“And how do you benefit from stringing together, the tattered pieces of your life?”

Guido: What is this sudden happiness that makes me tremble. . .
giving me strength. . .
. . .life?
Forgive me, sweet creatures.
I hadn’t understood.
I didn’t know.
It’s so natural accepting you, loving you.
And so simple.

Luisa, I feel I’ve been freed.
Everything seems so good, so meaningful.
Everything is true.
I wish I could explain.

But I don’t know how to.
So.
Everything is confused again, as it was before.

But this confusion is… me.
Not as I’d like to be, but as I am.

I’m not afraid anymore of telling the truth,
of the things I don’t know, what I’m looking for and haven’t found.
This is the only way I can feel alive,
and I can look into your faithful eyes without shame.

Life is a celebration.
Let’s live it together!

This is all I can say. . . to you or the others.
Accept me for what I am, if you want me.
It’s the only way we might be able to find each other.

Luisa: I don’t know if what you said to me is right. But I can try if you help me.

. . .

[from "8 1/2" by Frederico Fellini]

“I don’t want the future. I want the present to stand still.”

Here’s to many more joyous years, mon prince doux.

Taking a stand from across the divide

Here’s a quick “Valentine’s Day shout-out” to the hometown.

California clerk/recorder Freddie Oakley gave out 20 “Certificates of Inequality” yesterday to gay and lesbian couples. Oakley is an elected official in charge of issuing marriage certificates in Yolo County region, which includes the cities of Woodland, Davis [Whoo!], Winters, and West Sacramento.

“After the noon rush, many of the applicants stood in the clerk’s office and serenaded Oakley with a chorus of ‘For She’s a Jolly Good Person.’

‘Thank you very, very much, I appreciate it,’ Oakley said.”

What’s even more encouraging about this story, Oakley is an Evangelical Christian. Unlike many of her religious peers, she actually gets the importance of separation of church and state. “I don’t think that religion belongs at the office. I think it’s wrong. I don’t go down and tell my pastor how to preach and I don’t want him to stand behind my counter….I think [taking a stand] absolutely is [the place of a puclic official]. In fact, I think it’s our duty. We don’t just enforce laws, we’re policy makers. If I’m comfortable in my morale [sic] heart that I’m doing the right thing, then let the chips fall where they may.”

Unfortunately, not every Christian shares her views. The number of protestors at the event rivaled that of supporters. And although she is still widely supported, backlash from her actions have obliged Oakley to resign membership from her church.

Keep strong, Ms. Oakley. Thank you for sticking your neck out there to show how discrimination against LGBT citizens still exists at many levels of government. I just hope that sometime in the near future, Freddie Oakley will be able to hand me an honest, legal certificate.