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From YouTube: Arlington County 2017 Pride Celebration
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A
B
A
C
C
So
they're
going
to
be
flashes
of
nervousness
that
you'll
probably
see
here
up
here
today,
not
just
for
me,
obviously,
because
public
speaking
is
always
a
nervous
sort
of
thing
for
anyone,
who's
done
it
or
anyone,
who's
observed
it
but
again
Thank
You
Brooke.
Thank
you
so
very
much
and
thank
you
all
for
being
here
today
to
celebrate
and
support
our
LGBTQ
colleagues
and
co-workers,
Wilfredo
kaldur'ahm,
I'm,
25-year
employee
plus,
with
the
Department
of
Parks
and
Recreation,
currently
working
as
a
community
relations
manager.
C
So
to
help
us
celebrate
LGBT
pride
today,
we're
asking
you:
how
do
you
connect
with
the
lgbtq+
community?
You
should
have
received
a
colored
sticky
on
your
program
and
a
pencil
when
you
walked
in.
If
you
didn't
there'll,
be
some
folks
in
the
back
with
pencils
and
they'll
raise
their
hands
and
you
can
you
can
get
one
if
you,
if
you,
if
you
need
one,
but
what
we
would
like
for
you
to
do
is
to
write
on
the
note
how
you
connect
with
the
LGBTQ
community.
Do
you
know
family?
C
Do
you
have
friends,
coworker
or
yourself
that
is
LGBT
identified?
You
can
also
write
down
how
you
support
the
inclusion
of
LGBT
community
at
work
in
your
community
or
at
home,
so
outside
in
the
atrium.
There's
a
white
poster.
It's
divided
into
colors
of
the
rainbow
flag,
place
your
note
in
the
color
that
matches
and
we
will
create
a
rainbow
and
support
and
inclusion.
C
C
What
is
an
ally?
Well,
some
dictionaries
will
tell
you
that
an
ally
is
someone
who
is
associated
with
you
because
of
a
common
interest.
For
me,
the
common
interests
I
share
with
the
LGBTQ
community,
our
firm
belief
in
equality
and
human
dignity,
I
think
everyone
can
get
behind
that
equality
and
human
dignity.
C
So
what
does
it
mean
to
be
an
alliance
with
the
LGBTQ
community
in
particular?
What
does
it
mean
to
be
a
straight
Ally?
Well,
there's
no
shortage
of
reading
material
out
there.
That
will
tell
you
in
fact,
most
of
what
I
found
out
there
were
lists
correctly.
There
was
a
list
of
five
things
that
you
must
believe
to
be
a
good
Ally.
There
was
another
list,
25
things
that
you
must
be
doing
to
be
a
good
Ally.
C
C
C
C
First,
put
your
assumptions
in
check
seriously:
we
all
do
it.
We
all
make
assumptions
about
the
people
around
us
based
on
how
they
look
where
they're
from
what
they
look
like
how
they
speak.
We
do
it.
We
all
make
assumptions.
In
fact,
I'd
have
to
say
that
maybe
there
what
maybe
100
100
people
here
right,
it
might
be
safe
to
say
that
when
I
first
walked
up
here,
they
might
have
been
every
Squad
person
who
said
Wilfredo
right.
C
C
Get
educated
there's
a
lot
to
learn
about
the
LGBT
community
about
the
LGBT
causes,
there's
just
so
much
out
there
get
out
there
and
learn
and
if
you
know
stuff
learn
some
more
stuff,
that's
what
I've
been
doing.
I
mean
most
of
my
learning.
To
be
very
honest
with
you
comes
from
my
teenage
children.
A
lot
of
what
I've
been
learning
lately
is
really
opened
my
eyes
up
to
realizing
that
maybe
I'm
not
as
enlightened
as
I
would
like
to
think.
C
I
am
I
mean
our
conversations
about
just
gender
neutrality
alone
have
shown
me
that
that's
an
area
of
challenge
for
me
describing
people
in
ways
that
goes
beyond
gender.
You
know
for
my
for
my
children.
It's
easy
and
I
admire
that
and
I
aspire
to
be
like
that,
so
get
out
there
and
learn
and
share
so
the
third
thing:
let's
see,
we
got
assumptions
check,
learn
some
stuff
check.
What's
the
third
thing,
Oh
speak
up
speak
up.
C
Many
of
us
have
been
in
the
room
when
the
joke
has
been
said
right.
It
could
have
been
about
any
topic.
It
could
have
been
about
any
sort
of
thing,
but
we
knew
at
the
time
that
we
heard
it
that
it
was
inappropriate
or
it
was
wrong,
and
maybe
we
didn't
say
anything
we
didn't
want
to
be
that
person.
You
know
at
the
party
that
you
know
sort
of
just
like
messes
things
up,
but
we
know
it
isn't
just
about
jokes.
C
Things
are
said
that
are
hurtful
to
members
of
LGBTQ
community
and,
if
you're
uncomfortable,
saying
something
at
the
time
or
when
you
hear
about
it.
Think
about
this
one
of
the
people
in
that
room
or
in
that
space
could
be
a
member
of
the
LGBTQ
community
that
just
isn't
ready
to
to
come
out
yet
or
it
can
be
a
father
of
a
lesbian
daughter
that
individual
it's
personal
for
them,
and
it's
also
hurtful
so
speak
up,
say
something
so
very
quickly.
C
Just
a
quick
poll
from
the
room
I
just
want
to
get
a
sense
of
where
we
are
as
an
audience
totally
voluntary,
don't
have
to
participate
by
show
of
hands
or
not.
