As it turns out, there was just not enough time to acquire all the necessary permits and AV equipment necessary to facilitate the Tucson protest of Prop 8 this Saturday. I am now asking everyone to attend Wingspan's rally tomorrow, November 14th.
Wingspan is a local organization that advocates for equal rights of our LGBT community members and their families. At tomorrow's event, Wingspan will premiere its new "Families You Know" campaign which will feature LGBT families in the hope that the telling of their stories will change the way they are viewed by the society that voted to identify them as second-class citizens and to disallow them equal rights as a family. This event will focus on our community's disagreement with the passage of Prop 102.
I have actually been asked to give a short speech at the rally, which I am MADD NERVOUS about, but also extemely honored to do. Please find all the details below, RSVP to Wingspan's Facebook page, and I hope to see you there!
Love is love...equality for all!
From the Wingspan website...
Nov 12, 2008
UPDATE: Community March and Rally:
Celebrate All of Our Families with
FAMILIES YOU KNOW
El Presidio Park and La Placita Village, Downtown Tucson
Wingspan is sponsoring a community march and rally on the evening of Friday, November 14.
Date: Friday, November 14
5pm: Assemble at El Presidio Park (115 North Church St., on the Plaza in front of Tucson City Hall)
5:30pm: March to La Placita Village steps off
5:45 to 7pm: Rally and Official Presentation for Launch of FAMILIES YOU KNOW at La Placita Village (201 Church St., Tucson)(map)
7pm: Folk fusion with Leila Lopez and band
Cheer on the families in the first FAMILIES YOU KNOW videos to be premiered that night! Gather with community to re-energize and renew bonds for the road ahead. We'll have supplies for making signs at El Presidio Park, or bring positive signs from home. Make up your own positive motto or chant. Bring signs in Spanish! Let's celebrate all of our LGBT families!
Now is the time for our community and allies to come together in mutual support, honoring the anger and disappointment we feel about the passage of Prop 102, and to heal.
Even more importantly, we need to channel our feelings, strengths and energy into a positive force for social change.
Key to this effort is Wingspan's FAMILIES YOU KNOW campaign, a video, photography and storytelling project that empowers you to change hearts and minds through sharing your family stories. With your help, we will raise awareness, confront prejudice, and begin a conversation in the community where all families are respected, valued, and not exploited for short-term political gain.
You can learn more about FAMILIES YOU KNOW and watch the first video here.
Please send this announcement out to your distribution lists and post to your MySpace and Facebook pages. We need your help to spread the word!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
Nationwide Protest Against Prop 8 - Tucson, AZ
I wanted to let all my friends know that I will be attending the protest of CA's Proposition 8 (as well as AZ's Prop 102) in Tucson this Saturday, November 15th. The protest will begin at 11:30 local time, and it will take place at Tucson's City Hall. Anyone who wants to meet up there or ride together, let me know, but I'll go by my damn self if I need to.
We need to stand for the rights of ALL people...enough of this sexual orientationism (my new phrase). Not too long ago, it was illegal for a Black person and a White person to marry. And now we have elected our nation's first Black president, just look how far we have come. But we can't keep taking one step forward and two steps back, people. We must unite and take these steps together, or it all falls apart!
Listen, I could not care any less if you are not gay. I would never support someone trying to govern who you were allowed to "marry." If you're not gay, then just don't marry someone of the same sex, it's that simple! All these arguments about the reasons behind your positions against same-sex marriage are just fronts so that you can pass off your discriminatory beliefs on everyone around you. What happened to the separation of church and state? It's a sham, that's what happened. We must not forget that when we speak of all the lobbyists out there who must be stopped, that includes the lobbying churches across the nation continue to do in support of such shameful causes as Proposition 8. Non-profit organizations are not supposed to fund political actions.
And, to address some of the "concerns" out there regarding same-sex marriage:
No one is interested in marrying his/her goat. But if that ever became the case down the line, I'm sure PETA would be all over that with valid claims that marriage must be between two consenting people (notice that there is no mention of race or gender in that argument).
