Transition

Got some stuff goin' on, I do.

Seem to be at a crossroads of life.

Thinking about working for a living. Like for someone else. Yeah, I know.

Got a couple of things swirling in the pot of stuff that is my life at this moment.

the jury on one item is out for at least another 24 hours.

I'll let you know how it comes out, I promise. Plan B depends kinda on how plan A shakes out. Again, I'll let you know.

In the meantime, I've been busy running around and trying to coordinate things so Laura and I can get married this fall.

As you may know, earlier in the spring, Maine's Legislature passed and our Governor signed into law a bill to allow for same-sex marriages. Laura and I set a wedding date for September 19, the first Saturday after the law is due to go into effect.

But then some pissants decided that our getting married would stop the world turning, so they hired some people to collect signatures and they are going to force a state-wide referendum on the issue this November. That's right: the whole state of Maine will have an opportunity to vote on whether Laura and I get to be married. How ridiculous is that?

So now we're organizing. I mean, we were organized before, but now we are mobilizing. We've got committees and offices set up everywhere, we're asking people to pledge their support and Vote No On 1 in November. We're gonna have to raise a ton of money, and that sucks. Because really, I'd rather see that energy and money all go into solving other pressing problems, like health care or school budgets or affordable housing. Not fighting a political battle of epic proportions just so we can be married.

We're doing what we can. We're organizing house parties, phone banks and volunteer trainings. We ask people to give and give and give some more. We talk to neighbors and friends and coworkers and employers and the folks at the grocery store. This is how we're going to win this thing.

We can do it. I know we can.

If a skinny law professor-turned first term Senator with dark skin and a crazy name can become President of the United States, then we can do this small thing. Obama won because he competed in every state and territory. The way for us to win is to do the same. We need to compete in every county, every town and every village. We are not going to win them all, but we are going to be like people's fucking credit cards: Everywhere they want to be.

This is about love and it is about fairness. While Mainers aren't much for talking publicly about such mushy stuff as love, we have a keen idea what is meant by fairness. That means everybody plays by the same rules, even the fella you don't like so much. Rules is rules, and that's fair. And that is all we're asking for - rules that apply to us all equally.

We can do this.

Yes we can.

If you're reading this from somewhere out of state and want to help, click on THIS LINK and make a donation. I don't care if you tell them I sent you, just give what you can. This means an awful lot to us. Thanks.

inertia

I feel like I should be writing more. I have tons of ideas in my head. Loads of things I want to write about and share. But I can't get out of my own way.

The bra project was a delightful diversion - oh, and "Iron Maidenform" won the naming contest hands-down. The friend who came up with that name was delighted and pleased. Sharon, one of the organizers, was delighted to have the bra in her possession and now I have ideas for something else. But first I have to get some real work done

Work is rough this year. The economy is in the toilet, so lots of people are holding off on repairs and maintenance to their homes. I had a nice big-ish job in Portland last month, and I'll have another there next week, but otherwise it has been pretty thin. Some friends of ours in the Portland area have been lobbying pretty hard for us to move back there. I don't know though. There are pros and cons to all of it.

I like living on MDI, but Portland has a lot more going on, particularly in the winter months.

We have a great community of friends here, but we have friends there, too.

There is better access to charity medical care in Portland, and that would be good for Laura - she could get her back treated. Here, we have no options.

But living cheek-by-jowl in Portland again does not appeal to me. It just doesn't. I don't like hearing and knowing what my next door neighbors are doing, and I don't like them hearing/knowing what I am doing.

But there is work there, at least more of it than there is here. I have told some friends that if I can see six month's worth of work there, we could move. I can't just pick up and go without having some kind of income set up for when we get there, but I am not sure we can afford to stay here. It is discouraging. I love living in this part of Maine. Yes, I complain about tourists and cruise ships, but honestly, they interfere on a limited number of days each year. Most of the time, we have Acadia all to ourselves. The trout are hidden in quiet pools and streams, if hikers wander through, they quietly wander back off again without disturbing us or the fish. It's a pretty good life.

Except for the lack of work and access to medical care.

Yeah. except for that.

I guess what I'd prefer is that a move like this present itself in a positive way for me. But I don't see it that way. This is a retreat, in my mind, not progress, not an advance. Like I/we lost a battle of some sort. I don't know.

What I do know is that I have some metal that I need to make into a handrail for some customers. That will keep me busy today and probably tomorrow. The rest of the summer's work will fill in the way it fills in. There is not much I can do beyond schedule it on the calendar and follow the money.

And be open to what the world offers me. I have to work on that. I think I need to stop trying to fit the world into my schedule and to see what I can do to work in harmony with what the world sends my way. That will be my goal for today. Blessed be.