They were told that their presence would be a waste of time. Even Barney Frank, an openly gay Congressman, and perhaps the biggest ally the LGBT community have in Washington, told them to stay home. He said their energy would be better spent lobbying their elected officials rather than standing in Washington D.C.
They came anyway. By the tens, and hundreds of thousands.
Now, especially now, the message needed to be sent to the rest of America: "We're here. We're queer. Get used to it." The religious and conservative right have been treating the LGBT community like a disease in recent years, with bigotry and hatred and fear not seen since the initial outbreak of the AIDS virus. Pushing lies in the media, making them out to be adulterers, pedophiles, and much worse.
A picture is worth a thousand words. A video is worth so much more. When the videos from today's events start pouring in on the various news organizations, on Youtube, and in emails, I really hope something amazing happens. I hope people see the old men and women holding hands. The couples that have been together since the 40s but have just now been in an environment where they could make their relationship public. I hope they see the children...the families...how many HAPPY, NORMAL families are parented by same sex mommies and daddies. And, I hope they see the love. This isn't about pleasure. It's about love. For god's sake, they just want to love each other and be able to express it in the same way you and I do. What's the big deal.
Frankly (no pun intended), I disagree with Mr. Frank. Although today's march may not directly make a change in Washington, it will call attention to an issue. Martin Luther King Jr. had people gather at that very same location almost 45 years ago, for the very same reason, equal rights. He knew that standing there that day wouldn't change a thing, but the world would take notice. And they did. So, again today, the world will take notice. And, if history repeats itself, like it so often does, change will be made.
Somewhere in the last 6-9 months, something has happened to my brain. When I write something down or type something out, I am able to articulate my thoughts without having a second thought. But when I am speaking, there is something missing when it comes to the wiring between my brain and my mouth.
I have started stuttering. Stuttering badly. To the point where I have to stop what I'm saying, close my eyes, take a number of deep breaths, and start over again. I have never stuttered in my life. I also have a problem associating the correct word with an object or thing...example:
I have been using the words "Green Day", instead of "Craigslist". Last night I was trying to say "Crock Pot", and I was saying "Velveeta" and "Cube Steak". Today I was trying to say "Lantern" and was saying "Canteen". This happens over a dozen times a day. Luckily, my wife knows me well enough to have an idea of what I am talking about most of the time. And, she's so nice, she'll answer my question, or continue the conversation as if nothing happened. Unfortunately, in the "outside world", I don't think I could be so lucky.
I can imagine it now. "Ma'am, I'm looking at your squirrel monkey (billing statement) and I see that your bill is overweight (past due) 127 doll parts (dollars)". Wouldn't exactly be able to hold down a job. And that's why I am here. My psych says it could be the PTSD or symptoms of the Tourette's. My neurologist says it could be my Tourette's meds telling me that I am not taking enough meds, or that my body isn't used to the medication yet, or that I am dehydrated. And my therapist says it could be all of the above. So who the hell knows. All I know is that it's frustrating as all hell. I feel like an idiot. I can't even get a simple sentence out most days.
I was a customer service representative or a tech support rep over the phone for 17 years, and I was damn good. I could solve any problem or fix any product, and now I feel like I'm starting over. And I have no idea what the hell I can do. It just amazes me how the brain works. How trauma can rewire it. It can be a very complex, yet a very simple organ. It doesn't take much to shake it up and switch things around. Wonder how long it will take to wire it back to the way it was before.
As someone who grew up as one of Jehovah's Witnesses, I grew up in a very isolated and controlled environment when it came to music. Many songs, artists, and even entire genres were banned from the house without reason. My musical education did not come until long into my early twenties.
As a teen, I became a member of the Columbia House/"12 for a penny" record clubs. If I was expecting a shipment, let's just say hopefully I would make it home before the package did. If the artist was anything other than Michael Bolton or Kenny G, it was immediately considered contraband. Strange sounding band names (Toad the Wet Sprocket, Depeche Mode), immediately confiscated, lyrics reviewed for content, and shredded if there was so much as one word my mother disapproved of. Gay artist? (Elton John, Pet Shop Boys, Erasure, George Michael), immediately destroyed. My mom believed that their "gay influence" could turn me gay, which I thought was funny. Especially in the case of Elton John. Bernie Taupin, a straight man, wrote all of his lyrics. Elton only wrote the music. So, with that logic, the right set of chords should have me sucking dicks I guess. Hip Hop, Rap, most R&B, most Rock (especially Hard Rock), and Punk...without question Punk, were banned like pornography from my house growing up.....not because the content....but because "they sounded" like they were no good for me.