In that case, the goat, aside from the fact that it's not a person, is incapable of giving any such consent!
Also, you cannot hide your children from the reality that people all over the world are in gay relationships. It's your responsibility as a parent to answer their questions and address their concerns. Just because you might want to turn a blind eye to it does not ensure that your children will not ask you about it one day, so be prepared. So, whether or not there was any truth to the churches' claims that allowing gay marriage will lead to schools teaching our children about it as part of their education, the fact remains that they WILL learn about it one way or another.
And keep in mind that the "other" could very well be by being gay themselves, and then what are you going to do? Deny your own children the very rights you enjoy as a heterosexual?
If your claim is that Holy Matrimony cannot exist between two people who are incapable of procreation, will you also then deny the right of marriage to a heterosexual couple who learns they are infertile, or to a woman who must undergo a hysterectomy to rid herself of cancer? Of course not! Because the REAL issue is not that a gay couple cannot produce its own child, it's that their lifestyle does not fit into the picture some people paint for their world. Well, that kind of discrimination does not fit the picture I have for the world my daughters will grow up in either, but I do not dispute the fact that everyone is entitled to his own opinion, no matter how idiotic. All I ask is that this same level of tolerance be extended to all.
Please join me in showing my support of equality for ALL this Saturday, November 15th, whether you can make it to the rally in Tucson, or whether you choose to find your local protest location by visiting http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com. We CAN make a difference once more in this great country of ours! Every voice will be heard...
Thanks for listening,
C
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Our Election Night Party
We had an election night party last night to gather friends and family as we watched the election returns and projections be announced. It was so much fun! As I wrote in a previous blog, I made up some ballots for the kids to vote with. I also decorated a ballot box for them to use to sumbit their votes. Then, I made stickers that read, "I voted: Kids vote, too!" Check out the pics...
Anyone who knows me knows I never do any event half-assed, so of course I had Jell-o shots in red and blue. And for dinner we made hamburgers and hot dogs, the most American thing I can think of. I also found a way to make a red, white, and blue layered drink, which was sweet! Then, for dessert, we had little individual strawberry and blueberry shortcake with whipped cream...Mmmmm!!! Got a pic of that stuff, too...
The kids each voted, stood in line at the ballot box, submitted a vote, and got a sticker...it was so awesome that they could practice the right they'll have when they grow up! I'm so glad we did it, they were all so proud of their votes, it was cute!
Anyone who knows me knows I never do any event half-assed, so of course I had Jell-o shots in red and blue. And for dinner we made hamburgers and hot dogs, the most American thing I can think of. I also found a way to make a red, white, and blue layered drink, which was sweet! Then, for dessert, we had little individual strawberry and blueberry shortcake with whipped cream...Mmmmm!!! Got a pic of that stuff, too...
The kids each voted, stood in line at the ballot box, submitted a vote, and got a sticker...it was so awesome that they could practice the right they'll have when they grow up! I'm so glad we did it, they were all so proud of their votes, it was cute!
YES WE DID!!!
We did it...Barack Obama WILL BE our next president!!! And to make it even sweeter, the race wasn't even a close one! America spoke up, and we did so in a BIG WAY!
My unlce is a photographer for the Associated Press in D.C., and he was at Grant Park in Chicago last night to witness Obama's first speech as President-elect. My cousin, also a photographer, was there as well. If I can get additional pictures from either of them down the line, I will be sure to post them for all of you to enjoy. For now, my uncle passed the following picture along to his family, and all I can think of when I see this breathtaking image is, "The future starts now..."
My unlce is a photographer for the Associated Press in D.C., and he was at Grant Park in Chicago last night to witness Obama's first speech as President-elect. My cousin, also a photographer, was there as well. If I can get additional pictures from either of them down the line, I will be sure to post them for all of you to enjoy. For now, my uncle passed the following picture along to his family, and all I can think of when I see this breathtaking image is, "The future starts now..."
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Let Your Kids Rock the Vote, Too!