Does
this
phrase
resonate
with
you?
I
am
super
Ally.
Let's
change
some
laws:
okay,
okay,
it's
good!
All
right,
how
about
I
am
starting
to
get
it
and
I'm,
focusing
my
time
on
learning
all
right.
A
C
So,
interestingly
enough,
not
a
lot
of
hands
raised
in
the
room
here,
but
there
are
a
lot
of
people
who
are
in
that
position
and
I,
say
open
yourself
up
to
being
open
to
talk
about
it
with
people
who
may
be
hinting
at
it,
so
I'm
going
to
move
us
along
because
we've
got
a
great
program
ahead.
Please
know,
though,
that
there's
not
one
way
to
be
an
ally.
There
are
a
lot
of
different
ways
to
be
an
ally
and
there's
a
lot
of
material
out
there
and
I
encourage
everyone
to
read
and
share.
C
If
you'd
like
to
get
involved,
learn
more
about
the
newly
forming
LGBT
plus
employee
resource
group,
you
can
sign
up
to
receive
information
on
meetings
and
upcoming
events
on
AC
Commons
under
employing
use
an
event
LGBT
Pride
under
councils
and
committees,
and
it
should
be
on
the
screen
behind
me
right.
Ok,
cool
I!
Don't
have
to
look
back
alright
right
now.
I
have
the
honor
of
introducing
one
of
the
members
of
the
county's
executive
leadership
team
to
welcome
you
as
well.
C
He
joined
the
Air
Force
and
through
by
way
of
the
US
Air
Force
Academy
served
over
21
years
during
the
Don't
Ask
Don't
Tell
era,
he's
a
husband
to
a
wonderful
wife.
Beth
opposites
attract
he's
an
is
TJ
she's,
a
she's,
an
is
PJ,
he
is
an
ENFP
and
if
you
don't
know
what
that
is,
look
it
up.
I
know
what
it
is
he's
a
dad
to
amazing,
kids,
Michael,
Katherine
and
Caroline.
First,
two
are
pursuing
degrees
in
electrical
engineering,
kind
of
a
stem
poster
family.
C
He's
an
avid
training
and
fitness
enthusiast,
the
swimmer
and
itinerant
biker
after
smashing
injury
in
2015,
he
loves
most
things:
horticultural
and
woodworking
family
treehouses
touch
on
both
of
those
things.
He
still
doesn't
have
cable
TV,
amazing,
he
loves
being
in
Arlington
where
he
can
easily
maintain
ties
to
his
military
past
engaged
as
part
of
a
great
Catholic
family
at
Saint,
Anne
and
walking
distance
plus
blessed
to
live
close
to
work.
D
So
thanks
for
sharing
that
Wilfredo,
that's
not
the
official
bio,
but
it's
kind
of
fun
to
kind
of
deviate
and
to
go
a
little
more
personal,
so
good
afternoon
and
welcome
to
this
year's
Pride
celebration.
So
I'm
gregor
mendel
environmental
services
director
and
I
just
providing
a
few
welcoming
remarks
on
behalf
of
the
ELT
and
as
well
afraid
Allah
said:
we've
got
a
great
program
lined
up
today
and
a
special
shout
out
to
hope.
Alec
and
all
those
other
people
are
helping
you,
but
it's
best
shut
that
shout
out
to
hope.
D
Just
a
lot
of
positive
energy
there
it's
great
to
see
so
many
employees
and
members
of
the
community
joining
us
today,
especially
those
from
DES,
of
course,
so
before
we
go
on
some
of
you're,
probably
asking
what's
Greg
Emanuel
doing
up
here.
What's
up
with
that,
you
know
the
kind
of
personal
bio
that
afraid
I
just
read
from
you
know
the
very.
How
shall
we
say
traditional
background?
How
did
I
end
up
here?
D
Well,
let
me
tell
you
a
little
bit
about
a
little
secret
about
myself
in
the
workplace,
things
that
kind
of
have
driven
me
in
my
career
and
here's
here's.
The
kind
of
the
bottom
line,
I
really
really
really
love
to
lead
teams
that
get
things
done,
particularly
in
the
realm
of
providing
great
services
and
construction
and
the
very
simple
conclusion
I
reached
over
time
is
this:
you
have
to
hire
train
and
retain
the
absolute
best
people
to
be
successful
in
those
endeavors
they're,
not
easy.
D
So
if
you
put
any
I
mean
any
barriers
in
front
of
that
about
the
nicest
way
I
can
say
it
is
you're
really
only
limiting
yourself
and
your
team.
So
let
me
go
back
a
little
bit
in
time
by
21
years
in
the
Air
Force.
It
was
challenging
in
many
ways,
but
the
Don't
Ask
Don't
Tell
policy
made
even
more
challenging.
I
cannot
tell
you
how
many
great
people
I
met
and
worked
with,
sometimes
in
a
professional
work
environment.
D
D
So
we
came
to
Arlington
things
were
decidedly
different
and
much
more
open
and
I'm
truly
thrilled
to
serve
in
a
community
with
some
of
the
most
talented,
creative,
dedicated
intelligence
and
good-humoured
people.
Many
of
you
here
today
in
this
workforce
that
just
happened
to
be
LGBT
because
I
want
to
serve
with
the
best
possible
people
period.
D
So
well,
in
the
meantime,
back
in
the
Air
Force
I
am
pleased
to
report
that
the
Air
Force
has
also
come
a
long
way.
