Gay Pride Month

 Having been raised in Kansas I have ideas about politics that I should probably keep to myself, but you know me!  I will first go on record as saying, I was raised by a Republican registered voter mother and as such, I respected her opinion.  As I grew and matured, I realized that I was probably going to choose a different party.  And I did indeed choose differently when I became active in Colorado.

I became involved in the gay rights movement, which did not gel well with my mommy, but that was the route I choose and if I had it to do it all over again I would still have chosen that road.  Now my mother had a very good friend and co-worker who just happened to be gay.  Gibby was also a friend of mine.  We worked together and he helped me with the kids Christmas one year.  Good friends are hard to find and even harder to keep.

Sadly this all transpired at the time that a disease that was called HIV was rearing it's ugly head out in California.  It was the "gay disease" because it seemed to only affect gay people.  It was the "hot potato" of the political world at that time.  No one wanted to address it.  It was as if the politicains completely ignored it, "it" would go away.  Sadly it did not.

Randy Shultz wrote a book and named it for what it was "And the Band Played on".  It entailed the inaction that occured during that period.  The government continued to ignore the "gay disease".  It was indeed a phenomena in that only gay people got it and only gay people died from it.  Since it only affected that one segment of society it was not important.  But then it began to bleed over into the WASP community and that was a wake up call.

I do not have time nor inclination to go into all the  ramifications of the governments inaction at that period in time.  This is about my friend Gibby and how his life meant something to my mother and to me.  Gibby was not infected at the time I left Hutchinson.  Dates mean nothing to me in my memories of him.  I only know that I was living in Colorado when I got the call that Gib had moved to California and  he had tested postitive for the virus.  He wanted to come "home" for Christmas.  Mother was concerned about "catching it".  So to make a long story short, Gibby died in California and is buried some where that was not disclosed because of the "shame that surrounded his death."  His family was afraid that someone might "dig him up" and "desecrate his body."  And the Band Played on.

But as with most of life, time moved on.  The disease was named  Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome and later and finally settled on as HIV (human immunodeficiency virus).  It is no longer the dark secret that it was in the beginning.  Since the death of my sweet Gibby, I have been very active in the movement.  Some one in California started a memorial quilt with panels for each death designed and executed by someone who loved that person.   This is a link to that project.

I have designed and executed a miniature to be held here locally and shown the month of December at out local library.  We usually have a ceremony of commemeration on December 1, which is designated World AIDS Day.   Covid put a stop to that!   I have once more digressed so let me get back on track.

This is gay pride month.  So my hat is off to Gibby and all the pioneers before him who stood up and said "Yes I am gay!  And I am proud!  It is who I am!"

I am proud to say that I helped bring gay pride to Pueblo.  It is what it is and I have plagues in my china cabinet that proves I am more than just a clanging cymbal.

Smile down, Gibby, because I will never forget you and your unconditional love to me and my family!  And thank you to the doctors, nurses, health care providers and all the people who jumped into the fray to restore sanity to a period that had none at the time.

Peace!

The ghosts of the past are alive and well!

I woke up at 4:15 this morning and was very surprised that I had a guy on my mind from my distant past.  Now I mean my way back there distant past.  My first boyfriend.  I was 17 years old and I thought the sun rose and set in that boy.  He took me to Joyland in Wichita one sunny afternoon.  We rode all the rides and when we got on the Roundup, my stomach had it's limit.  His name was Corky and he was so sweet and concerned about my welfare.  Throwing up on the Roundup was the high point of the day and we left soon after that.  We continued to for a while and then sort of drifted apart.  It was never a big romance, just a very comfortable relationship with some one with whom I could share my  hopes and dreams.

Years passed and I married and had a family.  I ended up in Garden City, Kansas.  When that marriage went south, I returned to Hutchinson.  There I met the second man in my life who would offer me comfort in a storm and ask nothing in return.  His name was Gib.  We never really dated so much as sort of hung out together.  He was a friend of my mom's.  He was also a cook and I was a waitress until I became a cook also.  He helped shop for Christmas Santa Claus gifts and helped put the things together on Christmas Eve.  He was engaged to a girl named Cheri, but though they lived together, they never married.  I never understood their relationship.  He and I were friends, but he and Cheri had something, and yet nothing.

The one thing both these guys and I had in common was that the relationships were purely platonic.  I never expected more and they never asked for more.  I can search the world over and never find 2 men that made such an impact on my life!  Ah, but hindsight is always clearer then foresight, isn't it?

Years passed and the AIDS epidemic reared it's ugly head.  Gib moved to California.  He died there.   I was in Pueblo by then.  Mother called and said Gib wanted to get together over Thanksgiving that year, but she was afraid.  I told her I could  and would love to come and see Gib.  I was not afraid.  I just wanted to see my old friend.  Plans were made, but he did not make it.  I know there was no funeral and he is in an unmarked grave.  I still miss him.  The very first panel on my AIDS Memorial Quilt is for Gilbert Fields.

I learned later that Corky had also passed.  He was also a statistic in the early stages of the epidemic.  Jimmy came later.  And Mark.  And Mike.  And a list that goes on and on and on.  I have always had a rapport with the gay community, even before I knew there was a gay community!  They have been my friends when I had no friends.  They held me up when I could have sunk beneath the waves.

I have no idea why these two guys are on my mind today, but there they are.  I just wanted to share with you, my readers, a small glimpse into my past so you can maybe understand why I am who I am today and why I do the things I do.  I guess I am trying to give back to the community that cared for me when I did not care for myself.

What a wonderful week it was!

Obamacare, commonly known among those in the know as "The Affordable Care Act,"  stands as is.  After a massacre in Charleston of 9 Blacks in a church, the Rebel flag has been removed from the flagpole at the Capital.  And discrimination for my gay comrades has ended and they are free to marry.  Imagine that!  I took up the banner of gay rights over 30 years ago, so this was a real victory to me.

Of course, with the SCOTUS ruling, comes the "Bible Thumpers."  Relax!  I am one myself.  I tout the Bible to anyone that will listen.  I preach love, understanding, forgiveness, acceptance, kindness, and truth.  But being on social media, there is always an opinion and a lot of links to prove a point.  So it upset me yesterday when a link was posted to "prove by the Bible" that gays can not only not marry, but as near as I can tell, not exist and will burn in hell!  To this I will hit the unfriend button every time.

