Have Message, Will Be at Capitol!

Well, that didn’t take as long as I thought!

Indeed, I managed to get my hands on the placard I was looking for within a few minutes.

It was where I thought it would be: with a whole bunch of others, gathering dust under the bed in the spare room.



I went looking for this particular sign (one that was originally created for this event) as I thought its message would be a good one to take to the Minnesota State Capitol tomorrow afternoon. You see, a rather significant event is taking place there: the first ever scheduled hearing by the Minnesota House on legislation to extend marriage equality to gay and lesbian Minnesotans!

Andy Birkey does his usual excellent job in explaining the particulars of this hearing in the February 18 article from TheColu.mn reprinted below. But before we get to that, let me explain why I feel compelled to carry the above sign at the State Capitol tomorrow.

As I’m sure you’re aware, the clerical leadership of the Roman Catholic Church expends a lot of money and energy discrediting and undermining efforts taking place in the civil arena to give gay and lesbian couples civil marry rights.

Yet it’s important to remember what theologian Mary Hunt says:

. . . [A]n increasing number of Catholics completely reject [the clerical leadership’s] view [on homosexuality] and support same-sex couples and families. It is important to underscore that what is touted as “the” Catholic position by the hierarchy is but one among differing Catholic theologies of sexuality. Note to lawmakers: The hierarchy does not speak for the members on this and each member is a voter.

I can’t think of a better way to let the lawmakers at the State Capitol know that the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church does not speak for me on this issue than to be present tomorrow with my sign - one that clearly conveys to them and others the message that “I'm a Catholic who supports equal civil marriage rights for all!”

Why don’t you join me if you can! Andy’s article below has the details of where and when.

________________________________

“Historic” Hearing on Same-Sex Marriage in Minnesota

By Andy Birkey

TheColu.mn
February 18, 2010

The House Civil Justice Committee will be the first in Minnesota’s history to conduct a hearing on the possibility of legalizing same-sex marriage in the state. Three bills will be up for discussion on Monday, and all three are supportive of expanded relationship rights for Minnesota’s same-sex couples.

The Marriage and Family Protection Act would make marriages in Minnesota gender neutral, a civil unions bill is also being proposed and another bill would recognize same-sex marriage performed in states where it is legal, such as neighboring Iowa.

“The hearing will be historic because it is the first time a committee in our state Legislature will be looking at what enacting marriage equality means for Minnesota,” said OutFront Minnesota, the state’s largest LGBT equality group.

The hearing will be held at 4:30pm on Monday, February 22 in State Office Building Room 10.

Outfront says, “supporters of marriage equality will speak about what it would be like if our state no longer explicitly barred same-sex couples from legal protections, Legislators will hear from experts and their constituents that discrimination against people because of who they love or who they are is wrong.”

But not everyone in in the LGBT community pleased about the hearing. Citizen activist Doug Benson who secured legislative support for the Marriage and Family Protection Act called it a “show hearing” because there will be no vote taken on the bills so they won’t advance out of committee.

“There won’t be a vote on our bill because one of the bill’s likely yes votes left the committee for reasons I am not aware of,” he said. “It’s basically a show hearing to shut us up.”


See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
A Catholic Voice for Marriage Equality at the State Capitol
Sen. John Marty on Marriage Equality in MN: “We Can Make It Happen”
America’s New Civil Rights Battle
Steve Chapman: “Time is On the Side of Gay Marriage”
Dr. Erik Steele and the “Naked Truth on Same-Sex Marriage”
The Same People
An Ironic Truth
A Christian Case for Same-Sex Marriage

Mary Hunt on the "Child Neglect" of the Washington, DC Archdiocese

In the following commentary, first published at ReligiousDispatches.org, theologian Mary Hunt shares her perspective on the recent decision by the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., to suspend its foster-care program in response to marriage equality legislation in the civil arena.

