D.C. recently legalized gay marriage. Many congressman are trying desperately to overturn the ruling. They have 30 days to make a decision, and they surly will not back down easily. Please help sign a petition to your congressman to help them decide to vote against overruling the newly legal gay marriage law.
Go Here to sign the petition. You can also write comments to your congressman, which could make it or break it for them.
This is what I wrote to my congressman:
Marriage Equality is an issue about Civil Rights. Religious issues should in no way be presented, as these issues in themselves do not represent the country as a whole. No religious institution is being forced to perform marriages to those whom they do not seem fit to wed, regardless of gender, race, or culture. There is no logical reason to overturn the D.C. ruling that legalizes marriage to people of any sexual orientation. It is the American way to allow equal rights under the law to ALL citizens, no matter who they are. We are all expected to follow the same laws, and therefore should be given the same rights. You cannot expect people to change a part of themselves that is engraved into their being as much as they cannot change the color of their blood, or stop themselves from breathing. Therefore, I urge to to consider the impact D.C. will have on the rest of the country, an impact that may well set the tone for other cities and states to recognize equal marriage under the laws of our nations constitution. Do not allow this ruling to be overturned, as it would be a travesty to those who have hope. Thank you.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Computer, one cup Earl Grey, hot.
Isn't it strange when one tiny thing can bring back hundreds of memories from your childhood? Whether it be a particular odor, song, taste, or touch, you are stopped in your tracks of whatever monotonous task you are involved with, and a distinct memory of your childhood pops up into the forefront of your thoughts, taking you back to a person you almost forgot.
Today I got up an hour and a half before work so I could wash the smell of the deli out of my clothes. Trust me, the smell from my pants was enough to make a starving dog in heat lose its appetite. Since I had so much time to kill before work, I figured I'd go out of my way getting ready. I flat ironed my hair, made my bed, unloaded the dishwasher, and still had time to make a breakfast that was more satiating than a waffle-on-the-go. A warm and fluffy cheese omelet, whole wheat toast with butter and jam, and a cup of hot Earl Grey tea, courtesy of my roommate's pantry. It smelled amazing, and I was so excited to eat it. I sat down on the couch, set up my little TV table, and turned on Regis and Kelly for some background commentary. I was quite pleased with myself, sitting in my own first apartment, eating the food that I paid for myself (mostly), on my very own couch. As I took a sip of my tea, I was instantly transported to my childhood.
When I was a little kid, and by little I mean about five or six, I used to follow my dad around all day long, like I was trying to take the place of his shadow. This was before my mom was sick, before my parents split up, before I ever even left New York City. I was as naive about the world as any young child was, and frankly the only things I cared about was Sesame Street, Barney, and pizza. My dad was a plumber, and he would get up very early in the morning to go to work. I had no idea what a plumber might be, and for all I knew he might have been a superhero. I don't really remember much from these quiet years before the shouting and the fighting, but I do remember one thing above everything else: Star Trek.
After my father would come home from work, we would sit down in the living room together as a family to eat dinner. My mother, father, and brother would be sitting on the couch, me on the floor, and my two little sisters would be in their play-pin next to us. We would watch the news, or some other show that was boring and uninteresting, but I would hold out for the grand prize. Once a week, the most amazing show ever created, Star Trek would come on, and for that one hour a week, I believed anything was possible.
Sure the science was completely beyond anything I could imagine in my little mind, and yes some of the romance was still way out of my reach, but if there is one thing that is universally understood, its curiosity. Explorations of new things, action, excitement, adventure, mystery, new kinds of people, cool gadgets, fancy spaceships, all of this was introduced to me for the first time through Star Trek, and the only person who I thought could be a little cooler than my dad was Captain Jean-Luc Picard. He could do anything, say anything. He was superman, batman, and spiderman all in one. And every time he was lost or confused, he would sit in his great office and ask the computer for a cup of "Earl Grey, hot." I never had Earl Grey before, but I thought that it must have been the most important drink on the planet.