I have lived and worked along side some of the sweetest people in the world who happen to be gay.  30 years ago, when I took up this banner, I knew there would be no turning back.  And I haven't.  My God made my gay friends just exactly as they are.  My God does not make mistakes.  The Old Testament is full of all kinds of things you can not do.  You can not eat shell fish, nor the cloven hoof, and if your brother dies without leaving any children you have to marry his wife and carry on his seed.  But that is the Old Testament.  All things are now new.

I was a care giver through the height of the AIDS epidemic and still volunteer with Southern Colorado AIDS Project (although it has a different  name now).  I was there when the Privacy Act was being implemented.  I was there to hold frail bodies as they left this world.  I was there when they thought AIDS could be caught by touching.  I was there as a shoulder to lean on or as a whipping post for someone lashing out at mans inhumanity to man.  I was there when the medicines were being introduced that have now changed the death sentence of AIDS to a manageble condition.  And through it all, the one group we could always count on for support of a financial nature or a shoulder to lean on when we were tired was the gay community.

The gay community that was called names because they were different.  Because a woman loved a woman or a man loved a man.  Hated in the name of love!  Does that sound like a Godly person to you?  "Judge not lest ye be the judge."  I am proud to be who I am, a straight woman with a whole lot of gay friends.  I am proud to set beside my gay friend in church because I know if I need something, he will be there!

So today I will go worship my God.  My God who accepts me as I am.  My God who loves all people and I will thank the Surpreme Court Of The United States for being unbiased and showing me that , yes there is justice in this world and right does sometimes win.

Welcome to Pueblo, Colorado, Westboro Baptist Church!!

Here is the front of the Pueblo County Courthouse where Bo Ortiz foams at the mouth to  marry fag dogs!!!

It was snowing like the dickens when I left the house this morning to attend the counter rally at the court house.  Like a whole bunch of other people, it was a call that could not go unanswered.  When it was time to  have the speakers (I was included in that venue) we all moved inside.  I am anxiously awaiting a head count. I have no idea how many people were there, but when we went to walk around the court house we marched 3-4 abreast and covered the whole area around the courthouse.

Westboro had 6.  We were not allowed to go that direction.  The told us to move right along, but did let me point my camera in the direction of the group.  That might be one on the other side of the fence.  Now, you all know I am a pacifist, so I would have been very kind to them, but since I did not see any, I could not "spread the love".

".

This is my son Bret and Misha, his boss who owns Heritage Organics.  I am on the end wearing my "cicil disobedience shirt, other wise known as a "tie dye."

Here is Janet Altmann and myself being very, very good.

But if you want to know what a show of solidarity looks like, please enjoy these pictures.

 They were even hanging from the balcony around the rotunda!

Westboro did not linger long!  All in all, it was sure worth the trip onto town during a blinding blizzard.  I am going to pop this over on youtube and will put a link on here.  I am, in the meantime counting this as a great day.  

And if you missed my speech, here it is in it's entirety!

The gay rights movement in the US is often traced to June 27, 1969, in New York City, when police raided a Greenwich Village bar, the Stonewall Inn, and bar patrons rebelled in protest. Seven years later, in 1976, in Dade County, Florida, Anita Bryant led the first religious campaign against gay rights.
In Colorado an amendment was placed on the ballot in 1992 by a religious group centered in Colorado Springs. 
Amendment 2 reads as follows:
"Neither the State of Colorado, through any of its branches or departments, nor any of its agencies, political subdivisions, municipalities or school districts, shall enact, adopt or enforce any statute, regulation, ordinance or policy whereby homosexual, lesbian, or bisexual orientation, conduct, practices or relationships shall constitute or otherwise be the basis of, or entitle any person or class of persons to have or claim any minority status, quota preferences, protected status or claim of discrimination. This Section of the [Colorado] Constitution shall be self-executing."
At that time there were 2 little gay guys in Pueblo, Colorado.  Fortunately there were also two or 3 mothers and a friend who had lost a friend to AIDS in a loosely held group known as PFLAG.  I found them in 1990 when they were meeting in the basement of the old Red Cross building on Pueblo Boulevard in an unmarked room to protect our identity.  Yep I was one of them.  We spoke out against Amendment 2, but in hushed tones.  We put up NO on 2 signs and they were promptly torn down.
The amendment was passed by a majority of Colorado voters in November 1992, and was to take effect on January 15, 1993. The American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal Defense Fund, the cities of Boulder, Aspen, and Denver, and individual plaintiffs joined forces under the leadership of attorney Jean Dubofsky, a former Colorado Supreme Judicial Court judge, and filed a motion in Denver District Court seeking to enjoin the governor and state of Colorado from enforcing Amendment 2. On January 15, 1993, Judge Jeffrey Bayless granted a preliminary injunction, giving the plaintiffs the first victory in a legal struggle over the constitutionality of Amendment 2. That injunction was later made permanent, but was then appealed to the US Supreme Court.
Now SCEA members!  Listen up.  On the night of the election, when Amendment 2 passed with a clear majority a phone tree went into action and a business on Elizabeth Street opened for a gathering of probably 50-60 gay people.  Many of them wore “Don’t shoot!  I am really a black bear.”  Because a measure protecting the black bears had passed. 
Out of that meeting grew a need to protect our gay friends.  We knew we must let people know that gay existed and existed in Pueblo Colorado.  A group was formed at that time and christened with the name “Pueblo After 2.”  Our symbol was an upside down pink triangle.  We quietly infiltrated the straight world.  The pioneers in this movement were the 2 gay guys, Joe Roderick and our Beloved late David Hackenberry.  Thanks also to Donna, Carolyn, Warren, and the list goes on and on.  As gay people came out of the closet and awareness swept Pueblo and all of Colorado.  When amendment 2 was faded in the background we became politically active and needed a new name.  Up jumped Southern Colorado Equality Alliance.  From that came Out Front Youth Group, and other splinter groups that are now respected and do many good works.  I never thought I would live to see a gay pride parade, but now I actually participate.
We did not get where we are by violence, hatred or intimidating people.  Westboro Baptist Church would have us stoop to their level, but we will not.  We are equal citizens of this great country and we are treated as equals not because of a law, but because we are equal.  I thank Gilbert Ortiz for standing with our friends and family against the forces of evil.
SCEA, that is where you came from.  I was there.  I am a charter lifetime member of Pueblo After 2 and am supposed to get the newsletter from you, but you have forgotten about your roots.  So I just wanted to remind you.

http://youtu.be/hgpZCE6yhYw

A book sale is easier said then done!

