wanted to miss the boat and get the next one at 7:30, but Kent was expecting me for dinner.

Here are a few photos from that day.

View entire Tillicum Village album

View entire Tillicum Village album

Thursday, June 14 – Seattle Center

My day started out with two objectives; to see Seattle Center, where the world renowned Space Needle is located, and to go to Discovery Park, which is located out on the far point of Seattle. It’s a bit more complicated to get to Discovery Park from Seattle Center, because I hadn’t really figured out the metro system there, but as luck would have it, I decided to spend my day at Seattle Center. There was much more going on there than the Space Needle. Don’t get me wrong. The Space Needle was great, and the sights were awesome, but some of the rest of the park had it’s own moments as well. Discovery Park will have to wait for another vacation. I did manage to see a bit of the park on the Locks Cruise the day before – from a distance. That will have to do for now.

I got back to the hotel just in time for the afternoon wine tasting, which took place Monday through Friday from 5:00p.m. to 9:00p.m. in the hotel restaurant. Before long, Kent arrived to pick me up for dinner with a couple of friends from the conference.

Here are a few of the photos from Seattle Center.

View entire Seattle Center album

From the observation tower of the Seattle Space Needle

I loved this fountain. It would randomly jet out water and the kids would try to avoid being sprayed

The reflections were wild

View entire Seattle Center album

We had a great time on vacation. I’m getting some of the photos online now, and thought I’d start sharing a few. Here’s a run down. As I get more done, I’ll post them. We did so many things, that I think the best way is just to walk through everything we did. Here’s a run down for now.

View full album of Pike Place Market
View full album of the Locks Cruise

Tuesday, June 12 – Dinner at Etta’s, Pike Place Market

We arrived in Seattle around 1:30p.m. We ventured down to the waterfront and found Pike Place Market, an open air market that sells a variety of things, not the least of which, is great seafood. We ate dinner at Etta’s Seafood. This was the inside of their restaurant, which had wonderful write-ups from various people who had eaten there.

And my martini that I enjoyed here... :)

They were right, it was wonderful. I had the salmon dinner, which the restaurant was excels in. It’s a spice-rubbed, pit-roasted Alaskan King Salmon, served with shiitakes and custardy corn bread pudding. The salmon was wonderful, but I can’t even find the words to describe the corn bread pudding. You will just have to go there yourself and experience it.

A few other photos of Pike Place Market...

We did this together. For the next few days, Kent was in conferences, and I was on my own.

Wednesday, June 13 – Locks Cruise

I took what they call the “Locks Cruise”. It’s called this because during the course of this two hour cruise, we pass through a lock system that ends up on Lake Union. From there, we took a ten minute bus trip back to where the cruise started. I was a beautiful cruise – just getting out on Puget Sound with all the sea air with breath taking views looking back towards Seattle.

My cousin, who lives in Idaho was vacationing in the area, and we made arrangements to meet at my hotel for a couple of hours of visiting before dinner. It was the first time I had met her new husband.

Here are a few photos from that day.

View full album of Pike Place Market
View full album of the Locks Cruise

We are finally home and it’s nice to be home. We enjoyed our vacation to Washington State a great deal and saw some beautiful scenery along the way. I’m putting something together on it along with many photos. We took over 2,500 photos in all! Don’t worry, not nearly that many will be published. Maybe we are a bit addicted to photography? You think?

I noted on the news that the Supreme Court has made what I would consider to be major decisions on a few very big issues: our environment, freedom of speech, and finance reform, and grants to religious organizations.

Oh.... and what do all of these rulings have in common? They were all decided on a 5-4 vote - all of which would most likely have been decided the other way in the court of Sandra Day O’Connor. This is just one more thing President Bush has done for our country. America is not America anymore. It’s been sold out and we are losing more and more with each ruling. And this is just the beginning. Here’s a bit of news to look forward to:

If a U.S. Supreme Court justice steps down in the coming months, the Bush administration may have an easier time filling the seat with a conservative nominee than is generally expected, some political analysts argue.

The first full term in which Chief Justice John Roberts, Jr., and Associate Justice Samuel Alito have served together is drawing to a close, and the country is again bracing for the possibility of another justice retiring from the bench.

Retirement speculation focuses on Justices John Paul Stevens and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, both liberals. Stevens is 87 years old; and although Ginsburg is 13 years younger, her frail appearance has often prompted conjecture of poor health. (source)

So I would expect that the rulings on the court with new Bush appointees (which will most likely be confirmed with this gut-less Congress that we have today) to be much more lopsided.