I once asked my dad if I could have some Earl Grey, and he told me that I couldn't because it was a big person drink. I never let down, and would frequently annoy him about it until he told me that he would let me have a sip, and that I probably wouldn't like it. I realize now that he didn't put any sugar in it, and when your that young I don't think your taste buds have fully developed. So I take a big sip of my dad's Earl Grey and boy was I in for a surprise. It tasted like stale water, and was so hot it burned my whole mouth. I thought that maybe only superheros like my dad and Captain Picard could drink this magical beverage, because they had super strength or something.
I never had any interest in drinking hot tea again, at least not for another ten years or so. After my dad left us, I stopped watching Star Trek, and stopped dreaming about exploring space and aliens, stopped being curious about the world around me, and when my mother became sick, stopped being a kid. Flash forward fifteen years later and I'm twenty years old sitting in my living room by myself, and for a moment, as I burn my mouth with the Earl Grey tea, I feel like a little kid.
Today I got up an hour and a half before work so I could wash the smell of the deli out of my clothes. Trust me, the smell from my pants was enough to make a starving dog in heat lose its appetite. Since I had so much time to kill before work, I figured I'd go out of my way getting ready. I flat ironed my hair, made my bed, unloaded the dishwasher, and still had time to make a breakfast that was more satiating than a waffle-on-the-go. A warm and fluffy cheese omelet, whole wheat toast with butter and jam, and a cup of hot Earl Grey tea, courtesy of my roommate's pantry. It smelled amazing, and I was so excited to eat it. I sat down on the couch, set up my little TV table, and turned on Regis and Kelly for some background commentary. I was quite pleased with myself, sitting in my own first apartment, eating the food that I paid for myself (mostly), on my very own couch. As I took a sip of my tea, I was instantly transported to my childhood.
When I was a little kid, and by little I mean about five or six, I used to follow my dad around all day long, like I was trying to take the place of his shadow. This was before my mom was sick, before my parents split up, before I ever even left New York City. I was as naive about the world as any young child was, and frankly the only things I cared about was Sesame Street, Barney, and pizza. My dad was a plumber, and he would get up very early in the morning to go to work. I had no idea what a plumber might be, and for all I knew he might have been a superhero. I don't really remember much from these quiet years before the shouting and the fighting, but I do remember one thing above everything else: Star Trek.
After my father would come home from work, we would sit down in the living room together as a family to eat dinner. My mother, father, and brother would be sitting on the couch, me on the floor, and my two little sisters would be in their play-pin next to us. We would watch the news, or some other show that was boring and uninteresting, but I would hold out for the grand prize. Once a week, the most amazing show ever created, Star Trek would come on, and for that one hour a week, I believed anything was possible.
Sure the science was completely beyond anything I could imagine in my little mind, and yes some of the romance was still way out of my reach, but if there is one thing that is universally understood, its curiosity. Explorations of new things, action, excitement, adventure, mystery, new kinds of people, cool gadgets, fancy spaceships, all of this was introduced to me for the first time through Star Trek, and the only person who I thought could be a little cooler than my dad was Captain Jean-Luc Picard. He could do anything, say anything. He was superman, batman, and spiderman all in one. And every time he was lost or confused, he would sit in his great office and ask the computer for a cup of "Earl Grey, hot." I never had Earl Grey before, but I thought that it must have been the most important drink on the planet.
I once asked my dad if I could have some Earl Grey, and he told me that I couldn't because it was a big person drink. I never let down, and would frequently annoy him about it until he told me that he would let me have a sip, and that I probably wouldn't like it. I realize now that he didn't put any sugar in it, and when your that young I don't think your taste buds have fully developed. So I take a big sip of my dad's Earl Grey and boy was I in for a surprise. It tasted like stale water, and was so hot it burned my whole mouth. I thought that maybe only superheros like my dad and Captain Picard could drink this magical beverage, because they had super strength or something.
I never had any interest in drinking hot tea again, at least not for another ten years or so. After my dad left us, I stopped watching Star Trek, and stopped dreaming about exploring space and aliens, stopped being curious about the world around me, and when my mother became sick, stopped being a kid. Flash forward fifteen years later and I'm twenty years old sitting in my living room by myself, and for a moment, as I burn my mouth with the Earl Grey tea, I feel like a little kid.
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