PFLAG funds several  scholarships at PCC.  For many years we did it by hosting a spring yard sale.  Recently we have decided that book sales are the way to go and much less work.  See, all year Ross would gather stuff for the sale and until last year it was all stored in the basement at his condo.  Then my garage opened up and that sucker was filled to overflowing.  When the idea of book sale came up it seemed perfect.  The books would be gathered and stored on site at PCC where the sale would be held.  That was right up until somebody donated 80,000 books from the library of an estate.


 
And then my garage came into play again.  A big van backed up to the door and when it left it was empty.  Not so my garage.

The first thing I did was start repacking because a lot of these were in plastic containers that they wanted back.  I tried sorting, but I really got confused!  I did manage to get a box for Louis Lamore (?) and other authors that I remembered people asking for at the last book sale.  Oh, and the Harlequins, and some where I have a box for kids books and another one for cook books.  See all the boxes on the shelves?  These picture were taken after I had been working for over 3 weeks on this.  I plan on finishing up in the next couple weeks and I hope nobody asks me where anything is located!  See how neat?

And way back there in the corner I can see empty shelves!  It is my goal today to make a path back to those shelves so they can not be empty any more.  Wish me luck!  Oh, first I have to gather up some more boxes.

Should have taken a picture of my chair, fan, and box of Kleenex where I spend a lot of time crying!  Oh, yeah, and the plate with egg roll remains on it, my bowl of melted ice cream, a few chicken bones, and my bottle of water and Jack Daniels!  As soon as all the plastics are empty, I can take a break.  I have rented part of the garage to my son-in-law for storage so this will curb my ability to say "Oh, yeah!  I have a great big garage.  Bring all your stuff out here and poke it in there."  I am bad about that!  But, then again, if no one used it then it would just set empty and empty is not good either. 

 

 

So, for now it is off to church.  Next week I may give you a tour of my lower levels here in the house!  If you cringed at my garage, you will run screaming down the road at my basement, but Hey!  If I can live in it, you can look at it!

Have a good day and remember, 

 People who live in glass houses, should not throw stones!

 

 

 

 

 



Pre Sale Garage Sale

 

This was the sight at my house a couple Saturday's ago.  My garage was packed to the rafters with the rummage that Ross and his helper's have been hauling in for the whole year.  They started right after the PFLAG Scholarship yard sale last year and have not stopped.  Since it is almost time again he knew this stuff had to be sorted and what better way then to drag it all out, let people paw through it and anything that can be replaced with a hand full of money becomes that much easier to move across town to the big sale the first weekend in April.  So the plan was made.

Nancy is always head cashier, so she sets at this table.  The item is brought to the table and she eyeballs it and gives them a price.  Prices are always low.  If it can be held in one hand it is under a dollar.  Two handed items are over a dollar and furniture can run all the way up to $5.00-$10.00.  Buyers are reminded that it all goes to the scholarship program at PCC.  Rebecca and her crew are always on hand helping, so it kind of turns into a party of sorts.  You all know how I like to cook, so this day it was a cook out on my big smoker.

This was the view I had of the sale.  I pulled the smoker out and started my fire.  Being the lazy white girl that I am, I just pulled it far enough out of the shed to keep from asphyxiating myself.  As soon as the coals were ready, I dumped a package of hot dogs on the grill.  Now, here is something I figured out rather quickly:  Do not set your grill with the back part lower then the front and put round hot dogs on it laying straight as they tend to roll and do so rather quickly!  There is no back to the grill and so anything that starts a down hill roll does nothing except pick up speed.  So two of the hot dogs escaped the fate of being eaten.  I still had 18 hot dogs left.  And 24 hamburgers and 8 pounds of potato salad.  Oh, and a freshly baked peach cobbler.

The pre sale ran from 11:00 AM till 1:00 PM.  Course there were early birds, but by 1:00 all the signs were down and my house is hard to find without arrows.  I had fed several people early as they needed to get back into town.  Everything being put back into the garage, which now had lots of room, we began the finishing up of the food.   So Rebecca's husband threw the rest of the meat on the grill and cooked it to perfection.   And here is our hallowed leader, Ross in his lovely Christmas apron, testing our wares.  I am happy to announce that we fed at least 23 people and had no left overs, and no one went away hungry.

And I am also happy to announce that we are ready for the sale!  Sadly this will be our last yearly scholarship sale.  When the whole year is spent scrounging things for the sale, loading and hauling  things for the sale, sorting things for the sale, categorizing for the sale, and using every inch of storage for the sale, it gets to be a very all consuming event.  So, we will now concentrate on books only.  Those can be stored at the college and pulled out and put away easily.  We may have a couple bake sales.  Lord only knows what we will do, but knowing Ross and Rebecca, I am sure we will do something useful.  It has been a long run and I will miss it, as I am sure you all will, but time marches on.

So, see you at the sale!

 

APRIL 5 & 6, 2013, FRIDAY AND SATURDAY

110 LACROSS

8:00 A M -???????



LAST ANNUAL PFLAG SCHOLARSHIP YARD SALE

 

Copied directly from MSN News in case you missed it on the PFLAG Blog.

Following her son's beating death 15 years ago, Judy Shepard has become a forceful voice for gay rights and a sort of mother figure for gay teens turned away by their own families.