And now, the rulings...

Endangered Species Act

The Supreme Court sided with developers and the Bush administration Monday in a dispute with environmentalists over protecting endangered species. The court ruled 5-4 for home builders and the Environmental Protection Agency in a case that involved the intersection of two environmental laws, the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act....

A federal appeals court had said that EPA did not do enough to ensure that endangered species would not be harmed if the state took over the permitting.

Environmental groups, backed by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal, said the administration position would in essence gut a key provision of the endangered species law. (source)

“A federal appeals court had said that EPA did not do enough to ensure that endangered species would not be harmed if the state took over the permitting.”

I had to read that twice and really think about it. The entire purpose of the Endangered Species Act was to prohibit any federal agency from taking action that would put an endangered species in further jeopardy. Now, the states can determine for themselves what they will or will not do for the protection of endangered species. Do I have that right?

Free Speech

In a majority decision written by Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., and joined in full by Justices Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, and Alito, the Supreme Court ruled that students don’t have the right to promote pro-drug messages at school-sponsored and faculty-supervised events. Justice Breyer concurred in the judgment in part. The Court also unanimously rejected Frederick’s damages claim against Principal Morse.....

The case arises from an event that occurred in Juneau on Jan. 24, 2002. During the 2002 Winter Olympics Torch Relay, the Juneau School District participated in the event by allowing students to view the relay under the supervision of teachers and school administrators as it passed through the street in front of the high school. As the torch and television cameras approached the school, JDHS high school student Joseph Frederick and several of his friends displayed a large banner that read “BONG HITS 4 JESUS.” Principal Morse asked the students to drop the banner because it violated the school district’s policy prohibiting the display of messages promoting illegal substances. When Frederick refused, Principal Morse confiscated the banner. She subsequently suspended Frederick for displaying the banner and several related offenses. (source)

BONG HITS 4 JESUS huh... Well, a bit tacky I will admit. I’m sure it’s very offensive to many groups. But here’s the thing with free speech; it is only free speech if you can defend anyone who says the most offensive things. The only issue I would have is if that speech is inciting others to violence against someone else or a group of people. “BONG HITS 4 JESUS” doesn’t fall into that category as far as I’m concerned. As an example, I find the signs held up by Fred Phelps pathetic church (we all know what the signs say... I’m not going to give him more air time) to be extremely offensive. Does his group have a free speech right to display those signs and speak their mind? Yes they do, and I would defend their right to that speech. Free speech isn’t easy.

Also on this topic I found an interesting article entitled "Did student-speech rights go up in smoke?" Here's an excerpt.

With a stroke of the powerful pen of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., the U.S. Supreme Court limited student-speech rights this week, creating another exception to Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, its landmark 1969 First Amendment decision in which it declared that students do not “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of expression at the schoolhouse gate.”

As a result of a colorful case colloquially known as “Bong Hits 4 Jesus,” the Court ruled June 25 that students just outside the schoolhouse gate lose their First Amendment rights if they speak even ambiguously about drugs. Though many associate the “war on drugs” with a loss of Fourth Amendment freedoms, the First Amendment also fell victim in the Court’s decision in Morse v. Frederick.

Federal Campaign Finance

The U.S. Supreme Court gave companies, labor unions and interest groups more power to run broadcast ads before elections, limiting the reach of a federal campaign-finance law.

The 5-4 ruling today marks a shift for the court, which in 2003 upheld the law, including a provision that restricts pre-election ads. The court today said that provision couldn’t be constitutionally applied to three 2004 ads, aired by a Wisconsin anti-abortion group, that called on the U.S. Senate to hold votes on President George W. Bush’s judicial nominees. (source)

We will never know if they ruled this way because they are against pro-choice. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, “Discussion of issues cannot be suppressed simply because the issues may also be pertinent in an election. Where the First Amendment is implicated, the tie goes to the speaker, not the censor.” Would they have ruled this way if it were for gay rights? My gut feeling is, probably not. We know the First Amendment doesn’t apply to “BONG HITS 4 JESUS”.

Grants to Religious Charities

In a 5 to 4 decision, the Supreme Court has sided with the Bush administration, ruling that average citizens and watchdog groups do not have the legal right to challenge the federal program that awards grants to religious charities....

