my llnitvrle llide for EI|uul.Ilig|rts BY MIKHAEL YOWE A 13". A ven thoughLars_~ .. Clausen’s new ‘ . book “Straight . into Gay America g V -My Unicycle Ridefmi sityjumpedvoff the page at you. The stories that people told him were sur- ' prisingly honest. Lars. had a way of using those stories. to get people to-not only open up to him withtheir own story, but to see his point, if only grudgingly. Heofien sharedthe experience of a Vermont couple. that had been together for fifty JULY 200o I out In the mnuntulns our pr1 s Home Improvement, Inc. K-1rcH1=.,Ns . BATHS . REMODELING Additions, l)isal)ilil‘y Modificalimis 302310-7579 Equal Rights” was a.. - years and married only one. ;He would ask people, hard read for me, the V 7‘_don’t they deserve to visit each other in the has ’ Today’s Technology, Yesterday’s Craftmanship content kept pulling pital or keep the B&B.that they built together aprilshomeimprovemenhcom = me back. The proseis ‘ if one of them dies?" That question gotpeople aprilshomerepair@aol.com their friends and chil- ‘ dren. ’ a little choppy, but the .thinking, and mostof them agreed that the old underlying truth was? ‘ ' ‘ . coupleshould‘ havethe right just like any married ' well worth the struggle. couple. Ifnothing else comes of their conversa- se'_'Vi”g Cmnenden County and surrouflding Ana’ /’ The book was ' A " ‘: tion;then at least get them to think for one» , T ’ ‘ T packed with useful in- V moment. Who»knows,_ maybeit opened their formation and stories to. g ' minds a little_ xi1ore.3.T ;..-j , . lighten the heart. This. The book unfolds into a spiritualjoumey for is the perfect book for C.9Il11i¢fs dad and the rest of the . ._ _ _ allies and family mem- . mainstream world propelled» forward. He A 4 ' bers. It should give them found ownisénse of being queer and under . ”‘ some hope for both _ stoodthe day-to-day struggles that happen to all ’ ‘ , the future and safety of" the fringe people. Thoughts that never occur to _ A ' if ‘=‘ ma.instrea.rn people-are implanted on Lars’ soul. _ ‘ I; a & ‘ f L ‘ With this book he has found a way to use it for _ , 5 T ‘A L Lars is on track as an the betterment.ofall.1 ' ’ ally, but I think he got _ 7 more than he bargained A for. His trip began with - the collecting of stories and seeing hgw Ameri- l E l cans really felt about . ‘H1‘adid=have3;=to.go-kbaclciand reconfirmhishet- = ; _ b H . b1!tld°n’*'».*1_\in1.< ‘ . »- ». . ;:, . I ,6 S I | . we can hold that against him. After all he is het- ' ' FUND OF VERMONT Lesbian, gay. bisexual, and transgerlder ‘ Vermonters and their allies contributing to a better world erosexual, even though he found a queer perspec- tive on thishjoumey. - ' He has privilege that we don't, and he knows it. Itis what makes the book all the better. He sees the duality of the American dream. He sees the compassionthat exists on the fringes of American society (and the lack of it in the mid- dl_e).,It coniirmedjust _how marginalized people could becoIr”ie'when.the system no longer works » for everyone. , ‘ " -’l‘l1is"b6ok’ was a coming’-out for Lars. He has opened up‘ that door of compassion within him- self and it can never be closed-. Even though his writing is rough, his storytelling conveyed the g ‘emotions and struggles that he faced on the road. _ It showed the conflict that surrounded him when he askedstrangers what they thought about equal rights for gay people. ‘ Lars is back in mainstream America, but it only serves to make him thirsty for the compas- sion and thoughtfulness that he found hving on the fringe of this great nation. We can only hope A that he can find a balance somewhere in the mid- . dle. If not he will always be welcome out here . equal rights. It ended with more than just stories, With the rest Of 11S.V . though. Lam mud himself’ a white hetemsexu 81 V VVl1en you use the F und. to support your male Lutheran pastor, living right smack dab in _ chosen arts organizations, hospitals, the middle of queer America If only for a short __ . . - - - - - time. he may came to understand what meant Q?Z§1'.“.”.’_°E.:‘.§‘;Z ;::':.::.'.::::*;::::::::;:?'* alum aSS°nS- and 0&1“ Charmi- you draw att€IltlOI'l t0 0111' COIl'1II111I11Cy S to be “queen” He learned when to keep his mouth tive town in eastern Washington. It moved me vital role in improving the world at large. Make all your charitable gifts through the Gay & Lesbian Fund of Vermont. Shut and how to gauge the Simafion for Safetyys greatly when he told me that he misses the S9~ke- He lived the fear and shared the laughter people (GLBT) that opened their hearts and ‘ with the “Outcast-5" (hm-m'm.l“5t like Jesus did'---' ‘ homes to ‘him on his journey. I told him that he Wonder if Lars has thought of that?). could always come hang out with us. ' At one point in the book, Lars equates being wwwg Z"? dfiilioffi 5”’? 833! With riding through Virginia on a road with o / , /-"3 I , . no Shoulden EVe1'.W-hillg he did depended on the f‘ Mikhael Yowe is a married trans-queer |eather- gnfa if” fidyt”{} yg attention of the driver that was passing him at seventy miles per hour. One person who wasn’t Paying attention, and he would become a statis- tic, deadunicyclist on the side of the road. Inten- man who lives in Williamstown, Vermont. He I '|‘ d ’ stantly pushing and 1 . , , lljzavrfiinscirrlihnggairlhall ll-rt: that separates us from ggfifi %§%?%%:§fi§fl§”§, each other. . \—n¢—<.—»44~—4-'é\/r\/<"¢i~’r\f-’r‘r\4r\-<éVé—J—~*>4 ~...-....--We..-M/e,...c.......~eM_~e._. .w.........c....M....e.,w.*