My
second
child
Katherine
is
now
soft,
a
rising
sophomore
at
the
Air
Force
Academy,
and
she
recently
noted
to
me
that
the
number
two
position
it's
a
brigadier
general
position,
the
Commandant
of
Cadets,
is
a
gay
married
woman,
which
was
just
been
unthinkable
in
my
time
and
then
last
week,
I
was
out
there
for
the
pointman
I
drove
to
the
gate.
D
Main
gate,
Andrews,
Air,
Force,
Base
and
I-
was
greeted
by
a
large
and
multicolored
sign
big
electronic
display.
That
said,
the
Andrews
are
celebrating
great
Gay
Pride
Month
again.
What
amazing
transition
air
force
indeed
has
come
a
long
way.
So
well,
it's
great
for
us
to
celebrate
progress
here
today.
D
D
So
speaking
of
tackling
challenges,
I
have
the
honor
of
introducing
our
Board
Chairman
Jeff
Fassett,
who
has
been
leading
the
charge
in
our
community
for
years.
Jane
was
first
elected
in
1998
and
served
as
a
chair
now
four
times
he
is
the
only
he
was
he.
He
is
the
first
openly
gay
elected
official
in
the
state
of
Virginia
he's
a
member
of
the
Arlington
Gay
and
Lesbian
Alliance
and
prior
to
serving
on
the
board.
E
E
E
My
job
is
very
straightforward
and
simple.
I
have
two
things
to
do.
Is
read
the
proclamation
from
the
county
board
and
then
tell
you
a
short
history,
which
was
a
little
bit
news
to
me.
That
hope
provided
me
about
the
rainbow
flag.
So
those
are
my
two
jobs
so
first
the
proclamation
lesbian,
gay,
bisexual
and
transgender
Pride
Month,
whereas
the
June
1969
riots
at
the
Stonewall
Inn
in
New,
York,
City,
/
tippet
precipitated
the
modern
fight
for
lesbian,
gay,
bisexual
and
transgender
rights.
E
That
was
the
birth
of
the
movement,
whereas
on
June
11th
1999
President
Clinton
issued
a
proclamation
designating
June
as
LGBT
Pride
Month,
whereas
each
June
LGBT
persons
come
together
to
recommit
to
achieving
equality.
Just
happened
in
DC
last
weekend,
whereas
LGBT
persons
contribute
immensely
to
our
society
in
areas
of
science,
education,
religion,
government
and
sports.
E
Now,
therefore,
I
J
I,
set
chair
of
the
Arlington
County
Board,
on
behalf
of
my
colleagues
and
very
proudly,
do
hereby
proclaim
June
2017
as
lesbian,
gay,
bisexual
and
transgender
Pride
Month
in
Arlington
County,
and
call
this
observance
to
the
attention
of
all
Arlington
County
employees
to
celebrate
the
contributions
and
significance
of
the
LGBT
employees
and
applaud
LGBT
pride.
So
that's
the
official
hope
I'll
give
it
back
to
you
now
all
right.
E
And
now
the
history
of
the
rainbow
flag.
Again,
some
of
this
is
really
news
to
me.
I'm,
going
to
read
this
in
1970
Gilbert
Baker,
the
designer
of
the
rainbow
flag,
moved
to
San
Francisco
as
an
army
drafty.
After
an
honorable
discharge,
he
stayed
in
San
Francisco.
He
learned
to
sew
there's
that
right,
preconception
right,
making
all
the
fabulous
70s
clothes
that
he
wanted,
but
couldn't
buy
in
1974
Baker
met
Harvey
Milk.
E
Many
of
you
saw
the
movie
and
Harvey
Milk
was
the
first
openly
gay
person
to
be
elected
to
the
San
Francisco
Board
of
Supervisors,
one
of
the
first
in
the
country
after
winning
the
election
milk
challenged
Gilbert
Baker
to
come
up
with
a
symbol
of
pride
for
the
gay
community,
a
positive
alternative
to
the
pink
triangle.
Some
of
you
may
remember.
The
pink
triangle
was
imposed
by
Nazis
to
identify
and
persecute
homosexuals.
E
That's
what
a
gay
person
were
when
they
were
identified
and
collected
and
put
into
those
concentration
camps
that
had
been
reclaimed
by
some
in
the
70s.
As
a
bold
symbol
of
remembrance
and
action
against
persecution,
Baker
died,
the
fabrics
himself
and
stitched
together.
Eight
strips
of
brilliant
color
into
a
huge
banner
that
spoke
volumes.
The
original
colors
were
hot,
pink,
red,
hot,
pink,
hot,
pink,
red
orange,
yellow
green
turquoise,
indigo
and
violet.
E
A
few
of
the
handmade
rainbow
flags
were
flown
in
the
1978
gay
Freedom
Day
Parade
in
San
Francisco
Baker
then
approached
the
paramount
flag
company
to
mass-produce
the
flags,
but
pink
slab
pink
flag
fabric
was
not
readily
available,
so
Paramount
began
selling
a
seven
stripe
version,
red
orange,
yellow
green
turquoise,
indigo
and
violet
on
November
27th
later
that
year,
mayor
George,
Moscone
and
supervisor
Harvey
Milk
were
assassinated
at
City
Hall,
some
of
you
around
them.
We
remember
that
I
actually
moved
to
San
Francisco.
E
The
next
year
the
gay
Freedom
Day
committee
flew
the
rainbow
flag
from
the
light
poles
along
both
sides
of
Market
Street
for
the
1979
gay
Freedom
Day
parade
visually.
It
looked
better
to
split
the
colors.
They
got
it
down
to
six.
So
as
a
result
of
splitting
it,
they
put
three
on
one
side
of
the
street
and
three
on
the
other.