The ruling means that lawsuits challenging the White House office must be pursued by a person or group directly injured by a government action, as opposed to an average citizen.

Religious, civil-liberties, atheist, and other groups had been closely watching the case because of the precedent it will set about who can sue the federal government when concerns arise in cases that involve government grants to religious organizations. (source)

The federal government has ABSOLUTELY NO BUSINESS WHAT SO EVER giving money to “faith-based initiatives.” The line that separates church and state just keeps getting thinner and thinner and thinner. And yet, no one notices, just like Germany in the last century.

I suppose President Bush got just exactly what he wanted, a Supreme Court that would side with the administration on very key issues facing our country. It honestly would not surprise me if somehow this Supreme Court found a way to issue a ruling that Dick Cheney really wasn’t part of the Executive Branch.

If Cheney’s a member of the legislative branch, the Democratic Caucus chair suggests, the vice president won’t need all the money that currently goes to pay for his executive office, extensive staff and that secure undisclosed location that is so often his haunt. So Emanuel plans this week to offer an amendment to a spending bill that would defund the Office of the Vice President.

We are having a great time in Seattle. It's such a beautiful and wonderfully tolerant city. The last few days have been kind of surreal for me. Last weekend I was in Boston for Boston Pride, and now I'm in Seattle. And on Saturday, we leave for Olympic National Park. A lot of traveling and a LOT of photos over a short period of time.

What really made my day was a call from Kent that I received while at the top of the Seattle Space Needle. It was so beautiful up their and the views are great (photos to follow later). But what really made it special was the announcement that the legislature in Massachusetts has voted not to allow an amendment to ban marriage for gay couples to proceed to the November ballot, where it would have been voted on by the voters.

By voting down this amendment, the legislators have recognized that you don't put civil liberties up to a popular vote.

BOSTON — Massachusetts lawmakers threw out a proposed constitutional amendment Thursday that would have let voters decide whether to ban gay marriage in the only state that allows it.

The vote — which came amid heavy pressure to kill the measure from Gov. Deval Patrick and legislative leaders — was a devastating blow to efforts to reverse a historic 2003 court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.

"Today's vote is not just a victory for marriage equality. It was a victory for equality itself," said Patrick, who had lobbied lawmakers up until the final hours to kill the measure.

As the tally was announced, the halls of the Statehouse erupted in applause.

The ban needed 50 votes in consecutive sessions of the 200-seat Legislature to secure a place on the 2008 statewide ballot. At the end of the last session in January it passed with 62 votes, but this time it garnered just 45. (source)

Rather scary if you think about it... the thing was only 5 votes short of passing! That is how fragile freedom and equality can be.

View entire photo collection of Boston Gay Pride, 2007

I has a great time at Boston Pride. I left for Boston Friday afternoon, and arrived at Jury’s Hotel in Boston. Here’s a photo just inside their lobby. (view set)

The wall was a cascade of water. I was really happy with Jury’s Hotel. It is a beautiful place and the rooms are awesome. But most important, when I wanted to go to the parade, I simply stepped out of my hotel, and the parade passed right in front of my hotel, which is why I had front row seats to the parade.

After settling in, I decided to take a walk before dinner. I walked a short distance to the Boston Gardens (view set).

The next day was the gay pride parade. I arrived a few minutes early. Like I said, it was literally two minutes from my hotel. It started at 12:00 noon, and lasted for an hour or so. (view set)

I was a bit surprised at all the churches that were marching in the parade this year. There were dozens. And it made me feel good that there are so many in the religious community that support equality for us, and our open to us as gay people.

But I think the underlying theme this year was what is to come in just a few days. The Constitutional Convention will once again, for the second time, vote on the issue of gay marriage. Last year, the legislature voted to put the issue on the ballot for the voters in Massachusetts to vote on. This must happen in two consecutive sessions (it’s not easy to change the Constitution of a state). This year will be the second time. If they vote to allow the issue to go to the ballot, the voters of Massachusetts will vote in November if the state will continue to honor marriage equality for gay couples.

What does this mean if this passes. It means that the marriages already performed for over 8,000 couples will remain intact. It means that no other gay marriages will be allowed. It also means that civil unions, domestic partnerships, or anything similar to marriage will be allowed. So, everything is at stake. This dark cloud of uncertainty was very present in this years parade and rally.

After the parade, I went to the rally (view set).