______________________

Catholic Child Neglect

By Mary E. Hunt

ReligiousDispatches.org
February 19, 2010

As DC law changes to require equality for same sex couples seeking to adopt, the Catholic Church (which has been in the adoption business for generations) opts to close up shop rather than to abide by the law and treat gay and lesbian families equally.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington DC recently stopped handling foster care and adoption in the District of Columbia because it refuses to abide by the law which, when same-sex marriage is implemented, will require it to consider same-sex couples as potential parents. The seven staff members, 43 children and their families, and the 35 foster families involved were transferred to the National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) for future administration. This is not a routine matter.

Given its theo-politics and the general track record of the Roman Catholic Church worldwide on child abuse, maybe it is better that way. I wouldn’t want any child exposed to such bigotry especially when it’s couched in religious language. Nonetheless, I want to clarify from a theological perspective what is at hand and condemn from a moral standpoint the Archdiocese’s actions.

Same-sex marriage is here to stay, whether the Catholic Church likes it or not. No state will force the Church to perform or recognize such ceremonies. But any agency that receives money from the government must conform to certain rules based on the common good. That is how a democracy works.

Catholic Charities is not above the law. When same-sex couples present themselves for parenthood with all the requirements met, there is no justification for refusing them unless, as some Catholic authorities reason, they are not fit parents because of their sexuality. This is heterosexism raised (better, lowered) to the level of policy. It has no place in public life even if it is introduced under religious cover.

Theologically, the Catholic Church is saying that its own outmoded ideas on sexuality are more sacred than the well-being of children. Its outdated take on sexuality trumps the many studies that confirm that same-sex parents are equally up to the challenges of raising children. In the institutional Catholic Church’s theological view, marriage between a man and a woman is more important than commitment on the part of two loving adults to take on the care of a child, a monumental responsibility as any parent knows. Happily, an increasing number of Catholics completely reject this view and support same-sex couples and families. It is important to underscore that what is touted as “the” Catholic position by the hierarchy is but one among differing Catholic theologies of sexuality. Note to lawmakers: The hierarchy does not speak for the members on this and each member is a voter.

One would think that for all the Catholic Church’s rhetoric on family and human life the Archdiocesan officials would have a little shame about abandoning their work with children. If they could bring themselves to confront the dire needs of DC’s foster children, they would hide their faces rather than be connected with any policy that would prevent children from being placed in loving homes regardless of the gender constellation of the parents. Alas, there is a shortage of shame here. However, it is important to underscore that no Catholic theology of sexuality, however narrow, trumps the demands of justice and the works of mercy as Catholic imperatives.

Several dynamics in this deal make it especially heinous. First, the timing is suspicious since the DC marriage bill is still under review in Congress. DC Councilman Jim Graham suggested that “there may be a relationship between this action and the congressional deliberations on these issues.” Tactics are all. I would not be surprised to find that this is part of the rationale given how desperate conservative Catholics are to keep their ideology afloat. I hope members of Congress will see this move for what it is.

Second, the Archdiocese announced the move in an Alice in Wonderland press release filled with linguistic sleights-of-hand, claiming that they “transitioned” the program to the NCCF when in fact they quit the business. Let’s be clear even if we do not agree. In the next sentence they announced that they “remain committed to continuing to serve the vulnerable of the District of Columbia through the 82 programs the agency operates in the region.” It is a hard claim to substantiate given what they have just done.

Then they turned the tables and proclaimed that it was not their doing but that the DC Government told them that they “would be ineligible to serve as a foster care provider due to the impending D.C. same sex marriage law.” Yes, dears, because you already announced that you would not obey the law. What do you expect? They go on to laud their own work, then bemoan the fact that “our efforts to avoid this outcome were not successful.” Once again they blame others for their refusal to conform to the law. It would be laughable if it were not so pernicious.