They
eliminated
eliminated
the
indigo
to
make
an
even
six
colors.
E
C
I'd
like
to
introduce
bill
Podolski
bill
Podolski
has
been
the
director
of
choral
activities
at
HB
Woodlawn
for
the
past
nine
years,
where
he
teaches
six
middle
and
high
school
courses,
as
well
as
directing
the
annual
musical
production.
In
the
past
school
year.
The
hbw
choirs
under
his
direction,
have
performed
for
the
Rosslyn
Holiday
Market
on
the
concert
hall
stage
at
the
Kennedy
Center,
with
the
Washington
chorus
candlelight
Christmas
concerts
and
at
the
residence
of
the
vice
president
of
the
United
States
for
dr.
C
and
Vice
President
Biden
in
2015,
hbw
chamber
singers
were
invited
to
perform
a
feature
performance
for
the
Virginia
Music
Educators
Association
Annual
Conference,
the
hpw
musical
productions
have
received
acclaim
throughout
the
arlington
community.
Bill
was
awarded
by
the
Arlington
Association
of
University
Women
for
excellence
in
arts,
education
for
his
production
of
Footloose.
In
addition,
bill
currently
serves
as
the
president
of
the
Virginia
chapter
of
the
American
choral
Directors
Association.
Without
further
ado
bill.
F
About
three
years
ago,
we
have
a
teachers
of
HP
woodland
thought
about
how
we
can
use
the
end
of
the
school
year
time,
a
bit
more
optimally,
recognizing
that,
after
the
SOL
there's
an
opportunity
to
do
something
with
our
students
productively,
and
so
we
developed
something
called
June
time
in
June.
Time
is
a
is
a
period
of
three
days
where
each
teacher
conceives
of
their
own
curriculum,
their
own
activities,
and
so
we
create
a
whole
new
program
of
studies.
F
Students
sign
up
for
these
courses
as
if
it's
a
whole
new
school
year,
and
for
three
days
we
explore
things
like
the
history
of
baseball,
the
art
of
card
games,
hiking
through
DC,
etc,
and
so
it's
a
it's
a
wonderful
experience,
the
June
time
that
we
that
I'm
hosting
this
year
is
focused
around
this.
This
Proclamation
this
event.
F
Today
we
receive
this
invitation
to
participate
and
thought
we
could
make
a
sing
out
of
LGBTQ
history,
and
that
is
what
we
have
been
doing
well,
we
did
yesterday
today
and
tomorrow
we
started
our
day
by
educating
ourselves
enlightening
ourselves
by
use
of
something
called
the
gender
bread
person
or
the
gender
bread,
and
it
is
a
great
visual
to
understand
the
different
aspects
of
our
sex,
our
orientation,
our
identity
and
our
appearances.
The
four
individual
aspects
that
make
a
human,
so
I
impart
that
to
you.
F
We
also
watched
a
documentary
and
fascinating
documentary
called
before
Stonewall,
as
we
were
proclaiming
a
moment
to
go
about
the
importance
that
Stonewall
was
for
the
gay
rights
movement.
We
preceded
that
by
learn
it
by
experiencing
the
history
from
1920's
up
until
1969
and
another
thing
to
impart
to
you,
and
then
we
spent
some
time
yesterday
at
the
HRC
this
morning.
F
We've
been
preparing
for
this
proclamation
and
there
are
some
truly
brave
students
who
are
GU
first
brooke
singing
the
national
anthem,
and
then
we
have
a
few
other
students
who
are
participating
in
the
student
time
as
we
celebrate
Pride
Month
and
the
history
of
LGBTQ
people
and
movement.
So
without
further
ado,
it's
my
honor
to
introduce
Tam
tim
is
a
sophomore
at
HP
wood
lung
and
he
has
uniquely
embraced
himself
in
such
extraordinary
ways
he's
an
integral
member
of
our
music
program,
both
in
the
band
in
the
chorus.
G
One
of
the
first
memories
I
have
of
my
first
day
of
high
school,
which
was
last
year
at
HB,
is
walking
into
the
Spanish
room.
I,
don't
actually
take
Spanish,
but
my
teacher
advisor
was
using
it
to
do
beginning
of
the
year
planning
because
her
room
is
too
small
to
fit
everyone,
so
we
were
in
the
Spanish
room
and
I
walked
in
and
there's
this
prize
flag
on
the
wall
and
I
was
like.
G
Oh,
my
god,
there's
a
pride
flag
on
the
wall
because
at
my
middle
school,
which
was
Kenmore
I
had
never
seen
a
pride
flag
on
the
wall
anywhere
I
hadn't
even
seen
those
like
this
is
a
safe
space.
Science
on
the
wall.
I
asked
my
brother.
If
there
were
those
now
because
he
goes
there
and
he
didn't
know
if
there
were
any,
which
doesn't
really
mean
they're
art,
so
I
don't
know,
but
yeah
there
were.
There
was
nothing
like
that.
We
never
talked
about
gays
and
gay
things.
G
The
closest
we
got
was
discussing
George
Takei
when
we
talked
about
Japanese
internment
camps
in
seventh
grade
social
studies.
I
didn't
have
any
openly
gay
teachers
and
I.
Just
it
wasn't
anything
gay,
oh
I,
so
I
was
I,
wasn't
expecting
to
see
a
pride
flag
at
HB
or
so
I
was
I
was
like
whoa
gay
people.
G
I
I
was
really
apprehensive
about
high
school,
because
I
didn't
know
what
the
environment
was
going
to
be
like
for
me,
as
a
gay,
transgender
person
and
I
was
I
was
very
pleasantly
surprised
that
it's
so
accepting
and
just
yes,
I
first
came
out
as
trans
around
the
end
of
seventh
grade
to
my
friend,
who
at
the
time
was
the
only
openly
gay
person.
