I am a 'bear', who is often found on a train..

Newspaper misspells its name in the masthead

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:07:07 GMT

This is great....

In the correction the next day, the editor said, "yes, we feel silly."

Stranded at the drive in....

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 22:31:55 GMT

branded....a fool. What will they say, Monday at school...

Matt, Fredo, Brian the boy wonder and I went on a nostalgic little trip this Friday to a real live drive in theatre! it's just outside Baltimore, and it's called Bengie's.

The weather was perfect. We brough lounge chairs, parked in the front row, and really enjoyed the experience overall. Getting there was a hassle, as their website says there are in Baltimore, and they aren't. But once we figured that out, it was great.

We saw Kung-Fu Panda, and the new Batman movie. Had we stayed, we could have also seen Get Smart. Where else can you see three new movies for $8 a person. Hell, where can you see ANY movie for $8 each??!?!?!

The snack bar has all the traditional food from the hey-day of the drive in.

We will go again- it was a blast!

The movie meme

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:49:39 GMT

So, a few weeks ago, Entertainment Weekly released its list of the top 100 "New Classic" films: films from the last 25 years that they consider to be "new classics." Of these:

Boldface the ones you've seen
Underline the ones you own

1. Pulp Fiction (1994)
2. The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-03)
3. Titanic (1997)
4. Blue Velvet (1986)
5. Toy Story (1995)
6. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
7. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
8. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
9. Die Hard (1988)
10. Moulin Rouge (2001)
11. This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
12. The Matrix (1999)
13. GoodFellas (1990)
14. Crumb (1995)
15. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
16. Boogie Nights (1997)
17. Jerry Maguire (1996)
18. Do the Right Thing (1989)
19. Casino Royale (2006)
20. The Lion King (1994)
21. Schindler's List (1993)
22. Rushmore (1998)
23. Memento (2001)
24. A Room With a View (1986)
25. Shrek (2001)
26. Hoop Dreams (1994)
25. Aliens
28. Wings of Desire (1988)
29. The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
30. When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
31. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
32. Fight Club (1999)
33. The Breakfast Club (1985)
34. Fargo (1996) **
35. The Incredibles (2004)
36. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
37. Pretty Woman (1990)
38. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
39. The Sixth Sense (1999)
40. Speed (1994)
41. Dazed and Confused (1993)
42. Clueless (1995)
43. Gladiator (2000)
44. The Player (1992)
45. Rain Man (1988)
46. Children of Men (2006)
47. Men in Black (1997)
48. Scarface (1983)
49. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
50. The Piano (1993)
51. There Will Be Blood (2007)
52. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad (1988)
53. The Truman Show (1998)
54. Fatal Attraction (1987)
55. Risky Business (1983)
56. The Lives of Others (2006)
57. There’s Something About Mary (1998)
58. Ghostbusters (1984)
59. L.A. Confidential (1997)
60. Scream (1996)
61. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
62. sex, lies and videotape (1989)
63. Big (1988)
64. No Country For Old Men (2007)
65. Dirty Dancing (1987)
66. Natural Born Killers (1994)
67. Donnie Brasco (1997)
68. Witness (1985)
69. All About My Mother (1999)
70. Broadcast News (1987)
71. Unforgiven (1992)
72. Thelma & Louise (1991)
73. Office Space (1999)
74. Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
75. Out of Africa (1985)
76. The Departed (2006)
77. Sid and Nancy (1986)
78. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
79. Waiting for Guffman (1996)
80. Michael Clayton (2007)
81. Moonstruck (1987)
82. Lost in Translation (2003)
83. Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987)
84. Sideways (2004)
85. The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005)
86. Y Tu Mamá También (2002)
87. Swingers (1996)
88. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
89. Breaking the Waves (1996)
90. Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
91. Back to the Future (1985)
92. Menace II Society (1993)
93. Ed Wood (1994)
94. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
95. In the Mood for Love (2001)
96. Far From Heaven (2002)
97. Glory (1989)
98. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
99. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
100. South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut (1999)

Liberals shooting themselves in the foot

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:16:22 GMT

I have a long and quite detailed opinion on the current race for the oval office.

