Remembering...

On July 3rd, my brother Steve would have been celebrating his 64th birthday.

Problem is, he lost his life during the war in Vietnam.

Around this time of year, I begin thinking about the waste of war... those who came before, and gave up their lives, and those down the road who will go to war never understanding the realities of war... 

I started looking at his record (according to the VirtualWall) and discovered he went to Vietnam the same year I graduated from high school. In truth, I thought it was later than that...  and now I know.

Occasionally I would receive letters from him while he was over there, "defending the nation" against the spread of communism. He spoke not about the angst of war, but rather about the banality of war... the waiting, the weather... never about the whys and where-fors.

For years I railed against the unfairness of the situation. The circumstances of his demise. The reality of our parents flying quickly to San Francisco from the east coast, only to acknowledge the loss of their first born. Never enough time to grieve, only time to plan for a funeral. The loss of a brother that many of my siblings never knew, the loss of an artist, the loss of a child... I could go on.

And by the way, I no longer buy into the necessity of Vietnam foisted upon a naive nation.

After all, communism is merely the flip side of capitalism.

The medals are a reminder that Steve no longer exists, but his name (and many others) will always rest on a memorial in Washington.

changing the world

Once again, the question of constitutionality is the issue...

For those far too young to remember, it's always about civil rights...

During the 1960s, the ugliness around civil rights for blacks in this country reached an all-time high. Civil rights workers coming into the southern states lost their lives... children were murdered and churches were bombed... marchers for racial equality were attacked by white mobs, drenched by fire hoses and attacked by dogs unleashed by those who did not believe anyone should have access to the same rights they enjoyed.

While we've come far, we've not come far enough because "civil rights" are not just about "racial equality."

In 1998, a young man named Matthew Shepard lost his life when he was attacked for being gay. A great many people were shocked and horrified by the brutality of the murder... but for those who face this descrimination, it was not so surprising because, in varying degrees, gays have faced hostility from any number of fronts... The Stonewall Riots in New York began a movement... only to be followed by Anita Bryant's "Save Our Children" campaign in California (in the late 1970s), the murder of Harvey Milk and most recently, Prop 8, which was funded in great part by the Roman Catholic Church and Mormons of Utah.

But the question: should gays and lesbians who desire to create a strong committed relationship with another like-minded individual, have the right to do so?

I believe, absolutely!

This debate is not about morality... we may agree to disagree on the topic of morality... rather, this discussion is about civil rights, not the words of the bible.

In September, these arguments will be presented to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals so, as they say "Stay tuned..."

Matthew Shepard photo: Gina van Hoof

warning: uncharted obscenity ahead

Recently, I read about a woman removed from a flight for wearing a t-shirt deemed offensive by the American Airlines pilot.

Seriously?

Ironically, the woman seated directly next to her had no issue with the shirt.

So, let's talk about this a bit... her offense? Wearing a t-shirt that read "If I wanted the government in my womb, I'd fuck a senator."

The obscene nature of the language apparently offended the pilot and we all know how sensitive pilots are...

Interestingly, a great many people I know personally, know and occasionally use this language and therefore, are not overly shocked by the usage.

Perhaps the pilot should have been more offended by some of the legislation coming from state assemblies across the country, aimed at women's health and women's bodies. Take the recent laws passed in Virginia, Texas... or any number of states where the rights of women to control bodily functions are now given to men because god knows, we certainly don't know how deal with our own "female issues."

Right?

Please, let's get real.

life is very short...

So it's important to step outside occasionally and blow off some steam... or just celebrate the moment... whatever it might be.

etheral quality in the park

Early morning, bird sanctuary...

seen in the park

While we talk about the wildlife in Griffith Park, we're usually not very privileged to see coyote wandering down the paved roads... at such a leisurely pace.

Two weeks ago, after our Sunday hike, we were deciding what to do next when I glanced over to my right and noticed a lone coyote crossing the street (to get to the other side). It was so casual... not a care in the world...

I quickly snapped a pic before it disappeared into the brush. How cool!

in honor of mothers everywhere...

My mother and I struggled for many years to find common ground.

This has never stopped me from loving her, and I trust she loved me in return. She died a few years ago, and I find there are moments when I wish I could once again express to her how much she molded me into the person I am today...

I look at my sisters and see in all of them, our mom... and so, to them and to all my friends and extended family members, I wish a very Happy Mother's Day.

May you all have a very positive effect on your children's lives!

'nuff said...

May day is quickly approaching and as I attended a function on the stairs leading to city hall, I couldn't help but notice the signage posted on the fencing next to the staging area. The irony of city council members talking about budget issues affecting parks and recreation was not lost on me...

more in the trayvon martin/george zimmerman saga

It seems to be a case of "he said... he said"... Oh, wait... one of those directly involved in the incident is dead, so we're gonna just take the "he said" side of the situation and leave it at that.

I think George Zimmerman thought this would be the end of it... thankfully Trayvon's parents wouldn't let it go and yesterday marked George Zimmerman's first appearance in a court of law.

Now we shall see how this plays out... not in the court of public opinion, but in a judicial setting better suited to hear all sides...

nice quiet dinner

It used to be you could go for a rather uneventful dinner and wend your way home without incident...

So, imagine my surprise when it turned ugly.

As we were making the transition from one freeway to another, we encountered a huge fire... the wall of flame was a beautiful scary sight to behold, especially with all the cars racing by, attempting to avoid the mess.

Turns out some drunken moron decided to rear-end a gasoline tanker, creating an accident on the 134 going west near the 5 freeway, which probably wasn't such a bright move, given what happened next.

Boom... tanker exploded, shutting the freeway down for nearly 24 hours while fire crews doused the flames, followed by DOT checking the structures (as the impact and fire happened directly under several transition overpasses...)

An unhappy travel time was had by all...  but the best part, the fool that created the mess was jailed. Thankfully, no injuries were reported, except perhaps to the foliage framing the underpass, which burned to a crisp.

Moral of the story... don't mix alcohol with gas... it never works...