During my senior year of high school, a kid in one of my business classes regularly wore a Bad Religion t-shirt. It was just the one with their standard, slash across the Christian cross logo. I had no idea who Bad Religion was. I thought he was an atheist. It wasn't until the next summer that I got my first taste of that band.
By the summer of 1994, the world had fallen in love with Green Day. And, although they, along with MTV, was banned from the house, I had heard them enough on radio to get an idea of what the 1994 version of "punk" was. It was fast. It was catchy. But it didn't have anything meaningful behind it. It was about smoking pot and masturbation. Then, the same summer, Bad Religion released '21st Century Digital Boy'. It was the most intelligent song I had heard in my life up until that point. And with my very short exposure with the punk genre, I realized, this was true punk. Green Day was "pop-punk".
This song opened my sheltered eyes. 1996 comes along. By this time, I am no longer living with the book burners, and I happen across another Bad Religion song: 'Come Join Us'. The band claims it's about anti-conformity, but even around Witness circles, it's believed to be an anti-Jehovah's Witness song. Rumor is that the lead singer was raised as a JW as a child and wrote the song based upon his experiences. I have heard him in interviews discussing the song. He will not say it outright, but he definitely does not paint the Witnesses in a very good light based upon his experiences. The song moves pretty fast, and it is quite witty, so I am also posting lyrics:
so you say you gotta know why the world goes 'round and you can't find the truth in the things you've found and you're scared shitless 'cause evil abounds come join us
well I heard you were looking for a place to fit in full of adherent people with the same objective a family to cling to and call brethren come and join us
all we want to do is change your mind all you need to do is close your eyes
come join us come join us come join us
don't you see all the trouble that most people are in and that they just want you for their own advantage but I swear to you we're different from all of them come join us I can tell you are lookin' for a way to live where truth is determined by consensus full of codified arbitrary directives come join us
all we want to have is your small mind turn it into one of our kind you can go through life adrift and alone desperate, desolate, on your own but we're lookin' for a few more stalwart clones
come join us come join us come join us
we've got spite and dedication as a vehement brew the world hates us, well we hate them too but you're exempted of course if you come join us
independent, self-contented, revolutionary intellectual, brave, strong and scholarly if you're not one of them, you're us already so
come join us come join us come join us come join us come join us
Again, when I first heard it, it amazed me the vocabulary that came through in the song. Sadly, I had to look up some of the words, with my public school education. I later found out that, Greg Graffin, Bad Religion's lead singer, has a masters in geology and a Ph.D. in zoology from Cornell University. When he isn't recording or touring with the band, he is lecturing and teaching life sciences and paleontology at UCLA. We're not talking about you're average musicians.
Until Bad Religion, I had no idea who the Ramones were, or the Sex Pistols, or Elvis Costello, Social Distortion or Iggy Pop. I didn't know any of the newer bands like NOFX, Pennywise, Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphys. Hell, all my dad listened to was country, and I wasn't as familiar with Johnny Cash like I am now.
I'm not saying I'm a punk now by any means. I'm a poser most days. I still listen to the 'Garden State' Soundtrack and wear my Beatles t-shirt. But punk music opened my eyes. It got me thinking. If it wasn't for those right songs at the right time in my life, I probably wouldn't have gauged my ears, or have gotten my lip pierced. I wouldn't have had the courage to say "Fuck it", and give myself a cobalt blue mohawk at the age of 32. Punk gave me the courage to piss people off, to live life on my terms, to be the person I wanted to be. So I may not be 100% punk, but I have just enough in me to get by.
Had John Lennon still been alive, he would have turned 69 today. On the day when the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize is announced, I think it is a great time to take a moment to think about what another man could have accomplished had his life not been cut short.
To steal a line from Elvis Costello, all Lennon ever preached was "Peace, Love and Understanding".
I grew up listening to the Beatles. My parents weren't "die hard fans", but "admirers and listeners". My mother saw them perform on Ed Sullivan. She had a couple of their 45s and the 'Rubber Soul' LP, which she later passed on to me. By the time I came along, my mom had moved on to Motown, and my dad to country music. Most of what I knew of the Beatles I discovered myself in my early teens.