I am a just to the left of the middle of the road democrat. I have no problem voting for (and in fact have) republicans, and I think anyone who votes for or against (not the same thing--trust me) a candidate for public office based purely on one issue is an idiot and should move from the US as quickly as possible. Politics cannot and should not ever be as simple as selecting a candidate based on the stance for one issue.

Now, I want to be clear on this, because I am rather honked off at the moment. I will be voting for whosoever the democratic party pulls from the muck and nominates. HOWEVER....

*IF* the liberal idiots and ding-dongs, that are so far left they should fall off the map never to be seen again, continue to attack Senator John McCain on his military record we (the sensible democrats and independents) will quite simply loose this race.

The man was in service to his country and did what he was told, when he was told. That is what military service is about. The Vietnam War was a tragic time in our country (one of many in the bloodiest century our country has ever had) but you, me, and us, as Americans, CANNOT, and SHOULD NOT, deride, make fun of, or otherwise question the men and women who risked their lives to ensure the blanket of freedom, and then question the manner in which they provided it.

You jack holes have no problem sitting at Starbucks, drinking 6 dollar coffee that was picked by people making 25 cents a day, and brewed by people paid below the poverty line, while writing your crap-o-blog on your laptop computer made by $2 a day workers in indo-china, then hopping into your car that costs $75 a week to fill up, spewing your carbon emmison footprint the size of your mothers ass all over the planet so you can dive four blocks to the gym where you don't come into contact with a single thing made in this country (including your fake breasts, ass cheeks, and pectoral implants) but you question those people who lay aside their freedoms so that you can be a total ass-hat???

KNOCK IT OFF.

Wedding craziness and the conservatives...

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 22:55:22 GMT

.... I had an interesting weekend for sure.

I do weddings... lots of weddings. Last summer, I performed about 100 or so weddings. I enjoy it a great deal.

Anyway, last fall, I was approached by a woman who was attending my parish about my doing her wedding. So she, her fiancee, and I sat down last November - and the conversation went something like this...

"My father is really looking forward to meeting and talking with you..." She then proceeded to tell me who he is. My immediate reaction was "He does know we are not ROMAN Catholic right?" and she says, "oh yes, he does. He read some of your homilies on your website, and really is looking forward to meeting you."

Gulp.

So this very wonderful woman who has me doing her wedding is the daughter of what any conservative Catholic in the US considers the lighthouse for conservative Catholicism. He is a Theologian, sits on the board of Ava Maria University, and has written dozens of books, (and the only pro-Iraw war view using the church and the bible to justify it!) He has received awards from popes, PM Margaret Thatcher- the list goes on. And of course, any liberal catholic worth his salt knows the name, and it's utterance gives you the hibbily jibbilies.

So, the wedding was Saturday. Now, I don't normally go to receptions when invited (I only went to two of them all last year) but I had to attend this one. I sat with the theologian & his wife, the president of the most conservative think-tank in the US, the same think-tanks editor in chief of their magazine, and the editorial page editor for a NY daily newspaper.

The first conversation I am welcomed into when I arrive at the reception is a woman who was in the Regan Administration and two film producers, who just did a nine hour documentary on immigration. The Reganaut says, "We need to build a 40 foot high cement wall on the border, hunt down every illegal mexican, and toss them back over the wall."

After the stun wore off, the producer looked at me and said, "Archbishop, the church has long been involved in the immigration issue- what do you think." So I said, "Well it's complex, but I think that those people who want to end immigration and chase those here away are the same people who will complain when they pay $200 a week to have their lawn mowed." Another stunned look, and I said, "excuse me, I need to go to the bar..."

And I consumed alot of red wine.. A LOT. At one point I was sure they would lock the doors to the reception room and have a "lynch the liberal party" and I was the lynchee. Afterall, the Assistant Sec'y of Homeland Security was there - so they could get away with it.

It was overall a great time- and in the end, the neo-conservative theologian shook my hand, asked me to stay in touch so we could have dinner, and if there was anything he could ever do for me to please call him. I asked him if he was going to see the Holy Father (I threw up a bit in my mouth when I said those words aloud) and he said, "Oh yes, I am having dinner with him at the Vatican Embassy." so I asked him to give Benedict my "every best wish for a successful trip- and happy birthday (Benny will be here on his 81st B-day.)

Then I had more wine on the way out.

