_______________Inside the Mind of Uncle Doreen

Things I learned this Thanksgiving weekend…

1.  My dogs hate the grunting noises the actors make in the “Planet of the Apes” movies.

2.  I can pack in 14 hours of sleep with zero guilt.

3.  Turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing are great breakfast foods.

4.  The pajama shorts purchased the summer of 1986 are still part of my “active” wardrobe.

5.  Fresh artichokes do eventually go bad.

6.  I still laugh at episodes of Mork and Mindy.

7.  People are willing to kill over a discounted television.

Merry Freakin’ Christmas….

A number of years ago I was diagnosed with acute depression.  Take it from me, there is nothing cute about it.  Every winter I go through what I affectionately have labeled a purple funk.

I dread the holidays.  Perhaps its because I have few memories of good holidays. Family meals in general were typically eat as fast as you can then retreat to the safety of your bedroom. Growing up in a house where my siblings and I were constantly on survival mode spending any time as a family was always tense. The emotional climate could change without a moments notice but if one was fast enough you just might be able to outrun the storm we called “Dad”. 

 As I see people around me hustle to shop, travel, cook, send gifts I try to relate.  Over the years I have been graciously been invited to the homes of friends for the holidays.  Yet, at each dinner or party I feel like a milk bucket under a bull.  There is a bond there I just can’t relate to.

As adults my siblings and I are not a close family, physically or emotionally.  My brother lives 1209 miles away – we last spoke just under two years ago. My oldest sister lives 2751 miles away – we last spoke over a year ago. I have one sibling that I speak to about once a week but she lives 2101 miles away. Unfortunatly, the last time she came to visit was over a decade ago.  They each have a spouse and two kids.  They have their own families. 

I have a handful of great friends that feel like family.  I would take a bullet for them.  Yet, I find myself longing for someone to come home to.  Someone to do laundry with.  Someone to call from work and ask if there is something from the grocery store I should pick up on my way home. Someone to hold my hand when I feel crappy like tonight. Basically all those mundane things I see family doing in movies and television. I am forty years old and tired of feeling alone.

Tomorrow I will wake up, inhale, and tackle another day.  January 2nd can not come soon enough.

Ok, I am not one to rejoice at the news of anyone losing their job.  However, when I read that Focus on the Family announced that it eliminated more than 200 positions I did smile a bit.  It is the largest cut for the evangelical organization in its 31 year history.  As we know Family spent so much energy and nearly $600,000 supporting Prop 8.  I wonder how many jobs they could have kept if they had used their money more wisely. 

If one picture is worth a thousand words here are a couple of billion…

The Sacramento Bee has compiled a database of all that contributed to the Prop 8 campaign, both Support and Opposed. I spent a few minutes searching a few names.  I think I will consult this when determining which businesses to support.

http://www.sacbee.com/1098/story/1392716.html

Saturday is the Nationwide Join the Impact.  Find your local event and join the fight for equality. (http://jointheimpact.com/)

As we enter a new chapter of history I thought it would be appropriate to take a look at those who stood before us.

What event marks the beginning of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights movement in the United States?

In the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a bar located in New York City’s Greenwich Village frequented by drag queens and gay men.  At the time, serving alcohol to homosexuals was illegal, and police raids and arrests were routine.  Drag queens and kings, butch lesbians, and effeminate men were regularly harassed by the police citing a law that required wearing a minimum of three pieces of clothing “appropriate to one’s gender.”

But that night would be different.  In stead of accepting the injustice and brutality of the raid, the bar patrons – and a growing crowd of onlookers – fought back.  As the police ushered bar patrons into a waiting paddy wagon, the crowd began to boo and jeer.  those being arrested began to resist, and soon the crowd joined in.  Surprised by the crowd’s angry response, the police retreated into thebar, calling for reinforcement.

What resulted was a five-day rebellion that is created with sparking today’s gay civil rights movement and inspiring the formation of of lesbian and gay rights organizations around the country.  Marches are held around the world each year to commemorate the anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion.

Todays Out Look.  Published by Pomegranate, Rohnert Park, CA.