G
I
knew
other
than
my
aunt,
and
that
that
went
really
well
and
so
I
came
out
to
my
friend
group,
but
never
to
the
open,
like
the
entire
population,
because,
as
I
mentioned
before,
I
wasn't
really
sure
what
that
would
be
like,
because
I
had
no
indication
that
there
was
like
there
was
acceptance
there,
which
doesn't
mean
there
wasn't
I.
Just
don't
know
if
there
was
so
I
I
was
I
was
terrified
of
being
out
to
everyone.
I
was
like
whatever
what,
if
what,
if
I
get
like
jumped
in
the
school?
What,
if
I,
what?
G
Half
the
shelf
and
I
took
them
all
home
and
I
read
them
all,
because
I
wanted
I
wanted
to
get
information
about
about
me
about
my
new
identity
that
I'd
found
I
also
read
for
in
the
three
years
since
then,
I've
read
at
least
the
entire
nonfiction
adult
section
of
about
gay
people,
which
is
its
I,
found
some
interesting
books
to
do
that,
and
so
I've
been
very
grateful
for
the
library
in
these
three
years
that
I've
been
out
because
it's
it's
got
some
lucky
books
and
it's
some
good
and,
as
time
went
on,
I
became
more
and
more
comfortable
with
the
idea
that
my
gender
at
birth
is
not
my
gender
whoa
and
so
I
also
began
to
experience
the
less
fun
aspects
of
being
gay
and
transgender,
or
mainly
transgender,
which
is
getting
this
gendered
by
random
strangers
at
the
supermarket.
G
Having
to
use
the
girls
bathroom
because
I
wasn't
out
at
school,
so
I
had
to
go
in
there
and
I
was
like
this
is
wrong.
Why
am
I
here
but
then
I'm
deciding
which
name
I
could
give
to
people
which
was
always
interesting
and
then
in
ninth
grade
I
switched
schools,
and
so
I
was
like.
No
one
knows
me,
I'm
going
to
start
presenting
his
mail
and
I
did
and
it
it's
been
so
positive.
I've
been
really
grateful
for
the
welcoming
environment
and
HP
and
I.
G
Don't
think
I've
ever
experienced
any
harassment
because
of
my
identity,
which
is
which
was
a
surprise
to
me,
actually
which
because
I
didn't
know
what
was
going
to
be
like
and
I
was
wrong
in
all
of
my
fears
and
just
being
like,
and
the
only
homophobic
thing
I've
heard
for
anybody
say
in
my
two
years
at
HB
was
just
it
wasn't
really
homophobic,
it
was
just
they
didn't
know,
it
was
homophobic
and
so
I
was
like.
That's
almost
look
and
they
said
okay.
G
And
so
I've
been
so
lucky
to
live
in
this
very
liberal
part
of
the
country,
where
I
can
be
sure
that
my
rights
are
being
defended
and
that
I
can
be
safe,
I'm
so
lucky
to
have
a
supportive
group
community
of
people
and
all
aspects
of
my
life.
My
family
at
school,
at
my
church
everywhere
and
I'm
so
privileged
to
have
this,
but
I
also
know
that
this
is
not
the
experience
for
everyone.
Unfortunately,
I
have
a
cousin.
Who's
has
lesbian
mothers
and
at
her
school
it's
not
just
the
students
who
are
homophobic.
G
It's
the
teachers,
too
I
have
friends
who
are
not
out
to
their
parents
and
probably
never
will
be
I
have
lots
of
friends
who
have
mentioned
to
me
that
they
hate
their
States
because
they
can't
be
out
and
because
it's
just
it's
too
scary
and
they
might
get
fired
and
things
and
so
I
know
that
there
are
still
places
I,
think
20.
There
are
20
states
where
you
can
be
fired
because
of
your
gender
identity
or
sexual
orientation,
and
that
that
just
blew
my
mind
when
I
learned
that,
because
it's
2017
like
why.
G
H
G
So
I
can't
what
wasn't?
What
can
I
do
and
I've
thought
about
this?
A
lot
and
my
my
reading
and
my
experience
and
also
our
trip
to
the
HRC
yesterday
has
helped
me
as
like
show
me
that
one
of
the
most
powerful
things
that
can
help
people
to
like
come
to
accept
queer
people
is
education,
just
as
I've
done
a
lot
of
projects
on
gay
things,
because
I
am
gay
and
it's
interesting
to
me
and
I've
I
think
the
Washington
Post
like
did
a
survey
or
something
like
years
ago.
G
I,
don't
remember
exactly,
but
they
found
that
when
someone
knows
a
gay
person
or
a
bisexual
person
or
a
transgender
person,
then
their
support
of
LGBTQ
plus
people
goes
like
all
the
way
up,
because
some
people
are
like.
Oh,
no,
gay
people
are
scary
and
evil
they're
going
to
come
for
us,
but
but
when
you
know
someone
who's
a
gay
person
and
you
know
that
they're
just
a
normal
person,
they're,
not
scary,
and
going
to
come
and
steal
your
children
or
whatever
it's
just.
G
F
Bravo
10
Bravo
I
succinctly:
I'd
like
to
also
introduce
another
brave,
an
incredible
student.
This
is
Riley
Newman,
Riley
bravely
came
out
to
me
as
a
freshman.
Another
incredible
moment
is
an
integral
part
of
the
hol
on
community,
especially
our
theater
program
and
I.