Just goes to show you - when love is involved.. ya know, the love Jesus spoke of that most of those people forgot, is involved - ANYTHING is possible.

Woot!

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:37:38 GMT

There is this website, www.woot.com that offers one thing for sale each day - just one. Normally it's something technological, and a great deal. The people at woot are quite honest in their assessment of items, and today was quite the hoot.

I highly urge you to check woot daily - and if you are like me and like wine, check the weekly changing offerings at http://wine.woot.com

Now remember, they are trying to get you to buy this thing that they are describing:

The Rich Man’s View-Master

Have YOU ever wished you could immerse yourself in video from your iPod, only with lesser picture quality? Do YOU stay awake nights worrying about people looking over your shoulder and watching your iPod Video for free? Have YOU been striving to replicate the Geordi LaForge look? Then the Myvu Personal Media Viewer is for you! The world around you will recede into the distance when you strap on this New Wave-styled personal media accessory. Entomb your mind in the cold embrace of pure video – if it weren’t for the pixelated images and ghosty movement, you’d swear it was the real thing! And since three straight hours of disorientation and eye strain aren’t enough, the included Myvu power pack increases your iPod Video’s playback time to eight hours on a single charge! You’ll literally be begging for mercy! Whether you want convenient, immersive video playback or something bulky and ugly to wear around your head, the Myvu Fully Loaded Personal Media Viewer should be in your sights!

WARNING: Works only with 5th-generation iPod Video. Woot, Inc. and it subsidiaries cannot be held responsible if you wear this in public and get beaten up for looking like a tool. Not officially licensed for Star Trek convention usage. Do not use Myvu while driving, walking, running, flying a plane, captaining a boat, driving a train, riding a bicycle, or piloting a Segway. Boy, imagine somebody wearing one of these on a Segway. Talk about a total loser. Not for sale in stores anymore, we don’t think. No nutritional value. No cash value. No honest, hardworking American values. Not much value at all, come to think of it. Action figures sold separately.

Well put the cat out - now I have seen everything...

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 04:08:08 GMT

Check this out.. you can RENT high priced handbags... The one I checked was $95 A WEEK.

WTF?!?!?!?

Wizard of Oz Alternate ending

Sat, 26 Jan 2008 12:05:14 GMT

This was emailed to me by claddah76. Entirely too funny to watch while eating cereal.

http://portugueselotus.multiply.com/video/item/50

I am having a good day...

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 03:17:29 GMT

... how about ya'all?

Co-opting the Gospel of Life

Sun, 30 Dec 2007 22:58:02 GMT

I often listen to contemporary Christian or Christian Rock music... I enjoy the upbeat lyrics and music.

So today, Matt and I were out running errands and meeting with a wedding couple, and we were listening to the local "Family Friendly" Christian Radio station, 91.9, WGTS.

This station uses recorded testimonies from listeners about how wonderful the station and the message it delivers is. One they play all the time is this mousy little woman who excitedly tells all the listeners that 'even my 3 year old daughter knows the theme music to the station!'

So we heard a spot today, that went like this... "When I was serving our country in Iraq, I showed all my Christian friends the online link to the station, and we all listened to it. So this station was lifting up the spirits of our Christian soldiers as they brought the Gospel to life through action..."

Good thing Matt was driving.. had I been, we would have hit a tree.

Now, don't get me wrong - I believe in a strong, efficient, and effective military, and I support those men and women who agree to limit their rights and choices to protect ours, often at great personal peril. My brother in law is in the Marine Corps., and I respect the choice he made to enter the military and stand a post, agreeing to listen to a moron.

However, I seemed to have missed the day in summer bible school, Jesus Camp, Watchtower tracts, and any other thing you can think of that pointed out where in the four Gospels of Jesus Christ that he said, "My brothers and sisters, lay down your ploughshares, and pick up your AR15; climb off your ass and climb into your Sherman tank; go forth to foreign nations, and bring good news to the people by emaciating nations and peoples indiscriminately, for it is pleasing in the eyes of my Father."

WTF!

Someone wasn't paying attention in school the day they taught Jesus, and it wasn't me.

Internet useful goodness

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 18:07:37 GMT

I am not a big fan of registering for websites just to see content - news sites in particular - but any website that I am not buying something from, I really don't want to register so I can read news etc.

