"It's Not So Funny..."

When news of what's happening on this ship got out, some parents of the young sailors trapped in this nightmare were interviewed and I was shocked to hear more than one parent say,

"I'm a Trump supporter, so I think everything is alright..."

Please Note: Jumping off of an aircraft carrier moving at 40 knots and from 100 feet above the water is not trying to escape, it's knowingly trying to commit suicide.

For the first time in my life, I now fully understand how WWII Germany happened.

"The Truth Is Plain To See..."

The worst of US are showing their real colors...

"A Thought To Ponder..."

"The Truth About The Soul..."

I'm in mourning, so there'll be fewer posts for a while. My brother passed away yesterday evening here at home. He was 71 years and two days old. We'd celebrated his birthday just a few days ago. He'd been quite sick for the last few years, even since before he came to live with me and my family during the early days of the pandemic. He was a very good man who many will miss, perhaps none more than me. 

"The shadow of death will pass over us all; but the light which is the soul, it shines on evermore..."

"The Truth About Canada..."

The views of my hometown of Detroit, Michigan 

from Downtown Windsor, Ontario, Canada

Detroit and Windsor are sisters cities directly across from each other on the Detroit River which forms a part of the border between the U.S. and Canada. The U.S - Canada border is the longest undefended border in the world, and Detroit - Windsor is its busiest crossing point between our two nations. Our two cities are connected by a bridge and two of the world's first and oldest underwater tunnels linking two nations. Detroit and Windsor are so interconnected that soon a new bridge linking the two and paid for entirely by our neighbor Canada will open to supplement the existing crossings which support the fair and friendly trade between our two nations. 

Most folks in Detroit and everywhere else along the border would say that Canadians are our friends, neighbors and work colleagues. They are a kinder, friendlier, more welcoming version of us, they are not our enemies, they are our staunchest allies, rescuers and defenders in the world. Like many Detroiters, I am proud to call Canadians my friends. I have only admiration, appreciation and the very highest regard for our friends across the river. When we recover from our insanity, I hope they can forgive us. Having known, worked and lived with Canadians, I know they will.

"A Thought To Ponder..."

My mother often said, "You can't miss what you've never had"

I'm going to miss the feeling of knowing that this good man was looking after us...

Thank you, Mr. President Uncle Joe!

"It's Not So Funny..."

America, what will you choose for our future...?

"The Truth About Lies..."

"This Made Me Smile..."

This is funny because it's so true...

I distinctly recall the P-day in Boot Camp when our company commanders explained that, 

"You motherfu*kers are gonna have to learn to swear like fu*kin sailors!"

He followed that up with a rhetorical question...

"Any of you sons of bitches gotta problem with that, then raise your godda*n hand."

And of the 90 or so of us recruits standing under a giant shed in the freezing cold of winter at Great Lakes, Illinois, one guy's hand went up! I'm sure you can imagine what happened next... he was berated with a barrage of profanity that I've never forgotten after nearly 40 years. The company commander ended his tirade with a question to our unwise fellow recruit, which he asked while yelling at the top of his lungs and standing so close to the poor guy that it looked like they'd kiss...

"So what's your problem, you candy-ass pussy?"

And in an astonishingly loud and clear voice, the recruit responded,

"Sir, because it offends our Heavenly Father, Sir!"

We all thought the CC was gonna beat the crap out of this guy,

but to our surprise, he took two steps back and said:

"If any of you other co*ksuckers ever find yourselves in battle, you better hope this brave motherfu*ker is with you!"

And that ended that day's lesson in how to swear like a sailor.  Later that evening after chow and just before lights out, I found myself sitting on the floor next to that recruit and I asked him why he said that, and he simply replied, 

"Because I believe it, I'm a Mormon."

I'd love to tell you how that brave (or foolish) fellow and I became fast friends, but we  never actually spoke again during 10 more weeks of boot camp. I have no idea what happened to him, but I've never forgotten his bravery or his conviction in his beliefs.

"A Sad Story In Six Words..."

Always wanting to believe in love...

"I Am Always Remembering..."

What is this image? 

I don't really know what the message of this is, but the moment I saw it, I was "triggered," not that I need triggers to be reminded, but this was something different... He resembles the beloved one in so many ways that seeing this brought with it a days long reflection on all that occurred during our love affair. How can it be that so many years can pass with not a single day devoid of his name upon my lips or his visage in my minds eye? Is this the power of love? 

Perhaps... Or is it a curse?

"Fear Eats the Soul"

"A Sad Story In Six Words..."

