A television event worth mentioning

Let me start by saying this: I don't care if you are female or male, gay or straight (or anything in between), young or old. If you missed Saturday's premiere of the Lifetime movie "Prayers for Bobby", WATCH IT AS SOON AS YOU CAN!!! I am not saying this to promote a tear jerker, but because it is an amazing story about an inspirational journey that provides insight into the lives of - god knows how many - families out there.
I am very critical of "gay" things, and am generally tired of gay movies that reflect only the negative sides of our lives. AIDS, rejection, hatred, discrimination. For the most part I just wonder why nobody makes a gay film about a happy couple, or about a great relationship with ups and downs - basically a movie that could apply to the average straight couple just as well. Or I would love to see a gay couple in a commercial for some random household item. Just to be shown in a "normal" situation; but as long as we show only the "ab-normal" sides of it, we really can't expect others to look past them.
That being said, this latest movie made me think. It is damn easy for me to say "just give me something "normal"", when the sad reality is that AIDS, rejection, hatred and discrimination are things that a lot of people out there have to deal with on a daily basis. I might not face those issues in my life, but we know that a large number of people are not that lucky. And if a movie like the one just shown can make even ONE un-accepting parent think, or ONE catholic question the bible, or make ONE gay man or lesbian woman decide not to jump off that bridge, than we moved yet another step in the right direction.
So - get a bottle of wine, some cubes of cheese, crackers and grapes and tissues and turn on "Lifetime." If they play it on weekdays at nine, you can just stay tuned, go right into "Will and Grace" at eleven and have an entirely GAY evening!!!

The Lady at PetCo... or: Can we just be nice???

The day before yesterday was another big day in the life of our Baby Fiby. Yes... she had a bath. But not just any old bath! She was actually bathed with "Head and shoulders"; not only because she is worth it, but mainly because we ran out of dog shampoo. Bathing her is not a big deal... but the blow drying is a 1.5 hour fight where my little ball of fur mutates into a pit bull without mercy. This time she actually fought me until she suddenly passed out, her body colapsing like limp asparagus (a NY reviewer used those words once to discribe me in something I danced a few years back...). I had to stop the process, shake her until she came to, and celebrated her life while holding back tears. Needless to say - the girl went through a near death experince, and I felt like having her with me every second for the rest of the day.
I had to get dog food later on, and took her with me; "girls' day out". She was still quite exhausted from the horror I made her go through, but she looked amazing and smelled better than the everage person!
We first stopped by West Elm (where - by the way - I will start my official Management Training in February), and where Fiby is always a welcome guest. She feels pretty much at home there; or maybe she is just confused as to how half our stuff from the house suddenly appears in this strange place. "Did we move???"
Anyway; next stop: PetCo. We walked through the isles while I picked up what we needed, and Fiby pulled me towards whereve her nose led her. Just before getting to the register, a Lady with he little dog stopped for our babies to "say hello". As the girls did their thing, the woman asked me what kind of dog Fiby is. I told her she is a Shih- tzu.
"Hmmmm..." the woman said. Then again: "Hmmm". Pause.
"My friend has a Shih- tzu... she looks different though. I guess it is because she keeps her well groomed."
First of all; I realy don't care about your friend (although; judging by your manners I am quite frankly surprised you HAVE a friend), her dog, her grooming habits or what you are guessing. Secondly - Fiby had been through enough that day, and certainly didn't need to have insult added to injury. And thirdly:
"She actually just had a bath, and probably smells better than you" - I said, pulled the leash ever so gently and proceeded to the check out.
Remember the line from "Bambi"...!? "If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all"!? Isn't that something to think about?
I find it interesting how we always look for change and hope for things to get better. We want the war to end, we want the economy to ge back on track, we want gas prices to come down, we want crimes to stop... and for everything we WANT, we look to find somebody to fix it. The police, government, Obama (and may I say: God bless America! Congratulations, thank you, Oh say can you see by the dawn's early light, Mary, Jesus and all the saints). But can't we stop to think for a second that it is not only those BIG things that make life better or worse. There are small things we all can do to make ourselves and others a little happier, a little safer and our daily lives in general a little more pleasant. But pointing ingers at all that is wrong, while walking around being mean, negative, zynic and in a bad mood is simply hypocritical.
On that noe, I will make it my goal for today to just be nice.