Please, Don't Divorce Us

A message to the California Supreme Court and all those who want to deny equal rights to minorities.


Please, Don't Divorce US

Save Our Marriage Rights

"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

My niece told me about this video; and when I watched, it nearly broke my heart. I know that the California Supreme Court is hearing the case of same-sex marriage next month, and that our marriage may be invalidated as a result.

The link on the video takes you to a page that allows you to sign the letter to the court to reject ultra-conservative pressure to deny rights to a minority. I'm glad I was given the opportunity to take this small step to protect our rights. Traci and I are just one couple of the 18,000 couples that were able to marry. Everybody should have that right; and we should NOT have our legal union abolished. Many thanks to Candi who was thoughtful enough to share this with us.

Wedding Nuptials

My partner and I can’t be labeled activists, radicals or subversives—we are simply a same-sex couple who wanted to legitimize our relationship. So on September 8, 2008 Traci and I took advantage of a window of opportunity to get legally married at San Francisco City Hall. We’ve been together for over 8 years but haven’t been able to enjoy the rights of a legally married union until the ruling affirming same-sex marriage by California’s highest court.

The California Supreme court affirmed our right to marry in 2008 but Proposition 8 quickly followed, looking to strip us of that right. Knowing that voters in much of this state are more concerned with denying people their rights instead of real issues, my partner and I decided not to take a chance. We got our license and married before the election. And our worst fears were confirmed; Proposition 8 won and same-sex couples lost our rights.

However, some 18,000 same-sex couples married in that window, including us. Now those marriages are being contested by the same people that funded the drive to deny us our equal rights and our marriage may eventually be annulled. How sad when real issues need to be addressed. Private sector “criminals” are allowed to rape the citizens of the country (and the world), a corrupt government wages an unjust war, the economy is in shambles, millions of people are losing their homes, the middle-class is under attack, the poor are being ignored, and so much more is wrong. But gays and lesbians are denied equal rights so that the sanctity of marriage is protected.

If you watch the video of our own ceremony you can see the joy and love in us. I’d say that the beauty of two people coming together in love is not a threat to marriage. If there is a threat to the sanctity of marriage I’d suggest that opposite-sex couples take a good look at themselves. They have made a mockery of the institution for decades—they don’t need our help.

A New Beginning?

It’s been a while since I’ve been here. I changed email addresses, passwords and more. So I haven’t been able to get into my old blog for quite some time. I wish I could just get rid of all the passwords and usernames and simply put my thumb on the computer screen and let that do the trick. Maybe someday.

Anyway, I voted today. It was a remarkable experience because change is in the air. I voted for Obama and the Dems. I can’t take any more of the Republican hypocrisy. All they want to do is legislate how we live...forget about doing anything constructive for the country!

I also voted no on Prop 8 – In California the far-right is trying to legislate who can marry. I’m worried it will pass, only allowing marriage between a man and a woman. Fearing the worst, I married my partner last month. But I’ll save that for another post. For now I’ll just pray the Republicans go down in flames.

Airplane Pull

I was at the United Airlines Terminal at SFO this weekend and observed their latest cost-cutting measure. United claims this new technique of getting planes out of the terminals will save millions of dollars, even if it strains a few backs. :)

Lazy Days of Summer

Yikes! why has it been so long since I've posted an entry? It's not for lack of subject material. I could put lots of interesting things in - what I had for lunch, my scary nightmares, why I like the Geico Cavemen. I guess I'll have to 'fess up to a general laziness I've experienced over the summer. I've put on more weight, been spending too much time at work, over-eating, drinking WAY too much Coke, over-eating, watching WAY WAY too much television, over-eating. Well, you get the picture. And I haven't been jogging. And I've been cranky as Hell!

PMS? I'm taking my hormones. OH, I learned how to make a hormone the other day: you don't pay her. Anyway, so I'm taking a vacation soon? But I'm calling it my fake vacation? Cause I took home so much work? And I'm not going anywhere? And I left my cell phone number on my office voicemail and invited people to call me at home? What's wrong with me? No, really, what's wrong with me?

I did do some writing over the past few months. I wrote an article for QST magazine that they accepted and will publish in their online web version of their magazine. And they paid me $25 - isn't that nice? I'll link it as soon as it appears online. But I haven't worked on my novella in months and I took this vacation to finish it. Instead I brought home all this work. Oh well....somebody give me some encouragement. Summer will be over soon and maybe I'll get back to normal?

The Queen, Elvis & Truck Stops

Our recent encounter with the QM2 in San Francisco Bay (See February posting) was serendipitous; little did we know that we would breakfast on the original Queen Mary just a few short weeks later. We decided to take a long Memorial Day weekend and see some friends that used to live in Pacifica with us. Eric and Edgar moved to the land of make believe (the L.A. area) a couple years ago and it was time for a visit. Eric works in a resort hotel next to the Queen Mary in Long Beach so we decided to stay there during the long weekend. It was great—the hotel looked out over the harbor with a view on the QM and downtown Long Beach. First order of business on Sunday morning was champagne brunch on the Queen. Although the old girl is looking a little worn, the pride of this great ship is present everywhere. We breakfasted in the elegant first-class dinning room, still polished and majestic. Rich walnut paneling, columns and giant murals rendered graceful splendor to the giant room; you could envision being on the open sea as light and a hint of salt air streamed in through the portals. Waiters in crisp whites served champagne, orange juice and coffee as we perused the isles full of delicacies. I ate the best crepes I ever tasted there; we all feasted on everything from fish to pâté to Eggs Benedict to prime roast and freshly baked bread, scones and rolls.

A tour of the ship after brunch was a must. We strolled the decks and saw the bridge, the radio room and so much more. I especially appreciated the radio room; the Long Beach Amateur Radio Association staffs the room and uses it as their headquarters for ham operations. It was fascinating to see the old radios sitting above the new equipment that the club installed.

Later, it was off to Hollywood. I had complained that I had been to the LA area many times and never saw the Hollywood sign. The boys took us to the end of a dead-end street where the sign loomed large high above us. It was awesome. Then off to the Kodak Theatre, Mann’s Chinese, and all the tourist spots. We had our pictures taken with Elvis, danced on Fred Astaire’s and Ginger Roger’s star on the Walk of Fame and put our feet in John Wayne’s foot prints. We toured Beverly Hills and window shopped on Rodeo Drive. It was quite a place—surreal in its extravagance. I bought a little something as a souvenir, but Traci waited until we headed home. We hit a truck stop north of Bakersfield. She laid a T-shirt and do-rag on the counter and remarked to the cashier that “you can’t find good shit like this on Rodeo Drive.”