We wanted to believe in love...

"A Thought To Ponder..."

"We Were Always There..."

What I Like About This: Well, statistics tell us that one of these men in this barracks photo from a generation or two ago was probably gay. And given the unclear situation here, maybe they all were. This is a pretty intimate and affectionate pose for these fellows to have struck for an underwear clad photo late one night. But my money is on the fifth chap, you know the one we always forget about, the one behind the camera.  And though we'll never know, we do know is that yes, "we were always there."

"A Thought To Ponder..."

"A Man And His Thoughts To Ponder..."

Farmer, Veteran, Sunday School Teacher, Legislator, Governor, 39th President of the U.S., Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Renowned Humanitarian, Devoted Husband, Father & Friend

True Christian

‘Homosexuality was well known in the ancient world, well before Christ was born, and Jesus never said a word about homosexuality. In all of his teachings about multiple things — he never said that gay people should be condemned.’ 

— Jimmy Carter

Harvey Milk meeting with Candidate Jimmy Carter in 1976

The Carters and Coretta Scott King with other leaders of the Black Civil Rights Movement

Want to learn more about him?

CNN: Jimmy Carter Embodies the ‘Road Not Taken’

Why this today, well he's been on my mind these last few days... President Carter (98) and his wife Rosalynn (96), married for 77 years, in February made the decision to enter hospice care together. 

When they have gone, there will be a little less light in the world.

"I Am Always Remembering..."

"Yes I will Dear, I'm more scared to live without you."

August 13, 2008, 9:57 PM

"A Thought To Ponder..."

As a reader of this blog, you're probably not one of those who support MAGA followers, but I guarantee you know someone who does... Remember what millions fought and died for and do everything you can to help persuade our lost brothers and sisters to come to their senses before it's too late.

Remember to vote on November 8th!

"This Made Me Smile..."

I think smoking is a vile and filthy habit...

So why does it look so good on him?

"The Views To Love..."

Running through my head...

BTW: This video has not much to do with the images above, which I love for what they are... But this song immediately ran through my mind as I assembled these images for this post. When I searched for the song, I ran across this cover from the film, "Into the Night" which features cameos by numerous stars of the day and performed by none other than B.B. King.  I had no idea that B.B. King ever performed this song which was co-written and made famous by Detroiter Wilson Pickett.  

In one of my many "Forrest Gump-like" moments, I have a connection to B.B. King, the "B.B." stood for "Blues Boy." I knew of many of his songs and his signature guitar style as he was a favorite artist of my mother... And decades ago, when I was very politically active, I was tapped to make a run for state representative and of all people, B.B. King, who I'd never met, was my largest campaign donor... Quite literally out of the "blues," he sent me a check for $500 along with a lovely note wishing me all the best in the upcoming election.  Along with the check, he also sent me a video tape of his performance at the 1992 Republican National Convention. Yes, surprisingly B.B. King was a right-leaning independent, and at the time, I was a dyed-in-the-wool, "Nouveau Black Republican!" 

Thinking back, I can hardly reconcile my current political leanings (Liberal and Democrat) with those of my internalized homophobic, self-loathing younger self.  I was deep in denial about the truth of my heart and my sexual orientation and I think that spurred my desire to align myself with the Republican party, which at the time, was just moving towards the rabid homophobia that has plagued it ever since. Looking back on my own involvement with Republican politics of that era, I can say it seemed to me an easy choice to make... I thought to myself, "If I believe as these folks do about homosexuality, then I can't be gay myself (cognitive dissonance at its best). It didn't hurt that I had admired Ronald Reagan since his ascendancy to the presidency, and at the time, I even looked up to him as a "father-figure" in the absence of my own dad from my life then. Looking back, this seemed to be easy for me to do, even though I knew his party and politics made the plight of gays and many other marginalized groups including people of color exponentially worse.

It would not be until the rise to prominence of Barrack Obama and his later audacious campaign of "Hope" that I would seriously and finally reexamine my political beliefs.  For it was also around this same time that I would accept the truth of my heart and what I had always known, that I was gay. Slowly, I began to believe that there could be new hopes and dreams to replace the lies and self-deception that had marked the first four decades of my life.  By 2006, I had come out to all of my family. Following the death of my mother, and through an intense love affair with a man I still hold dear in my heart, I discovered that love and loss have nothing to do with sexual orientation and I finally realized that everyone, including myself, deserved the right to be who they are and to love who they love.  And with that, on November 7, 2006, I cast my first ever vote as a Democrat.