20 ' OlTT'l june 2001

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a lull scrvite solon
l508 Church St ~ 802.864.2088

Pie-in-the-Sky Farm Bed & Breakfast
Dwinell Road
Marshfield, VT 05658
(802) 426-3777
fax: 1-802-426-4090
welcome ieins .com
www. ieins .com

 

Come celebrate your Civil Union or other special event with us at Pie-in-
the-Sky — a quiet country retreat outside of Montpelier, Vermont. Suite or
room available by reservation for the day, week, or weekend.

 

  
     

 

, Praise.for;J.eff.Walt's chapbook-,
j  ‘What I Didn't Know
: ‘Here is a voice capable of
rendering shame and joy, of
representing sexualitywithout .., _
being simplistic of idealiztng.- ‘W 4 
The world revealed in these ' '7’-r ’ ’
7 poems is one of blessings and I W A ' ' Mm W W N I " M
trouble, of tender gestures flanked by violence, of the
‘?".graceful and disfiguring imprints left upon ‘us'by all the ways

we're loved." J: Mark Doty W“ 3‘: ‘ fig

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1-800-247-6553

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At least, that’s how the song
goes. Sorry though, freedom is
not just another word. It is the
right in our constitution that
allows us our own opinion.
That said, at about 7:45 pm on
May 19, my partner and I were
verbally harassed by some
young men. It’s their right to an
opinion, but not to threatening
us with their car. That is illegal
in the state of New Hampshire.
The New Ipswich P.D. are
investigating.

As I made the turn onto
Turnpike Rd., my eyes caught
a flag moving in thewind as
two young men struggled to
attach the pole to the mail box.
In my review mirror, I recog-
nized the symbol. It is not one
we see often here; a
Confederate flag was waving
in the spring breeze.

I hurried to the post office
and drove‘ to the driveway
where the two young men were
working. I wanted to know:
why this flag? Introductions
werermade, hands were shaken
and I asked. Innocently
enough, they said they only put
it up to see what the reactions
would be and added that a few
cars had beeped in the affirma-
tive. Seems the family was
originally from the south, and
their dad had never allowed it
to be put up, because he felt it
would be poorly received.
Well, dad promptly took it
down when he got home, end-
ing the social experiment.

This little gesture had been
noticed by many and had
caused considerable conversa-
tion around town. As I stood
the New Ipswich
Market with some friends, it
was pointed out that I have
three flags on my house. I
reminded everyone of the store
in J affrey back in 1989 that had
Nazi memorabilia in the win-
dow. As we spoke, four Harley
full dressers pulled up. All the
riders had official Harley
leather accouterments all over
them and the bikes. Every sin-
gle car and truck parked had
something identifying on them.
My personal favorite is the I’m
a FAG stickers that say: Fans
Against Gordon. I laugh out
loud every time I see those.
Pray tell, what were “they”
thinking? '

So what is the validity of all
these symbols and why do we
insist on them? Because this is

the United States of America-

and we can. We fly flags, wear
outlandish clothes, and put any
message we want on our vehi-
cles. We can disagree with
each other and our government

By Pat Robinson

 

Freedom’s Just Another Word

out loud. I am very certain that
each of us sees the validity of a
chosen statement.

I have a horse flag, a rain-
bow flag, and a United States
of America flag and each one
means a great deal to me; all
for very different reasons. The
horse flag was a gift from my
former mother-in-law, Mrs.
Robinson. Thanks, Eleanor, for
always remembering me. The
rainbow flag is up so all people
caught in a sexual identity
struggle know there is a safe
haven here.

The Rhode Island Medical
Society has adopted a resolu-
tion that the policy of exclu-
sion by the Boy Scouts of
America contributes to higher
numbers of suicide in homo-
sexual youth. Maybe the Boy
Scouts should consider a name
change to the Boy Scouts of
Some Americans. I hope no
young person ever considers
suicide as an option over being
gay in my community again.
The flag that rests in its holder
on the highest point is the Stars
and Stripes. I am sure my dad
(deceased USAF) is as proud
me as he was of this country
and the flag.

Oh the squabbles we have
had over flags in this country.
Pres. Bush the first dealt with
super patriots that wanted to
make defacing or defaming our
flag a crime. WE, the citizens,
have the right to do just those
things, if we choose. Some of
our southern states have made
or considered changes in flags
due to the reminder of slavery
that the Confederate one lends
itself to. Nothing will change
the history behind the flag, but
the future can be changed.

Ours is not a perfect coun-
try, we know well what needs
to be made better, if not per-
fect. But, let’s look at some
other places; like Egypt. Sixty
people were caught and arrest-
ed for being at a gay wedding.
Five of the detainees were
released because they came
from other countries, but the
remaining fifty-five were ques-
tioned and could each face five
years in jail for attending. And
in Scotland, the former primus
of the Scottish Episcopal
Church, Richard Holloway, has
got himself in a pile of poop.
He chose gay rights activist
Peter Tachell as a “Christ fig-
ure” and is getting trounced for
his opinion. Patriarch Teoctist
of Romania slammed homo-
sexuality from the pulpit dur-
ing an Easter Sunday Mass. I
wonder what the bunny left in
his basket on that Easter.
Guards surrounded the newly
appointed Catholic Archbishop
George Pell as about 40 gay

protesters were prevented from
entering St. Patrick’s Cathedral
on Easter Sunday. Seems,
Archbishop Pell refuses to give
holy communion to gays. I bet
Jesus and Mary Magdalene are
shaking their heads in disgust.

In Namibia, President Sam
Nujoma, horrified at reports of
the Amsterdam gay weddings,
said homosexuality should be
kept firmly in Europe.
Furthermore, gays trying to
enter Namibia through the
country’s international airport
at Windhoek will be deported.
For starters, how will the
authorities know who is gay?
And maybe the country should
openly inform gays that their
vacation money is not wel-
come in Namibia.

So let’s look at some posi-
tives that are happening right
here. In Manchester, N.H. a
gay prom was held at a local
hotel for high school students
from Maine, N.H., and Mass. A
DJ provided the music for an
enthusiastic audience of same-
sex couples dancing under
rainbow decorations and with
adult chaperones present. My
friend Lee, a park ranger at Mt.
Monadnock,
daughter attended her prom
with her then girl—friend. No
one cared, no one bothered
them, and they enjoyed the
dance just likeall the other
attendees did. In Ferndale,
Washington,’ the students
attending their prom elected
lesbian senior Krystal Bennett
as Prom King. After posing for
photos with the also female
Prom Queen, Miss Bennett
danced for the rest of the
evening with her girlfriend.

Hip hip hooray! Equality
does work and leave it to
young people to show us just
how to do it.

Texas has given a lot to the
country. The most executions,
the Presidents Bush; and final-
ly the Texas Senate passed the
James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes
Bill. I wonder how the ten sen-
ators that voted against sleep
nights.

Mr. Lincoln must be a tad
amazed that his state, Illinois,
has chosen to guard unconven-
tional lifestyles; specifically
motorcyclists. Huh? It passed
unanimously.

No, we the United States of
America still have a long way
to go, but these little victories
are the real symbols of free-
dom. Those that hold us back
cannot begin to imagine what
suffering we still have in this
country. It’s hard to see when
you wear blinders 24/7.

told me her

’«