Outside the Box

I AM...

Southern,
big and burly,

free-thinking,
a comic book and sci-fi geek,

more cerebral than physical,
somewhat learned (but no common sense,)
obsessive and compulsive,
depressive,
righteous,
good-intentioned,
a mystery-solver,
a deep thinker,
intuitive,
a movie buff,
a sexual dynamo,
a lover of all cuisines,
eternally searching,
an aficionado of foreplay,
musically inclined --but all thumbs,
coping with arrested development,
drawn to cons and ne'er-do-wells,
rage-filled and passionate, a civil rights warrior,
an animal lover,
emotional,
an artist,
a writer,
gardener,
poet,
a son-- four times over,

100% homosexual,
a survivor,
and a man.

But...

I am not

a label.

Nor am I limited to

the ones you might apply

to me.

I am

the sum of all my parts,

and none of my parts will be

dismissed or regulated.

***

Pay It Forward

Remember our history...

remember that we keep nothing without

fighting for it.

Who will you be today?

A pass-over, lay-down, ignore-it-all...

or a Fight-Back, Stand-Up, Speak-Out sort?

The right to live freely is the most fundamental in all

the world, and we cannot believe for one single

moment that we are any less deserving than anyone else

on the planet.

This is our world, our country, our government, too.

We have a right to our lives and freedom.

But always remember that freedom isn't free;

everything carries a price tag.

What is yours?

***

June 28, 1969

The Stonewall Riots

The Day We Chose to Say "No More"

Find out about your history!

***

"Stonewall Uprising" trailer

"Stonewall" the movie (1996)

"Before Stonewall" documentary trailer

"After Stonewall"

****

Proclamation

I Stand Up for what I believe



Not because I expect others to applaud
or follow suit
or even understand.


I Stand Up so those who cannot
will know they are Not alone.


I Stand Tall for those in hiding.


I Stand Strong for those that have passed.


I Stand Vigilant so that injustice
is at least unveiled.


I Speak Up to reveal the lack of understanding.
Whatever path you are on,
you are my Brothers and Sisters...
and I Stand Proud for your right to live
Whatever you Choose.


I Speak Up so that the Silent Oppression
loses its power
and the shackles of shame and fear
will fall away.

everyone can do it

*********************************************