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The Supreme Court of the United States today gutted DOMA and effectively said that Proposition 8 here in California was unconstitutional, by allowing the 9th circuit courts ruling to stand.<\/p>\n
This is a good day.<\/p>\n
At the same time we know that the well funded, fundamentalists will begin their campaigns to take away the rights and privileges that have been restored to the GLBT community.<\/p>\n
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Today is a sad for me personally.<\/p>\n
Today marks the Fifth anniversary of a friends death.<\/p>\n
John would have been leading a band of happy folks over the SCOTUS ruling. I have this weird image of him playing his trumpet or his sax like the pied piper. Wait, he also played the flute yeah that’s what he’d be playing.<\/p>\n
I found out that he played the flute one Summer afternoon when he was on leave from the Marines. He was sitting on my back patio in a pair of olive shorts just noodling with some classical piece of music. He looked up as I came in from work and morphed the classical piece into the riff from Jethro Tull’s Aqualung. Then he moved on to a medley from Songs from the Wood.<\/p>\n
He did it so seamlessly that I never noticed the transition. He gave me a gift that day. He perked up my mood and put a smile on my face even though it had been a really BAD day at work.<\/p>\n
I still smile when I hear music form those albums because I see John sitting on the patio relaxed and happy, playing his flute for an audience of one.<\/p>\n
Five years on, and I still miss him. Every once in a while I’ll hear someone whose voice sounds like his. Now though I smile instead of feeling blue.<\/p>\n
John wouldn’t want me to be sad, especially not with the news today. The image of him leading a group of smiling people his flute sparkling in the sunshine does put a smile on my face. There are times when I wonder if he somehow puts funny images in my head to cheer me up on his birthday and on this date.<\/p>\n
Yeah, I get misty-eyed thinking about him, but I can’t stay blue. An endless line of memories and laughs we had flits through my head and I end up smiling & feeling happy in spite of myself.<\/p>\n
So John, in honor of you…<\/p>\n
I’m going to smile, be happy and drink a toast to the good news. Then I’ll toast to you, our friendship and loving each other like brothers.<\/p>\n
Your light and joy aren’t forgotten and you have a place in my heart forever.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Supreme Court of the United States today gutted DOMA and effectively said that Proposition 8 here in California was unconstitutional, by allowing the 9th circuit courts ruling to stand. This is a good day. At the same time we know that the well funded, fundamentalists will begin their campaigns to take away the rights … <\/p>\n