OLDIE, BUT GOODIE: A MOMENT TO REFLECT...

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THIS POEM WAS WRITTEN AFTER ONE OF MANY SPORADIC VISITS TO THE GAY CLUB HERE IN NASSAU. I ALWAYS FOUND IT SO INTERESTING THE DIFFERENT DYNAMICS THAT ARE GOING WITH THE GAY MEN. FROM THE GAME OF SEX MUSICAL CHAIRS TO BELIEVING THAT THEY ARE SO FABULOUS THAT THE GAY COMMUNITY OWES THEM SOMETHING…THEY ALWAYS MAKE ME FEEL SAD…BUT AS SAD AS THE GAY COMMUNITY IS, I STILL HAVE A GLIMMER OF HOPE THAT WE & WILL FIND WHO WE ARE AS HUMAN BEINGS…

YOU ARE I &; I AM YOU

You’re in me and I’m in you

You’re the reason I am

I see us as a collection of individual parts,

Like little mental snapshots

I look at us in the mirror

Becoming part of our energy field,

Part of our self-definition.

I can change others' view of us,

By shifting the ideal images I hold of us.

Like a child

I look at the world through fresh eyes,

Seeing, taking it all in, but not judging.

As I grow and learn about our world,

I develop our own associations.

I absorb the notions of our beauty,

Held by the culture in which I are raised

I internalize the remarks of parents,

Friends and even strangers.

All of these elements color our view of ourselves.

Showing me the purpose for living life is not within me,

But within us…

Making us realize that we are who we pretend to be…

We have met the enemy and he is us!

Cause…

YOU ARE I &; I AM YOU

DEDICATED TO MY GAY BAHAMIAN BROTHERS, LET'S HEAL OUR COMMUNITY!

REST IN PEACE RUE MCCLANAHAN

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Rue McClanahan (February 21, 1934 – June 3, 2010) was an American actress, known for her roles as Vivian Cavender Harmon on Maude, Fran Crowley on Mama's Family, and Blanche Devereaux on The Golden Girls, a role that won her an Emmy Award.

EARLY LIFE

McClanahan was born Eddi-Rue McClanahan in Healdton, Oklahoma, the daughter of Dreda Rheua-Nell (née Medaris), a beautician, and William Edwin McClanahan, a building contractor.^[1][2] She was of Irish and Choctaw Indian ancestry,^[2] and grew up in Ardmore, Oklahoma; she graduated from Ardmore High School. At the University of Tulsa, she majored in German and theater and was a member of the sorority Kappa Alpha Theta.

EARLY CAREER

She began acting on off-Broadway in New York City in 1957, but did not make her Broadway debut until 1969 when she portrayed Sally Weber in the original production of John Sebastian and Murray Schisgal's musical, Jimmy Shine, with Dustin Hoffman in the title role. Her role as Caroline Johnson on Another World (from July 1970 to September 1971) brought her notoriety. On the show, while taking care of twins Michael and Marianne Randolph, Caroline fell in love with their father, John, and began poisoning their mother, Pat. The short-term role was extended to more than a year before Caroline was finally brought to justice after kidnapping the twins. Once her role on Another World ended, Rue joined the cast of the CBS soap Where the Heart Is, in which she played Margaret Jardin.^{[citation needed]}

PRIMETIME SUCCESS

Maude

In Maude, broadcast from 1972 to 1978, McClanahan played Maude's (Bea Arthur) best friend, Vivian Harmon.

The Golden Girls

In The Golden Girls, broadcast from 1985 until 1992 and in The Golden Palace for one year afterwards, McClanahan portrayed man-crazed Southern belle Blanche Devereaux. Devereaux was the owner of a house inhabited by four roommates: herself, Dorothy Zbornak (Bea Arthur), Rose Nylund (Betty White), and Sophia Petrillo (Estelle Getty). She received an Emmy Award in 1987 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on the show.

Other work

She also appeared as a leader of Al-Anon in a 1970's informational video called "Slight Drinking Problem," in which Patty Duke played the enabling and eventually self-empowered wife of an alcoholic. In cinema, McClanahan starred in 1961's The Rotten Apple, as well as Walk the Angry Beach in 1968. In 1971 she played a vicious fag hag in the film Some of My Best Friends Are... which was set in a gay bar. In 1990, McClanahan starred as Matilda Joslyn Gage, mother-in-law of L. Frank Baum in the made-for-TV-movie The Dreamer of Oz. McClanahan also guest starred on Newhart, played Aunt Fran on the first season of Mama's Family and was honored at the 2008 TV Land Awards for the cast's role in the Golden Girls, at which she was present.