I have my own suspicions about the Archdiocese’s sanctimonious “ensuring continuity of care…” achieved by “seamlessly” transitioning the program. Foster care and adoption are extremely difficult, not very lucrative, endlessly bureaucratic endeavors. Social workers find the work taxing because so many of the children are in such difficult circumstances. This is an easy program to jettison when money is tight. I hope I am wrong about their motivation, but given the morals exhibited in this case nothing is surprising.

Third, what makes all of this so predictable is that this is precisely what the Archdioceses of Boston did in 2006 when same-sex marriage came to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. After a century of providing support services for children whose birth parents could not care for them, Catholic Charities there faced the same situation as in Washington.

Under the leadership of its then president, J. Bryan Hehir, Catholic Charities in Boston was faced with abiding by the state law or doing the Catholic Church’s bidding. They tried every trick in the book to skirt the law. They asked then Governor Mitt Romney for an exemption, they launched various legislative strategies, all with the help of a powerful local law firm. But that pesky democracy reared its head and they, too, were expected to obey the law. So they went out of the adoption business. They reasoned that it made up 4% of their budget so it could be sacrificed in order to keep the rest of their government funding. Religion is a dirty business.

In Catholicism, a lot of local activities are dictated by the Vatican. Surely the “success” of the Boston move was made clear to the DC people who followed suit. I expect more dioceses to fall in line as same-sex marriage becomes the law of the land. I only hope there are agencies ready and willing to pick up the pieces. Nothing less than children’s lives are at stake.

Pope Benedict XVI, in his recent meeting with bishops from Ireland where a church official systematically covered up sexual abuse, and called it “not only a heinous crime but also a grave sin which offends God and wounds the dignity of the human person.” Child neglect is a form of child abuse. It is against the law. Good people condemn it. Let the Archdiocese of Washington DC take a lesson.


Mary E. Hunt, Ph.D., is a feminist theologian who is co-founder and co-director of the Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (WATER) in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA. A Roman Catholic active in the women-church movement, she lectures and writes on theology and ethics with particular attention to liberation issues.


See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
Revisiting a Showdown in Washington, DC
D.C. Council Calls Archdiocese’s Bluff
David R. Weiss: When Charity Becomes the Weapon
“Render Unto Caesar, Bitches!”
America’s New Civil Rights Battle
A Christian Case for Same-Sex Marriage
A Surprising Finding Regarding Catholics and Gay Marriage

This Corner of the Earth . . .

. . . is like me in many ways.
I can sit for hours here
and watch the emerald feathers play.
On the face of it I’m blessed
when the sunlight comes for free.
I know this corner of the earth it smiles at me.

“Corner of the Earth”
Jamiroquai

I must admit it feels somewhat strange to be back in Minnesota and writing about my recent sojourn in Australia - not least because the climate of the two places couldn’t be more different! I was made keenly aware of this earlier today as I cautiously navigated my way around large piles of snow and sidewalks of treacherous ice while helping my friend Ken deliver meals-on-wheels in South Minneapolis.

Still, I have at least two posts I didn’t get around to publishing while in the Great South Land, simply because I ran out of time to do so before returning to the U.S. What you’re reading now is the first of these posts. It documents the February 5-7 trip that my parents and I made to Gunnedah - the town in north-western New South Wales where I was born and raised.



I lived in Gunnedah for almost twenty years – from my birth in 1965 to my leaving for college in 1984. I studied first in Armidale (a three-hour drive north-east from Gunnedah) and then in Canberra (an eight-hour drive south). Throughout my college years and my six years of teaching in Goulburn, I would regularly return to my parents’ home in Gunnedah during college breaks, at Christmas, and for at least part of every school holidays.

Since my relocation to the U.S. in 1994, and my parents’ retirement to Port Macquarie in 2002, I don’t often get to visit Gunnedah and my relatives and friends who still live there. My recent weekend visit to Gunnedah with my parents was, therefore, something I greatly looked forward to and enjoyed.



