Today, a judge in California overturned Prop 8, which banned same sex marriage in California. It’s about time! The fight for gay marriage in California has been going on for years. It hit home for me back in the winter of 2004-which was better known as the “Winter of Love”.
My dear friend Susannah called me one night from the one of the coldest places on earth in the winter…Portland Maine. She and her long time girlfriend, the fabulous Bo Walker, had been living in Maine for a year while Bo went to boat building school. Susannah and I became friends when we worked together in San Francisco at TNDC. She told me that San Francisco’s mayor Gavin Newsome was going to allow same same sex marriage in the city for the first time starting in a few weeks. Everyone was so excited and nervous…because clearly Gavin Newsom was…breaking the law…sort of. Bo and Susannah, deprived of San Francisco’s good vibes for the past year, committed to the right of all couples to be able to marry if they want to and deeply in love with each other…decided they needed to be there. And they wanted me to be there. Things were tentative for a few days, because they weren’t sure if they could get a date/time at City Hall because it was a mob scene! Celebrities were getting married, politicians were getting married…long time gay rights activists and idealistic young couples were getting married. Everyone was trying to get in before the Attorney General put the kibosh on it!
So Bo’s lovely aunt (a san Francisco judge) got them an appointment-one week from then-to get married at San Francisco’s City Hall. In one week, everything came together-flights, a ceremony, outfits, flowers, brunch and a fab party back at their house. On a cool March day, surrounded by a half dozen or so family and friends, my dear friends Bo and Susannah got married. I don't have pictures (Susannah would-but she’s not on Facebook!) but I can tell you that in San Francisco’s historic City Hall, on that sunny, cool winter day, amidst the history making of that month, I have never felt more love or felt more proud to witness a wedding than I did that day.
Since then, there have been set backs for sure-annulment of the 4038 winter of love marriages being one of the worst. I sent Susannah a note today and said “If I lived in San Francisco, I would meet you after work for a cocktail to celebrate. Then we we go to Civic Center to the rally to share the love with the rest of San Francisco and we would finish the night off with burritos at Cancun. Perfect”.
I love and miss my friends dearly. Today is definitely a day to celebrate –love, friendship and equality for all.
No comments:
Post a Comment