103rd: In company of your betters, be not longer in eating than they are; lay not your arm but only your hand upon the table. Yesterday's Entries 2000: 'Tis the Season CURRENTLY READING Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
Sheila
Videos Today's Search Engine queries:
|
OH COME, ALL YE FAITHFUL 8 December 2004 Though I don't consider myself a political activist, it's hard to resist the enthusiasm, zeal, and energy of Ellen and Shelly and so I find myself at things like Marriage Equality rallies and Gay Pride Days, and protests at the County Recorder's office. So when I got this message from Shelly:
I assumed it was some sort of a rally in support of the Marriage License Non-Discriminatiaon Act that State Assemblyman Mark Leno was going to be introducing. I had nothing else to do, and so, to be supportive (and because I believe so strongly in the issue), I said that yes, I'd like to go. I didn't really think much about what it would be. I figured the same old folks would be there to be a strong supportive group, and the more that were there, the better it would look. Now, since I've regained most of the weight I worked so hard to lose (I know....I know....don't say it...), I pretty much have nothing to wear. I was so certain that the diet of 2 years ago would be the start of a new lifestyle that as I outgrew my fat clothes, I threw them away. This leaves me with skinn(ier) clothes that don't fit and sweatpants that do. Some time ago, I purchased two pairs of sweatpants, a navy blue pair and a light blue pair. The navy blue pair is dark enough that you can't really tell that they are sweatpants, especially at night, and so those are the pants that I wear when we are going out. I figured I'd wear those to the "reception or something." Only they were in the laundry. I put on the light blue--the ones which cling to all the cellulite and show every bump and bulge and are usually worn only around the house--figuring I'd change into the dark blue when they came out of the dryer. I also debated about wearing a Santa Claus sweatshirt, which is my traditional "holiday attire," but I couldn't find it, so instead I wore a somewhat nice looking black long-sleeved t-shirt with Christmas trees on it. A COMPLETE mismatch with the light blue pants, but who cared, because I was going to be putting on the dark blue and in the dim light they would match just fine. Only by the time Ellen and Shelly were coming to pick me up, the dark pants were still wet. Owell. I wouldn't look quite so good, but what the heck. Who was going to notice me anyway? I didn't notice that Ellen and Shelly were not casually dressed until we pulled up in front of this lovely restaurant courtyard where all the people entering were dressed very spiffy--suits and ties for the men, pantsuits for the women. It was the friggin' LGBT CAUCUS, and every high powered gay or gay-friendly politician in town was there. I wanted to go crawl behind a fencepost somewhere, except it was starting to rain, so I had to go in. I was introduced to lots of important people in the Marriage Equality campaign, each of whom was charming and didn't glance at my pants, but if I could have tied my black coat around my waist I would have done it--except that would have looked even more weird. At one point I spied a photographer running around--the only person in the place who looked more disheveled than I did. But he was working, and I was a "guest." When the program started, Assemblyman Mark Leno thanked people for coming, announced that he'd filed his bill today and talked about the bill that was filed by the Traditional Values Coalition which not only aims to make a state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, but also tied to the bill is a provision to remove all rights which gay and lesbian people have now. That would mean that should that bill pass (unlikely), Ellen could not visit Shelly in the hospital. For starters. Hatred can be so terribly ugly.
Leno then turned the mike over to Senator Sheila Kuehl, who is going to head up the Caucus next year.
She introduced the remaining four legislators: Senator Christine Kehoe, Senator Carole Migden, Assemblymember Jackie Goldberg, and Assemblymember John Laird. She pointed out that California is the only state in the union with a gay / lesbian / bisexual / transgendered caucus Each of the remaining four legislators spoke briefly and then the party started to break up. Ellen and Shelly went to say their goodbyes. I would have gone with them, except my leg was aching, so I sat down. Thus, I missed the chance to meet Mark Leno, who actually married Ellen and Shelly in San Francisco. It's probably just as well. He probably would have recoiled in horror at looking at the cellulite bulges under the light blue sweatpants I was wearing.
|
||||
PHOTO OF THE DAY
The California LGBT Caucus:
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
Journal home | bio | cast | archive | links | awards | Fotolog | Bev's Home Page
|
Created 11/30/04