I suppose my favorite float was this one...

But I must admit, there was a lot of eye candy as well....

I had a great time. The only down side was that I was by myself. It would have been nicer if someone was with me, but Kent was in Switzerland. Then Tuesday morning, we are off to Seattle and the Olympic Peninsula for two weeks. A busy time for us.

View entire photo collection of Boston Gay Pride, 2007

I’m going up to Boston tomorrow to celebrate gay pride this year. I’m very much looking forward to it as a way to get away for a few days. But I also think it is very important to examine why it is important for our community to celebrate gay pride. I get asked this question a lot by straight friends and acquaintances. The question is usually somewhat awkward for them to ask, but it’s usually phrased as, “So... why do you all have to celebrate being gay in the first place, or feel the need to be proud of it?”

Of course, underneath that comment are layers of homophobia. The fact that the question is even asked in such a way in the first place is a reason in itself that gay pride is important. What they are really wondering about is why there isn’t a “straight pride”. It’s a logical question. The answer is that gay pride evolved from a need to feel a sense of validation from all the horrible things that were happening to gay and lesbian people. Many younger gay people today have no sense of what it was like for gays in the 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s. People had to keep their horrible secret, or risk being banished from their families and friends, losing their jobs (which by the way, still happens), getting kicked out of the military under a Section 8 mental disorder (today we have the ever so kind, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, that still kicks out gays, but without the dishonorable discharge), and many other things, such as being unable to even report to the police that you had been beaten for being gay. Many times, the treatment that came from the police was worse than that of the bashers (which still happens in some parts of the country).

As a gay man of today, it is a big challenge for me to simply continue to care about these issues when so many states in this country seem to have no problem steam rolling right over our civil rights. Today, I came across this:

MIXNER’S REMINISCENCES OF the early fight against AIDS and the loss of his partner left the crowd in quiet sobs. Choking with emotion, he recalled the day his hospitalized partner demanded to be taken to a polling place to vote, walking under his own power to the booth. Mixner’s warnings about apathy serve as an important reminder that our fight is not just to win equal rights, but to guard against backsliding. A quick look at the current effort to ban gay marriage in Massachusetts offers unsettling proof that even after a victory is won, it’s not necessarily secure.

I will never forget Mixner’s words. Every gay man and lesbian in their teens and 20s should have been in that room. Those of us who survived the ‘80s carry a tremendous burden to never forget and to teach the next generation so that the heartless cruelty of an uncaring government that watched passively as an entire generation of gay men died is never repeated. (source)

But today there are other challenges. Since AIDS is becoming more well known among non-gay populations, other issues have cropped up, such as the so called “gay marriage” issue. The issue is much bigger than marriage. The message is that we as a community simply do not deserve civil liberties, based on religious reasons. And that, my friends, is a bigger threat than AIDS ever was. And I can say that. I’ve paid a dear price at the hands of AIDS. But this is bigger, because once someone can get away with denying this liberty or that liberty to a specific group based on religion, then you have a theocracy. And if this is successful, the young gay, lesbian, and transgendered people growing up today will be experiencing the same stuff that past generations have had to endure.

So, this is why, for me, it’s important to have gay pride. And, one more reason....

“Tell everyone that this is for anybody who eva said anything bad about me, see I do have feelings too. Blame the people who were horrible and injust 2 me. This is because of them, I am human just like them. I hope they rot in hell 4 what they made me do. They know who they are. None of you blame urself mum, dad, Sam and the rest of my family. This is not because of you.” (source)

Those were the last words that fifteen year old Jonathan Reynolds (pictured right) sent his family by a text message minutes before he lay down on the tracks in front of train traveling at 85 miles an hour.

We have to give gay youth a reason to stick around. We have to give them hope. Rest in peace my small friend. I wish I could have talked with you before you decided to do this.

My message will be Vladimir - I call him Vladimir - you shouldn’t fear a missile defense system. As a matter of fact, why don’t you cooperate with us on a missile defense system. - President George W. Bush talking about his upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin (source)

Didn’t the United States and Russia do this once before? It would be nice if George Bush actually read a book now and then. The scary think is, he doesn't even seem to realize why Russia has issues with this “missile defense system”.