LATER LIFE

An animal welfare advocate and vegetarian,^[3][4] McClanahan was one of the first celebrity supporters of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).^[3] A Democrat, in December 2003, she wrote a letter informing Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry that his pheasant hunting had cost him her vote and respect.^[3] In 2003 she appeared in the musical romantic comedy film The Fighting Temptations as Nancy Stringer, which co-starred Cuba Gooding Jr., Beyonce Knowles, Mike Epps and Steve Harvey. She replaced Carole Shelley as Madame Morrible in the musical Wicked on May 31, 2005. She played the role for eight months and departed the cast on January 8, 2006. She was replaced by Carol Kane on January 10, 2006. Her autobiography, My First Five Husbands, was released in 2007.^[3][4] In June 2008, The Golden Girls was awarded the 'Pop Culture' award at the Sixth Annual TV Land Awards. Rue accepted the award with co-stars Bea Arthur and Betty White.^[5] McClanahan's last acting role was in the cable series Sordid Lives on the Logo network, which premiered July 23, 2008, playing Peggy Ingram, the older sister of Sissy Hickey and mother of Latrelle, LaVonda and Earl "Brother Boy".

HEALTH & DEATH

In June 1997 she was diagnosed with breast cancer, from which she completely recovered. On November 14, 2009, she was to be honored for her lifetime achievements at an event "Golden: A Gala Tribute To Rue McClanahan" at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, California.^[6] The event was postponed due to McClanahan's hospitalization. She had triple bypass surgery on November 4. It was announced on January 14, 2010, by Entertainment Tonight that, while recovering from surgery, she had suffered a minor stroke. In March 2010, Betty White reported on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that McClanahan was doing well and that her speech had returned to normal.^[7] McClanahan died on Thursday, June 3, 2010 in NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital after she suffered a stroke and subsequently a brain hemorrhage.^[8]

LGBTQ PRIDE 2010

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THIS JUNE, LGBTQ (LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER, QUEER/QUESTIONING) PERSONS IN AMERICA CELEBRATE PRIDE MONTH. SO I WANTED TO KNOW: WHAT DOES PRIDE MEAN TODAY & HOW DOES IT RELATE TO THE EVER-EVOLVING LGBTQ COMMUNITY?

THIS MAN...

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There is this man…

That comes to me in my dreams.

He tells me that he is the one for me,

And that we will be together forever.

And I love him oh so much,

I know I’ve been touched by the hand of GOD.

Then I woke up and there you were,

I know that you weren’t This Man…

But I wasn’t sure,

I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt.

But I was wrong,

And you turned out to be That Man…

I wanted you to be the one in my dreams,

But you weren’t he and it left me sick.

And I didn’t think that I could get up,

But it’s hard sleeping on a pillow full of tears.

I know now that I was # 3,

There was your career and the other MAN.

You are the epitome of what a MAN isn’t,

And I knew it.

So I have to stand up,

And face my fears.

Guess we are strangers after all,

Another memory that came to my life.

I wish that you didn’t affect,

So you wouldn’t be a scar on my soul.

But I can’t be mad with you,

I should be mad with myself.

After all I was the one giving the keys to my heart,

And I wanted him to bring the light.

But my dark world has nothing to do with you,

And you didn’t ask for the lock.

Hell you didn’t even take the key!

I wish I knew why life is this way.

Will the man in dreams ever show his face?

© tgk

 

THE HUMAN REVOLUTION PROJECT

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Isn’t it amazing how often we look @ the outside world and find it in a state of seeming chaos and disorder, and when we are presented with a way to do something about we can’t be bothered? I get the reason for us NOT wanting to get involved due to our inability to bring to the world what we do not have to offer, but I’ve often find that if there is to be any peace in this world on ALL levels, we need to understand that peace starts in our own minds and hearts and NOT outside of ourselves. So as I thought about the theme for this month’s blog, one thing KEPT coming to me and that’s we need a HUMAN REVOLUTION!

I decided that I would through out this concept to those around me and of course I was given more than one reason why I shouldn’t take such a project and NOT one for why I should. I get their reasons for saying how trying to start a charitable organization, but it isn’t about me and I would like to think that persons around me know that I am FIRMLY entrenched in myself so my wanting to take on something like this goes beyond what they think I am OR represent. I know that I have my work cut out for me because I am no more/less human than those around me…I mean I bleed just like they do and I have the same chattering thoughts and troubled emotions they have…The difference is that I do not lend my energy to them. We all have the ability to choose how we distribute our energy, and I choose the vibration of peace over the vibration of conflict; and I think because of this I can and will do this!

So tell me what you think are best ways to serve mankind when you are able to locate yourself more and more in the deeper waters and less on the tumultuous surface of your being? I HAVE FEW IDES IN MIND, BUT WOULD LOVE TO GET YOUR OPINION AS WELL…