Gunnedah and the surrounding areas were originally inhabited by indigenous Australians who spoke the Kamilaroi (Gamilaraay) language. The area now occupied by the town was settled by Europeans in 1833. Through my maternal grandmother’s family, the Millerds, my family can trace its connection to Gunnedah back to the town’s earliest days. For more about the town’s history and my family’s connection to it, see the previous Wild Reed post, My “Bone Country”.

So what’s my hometown and its surrounding area like? Well, the Gunnedah Shire is situated 264 metres (870 ft) above sea level on the Liverpool Plains in the Namoi River valley. It’s very flat - the tallest hills are 400 to 500 metres (1,300 to 1,600 ft) above sea level. The climate is hot in summer, mild in winter - and dry, although rainstorms in catchment areas occasionally cause flooding of the Namoi River. Major floods often cut transport links to the town, briefly isolating it from the outside world. These floods were a regular part of my mother’s childhood, as she grew up in a little house in the poorer area of town, situated on the river’s flood plain. Her parents Valentine and Olive Sparkes lived in this same house until their deaths (in 1971 and 1997 respectively). I can remember helping Nanna Sparkes clean up after a flood in 1984.

Above: My Mum (center) with her two sisters Fay (left) and Ruth (right)

- Saturday, February 6, 2010. Both my aunts live in Gunnedah, as does
their brother (my Uncle Michael) and a number of their children.

Above: My Mum with her younger sister Ruth,
photographed sometime in the early 1940s.

Above: One of my cousins who resides in Gunnedah is Greg,
the youngest child of my Aunt Ruth and her late husband Rex.

Okay, here’s another bit of info you might find of interest: The Gunnedah area is noted for its abundance of native wildlife, including kangaroos, echidnas, koalas, and a wide variety of birds.

Koalas can often be found in trees within the town, as well as in the surrounding countryside. As a result, Gunnedah is billed the “Koala Capital”!

Above: Gunnedah’s main street - Conadilly Street.
No koalas in these trees, however!

Above: The Convent of Mercy, Gunnedah - Saturday, February 6, 2010.

For more about our visit with the Gunnedah Sisters of Mercy, click here.

A highlight of my time spent recently in Gunnedah was reconnecting with a number of high school friends. In the picture above I’m seated with my primary and high school friend David Callaghan and his wife Tracy.

David and I started kindergarten together in 1971 at St. Xavier’s Primary School. Years later we attended the high school across the street, St. Mary’s College, located next to the Convent of Mercy. Both St. Xavier’s and St. Mary’s were founded by the Sisters of Mercy.

For our kindergarten class photo, click here.



So what did we do as young lads growing up in Gunnedah? Well, in summer we’d sometimes spend time at the Namoi River - doing crazy shit like piling onto a knotted rope, swinging out high over the brown waters of the river, and, one-by-one, letting go and falling in!

That’s David at right in the picture above. That’s our friend Robert “Spud” Buttenshaw at left, and falling into the water in the picture below.




As well as catching up with David when recently in Gunnedah, I was also very happy to reconnect with school friends Lisa Hagley and Sue McCann, pictured with me above.

Sue also started school with me in kindergarten. In the picture below she’s at right in the front row. This particular photo was taken in December 1981 on the last day of Year 10 at St. Mary’s College. If I recall correctly, the theme of that day’s dance party (or "social," as we called them) was “Bad Taste.”




I guess I thought big dark sunglasses were “bad taste,” as that’s what I sported that day!

Pictured from left in the photo above: John Laird, Dennis Groth, me, Anthony Gigli, Bernard Gleeson, Michael Gimbert, and Anthony Egan.

Yes, I know: I look like a Year 7 kid hanging out with the “big boys.” I guess I was what you’d call a “late bloomer”!



Above: Another old photo from my days at St. Mary’s. From left: Katie Murphy, Anthony Egan, John Laird, Michael Gimbert, Bernard Gleeson, Chris Gaynor, and Karen Boughton.