Some time ago, cubdrummer turned me on to Bugmenot which, when you input a website that requires registration, will supply you with a registration name and password, without having to actually go through registration. I use it pretty regularly.

I was there today getting a name and password, and I noticed a new effort they are offering, Retailmenot. You go to the site, enter a shopping site you are going to buy from, and it will give you different discount codes that you can use when you are shopping.

Very useful for those last-minute shopping needs for Festivus, Christmas, Hannakuh, and Kwanzaa.

WMATA

Thu, 06 Dec 2007 19:52:05 GMT

WMATA- the quasi governmental organization that runs the DC Metro (subway) and the surface bus system has a long and colorful history of less than stellar safety, performance, and satisfaction of it's riders.

In February of 2007, there was a case where two women, on Valentines Day, were struck and killed by a Metro bus in downtown DC. It was a tragic event for sure. The driver was sentenced this week to one year in jail for two counts of vehicular manslaughter.

Today, my roomie cubdrummer pointed me to a website, that talks about, and SHOWS an unedited video of the accident, as shot from a security camera on a federal government building. Those of us in DC have seen portions of this video on the local news, but until today, I have never seen the full video, which includes the women being stricken by the bus, the bus running over them and continuing on, and then the women being run over by another vehicle.

I was an active EMS provider for a long time, and I have seen accidents occur before... but this is really disturbing.

Futurama DVD widget

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 20:53:16 GMT

Champange Music...

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 00:56:03 GMT

ok - so I am old and gay - deal with it.

I am sitting in my living room, on my 4th or 5th glass of wine, watching Lawrence Welk on MPT (Public Television.)

Where is Liberace damit!

I am glad I grew up in a time where I was exposed to gay icons and champagne music.

"I wish my brother George was here..."

The Boston Scandal - part 2

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 02:13:18 GMT

(As if the poor people in Boston haven't suffered enough. I guess it could be worse - he could have been stalking Rosie O'Donnell.)

NEW YORK - A priest has been arrested on charges of stalking late-night talk show host Conan O'Brien by writing him threatening notes on parish letterhead, contacting his parents and showing up at his studio, prosecutors said Wednesday. The Rev. David Ajemian, a priest in the Archdiocese of Boston, was arrested last week while trying to enter a taping session of NBC's "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" at New York's Rockefeller Plaza, said Barbara Thompson, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan prosecutor's office.

Ajemian referred to himself as "your priest stalker" in one note and complained of not being allowed in to see an earlier taping of the O'Brien show, court papers say.

"Is this the way you treat your most dangerous fans?" the note said.

The letters and e-mails, which started coming in September 2006, continued even after Ajemian was asked to stop and were "intended to cause annoyance and alarm," Thompson said.

"I want a public confession before I ever consider giving you absolution — or a spot on your couch," wrote Ajemian, who signed the notes "Padre," Thompson said.

Ajemian also has been in contact with O'Brien's parents, Thompson said.

A telephone message left Wednesday night at St. Mary-St. Catherine of Siena Church in Boston, which Ajemian gave as his address, was not immediately returned.

O'Brien is not commenting, an NBC spokesman said.

The Boston Archdiocese said in a statement that Ajemian had been placed on leave and was no longer allowed to minister publicly. O'Brien has participated in fundraising activities for the archdiocese.

The priest and the late-night host may have attended Harvard University at the same time. O'Brien graduated in 1985, and Ajemian graduated from high school in 1979 before attending the Ivy League school, according to an alumni magazine published by his high school.
The priest could face up to a year in prison if convicted of aggravated harassment and stalking.

Tomato Garden

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 14:40:32 GMT

An old Italian lived alone in New Jersey . He wanted to plant his annual tomato garden, but it was very difficult work, as the ground was hard.

His only son, Vincent, who used to help him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament: “Dear Vincent, I am feeling pretty sad, because it looks like I won't be able to plant my tomato garden this year. I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. I know if you were here my troubles would be over. I know you would be happy to dig the plot for me, like in the old days. Love, Papa”

A few days later he received a letter from his son. “Dear Pop, Don't dig up that garden. That's where the bodies are buried. Love Vinnie.

At 4 AM the next morning, the FBI arrived with a search warrant. They dug up the entire garden and, finding nothing, they apologized to the old man and left.

