one night in 1991

I was a party.

It was when I was a Christian

so that means

The girls cooked the food

And there was no booze.

We prayed before we ate.

The food that the girls cooked.

Anyway, it was October 1991.

Gov. Pete Wilson had just vetoed AB 101.

AB 101 was a gay and lesbians right bill.

It was simple really, it just meant that

you can’t be fired for being gay.

A no brainer right?

He promised that he would not veto it.

And he, like many politicians before him

and many to come.

He broke his promise!

You might be saying right now, “I am shocked blueberry, really? A politician, that LIES! NO! Get BACK!”….

No really! He did promise.

So anyway, I was at this party in Garden Grove Calf.

There was a march for LG (B?) rights on Garden Grove Boulevard.

***Yes, I did put the “B” for bi in quotes and did not add “T” for trans-gender and “Q” for queer and “Q” for questioning..i do not think that in 1991 we addressed that.***

Wait, I am gunna ask my LGBTQQ Facebook friends they will know, probably the old ones. LOL. we will get back to that.

*** at the time I posted this I had not heard from any of them.

So I wanted to go to the march, but not for the reasons that my Church friends would think.

People did not know

That I was BI

and that

I was heart-broken that

Gov. Wilson had lied and flipped off the

Gay and Lesbian Community.

And things were bad back then

everyone was scared of AIDS.

So I said “Hay, I am walking over to the march.”

And some guy, I forget his name said:

“I will go with you”

and we went.

It was amazing!

A sea of angry and hurt and crying people.

Walking as one people;

Speaking…chanting, in one voice;

“We’re here! We’re queer! Get used to it!”

We are here.

We matter.

We are worthy.

We are worthy love.

We are worthy of these rights.

Inalienable rights.

Human rights…

So we started to walk, and talk to this group of men. As we walked and talked with these guys, we passed by a group that now I know could have been the Westboro Baptist Church. Oh lord! The hate that was coming out of these people! They were so so angry. They had those signs that we now see so often. I can not even bring myself to write the words down right now.

**for the record, they were a huge minority in the crowd, most were supporters of the march**

I was scared. Really scared. I thought that the angry people might hurt us, throw something at us, maybe even attack us…i was scared shit-less.

And I took a hold of the hand of the guy I was walking with.

We held hands for the rest of the march. he told me he would protect me, that he would keep me safe. That moment is meaningful in so many ways. At that time, lots of gay men were not touched by anyone other than other gay men, and sometimes not even then, people were still so scared to get AIDS, and even though we pretty much knew you could only get it though sex or sharing a needle, most were just not sure. I know that taking his hand, meant a great deal to him, he got a bit verkelpt…me too.

I told him that the Jesus I knew ( I did not say church, I did say Jesus) did not feel this way. I said that these Angry, hateful men ( yes, it was all men,) were NOT acting and saying what Jesus said or ever did.

Indeed he LOVED him,

no matter whom

or how he loved.

Jesus came to the world to

teach peace

and love

and acceptance

and respect for all Peoples.

He came to love

the different

the other.

You

and

Me.

He said “Love your neighbor”

he did not say

“Love your neighbor

unless

he is gay

or Muslim

or a woman

or of color

or poor

or fat

or Jew

or humanist

or even for

that matter

a politician”

He loved, he loves us all.

At the end of the march,

my friend who was for sure going to “save” these guys,

ya know, lead them to Jesus,

and “heal” them from their homosexuality

was crying and hugging them.

We did pray for and with them that night,

but it was a prayer of support and of love.

We did not pray that they would be saved,

We prayed that they would be blessed.

Our arms around one another, standing

in a circle

right in the open

for the world and

those haters to see!

one people

one G*D

Brothers and a sister. ( who later, much, much later, would learn and believe that she (I) was made just the way I am, and I am blessed that my ability to love is not based on gender alone how lucky is that?)

The truth was, that we were the

ones who were blessed,

and my friend knew that.

We learned ( uh, I had already knew this, but whatever)

that “those gay guys”

had names.

They were real people

who just wanted to

live

and work

and love

like everyone else.

the end.

A prayer:

Spirit of life, Holy One,

Divine Love known by many names
And no name,

One who is not bound by

gender or form or ethnicity

or orientation!

G*d:

Thanks for the opportunity

to go on that march.

I pray that the men to whom

we “ministered” to that night

are still being blessed.

I pray that the guy

**damn, I wish I could remember his name**

Haha! You remember his name, G*d!

I pray that he has grown

and

learned to

truly love.

I pray that our country

can and will continue to

grow and evolve

to embrace

everyone

no matter who they love

no matter how many wives

they love.

Or how many children

they have

or do not

have.

And while you are

working on

blessing our

country,

would please

make it so

health care is a right

not a privilege?

Thanks!

May it be so

May it be so.

PS…could’ve work on the schools too?

Thanks again!