I had picked up their greatest hits CDs; the red and blue albums. I realized very quickly that I was a fan of the blue album and not the red. It was very easy to tell when they were starting to find themselves; as men, as musicians, spiritually and psychedelically. It was also very easy to tell which songs were written by Paul and which ones were written by John. Paul was simple....'Blackbird', 'Yesterday', 'Hey Jude'. John was fuckin' out there.....'I Am The Walrus', 'Strawberry Fields Forever', 'A Day In The Life'. It took 10 seconds of a song to tell if Paul wrote it or John wrote it.
By the time I met my wife, I was such a Beatles fan, simply because of John Lennon, their music made up a large part of what I had listened to. Luckily for me, I met someone that loved his music just as much as I did. We enjoyed his music so much that we decided that, when the time came for us to get married, we would walk down the aisle to Lennon's songs.
And when it came to love, John could blow the doors off of a love song. During his solo career, he wrote and recorded a demo song for his wife, Yoko, called 'Real Love'. The demo was eventually released, but didn't get any airplay. It was actually featured in the movie 'Funny People', with Adam Sandler singing it, and it sounded quite nice.
Two years ago, a benefit CD was released called 'Instant Karma'. It was a CD of all John Lennon covers by various artists to help relief efforts in Darfur. On that CD, Regina Spektor, covered the song Real Love. You would think John personally wrote the song for her 35 years ago to sing it. Take a listen:
We were driving in our car the first time we heard it. We had to pull over because were crying so hard. We couldn't stop smiling and kissing each other. We knew it was the song that Jessi was meant to walk down the aisle to.
But what for after the kissing of the bride? We both felt that John had written, in our opinion, what I think is probably the most over the top, celebratory, philosophical songs of all time with the most simple message of any song in the 20th century: 'All You Need Is Love'. With the horns coming in at the beginning of the song, announcing to the world for the first time in history "Mr. and Mrs. Adam Hall". We felt it was the perfect match. I love this video. It amazes me that this song...the horns...the strings...the band...the extras...all were on one take, one track. Music isn't recorded like that anymore. It never will be again.
It was the perfect wedding plan. Immediately following the ceremony, we were going to see Cirque du Soleil's Beatle's 'Love'. One hell of a night planned. Then, we found out a little one was on the way. Jessi would have been 7 months pregnant at the time of the wedding. Early March, low 90s, Las Vegas...not a good idea. Within two weeks of finding out about the baby, we had already decided on a name: Lennon. It would been Lennon Ruth for a girl, or Lennon Matthew for a boy. Not because of his music, but what he stood for.
He was the embodiment of peace. 'Give peace a chance'. 'All you need is love'. He even released a Christmas song that was more about ending the Vietnam War than it was about Christmas. He used his celebrity to get media attention. He used his talent to get people thinking.
The day I realized what we were going to name our child I got a tattoo. It is a replica of the Lennon memorial in Central Park in New York City.
So John, not only today, October 9th, but because of my beautiful daughter, I think of you and thank you for showing me that I'm a "dreamer" too.
It's 8:30 in the morning. I've been up for two hours. I am bored out of my mind and can't go back to sleep. What does that have to do with the grand scheme of the universe? Not a damn thing. Therapy isn't until tomorrow and I just thought I would take the opportunity to bitch about it. That's all.
Things have been very tense lately for Jessi and I. There have been many days that my PTSD has gotten so bad that I'm unable to take care of myself. I can't go into the kitchen to feed myself unless I have things planned out far in advance, (what I want to eat, how I'm going to make it, etc.) If I am not up to the minute on my medication, something so much as hearing a spoon hit a plate in the sink can make me go into a major freak out. I start screaming, stuttering, and ticking for the next 10 minutes.
I tick at the grocery store. I tick at Walmart. My daughter screamed a couple of days ago at the store and I screamed and crouched and held onto the store shelf. I tick violently at restaurants. Needless to say, this has taken a huge toll on the two of us, both mentally and emotionally.
With the exception of seven days, I have been on short term disability since February 14th. It started out as stomach problems initially. I was losing control of my bowels at work....shitting myself in the parking lot on my way in for the day. After a colonoscopy and an endoscope, my gastro doctor found nothing wrong. He thought it may be an allergy, but couldn't tell me what I was allergic to. Later, we realized it was the first signs of PTSD showing themselves. I came back the last week or so in March, and was having panic attacks so bad that I was hiding in the bathroom for an hour at a time, and then going home sick.
