My pal Kailani at An Island Life hosts this great meme, Aloha Friday, based upon a very popular term used in Hawaii when island residents take it easy and look forward to the upcoming weekend - kind of like T.G.I.F. The meme involves no long posts, no deep soul searching revelations . . . just a little fun.

Each Friday, Kailani posts a simple question or topic of conversation. Visitors leave a comment on Kailani’s site and then post a question or short discussion topic on their own site. Participants visit each other’s sites and respond with a comment! Even if you do not post a question or topic on your site, you can still play by simply leaving a comment!

Here’s my question for this edition:

What is your reaction to the California Supreme Court’s ruling that restricting the right to enter into a legally binding marriage to members of the opposite sex is unconstitutional?

My answer:

I got my first wedding invitation from my favorite same-sex couple within about ten minutes of the decision’s publication. I was thrilled and excited.

Yesterday was a landmark day in the history of American jurisprudence and one of those gratifying moments when it felt like my 15 year involvement in the fight for civil rights is completely worth it. When I watched news broadcasts and saw so many happy couples reacting to the ruling, I couldn’t help but do a little dancing around my living room, too!

Last night we were listening to a talk radio show as we drove to my band concert. BigBob asked me a question that I found deceptively perceptive and quite profound. As he heard the hate speech blaring out of the car’s speakers from religious fanatics and homophobes who are determined to destroy this human rights victory with a constitutional amendment that reestablishes a discriminatory ban on same-sex marriage, he turned to me and asked: “Why do they care? It has nothing to do with them and doesn’t harm them in any way, so why can’t they just leave the people who are impacted by the decision alone and let them live happily in peace?”

What do you think?

Subscribe to Colloquium's RSS feed. Thanks for visiting! Leave a comment and stop by again soon!

Technorati Tags Aloha Friday, same-sex marriage

Share this Article:

• View 1 Comment...

According to the American Heritage Dictionary, a “hero” is a “person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life.”

There is a genuine hero residing right here in the little village of Lodi. Sam Huffman is just 20 years old, but fellow Lodian and octogenarian Marguerite Jones is alive because of his selfless courage.

Jones, who utilizes a wheelchair, was en route to a party this past Saturday night. As she crossed the railroad tracks that bisect Lodi to get to what folks here refer to as the “east side,” the wheels became entangled in the rail, leaving her trapped in the path of an oncoming train traveling at an estimated 40 miles per hour.

By the time Huffman, who had heeded a stop sign at the adjacent intersection, heard the train approaching, the crossing arms were down, the warning lights flashing, and the bells ringing. He glanced in his rear view mirror, saw Jones, and took action: He threw his truck into reverse and sped to Jones’ side, jumped out of his truck, and pulled her out of the wheelchair.

“I probably got three steps away (from the tracks) before (the train) hit her wheelchair,” Huffman said.

Lodi Police estimate that the train missed Jones and Huffman by a mere three feet.

In fact, the engineer stopped the train after it struck and destroyed Jones’ wheelchair, thinking that the locomotive had, in fact, hit Jones and Huffman.

Downplaying his remarkable act of courage, Huffman told KXTV News that he reacted, but only realized what he’d done later. “I’m just really glad I got the opportunity to save a life. Because not everybody gets that opportunity.”

Jones, who suffered no injuries, was shaken, but convinced that Huffman was an angel sent by God to rescue her. “He put him here so he could pull me off the tracks,” she said.

It was inspiring to pick up the Lodi News-Sentinel this morning and, in the midst of reports about escalating gas prices, the sputtering economy, California’s ongoing fiscal crisis, and various natural disasters, find this story about Huffman’s bravery. There is indeed a hero “stuck in Lodi.”

Technorati Tags Life in Lodi

Share this Article:

• View 12 Comments...

“Once upon a time there were four little Rabbits, and their names were
Flopsy,
Mopsy,
Cotton-tail,
and Peter.”

So begins “The Tale of Peter Rabbit.” So begins “The Tale of Peter Rabbit.” When you were a child, did your parents read those words to you? Mine did. And I read them to my children. Although, as they grew older, we donated most of my children’s books to various organizations — several boxes of “Goosebumps” stories went to our local elementary school, for example — there were a few that I simply could not part with. And our six-volume set of Beatrix Potter’s most popular stories was remains on the bookshelf.

I recently watched “Miss Potter” again. The 2006 film tells the story of Beatrix Potter’s refusal to conform to late-Victorian societal norms and determination to see her stories about her animal “friends,” as she called them, published. She was a naturally gifted artist who, as a solitary child, escaped into her own imagination, developing the characters and storylines that would ultimately make her the most popular children’s author of all-time. It is a charming movie featuring exceptional performances by Renee Zellweger, Ewan MacGregor, and Emily Watson.

Potter was a story-teller and artist from early childhood who struggled from her early 20’s until the age of 36 to get her first book published. In 1902, “The Tale of Peter Rabbit” defied publishers’ expectations and secured Potter’s legacy.

Beatrix Potter found her calling as a young girl and channeled her interest in natural history, mycology, archeology, fossils and farming into her delightful stories about Benjamin Bunny, Samuel Whiskers, Tom Kitten, Jemima Puddle-Duck, Mr. Tod, and all the rest. She had to draw — and write.

Watching “Miss Potter” again caused me to ponder the point in my own life that I knew I was a writer and would continue to write throughout my life. I realized, not all that surprisingly, that I have self-identified as a writer my entire life. I literally cannot remember a time when I did not enjoy writing or feel compelled to write, although my writing has taken many different forms over the years.

When did you know you were a writer? Was there a moment or period in your life when you realized that you were meant to write? Did a specific event or occurrence compel you to write? Or, like me, have you just always considered yourself a writer? Leave a comment or a link should you decide to write about this topic on your own site.

Originally published at Write Stuff.

Technorati Tags Write Stuff

Share this Article:

• View 13 Comments...

Connected Lives (Part Six)

LOL.

ROFL.

POS.

TTYL.

TTFN.

Do you recognize each of those abbreviations? If not, they stand for:

Laughing on line.

Rolling on floor laughing.

Parents over shoulder.

Talk to you later.

Ta ta for now.

I wonder how many times each day, those and other shortcuts like them are transmitted via text or instant message, or email. I think it would be even more interesting to know the age breakdown of the folks using those abbreviations. Are they the vernacular of teenagers? Twenty-somethings? Or Baby Boomers?

Actually, they are used by all age groups.

Does all the text messaging, emailing, commenting on blogs, and other forms of shortcutting impact the quality of our writing such that tomorrow’s adults will be less competent writers?

The results of a recent survey might surprise you, as they did me.

Click to continue reading »

Technorati Tags Write Stuff

Share this Article:

• View 24 Comments...

Technorati Tags Wordless Wednesday

Share this Article:

• View 28 Comments...