OMG! Homosexuals in love!

A gay couple might want to get married someday. Here. In Minnesota. Oh, the humanity! For years, Minnesota was a haven for people who didn't (or at least, tried not to) hate groups of people for something they couldn't help. I'm talking after World War II, of course, we were atrocious in the twenties. Lately, though, we seem to be getting good at that hate thing again.

This whole business of a marriage amendment is silly at best ~ hateful at worst. I think most supporters are drinking the Kool-Aid and have decided that if we don't have a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage (which, by the way, is already illegal in Minnesota) that we'll be overrun by all sorts of special interest groups who want to redefine marriage as a legal opportunity to bond with children, farm animals and their ten best friends.

Proponents claim that gays will destroy marriage if they can marry. How much damage did Sally Ride and her wife do to the institution of marriage? None. How about Larry King, with seven exes? He makes a mockery of it. Easy divorce does far more damage to the cultural institution of marriage than gay marriage ever could. Welfare wreaks havoc on the family by encouraging couples not to marry ~ if Antoine marries Shauniqua, he'll have to get a job to support his kids, if he doesn't, he can live off her check; that destroys marriage and shreds the traditional family. Mai and Toua can marry at 15 and somehow that's okay, but Ryan and Mike can't marry at 30? Preposterous.

Churches should certainly continue to be allowed to pick and choose who they'll marry ~ if you don't like their rules, go to another church ~ it's called Freedom of Religion and is guaranteed by the First Amendment. The state is another subject entirely. The state should only be allowed to discriminate in marriage based on age (and 15 is way the heck too young). If we must have an amendment defining marriage, let's define it as a "binding contract between two consenting adults".

Marriage is the only contract where gender matters. And it shouldn't. Love is love and should be something we celebrate. Happy couples ~ all happy couples ~ are good for us. Emotions are contagious, so let's spread love & happiness instead of bigotry & bitterness. Vote NO.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Genealogy tip of the day: If Great-UncleWalter, the confirmed bachelor, shows up on several consecutive censuses with the same male roommate, they were probably more than friends. Wouldn't it be nice to end the lie for future generations?

Forgotten Blogs & Generous Neighbors

Somewhere along the line, I forgot that I wanted to have a blog ~ started it, then forgot it for two years. Good thing I didn't forget the kids, they don't usually last two years shoved in virtual corner and ignored. Well, now they're grown and probably wish I would ignore them, at least occasionally.

Spring is definitely here, and mostly that's a fah-boo-liss concept, except at home. For some reason that is completely beyond my ken, my neighbors feel compelled to share their music with me. On the surface, this might seem a generous thing, after all, we teach children to share their toys. But music is different. Is it wrong of me to be annoyed when my neighbor's stereo produces a bass line which rattles my fillings? Am I a bitch if I don't like hearing their music over the TV which is in the same room I am? Is it selfish to think three a.m. is better for sleeping than blasting the sub-woofer? I miss open windows when the lilacs are in bloom. Is it like this everywhere?

Neighbors used to be people you wanted to get to know. They were people you chatted with over the fence. Now, they are scary people who let their pit bulls run free to exercise, swear at you (profusely) for suggesting that six feet from your bedroom window is not the best place for their basketball hoop, and yell at you for getting "all up in mah bizness" without even asking if you were, in fact, the person who called the poh-lice.

They're actually gone this afternoon. It is blissfully quiet. Even the dogs seem to be gone. Maybe it's a dogfight and they'll get busted ~ of course, the neighbors have been going downhill, so I'm not sure we want to spin that old roulette wheel again. It could get worse; after all, whoever thought we'd long for the drug dealer neighbor? Ah, life in the hood.