Welcome,
and
it's
also
an
incredible
singer
and
songwriter,
and
so
Riley
is
going
to
offer
his
own
composition
called
queer
right.
I
J
Handy
with
me,
I'm,
not
your
baby
girl,
but
I
can
be
something
even
better.
I've
gone
against
the
world,
but
I
do
still
run
from
me
to
get
her.
Can
you
see
me,
am
I
close
the
satisfaction
not
never
felt
so
packed
in
to
talk
to
me.
She
loves
me.
So
I
could
only
stay.
The
way
I
was
forgot
that
there's
no
way
I
know
I,
know.
J
J
J
J
J
C
C
We
need
time
and
as
we
look
at
the
time,
we
know
that
we
promised
you
a
one-hour
program,
but
there
are
a
lot
more
important
things
that
I
just
hope
you
stick
around
for
please
without
further
ado
I'm
going
to
introduce
our
keynote
speaker
today,
Diane
crushed
many
of
you
know,
Diane
I've
got
a
really
very
interesting
bio
for
her
as
well,
but
in
the
interest
of
time,
let's
get
to
what's
really,
let's
do
the
bio,
so
Diane
was
born
in
Lakehurst
New
Jersey,
but
raised
in
Arlington.
She
attended
Tuckahoe,
Williamsburg
and
Yorktown.
C
She
is
the
mother
of
two
sons,
Matt
and
Nate,
and
wife
of
Colleen
Donnelly
she's,
an
avid
photographer
collage
artist,
choral
singer
and
reader,
and
you
loved
life
theater,
a
lifelong
New,
York
Yankees
fan
who's
still,
not
over
the
2004
collapse
to
the
Boston
Red
Sox
as
a
child.
She
revered
Johnny,
Carson
and
Lily
Tomlin
and
she
recently
developed
a
passion
for
the
outdoors
thanks
to
woodsey,
wife
Colleen.
K
I
seem
to
have
run
in
a
great
circle
and
met
myself
again
on
the
starting
line.
Jeanette
Winterson
oranges
are
not
the
only
fruit
when
hope
asked
me
some
months
ago,
if
I
would
speak
at
the
county's
Pride
Month
celebration,
I
said
yes
before
I
took
the
time
to
think
about
it.
She
quickly
added
that
I
should
make
the
story
personal
and
only
then
did
her
invitation.
Give
me
pause
when
I
told
my
wife,
Colleen
Donnelly,
that
I'd
been
asked
to
speak.
She
immediately
responded
with.
K
K
That
I
realized
I
had
never
actually
told
my
story
to
anyone
and
I
wasn't
even
sure
what
my
story
was
as
I
stand
here
today.
You
can
probably
guess
what
happened,
but
what
you
don't
know
is
how
I
came
to
be
standing
here
for
a
science
fiction.
Writer
Ursula,
Le
Guin
wrote
in
the
left
hand
of
darkness
it's
good
to
have
an
end
to
journey
toward,
but
it's
the
journey
that
matters
in
the
end.
So
here
those,
although
my
coming
out
is
indeed
a
later
in
life
story.
K
K
K
The
truth
is
gays,
don't
have
a
lock
on
these
behaviors
plenty
of
straight
women
play
softball,
just
ask
Supreme
Court
justice,
Elena
Kagan,
but
your
response
did
reveal
the
power
and
the
danger
of
stereotypes,
those
cognitive
shortcuts
that
categorize
label
and
allow
us
to
make
assumptions
and
to
judge
others
in
ways
that
can
be
harmful
and
I'm.
Getting
ahead
of
myself
before
there
was
a
coming-out.
There
was
a
coming
of
age
and
I'm
a
product
of
my
time
and
place.
K
I
started
elementary
school
in
1960,
culturally
speaking,
light
years
before
the
Martin
Luther
King
march
on
Washington
the
sexual
revolution,
the
anti-vietnam
War
protests
Stonewall
the
ER
a
it
was
a
time
of
established
norms
for
girls
and
boys.
How
they
were
expected
to
behave,
dress,
talk,
wear
their
hair.
What
professions
they
could
aspire
to
and
these
norms
were
reinforced
in
the
classrooms
on
the
playgrounds
in
magazines
on
television
and
in
movies,
boys
could
grow
up
to
be
President
of
the
United
States
and
girls
could
grow
up
to
be
we'll
never
mind.
K
I
was
an
athletic
girl,
pre-title
nine,
which
makes
me
sound,
really
old,
and
thanks
to
my
late
father
and
the
countless
hours
we
spent
playing
catch
I
never
threw
a
baseball
like
a
girl,
yet
had
few
opportunities
to
participate
in
organized
team
sports.
For
those
of
you
who
are
runners,
it
was
the
pre
sanctioned
era
of
the
Boston
Marathon,
when
women
could
run
the
race
but
could
not
be
credited.
K
Some
of
you
may
have
seen
a
famous
photo
of
marathon
runner
Catherine,
sweat,
sir,
whose
race
bib
was
grabbed
by
an
official
as
he
attempted
to
pull
her
out
of
the
race.
Fortunately,
her
boyfriend,
who
was
running
alongside
of
her
intervened
and
she
finished
that
race,
but
would
have
to
wait
a
few
more
years
to
become
an
official
entrant.
K
I
mentioned
sports
because
they're
now
understood
to
be
among
the
best
and
healthiest
ways
for
boys
and
girls
to
learn
to
take
risks,
lose
their
fear
of
failure
and
build
resilience
and
self-confidence
in
the
early
1970s,
when
I
was
starting
high
school
women's
studies,
programs
were
beginning
to
appear
on
college
campuses.