I went out again on short term on April 7th. Since then, I was diagnosed with Tourette's on June 25th, and PTSD on July 30th. I have been on 60% pay because of the disability status since April, so needless to say, things have been tight. We've really had to cut corners and decide on what is important. Needs vs. wants type of situations.
That coupled with the fact that I feel like I'm losing my ability to take care of myself, take care of my family, and take care of my daughter, have made the last few weeks very hard. There are times I can tell that my wife is past her breaking point. She's the anchor in the house, the foundation. Without her, I don't know how we would have made it this far.
The next couple of weeks will be tough. My short term runs out in a week. MetLife decides whether I qualify for long term disability or not. Whether I am approved or not, I am no longer an employee of the company I've worked for since 02/17/2006. It's a very scary time. I would have never believed you if you would have said five years ago that I would have been in this position today. It is unreal. Other people have given up under more forgiving circumstances. I've said this before. We can't give up. We can't give up. We cannot give up.
Unrequited love hurts. What's worse is when that person doesn't even realize you exist. Remember Anne Dellisanti? There is another song in my life's movie soundtrack that would have to be related to her.
A Perfect Circle released the song '3 Libras' in February of 2001, almost 9 full years after the release of Radiohead's 'Creep'. I was living in Denver at the time, and, when I first heard the song, I instantly thought of Annie.
With lines like "I threw you the obvious", and "You don't see me", repeating over and over, it's clear that that song is about the ultimate form of rejection: being ignored. That was my situation. From the time that I was 8, until the time I met my wife, I tried and tried, maybe an hundred times, unsuccessfully.
Honestly, I'm glad things happened the way they did. I love my wife. She's beautiful. Even more so than Anne Dellisanti. She's amazing, and more supportive than I ever could have imagined. I am so much in love. More than I ever thought I ever could have been.
And we make some pretty awesome kids:
My wife can't blame me. She has a bit of a girl crush on Annie sometimes too. We're still friends. She came for my daughter's first birthday party. But to chase a girl for 20 years hoping she'll suddenly see the light and fall in love with you...that doesn't even happen in movies. What I have is a fairy tale ending...a dream come true...what you wish for and pray for every night before you go to bed. All those years, I thought I was wishing for Anne Dellisanti, but it was Jessica Jean Hermes all along. Who would have known?
We all have those songs that define certain parts of our lives, whether it be high school, a relationship, parenthood, or your mental state for an extended period of time. When thinking of what music defined me, the first song that comes to mind is 'Creep' by Radiohead.
It was released as a single in September of 1992; just as I would be starting my senior year of high school. I had been going to another high school for three years with my name on a waiting list to transfer to Trevor Browne. They had a business/entrepreneurship program that I was interested in (my mom was interested in) and I finally got permission to transfer over.
At my old high school I was alone. I had no friends. I knew no one. At Trevor, there were quite a few students in my classes that were in my local congregation, but I was alone.
You have to realize, I was also the size of a professional football player. I had always been head, shoulders, and nipples taller than everyone else in my class. I started first grade at 5'1" and 140 lbs. I was the circus freak from day one. Add to that the social isolation of being a Witness. "I'm a creep. I'm a weirdo". After years of being bullied and feeling like I didn't have a friend in the world, it seemed like Creep articulated how I had been feeling inside most of my life.
Then there was Anne Dellisanti. I became acquainted with her brothers shortly after moving to Phoenix. I was 8. She was 11. I fell in love with her the day that I had met her. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Still is, next to my wife. 'Creep' was a lot about her. 9 years later..still had a crush on her. The way I think she saw me. The way I think she always saw me. As the "fat kid that hung out with her brothers". There's a segment in the song that says, "I want a perfect body. I want a perfect soul. I want you to notice, when I'm not around. You're so very special. I wish I was special". In the album version, the word "very" is replaced with "fucking", which I thought makes it a very angry and bitter sounding song instead of the self pity that you hear in the radio version....anyway...moving on...Every time I hear that song, I think of high school. I think of the bullying. I think of how there were days that I thought it was never going to stop; that I was always going to be "weird".
