FIFTY-THREE

2008

Friends/Family:
Brother's Family, Kelly, Gretchen

I attended Gay Pride. It was a circus act for the most part but I wanted to go and check it out. I am pretty open minded and a lot of my friends and associates are gay. Plus, I try to reserve judgement until I understand as much as I can. And even then, I tend to hold back/not judge.

I also attended my first gay wedding. Kelly and Gretchen got married. It was in August and it was an honor to be there. I am not sure how I feel about gay marriage for I am not sure it is something that needed to be fought for in terms of gay rights but I do understand that love is love and often with love comes devotion. I guess it is more about Equal Rights. So, in terms of love and devotion, which usually translates into time, energy and emotion, I guess I get the fight. If I had someone I loved dying in a hospital and I had spent a significant part of my life with that individual but was not allowed in the room as their life slipped away, I would have issues too. But, I know it is more than bed-side presence. I get that. However, one thing I hear addressed more and more in the gay community is infidelity. So I get confused. Why do they want the rights of a union, that by translation and in vows say, love, honor and cherish. Those three words do not mean "get some" when you want to regardless of the union. And for that matter, someone explain its prevalence in the heterosexual community where marriage is accepted, expected and rejected more and more.

As someone once said, I have a big heart. I am the one who always roots for the underdog. If someone looks like they are not having fun at a party, I am the one who saunters over and makes conversation. That is not vanity. That is empathy. In high school, I was not in a clique. Or at least it did not feel like I was. I suppose to the outsider I was in the cheerleading clique. Or athlete clique. But I actually tried to not hang out with one crowd. I am not sure what that was about. Perhaps curiosity, avoid typecasting, defiance. So, new or uncomfortable is not so foreign to me. I definitely have things I am uncomfortable with or around but, in large, it does not bother me. I attribute that to my strong suit of independence. And that independence lets me explore and be open minded.
In history, this happened: 2008
http://www.infoplease.com/world/events/2008/