I realized I am Gay at about the age of 12. I’m 63. So that means for the last 51 years I have awakened everyday to a world and a country that has blatantly discriminated against me because it believes… Read full post »

Twenty years ago this coming April I experienced an epiphany. Over the past two decades the memory of those days on the south coast of the Greek island of Crete have informed everything I have done and believe. I came to that important crossroads through a decade of incredible loss… Read full post »

I’ve never experienced anything more terrifying than waking up at 3:00 AM, unable to breathe. I wondered if I should have left instructions for someone to know where my important things are kept, just in case I didn’t make it… Read full post »

 On the second anniversary of this post

IT'S NICE TO SEE THAT MILLIONS OF PEOPLE HAVE JOINED ME! 

Today I Quit Bank of America

This need not be a long or complicated essay. It is my moral duty to not participate in institutions or endeavors I consider evil. Therefore, beginning today I… Read full post »

 Me With The Katona Twins

In the next few months another rich and rewarding episode of my life will come to an end. I don’t really like the sound of the word “retirement” because it implies so many things I feel would never be applicable to my life regardles… Read full post »

When I remember my childhood, I prefer to leave behind all I have learned in the many decades since my innocence has been destroyed. That feeling of innocence becomes sanctuary from the heavy weight that was laid upon my shoulders when I became conscious of the adult world that existed… Read full post »

It happens time and time again. I post a comment on FaceBook or another website, expressing my disappointment in President Obama. Each time I express my feeling that I have been “thrown under the bus” as a member of the Democratic base, I am inundated with White House talki… Read full post »

 Arash statue in Iran

If you read my blogs regularly, you know that I love to keep small souvenirs from different periods of my life. If someone were to find my box of grocery receipts, hand written notes, theater tickets and such, they most likely would put them directly… Read full post »

Most people can remember at least one outstanding human being during their lifetime, who represented the best of what the human spirit has to offer. There will always be the Mahatma Gandhis and the Martin Luther King Juniors. They will be forever celebrated in the history books… Read full post »

“This is the price we pay for freedom!” There was a time when that statement would give me a nice warm fuzzy feeling inside. But that was a time when there were different rules of engagement for political dialog, as well as a very different system for the dissemination of information… Read full post »

  Tibetan Symbol for Eternity

Most studies of childhood development conclude that the first years of life are crucial in the creation of our character. I was born into this world in 1949, with only one grandparent still alive. But my mother’s story of my Grandpa Dreher&rsqu… Read full post »

 I’m sure what I am about to write will ring true for many who read these words. For me, December is always the most memorable month of the year. Each time it rolls around, I sort through the decades of Christmases past, the nearly 60 eves of new years. It is… Read full post »

I hope to tell this story in a way that will finally make most people understand that many unwittingly participate in a dangerous paradigm that needs to end! My story takes place just days after the release of the Surgeon General’s report on tobacco, where she admits that one… Read full post »

Today I almost felt the need to apologize to a segment of the Tea Party. Almost! I know how it feels to be the victim of a government that doesn’t listen when you are hurting. But then, when I think about those in the Tea Party movement with the racist signs,… Read full post »

Dedicated to my NUMEROUS friends and family who are in the sights of the vultures, waiting to be devoured by predatory lenders, greedy speculators and evil health insurance companies. It’s not a reality show! It’s the real lives of the people I love!   

It&… Read full post »

 In order to understand the story I’m about to tell, there are a few important things the reader needs to know about my life. First and possibly the most important element to this particular story is the fact that I spent the entire preceding decade, watching dozens of my… Read full post »

First of all I want to remind you of this "Special" presentation by Keith Olbermann after the Proposition 8 vote. After all that has happened in the past two years, please try to understand what it means to people like myself, to have the only network that seems to be on… Read full post »

I grew up in Danville, a staunchly Republican town in Central Illinois. Our historical claim to fame was “Uncle Joe Cannon,” arguably one of the most powerful Speakers of the House of Representatives ever! But I had the privilege of growing up in a Democratic “Union” household… Read full post »

Dear Councilman Burns,

I am a 62 year old gay man who now resides in San Francisco, California. I am writing to thank you for your courageous heartfelt appeal on behalf of gay teens and others who may contemplate suicide because of bullying. I was so moved by your personal story, I… Read full post »

Wow! Having family in Fort Worth and having spent lots of important time there, this video tears at my heart!! Seeing those people stand up to applaud really proves it does get better! That's not the Fort Worth I remember, nor is it the Fort Worth I would imagine today! What… Read full post »

 (Title changed from: Is Hatred the New Love? Is Dumb the New Smart?) 

Very recently a line has been crossed in America. I can’t say I’m surprised, because the people marching to that line did not do it secretly in the dark of night. We all saw it coming,… Read full post »

 It’s 5:00 AM and I have just awakened from a dream. I need to write it all down before it goes away to that place where dreams go if you don’t immediately grab them and put them into words that can’t be lost or forgotten. I need to… Read full post »

I just went to comment on another Editors Pick and found that the comments were closed due to Spam. On my most recent post in the last 24 hours I have deleted more than 50 pieces of Spam. Is it not possible to delete the accounts of the spammers since some… Read full post »