As I got older, I realized all of the "normal" people were boring. Having a little bit of "weird" in you is not so bad. The following video is a cover of 'Creep' from a taping of 'MTV Unplugged' by Korn. Usually I would post the original video, but their performance was so dead on, you can tell that this song meant as much to them as it did to me.
Over the last three to four months, my wife and I have developed a morning and nighttime ritual. It never changes. I wake our daughter up in the morning, say our "good mornings", talk about our dreams, change her, and get her dressed for the day. This gives my wife and extra 15-20 minutes of sleep each day.
At night, I make the baby her bottle, mom changes her into her pajamas, and reads her her bedtime stories before putting her to bed. A couple of nights ago, we were able to switch roles.
I have been seeing the trailer for the 'Where The Wild Things Are' motion picture for the last two weeks, and it looks amazing. I REALLY WANT TO SEE THIS MOVIE. Funny thing is, I have never read the book. I was never allowed to. Don't ask me why. I don't know. Maybe it was the "monsters". I honestly don't know.
Jehovah's Witness parents are like paranoid schizophrenic Amish. They will deny the simplest things to their children for the most ridiculous reasons. The following are a small list of things that were banned from my house:
Smurfs - magic (and the cat's name was also the name of a demon) Rainbow Brite - magic G.I. Joe - Armed Forces Water Guns - looked like guns 'Star Wars' - mom thought "the Force" was a religion He Man - no fucking clue, magic I think 'Wizard of Oz', 'Sleeping Beauty', 'Snow White', 'Sword and the Stone' - all because of magic
Hell, I had a close friend that wasn't allowed to watch 'Beauty and the Beast' because her mother felt it promoted bestiality.
By the time I became an adult, I still wanted to read 'Where The Wild Things Are', but I felt weird ravaging through the children's section at the local library in order to read it. When I started seeing the previews for the movie, I became determined. Both myself, and my daughter, would get to know this book. So, I went to the library and picked up a copy.
When I read it to my daughter at bedtime, she loved it. So did I. I really do not know what my mom was so afraid of. It just proved that all of her decisions that she made were done blindly.
It was such a pleasant book. A little boy is in his wolf suit and is causing trouble at home. He's sent to his room without dinner. He travels to an imaginary place where he becomes "King of the Wild Things". He becomes homesick after smelling dinner and travels back to his room. HOW ON EARTH IS THAT HARMFUL ON AN IMPRESSIONABLE YOUTH? My daughter loved it. She kept pointing to all the pictures. After reading the book, she climbed on top of me and fell asleep on my shoulder. I love being an open minded dad.
P.T. Barnum would be proud. Hell, he could have learned a thing or two in today's society. With the world's ability to deliver instant gratification, and to use the latest technology to beam what would have been tomorrow's story to the masses five seconds ago, he would have become far richer as a tabloid owner than a circus man. Take for example Jon and Kate:
It was announced early last week that TLC was changing the name of their show 'Jon and Kate Plus Eight' to 'Kate Plus Eight', primarily to reflect the way that Jon has not been present this season of the show. Since then, Jon has gone apeshit. He has gone on 'Larry King', saying that the show, now in it's 5th season, is harmful and exploitative to the children. He has posted a no trespassing and no filming notice to the TLC crew on the gates of the family property. And, just in the last 24-48 hours, he has withdrawn (or transferred out) roughly $235,000 of the family's expense account, leaving Kate with roughly $1000 to pay bills, get groceries, etc.
What bothers me about this situation is that, as a country, WE TRULY CARE. Instead of just a passing, "Wow, that's a shame", we're buying the nine different magazines at the checkout counter, each with a different perspective of what is going on. When I turned on my computer this morning, the whole "Jon and Kate" thing was the main story on Yahoo. We have a 9.8% unemployment rate in the country. 14.9 million Americans can't find a job. That is the worst it has been since 1980. But Jon and Kate is somehow more important? Why?
Jon was on 'Larry King' last Thursday. Kate was on the 'Today Show' today. They get paid every time they make an appearance on one of those talk shows. They get paid every time they "tell their side of the story" in 'People' magazine or 'Star' magazine. They both talk about how much they love their children. But if they're bouncing around the country going on any TV show that will book them to bitch and whine about which parent is worse, who is with the children? It's like having Mick Jagger or Rod Stewart as a mom or a dad. And now there is a rumor that Kate is shopping around for her own daily talk show? REALLY?!?!?