This photo was also taken in 1981 on the last day of Year 10. On such days we were allowed to wear “casual” clothes rather than our school uniform.



Above: Reconnecting with Gunnedah friends Joanne Kelly, Louise Edwards, and Lisa Hagley - Sunday, February 7, 2010.

Left: Lisa and another friend, Michelle Groth, at my 16th birthday party in October 1981.




Above: Another photo from my 16th birthday party. From left: Lisa Hagley, Carmello, Joanne Kelly, Joanne Janseen, Mark Tierney, Joy Ducrow, Michelle Groth, and Polly Hockings.



Above: Just before leaving Australia to live in the U.S., I had a gathering of friends at my parents’ home in Gunnedah in January 1994. From left: Julie Donaldson, Michelle Groth, me, David Callaghan, and Joanne Kelly.






Growing up in Gunnedah, my family lived next door to John and Heather Sills and their three children, who were the same age as my brothers and I. When recently in Gunnedah, my parents and I had dinner with John and Heather - and another family friend, Joyce McAndrew.

From left in the image above: John, Heather, Joyce, Mum, and Dad.



Above: A photo from 1982 showing (from left) Jenny (John and Heather’s eldest daughter), John, Dad, my younger brother Tim, Mum, and Heather.



Above: Pictured at left with (from left) Gwen Riordan, Mum, Judy Keating, and Wendy and Gary Tunbridge - Sunday, February 7, 2010.



Above: Our good friend Gwen Riordan with her sister Barbara Weston (left) and daughters (from left) Diane, Wendy, and Denise. This photo was actually taken during my last visit to Gunnedah in 2009.

Gwen and her late husband Ray owned a property, “Fairview,” in the Kelvin district, north-east of Gunnedah. I have many happy memories of spending time as a child with the Riordan family on their farm - playing tennis, riding mini-bikes with my brothers, and hiking through the nearby Kelvin Hills (see image at the top of this post).

Above: Wendy and Gary.

See also the previous Wild Reed post:
My “Bone Country”
A Visit from the Hometown Relatives
An Afternoon at the Gunnedah Convent of Mercy
Gunnedah (Part I)
Gunnedah (Part II)
Gunnedah (Part III)
Gunnedah (Part IV)
The White Rooster

Photography: Michael Bayly.
Artwork: From William T. Cooper’s Cockatoos Portfolio.

Now Is the Acceptable Time

Upon my return last night from Australia to my St. Paul home, I discovered quite a large pile of mail. Not surprising, really, as I had been away for two months. And so earlier this afternoon the sorting began!

Most of this accumulated mail can be recycled, but there are a few items that I’ll be holding on to. There’s the latest issue of the Gay and Lesbian Review, for instance; and several issues of the National Catholic Reporter (always good reading material for city bus rides). There’s also a lovely letter from Mahmoud, the little boy I sponsor in Egypt through Save the Children.

And there’s Springtime of the Soul, the annual Lenten guide published by the Congregation of St. Joseph. As a consociate member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet – St. Paul Province, I’m gifted each year with this wonderful booklet of scripture readings, prayers, and reflections.

Today being Ash Wednesday, I thought I’d share what Rosanne Belpedio, CSJ has to say in Springtime of the Soul about this special day that marks the beginning of the Lenten season.*

________________________________

“Be reconciled to God. . . now is a very acceptable time
. . . now is the day of salvation.”

– 2 Cor 5:20 – 6:2

Now is the acceptable time. How ready am I to engage in Paschal Mystery this Lenten season? The traditional practices of prayer, fasting, and giving of alms invite us to examine our relationships.

What do I need to do to be in “right relationship” with myself and my neighbor? How can I make my interpersonal relationships more just and life-giving for others as well as for myself?

What do I need to do to be more honest and purposeful about my relationship with God? How can I become more aware of the challenges to our troubled planet? What lifestyle changes do I need to make to live in a more respectful relationship with the earth?