NEW YORK — The mother who championed gay rights after her son was tied to a fence and beaten to death couldn't bear to sit through the play that has helped keep his memory alive for the nearly 15 years since his murder.
But this weekend, at the opening of a double-billing of Moises Kaufman's "The Laramie Project" and "The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later" at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Judy Shepard — seated in an aisle seat to allow for an easy escape — soldiered through the entire five-hour production, which recalls the story of Matthew Shepard's death in 1998.
"I just really didn't feel I needed to watch it because I lived it. And so many of the scenes bring back such horrific memories. I've never felt comfortable crying in public," Shepard said just before the Saturday performance. "It's been 15 years. I should be able to do this now."
Shepard made it through with the help of hugs from well-wishers at the intermissions.
Kaufman, a playwright and director who leads the Tectonic Theater Project, recalled the Shepard murder as a watershed moment that helped create a generation of activists and energize "straight allies" to the cause of gay rights.
"All of a sudden we had an image, we had an event, that operated as a catalyst," said Kaufman, a Venezuelan native who lives in New York.
The original play was born from the question of why Shepard's murder resonated more than other hate crimes, Kaufman said. The play has been staged more than 1,000 times.
Ten years after Shepard's death, Kaufman and Tectonic returned to Laramie, Wyo., to produce an epilogue and to interview Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney, who are serving life sentences for the murder.
Nine U.S. states have legalized same-sex marriage, and in March the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a challenge to the U.S. Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage under federal law as being between a man and a woman, and whether Proposition 8, a California ballot initiative that outlawed same-sex marriage, should be struck down.
ANATOMY OF A MURDER
Henderson and McKinney confessed to meeting the 21-year-old at a Laramie bar on the night of Oct. 6-7, pretending to be gay and offering him a ride home, with the intent to rob him. They grew enraged after Shepard made a sexual advance, they said, and took him to a desolate area in the outskirts of town, tied him to a fence and repeatedly struck him in the head with a handgun.
Shepard was close to death when he was discovered 18 hours later and he died in a Colorado hospital on Oct. 12. In her 2010 book, "The Meaning of Matthew," Judy Shepard wrote that while she was at her son's side, she was barely aware of the rallies by thousands of well-wishers in cities across the country.
Judy Shepard, who is soft-spoken and shy despite her years in the limelight, says she is a reluctant advocate. But she has become a forceful voice for gay rights and a sort of mother figure for gay teens turned away by their own families.
"Many of us feel that Judy is the mother we never had. But it goes way beyond that," Kaufman said. "It's a story of a person who was put in an untenable situation and got the skills to triumph in that situation."
Shepard, who still lives in Wyoming, heads the Matthew Shepard Foundation and has fought for gay rights in her home state and for a federal hate crimes bill, which President Barack Obama signed into law in 2009 with Shepard at his side.
"I did what people didn't expect me to do, which was not go away," she said. "As a straight person, I have a gravitas that someone in the gay community saying the things that I say would not have."
She said she has been frustrated that change in Wyoming, also the setting of the 2005 film "Brokeback Mountain," has come slowly. The state has no hate crimes law and this year the legislature rejected a gay marriage bill and a domestic partnership bill for same-sex couples.
Before the performance, a man who said he was about the same age as Matthew Shepard would be now tearfully thanked Shepard for her advocacy and said gay people "could not have had a better angel and a better mother."
Shepard's eyes also filled with tears, but she quickly regained her composure, saying: "This is what happens when you piss off somebody's mom."
 ——

Victory!!! I found out how to do the slide show. Damn Google any way!!!

Me and eBay, it is a beautiful thing!

Most of you know by now that I have been selling on eBay for a number of years.  In my mushy little mind it seems like I have been doing it since last month but in reality I know it has been longer than that, but less then nine years.  I think about eight maybe.  There is a point coming!  Drum roll, please!
Feedback on eBay is paramount.  Very important to the survival of a seller on their site.  When I reached 50 and was 100% I was very happy.  Then I reached 100.  Then 250.  Then 500.  I still remain at 100%.  Somewhere along the line some guy bought a seed catcher for $12 and left me a neutral feed back and the comment  "Very nice quality and arrived quickly, but a little pricey!"  Oh, I almost had a stroke!  Good feedback is green.  Bad feedback is red.  Neutral counts for nothing and is gray, but somehow that little gray dot broke my heart.  So I wrote him.
"My dear fellow.  I am very sorry you were not happy with my price, but here is the deal. I have fabric, thread, store fees, insertion fees, final value fees, and time involved.  Oh and then there is that free shipping thing every seed catcher customer gets. I do not feel the $12 is too far out of reason if you check the other stores where they sell for $20.00 plus shipping."
I did get a letter of apology back explaining that he did not understand, but since I had told him he would go back and change it if he could, but he had tried and could not.  So the little grey circle passed from one month into the 6 month column and someday it will march on off the right side of the page.  Right now I am setting with my purple star and 100% rating and a little fellow who looks happy and that is the Power Seller guy.  There is also a medallion with ribbons out the bottom and that means I am a top rated seller.  These along with my Bronze rating gives me a discount on my eBay fees which makes them only a little bit absorbenent.  And my feedback number is now 995.  In only 5 more feedbacks I will reach a thousand.  I trust I will get something special.  Lord only knows what, but I hope it is good.  I kind of hate to loose my purple star since that is my favorite color, but
I know I will get something better, maybe.
There is no way I will ever get rich there on eBay, but I do make a little money for PFLAG, other people and a few dollars for myself.  You can not walk through this part of the house, and I have a storage trailer full of total crap, but I still have my wits about me and I can find an item when I need to lay my hands on it.  Seed catcher business is hopping cause people do not want to clean up the cage area 3-4 times a day and they do not want the cheap net things at Petsmart.  I make mine to order and it seems that no matter what colors I have ready in the bin, that is not the color they want.  But that is fine, because I like to put my personal touch on everything that leaves here to a new home.  I have made a lot of friends on eBay and expect I will make a lot more. 
I had a cold recently and a lady from Michigan sent me Nasturium tea.  Big shot at General Motors in Niagara Falls sent me tea shirt from Buffalo, other memorabilia and $20 to buy a bottle of wine along with a cork screw.  Murano heart necklace from a girl in Daytona Beach. (That is the same one who drove 2,000 one way to meet me.)   Necklace and a tie-dye tee shirt from a lady in Palm Bay, tea towels from Wales, ice scraper from Missouri, and I could go on all day, but I think you get the picture.
So as I keep clicking over on the feedback waiting for the next five to come in I am celebrating my own little personal best here and I can not beleive it...IT IS STARTING TO SNOW!!!! I thought spring was here!  Damn!

