West Michigan Pride

Well gang, it's been a busy couple of days. Yesterday I played hooky from work and we went to the Detroit area and helped Mom pack up some more stuff to get rid of. Of course, that means that a bunch of stuff came home with us. After we finished there, we headed to the mall -- in such horrid traffic I nearly died (and I learned to drive in that area as a kid). We headed downtown to hit the church bookstore only to find it is closed on Friday -- go figure. Then we reached the main reason for the trip. It was a dinner party hosted by one ob Ben's fellow priests and his partner. There were about 8 of us -- all gay, all male, and mostly clergy people. It was a wonderful evening and then we headed home -- exhausted but renewed in some kind of way.

Then today it was off to Pride in Grand Rapids. See the pictures above. They "ran" the American and Rainbow flags across the park and onto the stage -- impressive. Notice the shoes in the second picture -- it was probably the most bizarre outfit at the event (After all, it was Grand Rapids). I conducted the annual commitment serive -- as the two or three token protesters spouted scripture and their other junk. It was helpful to the cause that the mayor was a guest of honor at Pride and that the police were so supportive. Most of the folks pretty much ignored the protestors, but one guy had to walk by and start shouting "F... You, F... You, F...You." Several of us quieted him down pretty quickly. If we ignre the protestors they won't have much impact. Do they really think that they are going to change anyone's mind about sexuality? Really!!

A wonderful day was had by all. It was Ben's first Pride event -- I imagine he will be posting something later. Right now I am pooped, so that's it for now. Hug someone.