Now is a very acceptable time to be reconciled to myself, to my neighbor, and to my God in all of creation.

God of all creation, be my companion
On this Lenten journey. Help me to strengthen
My relationships and deepen my awareness of all of creation.
Guide me to put my talents at the service
Of those most in need of my gifts.

– Rosanne Belpedio, CSJ
Sherman Oaks, CA

___________________________________

In the introduction to Springtime of the Soul, Mary Southard, CSJ notes that Lent is “40 focused days of reflection, joy, hope, freshness, Springtime!” She then poses a series of helpful questions that I aim to focus upon this Lent. Perhaps you’ll find them meaningful and helpful too.

How do we come to the new stories, the truth, our truth, which are longing to be told in our lives? How can we enter our lives anew during this holy time, shedding old labels and discomforts which keep us in prison? How can we touch that sacred place within us so full of love and possibility? How can we become more attentive to God, Great Mystery, the One in whom we live and move and have our being?

. . . May this Lent bring us all to a deeper attention to the Sacred WITHIN of things, God’s within, your own “within,” and the ever-widening circle of our Love and Compassion.

* The traditions of Lent come from the season’s origins as a time when the church prepared candidates, or “catechumens,” for their baptism into the Body of Christ. It eventually became a season of preparation not only for catechumens but also for the whole congregation. Examination of conscience, study, prayer, and works of love are disciplines historically associated with Lent. Conversion - literally the “turning around” or reorientation of our lives towards God - is the theme of Lent. Both as individuals and as a community, we look inward and reflect on our readiness to follow Jesus in his journey towards the cross. The forty days of Lent correspond to the forty-day temptation of Jesus in the wilderness and the forty-year journey of Israel from slavery to a new community.


See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
Ash Wednesday Reflections
“Here I Am!” – The Lenten Response
The Lenten Journey

Image: “Red Indian Paintbrush Flower in Springtime” by Mark Carlson.

The Note

.

PART SEVEN OF
THE JOURNAL OF JAMES CURTIS
BY MICHAEL J. BAYLY

(To start at the beginning of this series, click here)

Sunday

I had a dream last night – one I’ve had many times before. It starts off with me being in a familiar place – a building of some kind – when quite unexpectedly I discover a whole new room, usually a large communal space; a banquet hall full of people, energy and life; a place that’s obviously been long established and yet completely unknown to me.

The discovery of this new space is always a great surprise, and in each dream I find myself pondering: How could I have not known about this place?

Years ago I researched dreams and learned that the discovery of a new room, space, or vista is symbolic of the beginning of a new phase in one’s life, a phase characterized by new experiences and insights, by things opening up and revealing new pathways and possibilities. What I think is most interesting is how such experiences and opportunities often occur within our everyday, “ordinary” lives. There’s no trip abroad, no life-shattering change, simply the culmination of some inner process whereby a new awareness works its way into our consciousness – often through our dreams.

I’ve come to see such dreams as heralds; emissaries from some sacred realm calling me to examine my life, to wake up – quite literally – and discern the changes quietly taking place within me. These dreams urge me to face up to the experiences and questions that, if I’m honest, I realize I’ve been avoiding. I believe that doing all of these things attunes me to the presence and movement of the sacred in my life, especially in those experiences and events, those changes and insights, that I often find unsettling and challenging. Yet face them I must.

And I am facing new experiences and questions – many of them to do with how I understand myself as a gay man in the Catholic Church. I’ve met some amazing, inspiring people in the weeks since beginning this journal – and I’ve been challenged in how I view the church and my place in it. I’m on a journey – and it’s changing me. That’s both exciting and scary.

It’s also presented me with some strange and unusual challenges – one of which was in the form of a scribbled note on a torn piece of paper. It all began earlier tonight when I attended a Dignity liturgy. A male priest presided – a “longtime friend of Dignity,” Vince assured me. Afterward, a group of us went out for supper at a Mexican restaurant. It was the first time I’ve really socialized with the Dignity guys, all of whom are at least 20 years older than me. They have such stories to tell of Dignity’s “glory days” in the ’70s and ’80s – a time when the church seemed to be more tolerant of the reality of gay people, and when there was a real sense of hope that official teaching could actually be reformed by the church's openness to this reality.