I walked in on a conversation between Leila and Lexi last week. Apparently, they had seen a commercial for Nickolodeon's Kids Pick the President and decided to discuss their own choices. I heard Leila ask, "Lexi, are you voting for John McCain or Barack Obama?" To which Lexi responded, "Barack Obama." (That's my girl!) Hehehe
Anyway, I told my mom that story, and she suggested that I make up a pretend ballot that the girls can use to submit their "votes." Then, we can save their ballots and show them to the girls when they get older so that they remember they actually "voted" for the first Black president!
I sent my creation to a few friends and relatives with kids of their own so they could have them do the same. I got such a great response, I figured I'd post it here for anyone to use. So, check it out below, use it if you so choose, and have fun involving your children in the electoral process.
I'm also going to decorate a "ballot box" for all the kids who attend our election night party to use to submit their votes. I'll post pics of that project later...
Anyway, I told my mom that story, and she suggested that I make up a pretend ballot that the girls can use to submit their "votes." Then, we can save their ballots and show them to the girls when they get older so that they remember they actually "voted" for the first Black president!
I sent my creation to a few friends and relatives with kids of their own so they could have them do the same. I got such a great response, I figured I'd post it here for anyone to use. So, check it out below, use it if you so choose, and have fun involving your children in the electoral process.
I'm also going to decorate a "ballot box" for all the kids who attend our election night party to use to submit their votes. I'll post pics of that project later...
Monday, October 20, 2008
Invisibility is my super-power!
I recevied the following message from my best friend in the whole world today. I hardly ever forward chain letters, but this one deserves to be shared with every mother, father, caretaker you know. I have to admit, I was holding it together pretty well until I got to the "summa cum laude" part, and then the tears were flowing! Enjoy...
Invisible Mother.....
It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store.
Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?" Obviously, not! No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible mom, some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?
Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, "What time is it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney Channel?" I'm a car to order, "Right around 5:30, please."
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going; she's going; she is gone! One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this." It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: "To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees."
In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it." And the workman replied, "Because God sees."
I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place.
It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become."
At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.
I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who shows up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.
When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table." That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, "You're going to love it there."
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right.
And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.
Great Job, MOM!
It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store.
Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?" Obviously, not! No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible mom, some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?
Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, "What time is it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney Channel?" I'm a car to order, "Right around 5:30, please."
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going; she's going; she is gone! One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this." It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: "To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees."
In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it." And the workman replied, "Because God sees."
I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place.
It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become."
At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.
I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who shows up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.
When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table." That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, "You're going to love it there."
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right.
And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.
Great Job, MOM!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Join me on BarackObama.com!
I just created a profile on mybarackobama.com! Up above is the link to my personal fundraising page. You'll see an image of a thermometer that will track the amount of donations I am able to generate.
If you support the belief that Barack Obama truly is the one to change the way things have been done to get us into the dire economic situation we now find ourselves in, please contribute any amount you can. Your support is very much appreciated!!
Remember, no amount is too small...
PEACE AND LOVE
If you support the belief that Barack Obama truly is the one to change the way things have been done to get us into the dire economic situation we now find ourselves in, please contribute any amount you can. Your support is very much appreciated!!
Remember, no amount is too small...
PEACE AND LOVE
Monday, October 6, 2008
RED SOX ARE HEADED TO ALCS!!!
I watched the clip of Jason Bay scoring the winning run over and over again! It was so damn exciting...I couldn't help screaming every time I re-played it!!!
When Mark Kotsay hit that line drive straight to Mark Teixeira, I was sure this was going to be a re-play of last night's 12-inning nail biter! And then...up comes Jed Lowrie with a fire in his eyes. He swings at the first pitch from Scot Shields, and sends a base hit right past second baseman Erick Aybar. The announcer screams, "Here comes Bay around third...Willits loads up...Throw to the plate...RED SOX WIN IT!!!"
Holy shit...the excitement was almost more than I could stand!!!
So, now the Sox face the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who we all remember from the infamous June 5th brawl at Fenway.
All I've got say is...I need a new cap, 'cause this is the only one I've got!
GO SOX!!!
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