When the mail came, there was another letter from his son: "Dear Pop, Go ahead and plant your tomatoes now, I did the best I could under the circumstances. Love Vinnie."

Progressive Catholic Text Messages

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 00:00:54 GMT

My particular church, the North American Old Catholic Church, today has partnered with 4info.com to provide a daily, progressive catholic SMS/text message to cell phone customers throughout the US. This is a truly unique opportunity for my church, and we are very excited for this opportunity.

If you would like to subscribe to the service, please click here. There is no charge to receive the text messages from us or from 4info.com. However, your cell company may charge you for receiving text / sms messages.

From time to time, we will invite clergy from other progressive denominations, and even lay people (well hey, we are nuts, what can i say?) to write the message of the day for us. If you are interested, please comment to me or email me.

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 20:05:43 GMT

Yet more proof that my mother is bonkers...

TOP TEN REASONS WHY TRICK OR TREATING IS BETTER THAN SEX

10) You are guaranteed to get at least a little something in the sack.

9) If you get tired, you can wait 10 minutes and go at it again.

8) The uglier you look, the easier it is to get some.

7) You don't have to compliment the person who gives you some.

6) It's OK when the person you're with fantasizes you're someone else, because you are.

5) Forty years from now you'll still enjoy candy.

4) If you don't like what you get, you can always go next door.

3) It doesn't matter if the kids hear you moaning and groaning.

2) Less guilt the morning after.

AND the No. 1 reason why trick or treating is better than sex -

YOU CAN DO THE WHOLE NEIGHBORHOOD!

Illegal Immigration

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 11:34:43 GMT

I found this article this morning and thought it was interesting....

From the Manitoba Herald, Canada (a very underground paper):
by Kay VanNatta

The flood of American liberals sneaking across the border into Canada has intensified in the past week, sparking calls for increased patrols to stop the illegal immigration.

The actions of President Bush are prompting the exodus among left-leaning citizens who fear they'll soon be required to hunt, pray,
and agree with Bill O'Reilly.

Canadian border farmers say it's not uncommon to see dozens of sociology professors, animal- rights activists and Unitarians crossing
their fields at night.

"I went out to milk the cows the other day, and there was a Hollywood producer huddled in the barn," said Manitoba farmer Red Greenfield,
whose acreage borders North Dakota. The producer was cold, exhausted and hungry. He asked me if I could spare a latte and some free-range chicken.

"When I said I didn't have any, he left. Didn't even get a chance to show him my screenplay, eh?"

In an effort to stop the illegal aliens, Greenfield erected higher fences, but the liberals scaled them. So he tried installing speakers
that blare Rush Limbaugh across the fields. "Not real effective," he said. "The liberals still got through, and Rush annoyed the cows so
much they wouldn't give milk."

Officials are particularly concerned about smugglers who meet liberals near the Canadian border, pack them into Volvo station wagons, drive them across the border and leave them to fend for themselves.

"A lot of these people are not prepared for rugged conditions," an Ontario border patrolman said. "I found one carload without a drop of
drinking water. "They did have a nice little Napa Valley cabernet, though."

When liberals are caught, they're sent back across the border, often wailing loudly that they fear retribution from conservatives. Rumors
have been circulating about the Bush administration establishing re-education camps in which liberals will be forced to drink domestic
beer and watch NASCAR races.

In recent days, liberals have turned to sometimes-ingenious ways of crossing the border. Some have taken to posing as senior citizens on
bus trips to buy cheap Canadian prescription drugs. After catching a half-dozen young vegans disguised in powdered wigs, Canadian immigration authorities began stopping buses and quizzing the supposed senior-citizen passengers on Perry Como and Rosemary Clooney hits to prove they were alive in the '50s.

"If they can't identify the accordion player on The Lawrence Welk Show, we get suspicious about their age," an official said.
Canadian citizens have complained that the illegal immigrants are creating an organic-broccoli shortage and renting all the good Susan
Sarandon movies.

"I feel sorry for American liberals, but the Canadian economy just can't support them," an Ottawa resident said. "How many art-history
majors does one country need?"

Ugh...

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 14:25:10 GMT

/whiney mode activated/

I just love being sick on my birthday...

/end whiney mode/

And I ask, where is the Quilt?

