Thank You, Ben Gray

Last night, I attended the candle light vigil to end violence for Charlie "Rainbow Jane" Rogers.  While there, our City Councilman, Ben Gray, spoke to the assembled crowd.  His words were powerful, and a force of good.  Knowing we tend to hear the negative ten times as often as we do the positive, I sent him a note.  It is as follows:

The Right Kind of NIMBY

Tom Merino, you are a scholar and a gentleman.  It's very rare to find a politician who doesn't use vague doublespeak or passive language in their communications with the world.  I find your letter to Chick-Fil-A a refreshing departure from the norm.  Thank you, for standing up for equal rights.  Here's an atta boy from the middle of flyover country.

Source:
http://bostinno.com/2012/07/25/read-mayor-tom-meninos-full-letter-to-chick-fil-a-about-not-coming-to-boston-image/

XOXO
~Ephemily

Lessons, Doggy-Style

I'm sure you've heard the phrase, "Once you go black, you never go back.".  And it's true.  There's something subconsciously dangerous about them, menacing even.  But, I can tell you for certain, my big love of a black, mixed breed dog is one of my proudest associations.  Moxie has taught me an awful lot over the years, but most of her lessons have come in the last several months.

Bodice Rippers - The New Image

Alright, let's talk erotica.  Fifty Shades of Gray is EVERYWHERE these days.  Apparently, it's flying off the shelves and has the sales of sex toys skyrocketing.  Heck, it has even changed the bodice ripper genre by making publishers think twice about the cover art they'd been using.  Harlequin books has re-released some of their classics with more austere covers and sales are doing well.  However, all this glowing about the book make me a supporter.  I like what it's done for erotic content, but I am gonna be a porn-snob here.  I think there are better sources for your naughty needs.

Play Taps for the Boy Scouts

"Dear Boyscouts of America, I'm saddened by your organization's decision to cast judgement of another human being's worth over who they're attracted to. However, to do it using an anonymous panel of people making the decision is shameful. It smacks of white hoods and "I was only following orders". Homosexuality is not the same as being a predator, and it's hard to tell if you can see the difference. Your decision is a blight on your image in the shape of a burning cross."

                                         xoxo ~Ephemily

An American institution as familiar as baseball and apple pie chose to hide behind anonymity when they voted to enforce their exclusionary policy of banning gays from participating in their reindeer games.  Today marks my speaking out against homophobia in more than just a mumble.  Somebody hand me my activist hat.

Canine Houdini

Tally ho!

I grew up in a household where my dad, my sister, and for a while, even I, foxhunted.  I'm talking, dress up in fancy clothes, gussy up your horse, and head out to harvested corn fields in Iowa at the break of dawn, foxhunting.  I say I did it for a time because I frequently was awarded the groundtester achievement.  Meaning I was able to prove gravity was more than a theory on a very consistent basis.  The funny thing about that though is that I managed to hold on for dear life until the horse came to a complete stop.  Only then would I hit the dirt.

My sister continued hunting until a severe back injury put an end to her Sunday morning rides.  My dad, however, still gets up on winter mornings when you can see your breath and hear the turkeys in the fallen corn, scavenging for breakfast to go out and chase the elusive, furry scoundrel.

I tell you about the hunting because it was regular thing around the house.  When it wasn't hunting season, my sister and I would participate in dressage or jumping competitions at the stable where we kept our horses.  (Yes, I was that kid who asked for a pony as a kid and actually got one.)

It was at a horse show when  I was little that we first ran across Jack Russel Terriers.