Today finished on a much brighter note than this morning began after a wearisome ordeal in the Sentara Norfolk General ER for nearly four hours and my contemplation of checking into the psych ward. After sleeping in and a slow day - particularly in light of the all day pouring rain - the boyfriend and I drove up to Kingsmill on the James River near Williamsburg for dinner at the home of one of his long time clients who I will refer to as KA. KA is but one of the boyfriend's affluent, educated clients who treat the two of us literally as part of her family never batting an eye over the fact that we are a gay couple. Moreover, neither do any members of her family or her friends - which tonight included one of her dear friends (and her boyfriend) visiting the USA from north of Brisbane, Australia. Also included were two of KA's young grandsons who welcomed the boyfriend and me as if there was nothing more natural than a gay couple joining in the family gathering.*
It was a lovely evening and we departed with invitations to visit Australia and wherever KA's son who is with the State Department may next be assigned. KA is a gracious and elegant woman and it has been such an honor to get to know her as well as other such wonderful women from the boyfriend's client base. They and their families give me hope for the future.
*
In fact, I was again struck by the fact that there are increasingly two Virginias: the educated, tolerant, non-Christian fundamentalist and gay accepting Virginia vs. the typically largely less educated, religiously intolerant and fanatic, and homophobic Virginia. Obviously, if the state wants to prosper financially and attract progressive businesses, the former rather than the latter is the Virginia of the future. Bob McDonnell, bigoted homophobic judges of all races and the Pat Robertsons and Jerry Falwells represent a Virginia which hopefully will soon cease to exist. For too long the color of one's skin, one's religious faith or one's sexual orientation has dictated whether or not one receives full civil rights and equality under the law in Virginia. Ironically, it is something that one would think black judges would understand better than anyone, yet in practice such is not the case - at least from the black judges I have encountered first hand. Instead of being unbiased and tolerant of gays, these judges are as bigoted against LGBT Virginians as the segregationists of years back were against blacks. It is truly bizarre that those who should know the evils of discrimination more than anyone are in practice the most discriminatory themselves when it comes to mistreating Gay and lesbian Virginians.
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Hang in there, Michael. If you haven't yet read Father Tony's post yesterday on Joan of Arc, please visit his site Farmboyz/Perge Modo and do so. It made me think of what so many of us go through everyday in being heroes just to live a non-heroic life.
I can't give too many details at this time, but my partner and I are facing the same kind of homophobic, religious-based persecution in regards to a lawsuit here in the local court system of Mississippi. (And you think Virginia is bad!)
A widow with no siblings and no children deigned to give her limited property and house to the queers and move in to an apartment at the back of our house. Unfortunately, she contracted a glioblastoma three months later and was dead within 6 months.
But it's just not right for her to give of her own free will anything to the queers (or as they call us, "them boys"). And things don't look too good. But we fight and struggle on. When all is said and done, I will write you again. Please find the strength to be a hero. Life is too precious not to be one everyday.
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