San Francisco Dyke March

The ride on BART was hell on earth.  Seriously - the air conditioning was not working!  After enduring half the ride with determination to just get there, we abandoned ship and stepped onto the cool breezy platform and waited for a second train with real actual functioning air conditioning.   Whew.









Dolores Park was chock full of people, music, swag vendors and bacon-wrapped hothogs every 20 feet or so.  Not a Vegan's paradise, but the dogs were really good.

So, this Dyke March, apparently not just for dykes anymore, but oh well.  I've never been to a women's music festival, and I thought this would be akin to that.  But no, lots of dudes. One guy in a mesh bathing suit bottom -- I can never unsee that now that I have seen it.  Argh.''

Never mind, there were plenty of gorgeous woman in various states of undress, proudly showing what the Good Lord gave 'em.

I loved all the folks hanging out their windows with signs and throwing beads to us in the crowd!

I loved all the bare breasted women delighting in their nakedness...hmmm makes me wonder if an all nude Dyke March is in the future.  Not that I would join in, just sayin.....


Estimates were 200,000 attended.  Dolores Park was swamped.  A little too much for me, but I had to try it once, you know?

A good day, all in all.  And certainly my friends that went with me made it a whole lotta fun.  And for a brief moment there, I could fantasize that we did, indeed, take over the world.  Rainbow Warriors, all.

History is Made!

It's been a long road.  Nine years ago I married in San Francisco when it was briefly legal.  It was a celebration of love, friendship and community.  It was history in the making.  A couple of days later I hopped on a plane to D.C. for a work conference, and there on the television in my hotel room was a video of my wife and I getting married.  A surreal experience to see myself on television, on the opposite side of the country.

Yesterday, once again, I found myself on FOX News (if you can believe it) holding a sign saying "Marriage is for EVERYone" in front of our local community center. I was there, awaiting the news on the Supreme Court decisions on DOMA and California's Prop. 8.  Both came in on the side of liberty and justice.  You can read about DOMA here.  For Prop. 8 here in California, it means that Prop. 8 was unconstitutional and marriage licenses for same-sex couples must be issued.  The Governor can lift the current stay immediately, or wait for the Court of Appeals to lift it, which will take about 25 days.

Personally, there is a tinge of sadness in the middle of all this joy.  I am not part of a happy couple proudly proclaiming my love.  My story is that my divorce will be final next month.  I watched as couple after couple interviewed for television news, saying essentially many of the same things I said 9 years ago.  I was sending them my heartfelt good wishes and I hope their unions are long and happy ones.  Even though my divorce is imminent, I am still overjoyed that the courts decided this way.  It's not about me, it's about justice for countless U.S. citizens.

Celebrating at the Press Conference

Interviewing with Fox News

In states where same-sex marriage is legal, with the striking down of DOMA it means that married couples will now be able to file joint federal tax returns, receive over 1,000 benefits formerly offered only to heterosexual married couples. 

We've come a long way, and we still have a long way to go.  Securing the right to marry is one of many agenda items to tackle in securing a safe and steady existence for LGBTQIA (Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Questioning/Intersex/Allies).  A cautionary note from Canada reminds us to remain vigilant.  So we shall.