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Milton Hershey School and my boycott on Hershey Products.

In case you missed it, this statement was released on December 1, which was World AIDS Day.  I can not let this one slide by and was on facebook until late last night with defenders of MHS. I must say these people are very biased and uneducated.

Here is the entire statement from the Hershey School:Today, Milton Hershey School had planned to file a request in federal court asking the court to review our decision to deny enrollment to a child who is HIV positive because of concerns for the health and safety of our current students.
We had been in discussions with the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania, which is representing this 13-year-old boy. Recognizing the complex legal issues, the School was preparing to ask the court to weigh in on this matter. Unfortunately, attorneys for the young man took the adversarial action of filing a lawsuit against the School.
The decision to deny enrollment was a challenging one for us to make. Like all our enrollment decisions, we need to balance our desire to serve the needs of an individual child seeking admission with our obligation to protect the health and safety of all 1,850 children already in our care.
Attorneys for this young man and his mother have suggested that this case is comparable to the Ryan White case. But this case is actually nothing like the Ryan White case. Milton Hershey School is not a day school, where students go home to their family at the end of the day. Instead, this is a unique home-like environment, a pre-K to 12 residential school where children live in homes with 10 to 12 other students on our campus 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
In order to protect our children in this unique environment, we cannot accommodate the needs of students with chronic communicable diseases that pose a direct threat to the health and safety of others.The reason is simple. We are serving children, and no child can be assumed to always make responsible decisions which protect the well-being of others.
That is why, after careful review and analysis, we determined we could not put our children at risk.

By Dan Stamm for NBC News (Philadelphia)

Now, my take on this.  I am sure the MHS is a privately owned and privately funded school and I am sure they do not have to let this boy in.  That is neither here nor there.  What upsets me is the reasoning and ignorance behind the statements "our decision to deny enrollment to a child who is HIV positive because of concerns for the health and safety of our current students." and "In order to protect our children in this unique environment, we cannot accommodate the needs of students with chronic communicable diseases that pose a direct threat to the health and safety of others."
We work very hard teaching people that HIV/AIDS is a chronic disease and must be managed as such, and then we encounter educated people like this that runs screaming from a 13 year old boy who carries the infection, just breaks my heart.
I volunteer with a group that is funded by Ryan White.  The Clinic is funded by Ryan White.  Education is one of the main goals of Ryan White.  The White family did not ever want another child to go through what their son went through, hence the goal of education.  We deal with AIDS clients on a daily basis.  I feed them, hug them, kiss them good bye.  I have set by bedsides as life ebbed from the frail body and held them so they were not alone.  I remain negative.
One of the defenders last night told me they have a trust fund and do not need my piddly amount of money that I spend on Hershey products.  That came as a shock to me because I use a can or two of cocoa every month and sometimes I grab a candy bar.  I will not go into all the conversations on facebook last night, but I must post this one.  Well, never mind.  They have suspended all posts on their site and  it is gone, but I remember it and it went like this "I AM A FIREFIGHTER AND GO TO THIS SCHOOL AND I DO NOT WANT HIM HERE!"  There was more, but it is all a moot point.
So I say this to you;  I will no longer buy any Hershey product. I can not in any way bring myself to put another cent into the coffers of a  member of this world community that refuses to be educated in a disease that strikes the innocent as well as the not so innocent.  We are all God's creatures and Hershey makes no mention of compassion, understanding and they are sending 1,850 students into the world every year to carry on thier message of intolerance.  If the people I encountered on thier site last night are any representation of these self same students I do not want to meet any of them on the street.  They have become mean intolerant big people.  I will stay here in my little world and do my humble service to the clients who need me and I will send a donation to this kid as soon as I get a site for him.  Not for his legal fund, but because it is kids like this who become the Ryan White's of tomorrow.


 
now:\r\nhttp://gan.doubleclick.net/gan_click?lid=41000000005217789&pubid=21000000000389168\r\n\r\nOr,

World AIDS Day and the bliss of ignorance in youth.

Today being December 1 is of course, World AIDS Day.  I went to the Library at 10 this morning and hung my Memorial Quilt display with the help of John Mark, Linda, Julie and another lady who I forget her name.  Then I went to lunch, Bought goose food, stopped and visited my banker lady, came home, fell asleep in the chair and woke up to a whole new world.
The grand daughter came after school so she could go to the Observance this evening with me.  I forgot the cookies.  I forgot the camera. I forgot my water.  So I was pretty sure I was on a losing streak.  The program was fairly simple and went well.  Linda was the emcee. Joanne Grove presented the statistics which amazed me even now.  I must verify them before I report them, just cause that is what I do. Eddie Three Eagles told how AIDS affects the Native Americans.  And he remembered me from last year. I presented my two new panels and then they were blessed by Rev. Lamb. John Mark then gave his story putting a face on AIDS.  He has been positive for 27 years; over half of his life.  Then we all gave names to people who have passed and wrote their names on a red ribbon and hung them on the tree.  the ice cream cake donated by Dairy Queen was by that time starting to melt.  They should have opened a window and it would have frozen right back up.
The plan was to then go down to the first floor foyer and pick up a candle and have it lit and proceed outside.  Deven and I were inside and I was in no hurry to go out in the 1 degree weather.  Two young teenagers came in past the candle lighters and stopped near us.  The following conversation ensued.
Girl: I wonder why they are lighting those candles.
Me: It is in observance of World AIDS Day.
Girl: What is AIDS Day?
Boy:  That is that disease you hear about.  AIDS!
Girl: Oh, wow!  They are celebrating STD's?
Boy:  No, I don't think so.  I think they are not happy about it.
Me:  We do it in rememberance of all the people who have died.  But listen, we were up on the fourth floor and there is a lot of literature about it up there.  Also an ice cream cake that needs eaten.
Boy:  Gee, thanks. 
And they got in the elevator for the fourth floor. Deven and I looked at each other in amazement.  She is 14 and very wise for her years.  I was amazed that the two on their way up knew what STD's were.  I never figured that out until I was 40 years old.
But World AIDS Day is over for another year and my camera is hanging on the newel behind me where I hung it this morning so I would not forget it.  My quilts will be hanging on the fourth floor for a week and then I will go pick them up.  Guess they are on loan to the Library.  I am rather happy that they will be there so people can see and wonder what they are for.  So I put up a short paper on what they were and why they were there.
Now I am tired.  And it is very cold.  So I am going to nuke my rice bag and my corn bag and call it a night.  And I am going to throw another blanket on the bed.  I love to crawl in a cold bed and pull the covers way up, but I have the hot thing down there on my feet and off to sleep I go.  Life is good.