“Aren’t you bitter?” I asked Vince, who’s fast becoming my favorite of the Dignity crowd.

“Oh, honey, I refuse to become a bitter old queen. Besides, we have enough of those already in the Vatican,” he said with a hearty chortle.

Tony, a guy in his late-fifties, sided up to me. I have the distinct feeling that he’s interested in me. He’s always trying to catch my eye and smiling at me in an almost aggressive kind of way. All of this was confirmed when we were leaving the Dignity mass earlier this evening. Tony insisted I go out the door first. He followed with his hand upon my shoulder. Next thing I knew, I felt his hand move slowly down the length of my back, lingering on my ass. Much to my chagrin, I felt a tinge of excitement, and when I got to my car I found I had to adjust myself as I sat behind the wheel.

I looked at Tony now in the dim light of the restaurant. He had the trim figure of someone who had clearly taken care of himself in terms of diet and regular exercise. Looks meant a lot to him, and with a certain degree of chagrin, I realized that in that we had something in common..Siding up to me in the noisy restaurant, he placed his hand on my thigh and leaned in toward me.

“We need to get you out more. I think you work too much.”

I smiled and thought to myself, How on earth would you know anything about my work habits? But, of course, Tony’s comment had nothing to do with the facts. He was simply letting me know that he wanted to see more of me.

Suddenly Vince returned with our drinks.

“O-oh, someone’s moving in on my boy! Back to your own seat, Tony. I saw him first,” Vince said merrily.

Tony rose from his place beside me.

“We’ll talk later,” he said with a wink before moving around to the other side of the large circular table.

“Thanks,” I said quietly to Vince.

“You’re welcome, hon,” Vince replied knowingly.

I sat back and let the others talk around me. I feigned interest – nodded, smiled. But my mind was elsewhere. And I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, wishing Tony’s touch hadn’t once again aroused me.

I looked across the table at him as he sat chatting with Jeff, another longtime Dignity member. It would be so easy to push back; to let Tony know that, yes, I’d be willing to get together with him. He advances clearly indicated that he wanted it, and the throbbing in my crotch let me know that I did too.

Yes, a part of you wants it, James, but a deeper part of you wants more. The words resounded from somewhere deep within. So much more. And again I saw Carlos’ sweet smile, and felt his warm and firm embrace – an embrace I thought I’d have in my life forever.

“I tell you we need to act on this.”

Jeff’s voice had an edge to it that jerked me back into the here and now.

The ten men around the table were embroiled in an intense conversation, one that I soon discerned centered on a ragged piece of note paper that Jeff clutched in his hand.

“James is a journalist,” Tony suddenly declared. “He’ll tell us what we should do.”

How come every thing he says sounds like an order? I thought.

“I’d be happy to share my thoughts on whatever it is that . . .”

“We need advise,” blurted Jeff impatiently. “Advise about what to do about this.”

He handed me the piece of paper upon which writing was scrawled.

“It was sent to the Dignity office anonymously,” said Vince. “Jeff thinks we should go public with it. What do you think, James?”

I squinted as I deciphered the near illegible handwriting. It read: “The bishop travels to Chicago. He frequents gay bars and the Man’s Country bathhouse. It’s time to act to shut him up.”

“Well, it’s certainly to the point,” I said.

“Yes, but is it of any use to us?” asked Jeff.

“Use?”

A man named Jake leaned forward. “We’ve heard that our good bishop is about to release a statement condemning same-sex marriage – same-sex civil marriage. He also plans on forming an alliance with other conservative religious leaders to try and pass some kind of ‘marriage amendment’ at the state level – effectively banning civil marriage rights for gays. Now, imagine if we could prove that he himself is gay! It would be the end of all of it. He’d be forced out – in disgrace.”