As
you
might
imagine,
such
programs
were
considered
threatening
to
the
established
order.
Ie
white
middle-class
heterosexual
men,
so
threatening
in
fact,
that
pat
robertson,
chairman
of
the
christian
broadcasting
network
and
one-time
republican
candidate
for
president,
wrote
in
a
fundraising
letter.
K
K
Mayhem
ensues
and
their
reputations
are
ruined.
Ironically,
the
word
lesbian
was
never
uttered
in
the
film
and
there
was
no
demonstrative
sexual
contact
between
the
two
women.
Yet
even
the
movie
poster
just
had
the
word
different
printed
next
to
pen
and
ink
portraits
of
the
stars.
Yet
an
abnormal
and
shameful
relationship
between
the
two
women
was
plied
and
the
movie
ends
with
one
of
the
women
hanging
herself,
not
the
attractive
femme
played
by
Audrey
Hepburn,
but
the
dowdy
plaid
flannel
row
wearing
Shirley
MacLaine.
K
In
spite
of
the
film's
opaqueness
I
got
the
underlying
message:
don't
be
different
because
to
be
different
meant
to
be
marginalized.
Ostracized
fast-forward
to
the
married
years
after
college
I
married
someone,
I,
had
met
in
college
and
within
a
few
years
got
unmarried
I
married
a
second
time.
A
few
years
later
lived
in
a
house
on
Capitol
Hill
had
two
children
so
far
pretty
conventional.
K
So
what
did
I
know
and
when
did
I
know
it
in
high
school?
A
classmate
told
me
he
thought
I
was
a
dyke
I,
don't
remember
how
the
subject
came
up,
nor
do
I
believe
he
was
intending
to
be
hurtful
when
he
said
it.
I
think
he
was
curious
and
wanted
confirmation
of
what
he
had
guessed
to
be
true.
I
had
no
idea
what
the
word
meant.
I
was
unbelievably
naive
about
such
things
and
I
had
to
look
it
up
in
the
dictionary.
K
What
no
way
That's
not
me,
whatever
I
was
doing
to
come
across
that
way,
I
needed
to
stop,
but
that
was
just
it.
What
was
it
my
voice,
my
sense
of
humor,
the
way
I
walked
dressed
carried
myself,
my
skill
in
throwing
a
baseball
whatever
it
was.
It
didn't
matter
fit
in
I,
said
to
myself,
be
like
the
other
girls
try
and
look
like
the
other
girls.
Don't
be
yourself.
K
Although
I
repeated
these
mantras,
often
they
didn't
stop
the
colleague
at
work
from
speculating
that
the
only
reason
I'd
gotten
married
was
to
have
children.
I
was
highly
sensitive
to
any
suggestion
that
I
wasn't
100%
heterosexual,
so
much
so
that
I
once
stopped
speaking
to
a
male
colleague,
because
he
called
me
a
Swiss
Army
knife
type
of
girl.
K
When
I
look
back
through
the
years,
I
remember
having
crushes
on
women
and
women
had
occasionally
hit
on
me,
but
I
had
pushed
those
feelings
and
experiences
away,
didn't
share
them
with
anyone
and
certainly
didn't
act
on
them.
I
kept
their
potential,
meaning
hidden
buried,
especially
to
myself
and
married.
A
family
life
might
have
continued
undisturbed
until
something
happened.
That
caused
me
to
confront
an
inconvenient
truth.
In
late
2001,
my
husband,
David
crash
was
diagnosed
with
an
aggressive
form
of
prostate
cancer.
K
He
had
surgery
followed
by
radiation
therapy
and
for
the
first
year
or
so
following
treatment.
His
health
was
stable
and
follow-up
visits
to
his
doctor.
Encouraging
family
life
returned
to
normal,
but
while
David
behaved
as
if
he
had
beaten,
cancer,
I
was
always
waiting
for
the
other
shoe
to
drop.
That
happened
in
mid-2004
when
test
results
confirmed
a
recurrence
of
the
cancer
and
with
it
the
beginning
of
an
unremitting
decline
that
ended
with
his
death
in
September
2006.
K
This
roughly
two-year
period
of
time
in
our
lives
was
truly
awful,
scary,
uncertain,
exhausting
to
such
an
extent
that
my
older
son
Matt
said
that
our
family
put
the
fun
in
dysfunction,
seeing
David
lose
first
himself
and
then
his
life
to
disease
was
paradoxically,
a
cue
to
me
to
begin
reevaluating
mine.
The
choice
before
me
was
both
simple
and
difficult.
K
I
could
either
continue
to
repress
my
feelings
and
attractions
for
women,
for
the
sake
of
preserving
the
sense
of
self
I
had
lived
with
for
more
than
50
years
or
I
could
acknowledge
those
feelings
and
reveal
the
person.
I
knew
myself
to
be
David's.
Cancer
and
death
did
not
make
me
a
lesbian,
but
his
death
was
a
vivid
reminder
that
life
is
a
gift
that
can
be
returned
every
moment.
I
spent
protecting
myself
from
myself
was
keeping
me
from
answering
the
question.
Who
am
I?
K
K
Also
read
a
lot
I
dusted
off
my
1978
copy
of
Our
Bodies
Ourselves
underlined
key
passages
in
the
chapter
entitled
in
America.
They
call
us
dykes
and
I.
Read
coming-out
stories.
I
talked
to
my
therapist
and
confided
in
a
lesbian
friend.