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 21:20:18 GMT

Twenty years ago this month, I was a bright eyed 21 year old gay “boy” who was alive and excited about life. I was volunteering for the local AIDS project back home in New Haven- working to get “safer sex” information out to my peers. I had just finished EMT school, and was working in a profession that I loved. I was fair haired, fair skinned, an out of the closet man in uniform, who after long last could go into the gay bars in town. Life was colorful, vibrant and alive.

I was dating a guy who I liked, and he and I, along with some other friends, decided to go to Washington, DC for a weekend to see the AIDS Quilt, and just be young, gay, and on a road trip to our Nation’s Capitol. None of us had been to Washington before, so we were expecting streets lined with cherry trees, grand marble edifices and flags; triumphant salutations to all the wonder, freedom, and safety our Nation represented to us. The promises of prior generations fulfilled- we were the benefactors to the sacrifices these marble testaments represented.

The AIDS epidemic for my friends and I was an abstract concept. Sure, we knew people who were HIV+ through volunteering at the AIDS Project, but they were not like us. We were young, white, smart, and affluent, and AIDS doesn’t happen to people like us. I knew I would never get HIV because I was a highly trained medical “professional,” and knew how to protect myself. AIDS would never affect me or my friends.

We knew that those who got AIDS were the older guys; the “ferns”; guys in the porn theatre on Woodward Avenue, in East Rock Park, and down at Long Wharf. Junkies and prostitutes we were not, so we would be ok.

We were invincible.

Our visit to the AIDS quilt began to change that in all of us.

We discovered that people who died of AIDS were affluent, white, smart, college educated. They were, and continue to be, artists, doctors, lawyers, and even EMT’s. They are men, women, gay and straight. They were black and white, mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts and uncles. The fabric of the AIDS Quilt represented, in a very real way, the fabric of humanity. Cut from different swatches and bolts, they were sewn together to become a seamless fabric.

Then AIDS hit home.

About 3 weeks after our trip, one of my group of friends tested positive for HIV. There we all were – facing this disease straight in the face. Our friend who was college educated, white, and employed, was HIV+. His health insurance didn’t cover his HIV meds, so we each chipped in every month to cover his medication bill, which was $500 a month.

The party was over for this 21 year old.

At 21, I was facing the disease, and watching a friend die – very quickly, and there was nothing I could do. I saved lives every day in my job. Shootings, heart attacks, strokes, diabetic comas – I overcame them all. But not this- I could honestly say there were people alive purely because of my skill and intervention, but I could do nothing for my friend. I felt more helpless then than I ever had at that point in my life.

I couldn’t even escape it in my job. One day, I was called upon to transport a man to Hospice. Turned out, it was a school-mate – we graduated from high school together. He was dying, and I was taking him to the last place he will ever live. He looked at me in the back of the ambulance, told me not touch him, as he didn’t want to make me sick. I stroked his hair, held his hand, and we both cried the entire ride. He died 3 days later – he was 22. To this day, I can close my eyes, and see his tears – and his pulling away from me as I tried to wipe them from his cheeks because he wanted to protect me.

About a year or so later, I recall my mom commenting to me that I went to a lot of wakes and funerals. It was true. My friend from the trip to DC had passed away 11 months after his diagnosis. I watched the gay community slip away and die; emaciated not only by the disease, but by prejudice, apathy, and neglect.

I fell in love with Washington, DC on that trip in 1987, and knew then that one day, I would make my home here, something I accomplished in 1999.

So – fast forward from 1987 to 2007. I am not as fair haired or fair skinned. My uniform has changed, and it takes me a bit longer to be “vibrant.” Most certainly, the moniker “boy” no longer applies.

I have very close friends who are HIV+ and living with AIDS. My adopted home town of Washington, DC has the highest HIV infection rate of any city in the United States, so knowing someone who is HIV+ or living with AIDS is commonplace.

And today, I ask myself, where is the quilt?

The generation behind mine has that same invincible attitude that I had at 21, when I thought that HIV and AIDS was a diseases confined to the ‘lesser’. Now, the 20 something’s aren’t so concerned it seems with getting infected. I have heard more than once, “getting HIV is like being diabetic- you can manage it- it’s no longer a death sentence.” We have terms in our vocabulary like “bug chaser,” “bug parties,” and barebacking. These same people would no sooner run out and voluntarily contract cancer, asthma, or diabetes, but they are actively searching for people to infect them with HIV. This self destructive behavior saddens me.