“And you think this . . . this tawdry piece of gossip . . . proves that he’s gay?” I asked.

Blank faces stared back at me.

“Look, guys, I’m as pissed off as the rest of you with the bishop’s crap. But . . . but this . . .”

I dropped the ragged piece of paper on the table.

“. . . this is not the way to go.”

“Why?” Jeff asked, anger and frustration in his voice.

“Because you have absolutely no proof . . . of anything!” I said. “And another thing, even if you did actually get some proof, a photo, say, of the bishop at a gay bar or bath house, all that would prove is that he’s gay. I could well see him and his minders admitting that, yes, the poor bishop struggles with ‘same-sex attractions,’ and that he’s only human and sometimes falls short - just like any one of us.”

Jeff looked perplexed.

“Don’t you see, they’d turn it right back on you, “ I said. “You’d be the ‘bad guys’ for taking advantage of the bishop’s ‘weakness,’ his ‘human failing,’ and going public with it. From my perspective, I don’t think it should be about outing him as gay, but as a hypocrite. And to do that you’d have to prove he’s in an actual relationship; that he’s not just succumbing to temptation every now and then, but that he has intentionally formed and is maintaining a sexual relationship with another man. That won’t be easy. I mean, it’s the type of thing you’d need a private detective for.”

Silence . . . broken finally by Jeff: “Shit!” he mumbled dejectedly as he scooped up the note and stuffed it into his shirt pocket. “I need another drink.”


NEXT: Part 8 - A Swimmer's First Time

See also the previous installments of The Journal of James Curtis:
• Part One: A “Bells and Smells” Kind of Guy
• Part Two: A Quiet Visit and an Exhausting Conversation
• Part Three: A Journey Begins
• Part Four: Carlos
• Part Five: My Lunch with a “Medicine Bearer”
• Part Six: Father Brandon

Town Beach

Earlier today my parents and I spent some time on Port Macquarie's Town Beach.



Above: Dad and Mum - Town Beach, Port Macquarie - Sunday, February 14, 2010.



Above: Cooling off under the watchful gaze of three cormorants.



Above: The little kiosk on Town Beach. That's Swallows' Ledge behind it.



Above: A permanent resident of Town Beach! Dad took this photo - and it's a great one, don't you think?



Above: Dad also snapped this one of me enjoying the surf. Normally, the waves aren't that good at Town Beach, but today they were!



Above: On the rock platform that I so enjoy spending time visiting and exploring - and which I've written about previously (see here and here).


See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
A Day Roving the Mid North Coast
Flynns Beach
Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast
Lighthouse Beach
Tacking Point Lighthouse
On the Rocks . . .
A Solitary Ramble
Coastal Views
Alva Beach
Rocky Beach
Flynns Beach (2006)
A Spring Swim
A Summer Afternoon
The Empty Beach
Starfish
Beach Cricket
Anatone France’s The Ocean Christ

Happy Birthday, Sami

In Australia today my niece Sami celebrates her 14th birthday.

Happy Birthday, Sami!

I share today a few pictures of Sami that have been taken during my current sojourn in Australia - one that comes to an end on Tuesday when I return to the U.S.



Above and right: Sami with members of her family at a special joint birthday celebration with her older sister Layne, who celebrated her birthday in January.

Above from left: Sami’s grandma (my Mum), me, Layne, Sami, and the girls’ parents - my brother and his wife.







Above: Sami - Christmas Day 2009.



Above: Sami with her sister and cousins - January 18, 2010.

From left: Ryan, Mitch, Liam, Brendan, Layne, and Sami.


See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
Happy Birthday, Sami (2009)
Happy Birthday, Sami (2008)
Like Father, Like Daughter
The Bayly Family - January 2010
The Bayly Family - January 2009
The Bayly Family - July 2006