Hey, I may be on schedule with WAD!

There is my little slide show.  I went down last night and actually started the AIDS Ribbons.  See on World AIDS Day, which will be December 1 at the Hoag Library, I have much to do.  First I had to make 2 new panels for friends who have passed this last year.  I got that done on Saturday.  They will be dedicated at our program by Rev Jeannine Lamb and Rev. Mark Hild.  That is always a very solemn occasion.
I also need to make cookies for the reception and gathering time.  I have a freezer full of those already.  See PFLAG gives out goodie bags to all the clients at the SCAP Christmas party.  So since we need 36 bags this year and have very few bakers, I will do my share.
The last thing on the agenda is our candlelight service.  This is when we dedicate a ribbon to someone who has died from AIDS.  I have 50 made and will probably do another 25 or so.  Already bought the sharpee to write the names with .  We then take them out side to a tree and hang them on as we call out thier name.  Some times we tell a  little about them.
Eddie Three Eagles and his group will sanctify the tree and grounds as per native traditions.  Now this year is special, or at least to me it is.  The Pueblo AIDS Memorial Quilt, which is my personal project, will hang on the 4th floor of the Library for one full week.  I need to write up a thing on what this is and how it came into fruition.
This will once more be an all day event.  Not at the Library, per se, but both colleges will be doing testing.  That is always a busy time.  Last year we only did the PCC campus and we had no positive results.  In this case, positive is not good.  We are testing for the HIV and positive means you have it.  So we want negative.  We are hoping for the same thing this year.
So this is what I been up to.  Hope to see some of you at the Library.  We are shooting for a 5:45 P M start.  See you there!

Southern Colorado AIDS Project at Publo Pride Day!

Here I am on August 22, 2010 down on the HARP River  Walk at Pueblo Gay Pride Day.  These are a few of my friends from Southern Colorado AIDS Project.  On the left is the Reverend John Mark Hild of the Metropolitan Community Church here in Pueblo.  Directly behind me is Eric, a volunteer. The tall good looking guy there is Bill Sharpton.  He works for SCAP in the Colorado Springs office. If you recall the white panel on the AIDS Quilt with all the AA coins is his sister, Marty.

Gay Pride was quite a little event this year.  Makes me remember back to the beginning of my venture into the Gay Community in Pueblo.  I think it must have been about 1990 or 91 when I found PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays). There were 3 of us mothers and we met in the basement of the Red Cross Building on Pueblo Boulevard and prayed no one would know we were there.  We've come a long way, baby!

We now have a presence all over Pueblo in the form of youth groups, activist groups, clinics, support groups, World AIDS Day services, Southern Colordao Equality Alliance, and a scholarship program at the Community College.  I am sure there is much more, but this is good for now.  I am very proud to say the torch has been passed to a new generation and us old ladies that were there in the beginning can now set back and let the young'uns handle the load.  They have boundless energy and are all gung ho' on this and I am very glad.  This is one time we can truly enjoy the fruits of our labors.  Was not sure I would see this day 20 years ago.

Hey, have a good one today and every day, bearing in mind that Neil Armstrong made is own statement years ago when he said, "That is one step for man, and one giant step for mankind!"  Keep putting one foot in front of the other whether you are on the moon or in Pueblo, Colorado, or Podunk, Georgia.  Any step forward is something to be proud of and 2 other mothers and myself are proud of Pueblo, Colorado!!

Pueblo AIDS Memorial Quilt #6; Final entry.

It is a shame that my camera has decided to give me only blurry pictures.  When I get my new camera I will replace this blurry little thing!  But for now, I just want to get this finished and be done with it, and move on to other things.

This panel will start in the upper right hand corner with

Mike Darrell

7/22/57-6/26/2006

Mike was a very good friend to both myself and my husband.  He came here from Houston, Texas with a friend.  He was a handyman of sorts and a mechanic extraordinare.  He loved his motorcycle and rode it wherever he went if there was not a hurricane gale blowing.  He could fix the car or the diesel truck.  What ever needed done.  He was also an artist and a musician.  I do not know how many flutes ( and I call them that for want of a better word ) he had.  I think they were Irish pipes and that boy loved Irish music.  His head was full of  music!  He and his friend started going to my church, but soon found it was not the proper match and went across town to the Christ Chapel.  He was very active over there and fit like a glove. 

I miss Mike very much.

The blue on on the bottom left belongs to
James Smith
1957-3/29/2005
James was a good friend to my friend, Robert.  Robert helped make this panel and he knew James loved Christmas.

The one on the right belongs to
Gilbert Finn
4/18/59-1/6/07
This was Robert's very best friend.  They were together constantly and Robert is pretty much lost without Gilbert.  He also loved Christmas. Robert put a lot of thought and love into both of these panels.
Now last, but definitely not least, we come to my friend
Mark Belarde
3/28/67-12/29/06
This picture shows Mark and me on Santa Claus's lap at the AIDS Christmas party in 2002.  I am not sure that this was the real Santa. I first met Mark in 1992 (I think). He was riding a bike, walking and very active.  He was the proud possessor of 75 T Cells.  Shortly there after his mother passed from a massive heart attack.  I told Mark that I would do what I could to take her place in his life.  I made that my mission.
I registered as his Personal Care Provider through Argus Home Health. Thus began my career in the AIDS Health care Services, but that is a whole 'nuther story!