I
looked
for
lesbian
meetups,
attended,
DC
Pride
I
searched
online
dating
sites
and
went
so
far
as
to
write
an
ad
and
lost
my
nerve
before
I
posted
it
I
still
had
not
come
out
to
my
boys,
or
my
family.
K
I
told
myself
that
I
would
do
so
when
I
had
met
someone
and
had
something
to
tell
still
keeping
things
pretty
buttoned
up,
because
truthfully
I
was
afraid
of
how
they
would
react.
Would
they
see
me
as
I
really
was
and
accept
me
not
be
embarrassed?
Would
my
boys
still
want
me
to
be
their
mom
when
I?
Finally,
did
come
out
to
my
boys
after
I
met
Colleen,
their
reactions
were
typical
of
who
they
are.
K
Nate
was
unfazed
and
Matt
gave
me
a
copy
of
the
graphic,
novel,
memoir
fun
home
by
Alison
Bechdel,
to
read
it's
the
story
of
a
lesbian,
her
and
her
closeted
father,
not
exactly
the
same
situation,
but
I
appreciated
the
sentiment.
He
brought
me
up
short,
however,
when
he
asked
what
about
dad,
what
about
dad
dad,
David
and
I
had
been
married
for
close
to
20
years.
What
about
dad
spoke
to
memories
that
couldn't
be
unmade?
K
We
had
shared
a
house,
a
history,
language
stories,
children
promises
regrets,
I
was
the
same,
but
different,
more
vulnerable
and
humbled
by
the
prospect
of
starting
over
literally
the
love
and
life
I
shared
with
their
dad
was
as
genuine
as
the
love
I
now
had
for
Colleen.
My
life
changes
were
disruptive
and
I
had
to
live
with
the
consequences
of
that
disruption,
but
I
couldn't
live
without
the
disruption.
K
K
Colleen
calmly
referred,
my
mother's
enquiring,
mind
to
the
Internet
and
that
ended
that,
but
there
were
other
reactions.
One
brother
told
me
that
if
you
saw
pictures
of
me
kissing
my
wife
on
Facebook,
he
would
unfriend
me
another
asked
who's.
The
man
in
the
relationship
and
one
brother
didn't
bring
up
the
subject
at
all
and
still
hasn't
I
tell
these
stories
not
to
call
family
members
out
for
being
insensitive.
Okay,
they
were
being
insensitive.
They
were
also
trying
to
do
something
hard.
It
wasn't
only
about
me.
K
For
those
of
you
keeping
score,
it
was
my
third
marriage
and
Colleen's.
First,
a
couple
of
years
later,
on
the
morning
of
Friday
June
26,
2015
nate
woke
us
in
our
hotel
room
in
San
Francisco,
where
I
was
attending
a
conference
to
tell
us
that
the
Supreme
Court
had
ruled,
by
a
five
to
four
vote,
that
the
Constitution
guarantees
a
right
to
same
sex
marriage.
He
was
so
excited.
K
He
could
barely
get
the
words
out
telling
me
over
and
over
again
how
happy
he
was
for
Colleen
and
me
Love
Wins,
and
to
think
I
had
ever
doubted
that
each
June
we
celebrate
lgbtq+
Pride
Month,
to
recognize
and
celebrate
the
impact
that
lesbian,
gay,
bisexual,
transgender,
queer
and
other
individuals
have
had
on
our
shared
history
and
culture.
Yet
to
me,
a
relative
late
comer
to
this
party,
it
means
something
more,
it
means
standing
up
for
yourself.
It
means
opening
yourself
up
to
risk
and
disappointment.
K
It
means
finding
your
voice
and
speaking
out
with
that
voice,
and
not
only
when
it's
safe
to
do
so.
It
means
telling
yourself
you
can
when
everyone
says
you
can't
or
shouldn't,
and
it
means
being
self
seeking
and
self
loving.
For.
If
you
do
not
know
and
love
yourself,
then
how
can
you
know
and
love
others?
Each
of
you
has
had
and
will
continue
to
have,
shall
changing
moments
in
your
lives
when
you're
faced
with
choices
to
go
or
stay
fight
or
fly.
K
Those
choices
will
be
yours
alone
to
make
and
whether
those
choices
are
the
right
ones
or
not
depends
on
who
you
are
the
true
you,
the
person
you
are
when
no
one
is
looking
and
while
those
choices
may
hurt
and
the
hurts
may
linger.
As
my
dear
friend
Alex
reminds
me,
a
Phoenix
does
indeed
rise
from
the
ashes,
but
first
there
have
to
be
flames.
K
I'll
end
with
a
quote
from
a
hero
of
mine,
a
woman
from
an
earlier
time
who
felt
the
constraints
of
family
traditions
and
expectations
and
who
was
herself
the
subject
of
whispers
and
speculations.
You
gain
strength,
courage
and
confidence
by
every
experience
in
which
you
really
stopped
to
look
fear
in
the
face.
You
are
able
to
say
to
yourself.
I
have
lived
through
this
horror.
I
can
take
the
next
thing
that
comes
along.
You
must
do
the
thing
you
think
you
cannot
do.
Eleanor
Roosevelt.
Thank
you
for
inviting
me
happy
Prize.
C
Thank
you
so
much
Diane.
Thank
you
for
sharing.
Okay,
so
hang
with
us
for
just
a
little
bit
more
we've
got
the
students
of
June
time
they're,
going
to
close
us
out
with
the
performance,
which
is
the
song
truly
brave.
It's
a
mash-up
of
Cyndi
Lauper's,
true
colors
and
Sara
Bareilles,
brave
and
they're,
going
to
they're
going
to
perform
this
for
us
shortly
after
that,
we'll
go
out
to
the
atrium.