Earlier this week 69 year old Phyllis Burgess walked in front of a rally Palm Springs.  The rally was like many throughout California demanding to have the right of marriage returned to same-sex couples. The large Styrofoam cross she was carrying was ripped from her hands and trampled upon.  Although Ms. Burgess and my views are on complete opposite sides of the pendulum, there is no excuse for her to have been assaulted in such a manner. 

Although we are fighting for our rights it is imperative that we do so in a manner that is upright and does not cause our character to come under judgement.  What does it say to the world when we have hoodlums spray painting churches, jumping on police cars and assaulting our senior citizens?  For those who have engaged in criminal behavior in the name of justice you should be ashamed!!! You do not represent me.

For Ms. Burgess, I am truly sorry you were met with a physical altercation and encourage you to press charges for the violation.  No one should be subjected to physical harm regardless of the issue.

Here is someone who states that he is not gay, has no family member or close friends or colleagues who are. Yet, his view on same-sex marriage is very passionate. I encourage you to share it with anyone who voted “Yes on 8″.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/27652443#27652443

In 1990 I clearly remember watching an episode of The Cosby Show and seeing Miriam Makeba for the first time. Although I had no idea who this woman was I was intrigued by the African dialect she spoke that included various clicking sounds. Many years later a roommate was playing a CD and I recognized her face from the show I had seen. Her music engulfed me in such a way I sought out what I could find about her.

Miriam Makeba was born in Johannesburg, SouthAfrica in 1932. At the age of 6 both her parents died. She attended the KilmertonTraining Institute in Pretoria where she frequently sang. After singing with armaturegroups for a number of years she started her own group, The Skylarks, They were the first to combined jazz with traditional African melodies.

In 1959 she appeared in the anti-apartheid film “Come Back, Africa”. When she tried to return to South Africa for her mother’s funeral in 1960 she was informed that her passport had been revoked. In 1963 she boldly testified about apartheid in front of the United Nations. Her South African citizenship and right to return to her country had been revoked. That did not hinder her for throughout her life she had 9 passports and 10 honorary citizenship in 10 other countries.

Her marriage to civil activist Stowley Carmichael caused such a stir that tours and record deals were canceled. Makeba also served as a Guinean delegate to the United Nations, for which she won the Dag Hammarskjöld Peace Prize in 1986. In 1992 starred in the movie “Sarafina. In 2001 she was awarded the Gold Otto Hahn Peace Medal by the United Nations Association of Germany (DGVN) in Berlin, “for outstanding services to peace and international understanding.”

Her life as a civil rights activist ended November 10th, at the age of 76, shortly after performing Castel Volturno, Italy.

Three of Miriam Makeba will forever ring in my ears.

1) Pata Pata (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-VrfadKbco)

2) The Click Song,named because most people could not pronounce “Qongqothwane”
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHxkiXALQjU).

3)Khawulez
( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V74f9eIi9c0)

I know it has been a while since I have written and I apologize.  Since the passing of Prop 8 here in California I have felt the need to get back on my soap box.  As many of you know with the aid of numerous churches rights were stripped away from the gay community.  Protests have taken to the street, petitions have been started, and lawsuits filed.  I know it is only a matter of time before we will have equality.  As Marga Gomez said Saturday night “It is not over, it is just delayed”.

As the chants encouraging a Yes on Prop 8 echoed through the streets the classic “It was Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve” could be heard often.  As I have looked at the first book of the Bible, Genesis, a question has plagued me since my early days of Sunday School.  I have yet to have an intelligent response and perhaps someone in cyberworld can point me in the right direction.

The first three chapters of Genesis is God creating the world, animals, man and then woman.  Chapter 4 is where it gets confusing for me.  Adam and Eve have two sons.  Cain kills Abel out of anger.  In verse 17 it states that “Cain lay with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch.”  Where did this woman come from?  With the Biblical evidence presented in the first couple of chapters the only logical conclusion is that incest was a part of the procreation process.  What other natural means could have produced a woman for Cain to marry? 

If incest was indeed the divine way for procreation that is a pretty sick plan.  Anybody care to clarify any of this for me?