I started out working with him 6 hours a week, just doing laundry and household chores that he needed help with.  Mark had a very strong constitution, but unfortunately the meds never worked for him.  As years passed slowly by his immune system weakened and his T cells fell. the last 3 years of his life they hovered around the 2 mark.  At one time they were zilch.  I graduated to more hours and was finally doing 48 hours a week and a family member spent nights with him.

I will not bore you with details of our 15 year's together, suffice it to say, I became very attached to Mark and his family.  I became the mother he had lost and he became the son who needed me.  Through trips to the emergency room and  picnics in the mountains, long walks and dirty laundry, physical therapy and shopping trips, eating out and eating in, we formed a bond that can never be broken. 

I finally came to the realization that I could no longer take care of Mark.  I knew I could not do it and he could not do it.  It was time to let go.  The hardest part of life always seems to be the letting go part.  We can do until we are at the point where no more can be done and we realize it must be done.

So it is fitting that
Mark Belarde
be my final entry in this journey to completion of the Pueblo AIDS Memorial Quilt.

With a heavy heart I bid a fond farewell to all my friends who have gone before and will keep the flicker of hope alive that some where, some how I can live long enough to see a cure and a vaccine for this dreadful disease.  Until that day, I will continue to work with AIDS clients. I will add panels to my quilt and display it when called upon to do so.  I will pray ceaselessly and support the cause in whatever way I can.  Will you join me?


 

Pueblo AIDS Memorial Quilt #2

This is the second panel I am highlighting. I don't know if you realize, but these are not presented in the order of constuction, but in a rather willy nilly fashion that pleases me.  And what is that saying, "If momma is happy, everybody is happy!"

In the upper left corner we have a particular favorite of mine. I made this out of the slinky stuff you would use for a dress if you were someone who wanted to show case something! I made it as a pillow case while Allan was still with us, but he soon learned it was nothing you could sleep on, because it made you sweat! I had also made him a nature stationary to hang on his wall. But that shall be another post! Allan was born 4/29/1967 and passed 5/26/99. We had a surprise birthday party for him a week early.  Good thing! He was Colorado Diving Champion one year. He was offered a "Full Ride" Scholarship to Brown University which he declined because family was more important to him.  My adopted son is named after him. He weighed 83 pounds when he died. His mother passed a few years later.  I miss them both!

Below Allan is Reverend Blong.  3/15/1926 to 7/26/1999. He was a very beloved Priest to a friend of mine.  I made this panel for her.

The next one is Jeffery 12/22/1963-8/9/2000.  I did not know Jeffery although I made this panel. The world has lost an artist!

The last one on the left is for my friend Judy.  11/14/1946-10/14/2000. Now here was a woman who knew how to cook!! Mashed potatoes required BOTH butter and heavy cream and butter on top!  I am sure she is in charge of the kitchen up THERE!

The top one on the right is for Tracey 2/22/1964-8/6/1999. Tracey was a very lovely girl. She actually died of heart problems, exasperated by the medications.  I made the basic panel, but it was designed and painted on my her friend,Mike.

The second on the right is for Daniel. 4/22/1954-1/30/1998.  There are 2 necklaces on here that Daniel wore constantly. He was a very colorful fellow. I made this panel for his mother.

Now we come to Mark. This person did not want anything known about Mark, but did want to memorialize him in some way. She comes when the quilt is on display.

And now we come to one of the more moving panels.  This is for our little Daniel Yarnell. He was born 10/10/1984-9/22/2000.  He was not 16 yet when he passed. His mother made this panel for him and since she has also written a book about their journey, I am sure she will not begrudge me using his name.  Daniel was so special. He loved Beanie Babies and had a website with some of his pictures on there. On hot, hot days, when we had picnics at the office, Daniel would show up in his coat, mittens and a wool hat.  How can your heart not bleed for this kind of suffering?  Daniel will always hold a special corner of my heart, as does Allan.

As I think back, there is not one I have written about yet that does not own a piece of Lou Mercer! And we still have more to meet.

Pueblo Aids Memorial Quilt Panel #1.

This is the first group of panels that were assembled for our quilt.  The blue one on the top left is for Craig.  Craig was a friend of mine. He loved Charlie Chaplin and if you look closely you will see Charlie on his panel. You will also see his little dog. He was born 6/6/60 and passed 3/12/94.

Below Craig is Shawn. Shawn was born 8/26/66 and passed 7/31/97. I did not know him very well, although I made this panel for him. He loved to cook and he loved the great outdoors and his panel reflects that.

The yellow one with the red heart belongs to David. He was born 8/25/47 and passed 8/23/89. This block was made by his sister. His sister has worked tirelessly to keep AIDS in the fore front of our minds and to always be sure there is an observance of World AIDS Day every year on December 1.

The one on the right with the eagle is for Randy.  He was a very good friend of my nephew.  He was born 5/15/63 and passed 10/1/91, which just happened to be my birthday.  He was in the Marine Corps. Seems ironic in the world before "Don't ask, don't tell" that one who held "Semper Fi" in highest esteem should die of AIDS.

Down below on the left is Frank.  He was born 6/12/62 and passed 11/13/95.  I did not know Frank, but I helped his brother make this panel.

The panel with the dove is for Steven. He was born 4/12/52 and passed 4/5/95.  I received a frantic call after there had been an article in the paper about the quilt from Steven's Aunt.  Would I please make a memorial for her nephew.  It says on the panel that he is missed by his sisters and mourned deeply by Aunt Kathy.  That is all I know about him.

The rainbow music panel belongs to Danny.  It was mde by his mother.  Below is a picture of the big panel that is in the big quilt in San Francisco.  A labor of love. He was born 5/26/60 and passed 10/12/93

The green one is for Father James.  He was born 5/6/37 and passed 10/25/89

So you see, there are young and old, gay and straight. There are brothers, fathers, nephews. The face of AIDS takes many different form, but one death is not diminished by a thousand deaths.  Each one is unique in it's own way and by the people who are left to mourn.  Please look on this post as an act of love  and watch for the next one.

Pueblo AIDS Memorial Quilt; Inception and Evolution.

I now know the year!  In 1996 I had given a class on building a panel for the big quilt in San Francisco.  Someone wanted to know why there was no memorial of any kind for people who had died from AIDS in this area; why it was all so far away.  So a few of us got to kicking it around. I don't remember who all was there and if I did I could not tell you anyway as that is a matter of privacy. (Did I say that out loud!)