This morning on my way to work, they were talking about the Democratic debate. You know, I just really can’t be bothered with all the baggage of politics anymore, it seems. But I only remember one thing, as they were talking about John Edwards... a quote he said several years ago:

It’s a jump for me to get to gay marriage, and I haven’t yet gotten across that bridge. But it is something I struggle with, and that’s just the truth. - Senator John Edwards

Well, Senator Edwards, I guess I agree with your reasoning a bit. This is where I’m at....

It’s a jump for me to get to where I could vote for John Edwards, and I haven’t yet gotten across that bridge. But it is something I struggle with, and that’s just the truth.

Fair enough?

After breakfast this morning, I took a few photos around our home before the storm arrived. This is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy.

View entire set

View entire set

I decided that I will be going to Boston Pride this year. My reservations have been made, and cat sitter has been called. I’m excited about it. It makes sense actually. Kent has to leave for Switzerland this Tuesday, and won’t return until Sunday. Then, on the following Tuesday morning, we both head off to Seattle and Washington State for a two week vacation. It’s going to be a busy month for us.

I leave on Friday, around noon, for Boston. I will check in and stay at Jury’s Boston Hotel (map), the former Boston Police Headquarters from the 1920’s.

I’ll probably do very little Friday night. There are a few events scheduled, but I’ll probably go to dinner, walk around the city a bit, and go to bed early. The next day, on Saturday, the Boston Pride Parade starts around 12:00 (are these things ever on time?). Their route takes them a half block from where I’m staying, so it should be very easy to partake in all the festivities. They end up at City Hall Plaza, where I will find some shady tree, roll out my blanket, and take in the festivities. It should be fun.

Saturday night, I have no plans. I’m thinking of going back to my room, taking a nice hot shower, and going to dinner at some area restaurant. There are a lot in the area where I’m staying.

On Sunday, I have reservations at Avila (map), for “Pride Brunch” at 11:30, just two short blocks from my hotel. I may end up going to the Stuart Street block party at 1:00 for awhile, since it’s located right outside my hotel, but we’ll see how I feel.

After that, I come home. I should get home an hour or so before Kent gets home.

I’m looking forward to this. It will be nice to just be around people who, well, are like me.

I know... I’m a bit late in posting this. These were my thoughts on Memorial Day...

Today has been a relaxing and uneventful day for me. In fact, I’m sitting on my deck sipping on mango margaritas (2nd one no less) without a thought in the world. I’m hooked up to my XM radio listening to the Dvorak Cello Concerto with Jacqueline du Pre’. I’m sitting with my camera in hand to try to capture the essence of my canvas. But more on that later.

Unlike most people, Memorial Day is a tough day for me -- a solemn day. I am haunted by thoughts of past friends who are no longer here. It seems only proper that I should honor them in some way by remembering them. But many would say, what’s the point? Here’s a memory from my past.

Dick Kramer’s Gay Mens Chorale, winter 1985

I’m not actually in that photo, but I was part of the choir at that time. It was a wonderful but turbulent time in my life. I remembering not being able to be at the photo shoot. I wish I could have been there. So many of these guys are gone now, but I was thinking of them on this Memorial Day. A friend who came upon my blog because I had written of being in Dick Kramer’s chorale, sent me this photo. Sadly, Dick Kramer passed away this last March in Southern California.

So for this Memorial Day, I decided to relax a bit an not be sad, but to find joy and peace in the fact that I celebrate each day of my life as though it were my last. Maybe that’s why I love cats so much. They live "in the moment" and each moment is of the utmost importance. And I know the guys that were my friends would want me to live my life that way.

And while I was relaxing and listening to my music, here are a few images from my day. Please keep in mind that I've had two mango margaritas in me and I'm really quite happy, so if my technique is off a bit, that's why.

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The second mango margarita I had that afternoon. They are soooooo good! And I love the way the light is reflecting in the stem of the glass. I just noticed that.

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I’m thinking of going to Boston Pride this year. The parade (Saturday, June 9th) ends up at City Hall Plaza. I don’t believe I’ve ever been there. When I go to Boston, I usually stay at The Charles, but that is a ways from City Hall Plaza. I’ll probably try to find something downtown. Unfortunately, Kent is away that week.

Hummmm, what to do? Do any of you Bostonians have tips on where to stay in downtown Boston?

On talking about changing sexual orientation...

You know, you can deny it, you can pretend, but it’s not really going to change. And it seems to me wrong — how do I say this — to forbid some people from having love in their lives. (source)

For that matter, it just seems wrong to me to forbid marriage to a couple who love each other.