Perseverance

Perseverance is one needed in these trying times. I said shortly after last year's election that people will need to find causes they are passionate about and work with them. Yes, people will criticize and make fun of you. So What?

Perseverance is staying focused on the task at hand. Many things will try to throw you off course. Some folks do not want you to succeed and will do anything to get you off track. One aspect of successful people is that they stay focused and don't care what others think or say. I'm seeing that people are opening up their eyes and minds and becoming more involved with issues that matter. 

I've become more interested in local politics because I see how it affects people in my neighborhood. I'm becoming involved with the TGBLQ community in my neighborhood. Being a senior citizen I'm naturally concerned about items such as medical care and housing and safety.

The main point is to keep fighting, keep going. Whatever task I take up I go into it for the long haul. Things aren't won overnight. Many of the benefits and right we have were won because people persevered and worked until the goals were accomplished. 

TGLBQ Ministry

I'm looking forward to the TGLBQ ministry at church starting up again. It's needed now more than ever. I see a smattering of trans people in my neighborhood though not always visible. I'm praying the ministry will be a place where the ministry, Beyond Labels, can be a safe space for TGLBQ people.

Passing Thoughts

I have been reflecting on the past pride march here in New York. It was the largest parade ever. I was busy pouring water to serve the thirsty marchers. Last Friday I recited a poem titled "Pride". 

Tomorrow will be the 48th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion, a turning point in the TGLBQ movement. Drag queens, street people, trans, and people of color stood up to the police and said 'No more!' I was out of town when the initial rebellion began. I came to the site a couple of days later viewing the aftermath. The Stonewall Inn burned out, streets littered with trash cans and refuse, and the air still filled with tension. Deep inside I believed that something big would happen and it did. We could be ourselves and not hide any more. We are human beings!

I give thanks to folks like Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, Miss Major, Storme Delaverie and others for paving the way to where we have the resources to care for ourselves. There was a time we had nothing. Now we can live openly and unashamed. I have taken it upon myself to see that the trans presence is never erased. We started the rebellion! I am eternally grateful to my ancestors.

A Seed Planted Regarding Gender Variance?

Last night I was reflecting on the time I hung out on MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village beginning in 1968. It was the time of the hippie-rock and roll and psychedelic culture. Folk music was still going but not like in the early 60s. I felt really comfortable here (didn't know why) and loved the vibes that I felt. Friday and Saturday nights would really buzzing. I didn't walk on MacDougal; I shuffled along because the street would be so packed.  

As I reflect I do remember a TGLBQ presence. I've always was drawn to people outside the norm so it was to my liking. On further thought, I wonder if the seed was planted about my gender variance. As I've said many times it was never evident to me until about ten years ago. I was a straight arrow so to speak and I viewed myself in this vein. Something always kept me coming here though.  All this happened a year before the famous Stonewall Riots. 

I still go to MacDougal Street. Many of my favorite places are gone. Gentrification has ground its teeth into the once avant-garde enclave, however there are still vestiges of 1968. Could those days have been the spawning of my transgender status that I enjoy today?