AIDS was at that time a very misunderstood disease. We have come a long ways, but it is still misunderstood.  It is a different kind of misunderstanding now though.  People actually  think there is a cure for AIDS.  Nothing could be further from the truth. It is no longer a Gay Disease and knows no class distinction or color line. People are now living far longer, thanks to the "cocktails". But they are now dying from aging factors. The medications are so strong and the body is so toxic from them that bodies are aging very quickly. PWA's (People  With Aids) never did die from AIDS. They died from opportunistic infections contracted through a compromised immune system.

I digress! I am not here to give you a history of the disease, I am here to tell you why we have this memorial.  We thought about doing copper leaves on a brass tree. That was cost prohibitive. All kinds of ideas were kicked around and nothing fit just right. Then I had the brilliant idea, "Why improve on perfection! Duplicate the Big Quilt only do it little." That was the perfect fit! The quilt is displayed several times a year.  Always on December 1, which is World AIDS Day  and then a couple more times. 

The blocks are 12 inches by 24 inches. The big blocks are 3 feet by 6 feet. That is the size of a grave. Our blocks are miniatures of the big blocks but they are no less reverent. Each block is stitched with love and memories and represents some one that was loved by someone. Not all the blocks have names. One says just Mark. Some give the full name, birth and death and a detailed picture of that persons life.  The most moving block.... 

I think I will save that for later.  I will get my first post up on Wednesday. It will be the first section we  finished.  I have got to be honest with you on this point, I am not sure I will be able to do more than 2 posts a month on this quilt. My heart and soul is in every block that is on this quilt. Some of these people were people I was very close to at one time or another.  Some were children of friends, some were husbands, some lovers of friends. This will be very draining on me, but I fill back up rather quickly when I am doing something that I am as passionate about as this project.  See you on Wednesday!

The small part of Pueblo After 2 on the Pueblo Levee Project.

This is but a small part of the Pueblo Levee Mural Project. It was started in the 1970's as graffiti. The city fathers very quickly seen a way to make it work for the city as opposed to becoming a blight on the city.  It is and has been controlled by the city since that time. The Project is now over 3 miles long and is billed by the Guiness Book of World Records as the largest continuous painting in the world.

Then on November 3, 1992,  voters of the state of Colorado, passed the dreaded Amendment 2. By its pure design it was worded to repeal anti discrimination laws that had been passed by various entities to protect the rights of our gay/lesbian population.  I had at that point in time been working with the gay community as a member of PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.) We had worked very hard trying to explain that this amendment wa sunconstitutional.  

 The night when the vote was announced we all went to a central gathering place and found out just how many gay people there were in our fair city. I knew my stats, but even I was amazed. On the same ballot was a question to protect black bears during mating season or some such thing. Many people wore signs that said "Don't shoot! I am really a black bear." But out of that evening came the realization that without organization and with out working together the gay community would always be an outcast segment of society. The grass roots organization was named Pueblo After 2, a very symbolic name. 

 If you look very carefully right there under the bridge you will see an upside down rainbow triangle. That was the symbol for Pueblo After 2.  As a friend to the community I was allowed to help! It was my job to bring the coffee and donuts.   I took this picture yesterday. The sign has weathered and faded, but it has been 18 years. That hardly seems possible, but I can subtract.    A lot has happened since that time.  Amendment 2 was struck down by the Supreme Court on May 20, 1996.  Pueblo After 2 is now Southern Colorado Equality Alliance.  As SCEA they are a very respected member of society. PFLAG and SCEA fund scholarships at the local community college.

As for me, I got old and do not do the political thing much any more, but you just never know where you might find me or why!!                                                      

Pueblo Levee Mural Project will be my next undertaking!

I was just flipping through the pages of my mind yesterday and I came up with my next undertaking on the old Blog. Many years ago I was involved in helping put an addition on the Pueblo Levee Mural. I shall revisit the site. I shall also give a brief history of the project. I am getting all excited just thinking about it. Now, I know you think it is a done deal, but there are facts that need to be researched, because this old gal has forgotten most of the particulars.

It is not enough to just put it out there and call it good. There are some facts that need to be accurate. Maybe someone out there can help me. What year was Pueblo After 2 established? What year was I President of PFLAG? Was I President of PFLAG or was I Vice President, or was it Secretary? I got a lot of work to do between now and then so I am going to get busy!

If you think of anything that can help me, please send me a note!!

From here to Madrid, Spain in 7 days!

This is Marvin the Martian. The little fellow left here last Thursday, March 11, 2010 and woke up this morning in his new home in Madrid, Spain. That is less than 6 days which is doing some moving if you just stop and think about that. Here is how Marvin the Martian Telephone came to make this journey.

I sell on eBay and Marvin was dropped off by a member of PFLAG which is the acronym for Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. They have a rummage sale in the Spring to raise money for a scholarship fund they maintain at Pueblo Community College. It came to our attention that some items would bring more money if they had more exposure. We were right.

So Marvin came to my house. He was photographed on his best side in natural light and off he went to the eBay auction. Now new phones were selling on eBay at the time for $15.99, so imagine my surprise when I got my opening bid and it went up to $19.99. I was amazed when the auction closed at $31.00. Then came the most amazing post. I received a communication from a guy named Juan in Madrid, Spain telling me how happy he is to support our cause.

Postage to Madrid is by no means cheap, and the best I could do on this was $33.00. And then I check the progress today and find it has been delivered! I have sent things to Canada that are still in transit!  I have had people email me from Canada that apparently never get their package and when I trace it I find it has left the United States at which point it seems to be swallowed up in the big hole called Customs. But again I digress.

I just wanted to tell you how well the United States Post Office came through for me on this one. I sent a boat title to Denver 26 years ago and it has not gotten there yet, nor was it returned. Some letters have taken weeks to get there while the short check I mailed in anticipation of the deposit I would make the end of the week reached it's destination the next morning.

And so my hat is off to the USPO, Customs in Spain, Marvin and Juan! All worked like a well oiled machine for a story of success!