My point is, there are tens of thousands of asshole dads out there that pull dick moves like this all the time. Is it right? Absolutely, 100% not. Jon and Kate Gosselin are not celebrities. You are not a celebrity because you are the mother or the father of eight children. They fucked up. They both did. They both made some very bad decisions. I'm sure at the beginning, they were level headed and thought they had things figured out. But when the world gives them that celebrity status for doing nothing....like the "Octomom", or Paris Hilton, or a Kardashian, it changes a person.
You go from "Jon and Kate Plus Eight" to "Douchebag Attention Whore and Whiny Drama Queen Attention Whore Plus Eight Confused Innocent Children Who Miss Their Mommy and Daddy". STOP.....JUST MAKE IT STOP.......
I was on Google on Friday, October 2nd. It would have been the 140th birthday of Mohandas Gandhi. Instead of their normal graphic, they had the following pic:
I thought it was a very artistic and touching tribute for a man whose influence we need to see more of in the world today. A number of my favorite quotes came from Gandhi: "Be the change you want to see in the world". "Whenever you are confronted with an opponent, conquer him with love". And possibly my favorite, "An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind". Now more than ever we need to remember this man. We need to remember what he stood for, what he lived for, and what he ultimately died for.
Gandhi also said, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” I don't think I could have said it any better myself. Well....lol...I could go on for another hour with a list of examples but I'll let that one speak for itself.
When you leave your house tomorrow, be that change you want to see in the world. Don't expect someone else to do it for you. Your government can't do it. Your significant other can't change the world for you. Money can't change it. It's up to you, my friend. Get your ass in gear and do something about it.
I'm mental....better late than never. By the time I get to type out my thoughts, the shit I'm talking about happened three days ago. Thanks for understanding.
Earlier this week, the Palms Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, announced a permanent replacement to fill the vacancy left in the wake of DJ AM's untimely death. The new resident DJ is Z-Trip. He should be in the middle of his first set as I am typing this message.
Z-Trip started his DJ career locally in the Phoenix area as part of the Bombshelter DJ crew, with DJs Radar and Emile in the mid 90s. He got his first taste of national exposure when his remix of Rush's 'Tom Sawyer' was featured on the 'Small Soldiers' soundtrack.
As years went by, he honed his skills, and became one of the founders of a new style of music now known as "mash up". He became more and more impressive. Seeing him live was like watching an artist create their masterpiece. The dance floor would usually be packed, but, more often than not, the majority of the people on it would not be dancing. We would all be standing, facing the stage, and shaking our heads in disbelief.
Earlier this year, Z-Trip was named the best turntablist in the world. I have been to countless nightclubs, afterhours and raves in the last fifteen years. I have seen roughly ten Z-Trip shows; my last one was at Coachella in 2005. I can say that I'm not surprised.
Live Nation issued a press release this afternoon announcing that the upcoming Kanye West tour has been canceled. AWWWWWWWW. Oh wait. I really meant to say HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA.
Live Nation and Interscope Records only announced the tour 13 days ago. Tickets for the first stop of the tour, which happened to be here in Phoenix, only went on sale this past Saturday.
The funny thing about it is, the press release announcing the tour on September 18th, was almost two pages in length. Today's press release was two sentences in length. It simply said the tour was canceled and that ticket refunds can be made at the place of purchase. No explanation has been given for the cancellation for the entire tour. Most people believe it is likely due to fallout from the VMA incident and that ticket demand has likely declined.
"Kanye, Imma let you finish crying in your Wheaties in a minute but first I gotta say that this is like the best news EVER!"
38, queer, poly, happily married punk and stay at home dad to my five-year-old, Elle. In June of 2009, I was diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome, and PTSD a month later. I have been on disability since. In recent months, I have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia,Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Sjogren's Syndrome, a Chiari malformation, small fiber neuropathy, Type 1 Diabetes, and have a massive benign cyst in my brain. And, to top it all off, I was diagnosed with lupus in March of 2014.
I haven't been writing as often as I would like to lately. Trying to catch up on some lost time. Please forgive me.
I'm an anarchist and an atheist. My political views are too far left to even be considered Democrat. I believe that marriage and health care are fundamental human rights. And don't get me started on people calling themselves "pro-life", and denying education and food stamps to children.
