meaning making
My first Pride event. The year was 1988 or 89. I was an undergrad at Florida State University in Tallahassee. My boyfriend and I drove my clunky Toyota Starlet to Atlanta for pride weekend celebrations. We stayed with a friend near Piedmont Park and met up with a lesbian couple (Vicky and Wendy) we were… Continue reading Thirty+ Years Ago, What I Remember from my First Pride
Thoughts on the anniversary of the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
“Be yourself, everyone else is already taken”. ~ Oscar Wilde
Early on, there were times I wasn’t sure being gay was compatible with having a life worth living. But even during those dark times, if someone had offered me a pill to make me straight I would’ve declined it. I clung onto a belief, instilled in grade school at St Mary’s in Balboa, Panamá, that… Continue reading Rainbow Spirituality
John McCain’s Wikipedia entry is already updated to reflect his passing. He was born August, 29, 1936 in the Panama Canal Zone (Coco Solo, on the Atlantic side). So in addition to being an Arizonan, he was a Zonian by birth. What I appreciated the most about him in recent years was his courageous pushback… Continue reading John McCain, Zonian
Hellen Keller on optimism: I know what evil is…For the very reason that I have come into contact with it, I am more truly an optimist. I can say with conviction that the struggle which evil necessitates is one of the greatest blessings. It makes us strong, patient, helpful men and women. It lets us… Continue reading Preponderance of Good
A historical perspective helps me feel optimistic. I remind myself that the US government is not a monarchy and not dependent on a single person or a single branch of government. Plus there are state and local jurisdictions that do incredible and innovative jobs serving their citizens with the resources they have. I remind myself… Continue reading Self-Reminders for Optimism in the Face of US Political Drama
Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. [It] cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals." Martin Luther King, Jr. This movie scene from Gandhi still gives me goosebumps. The background to this scene: British imperial overlords outlawed India's domestic salt production. Colonial India was compelled to… Continue reading The Sword that Heals