Where is the quilt?

Each panel of the AIDS Quilt is decorated to represent the person memorialized. Quite on purpose, each panel of the AIDS Quilt is cut to the length and width of a casket.

For me and my friends, the quilt transmitted a message.

It was an amazing thing to see all these casket length quilt panels covering the grounds of our Nation’s Capitol. It took every inch of grass between the White House and the Washington Monument to display them all. I understand that there are so many panels now, that you cannot display them all in one place anymore.

I remember looking at the White House while viewing the quilt, and the drapes were drawn. I thought it odd- and I realized sometime later that it was a metaphoric moment- representing how the Regan administration treated the disease and those afflicted. Most certainly, 20 years later, those drapes are drawn yet again by an administration that feels AIDS is relegated to the ‘lesser’- and to those ‘deserving.’

The newer generation needs a quilt experience. HIV and AIDS has become an abstract to those in their 20’s and younger, just as it was when I was 21.

In this Chris-Crocker-I-am-invincible generation- a generation that moves so quickly down their path that they miss the beauty of life, how do we get the message of the Quilt to them? How do we slow them down long enough to recognize their inner and outer beauty, and that their responsibility is to not live in the moment, but to protect that beauty given to them by God?

I wish I knew.

Perhaps they need to see the Quilt. Beautiful, majestic, and quiet. Both ominous and warm in what it manages to simultaneously represent- death and love.

Perhaps they all need to have an ambulance experience. To look down on that stretcher, and see themselves looking back up, might just get their attention before it’s too late. I know it saved me… perhaps it will save them.

In the summer of 1999, I gave a speech to the 500 volunteers who were working on the AIDS Ride, of which I was a director. Of those 500 people, there were two who are still very important to me, my good friend and former partner, and my next youngest brother. It was an inspirational speech, most of which I don’t remember. I do remember the end of it. I ended by saying, “I hope that someday, my younger brothers and my partner will know a world that has overcome AIDS.”

I still have that hope- but it is for the younger generations- most especially my nieces Samantha and Jessica.

Politics, bedfellows, and presidental strangeness

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 17:53:22 GMT

The Associated Press is reporting that Lynn Cheney, wife of the current VP Dick Cheney, discovered that while researching for a book that her husband and Senator Barrack Obama are COUSINS!

Wierd, wierd, weird...

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=071017053801.2xtl5oeu&show_article=1

Happy White Cane Safety Day everybody!

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 13:38:59 GMT

White Cane Safety Day is an unofficial holiday in the United States, celebrated on October 15 of each year since 1964.

The date is set aside to celebrate the achievements of people who are blind or visually impaired and the important symbol of blindness and tool of independence, the white cane. On October 6, 1964 a joint resolution of the U.S. Congress, HR 753, was signed into law.

This resolution authorized the President of the United States to proclaim October 15 of each year as “White Cane Safety Day.” President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the first White Cane Safety Day proclamation within hours of the passage of the joint resolution.

White Cane Day remains largely unknown to the general public.

Clergy humor

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 12:45:48 GMT

Only my clergy friends will get this. Funniest thing I have seen in a fortnight. claddah76 sent this to me.

Roman Catholic Church authorizes Liturgical Referres

Loss of a friend

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 20:21:34 GMT

I received word today via claddah76 that a friend of our, Jonathan, had passed away from Lukiemia. Although Jonathan and I were not close, and in fact hadn't talked in some time, I am still upset at the loss for our mutual friends, and for myself.

I was very sad when I got word today that Jonathan has gone home. I feel like while the light of our souls continues to shine a bit brighter because he was part of our experience, that the world is indeed a bit darker today.

As I was praying about Jonathan's passing from this life to the next, I had a thought. Jonathan spent so many years helping kids who were afflicted with cancer and leukemia, and when one of those kids didn't survive, he was always upset. He cared very deeply for every one of those little guys and gals.

So I imagine that in his last moments, he was comforted by all those children who went home to G-d before him. They had the chance to repay his love, tenderness and kindness in his final moments as they guided him to God's loving embrace.

I pray their presence was a comfort to him in his final moments, and that together, they rest in peace.