A Hug from Michelle Obama

I was waiting for a PDF to generate when I clicked play on the video of Michelle Obama's interview with Jay Leno. As I was watching I flashed back to an episode of Seinfeld in which Elaine interviews for the editor job at Doubleday which had formerly (and famously) been held by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis - Jackie O.

Shockingly I couldn't find a clip online so here are a few lines from the script I found at Seinfeld Scripts.

LANDIS: Of course, Jackie O. was a great lady. Those are going to be some tough shoes to fill. Everyone loved her. She had such...grace.

ELAINE (gushing): Yes! Grace!

LANDIS: Not many people have grace.

ELAINE: Well, you know, grace is a tough one. I like to think I have a little grace...not as much as Jackie -

LANDIS: You can't have "a little grace." You either have grace, or you...don't.

Michelle O. has grace. In the interview she also proved she has humor and intelligence. It was then I decided to close the work computer and drive to that bastion of Colorado conservatism, Colorado Springs (home of the zealous Focus on the Family) to see Michelle O. speak at the Early Vote for Change Rally.

Colorado Springs is an hour south of Denver. I arrived 15 minutes before the doors were to open and walked around the building to the end of the line. It wasn't looking good for our entrance to the indoor Colorado Springs City Auditorium but the excitement was invigorating and those of us on the line bonded in our hope to make it.

By the time we passed the McCain supporters, laughed at the 9/11 conspirator, feared the anti-choice protesters, and got to the front door of the auditorium, the doors were shut.



Don't worry. There are speakers in the parking lot and you can listen to the rally there.

Fun.

But we walked our excitement over to the parking lot and stood at the waist-high barricades, listening to the local politicians and volunteers, and watching the news trucks setup a microphone and dais. I just hoped that when Michelle spoke she would give a shout out to those of us who couldn't get in.



As I stood listening to the wife of a soldier who had devoted herself to electing Barack Obama, and Jan Martin, Republican Colorado Springs City Council Member who has endorsed Obama, I glanced over to the other side of the parking lot and watched a woman walking towards us, flanked by three men in dark suits. As the woman got closer, I grabbed the arm of my line friend and said, "There's Michelle O." At that point, others had noticed her also and the cheering became cacophonous. Michelle walked up to the microphone and her first words that night were, "And this is just the overflow?" The crowd went wild.



Michelle thanks us for being there and said she had to get inside but she wanted to go around and shake some hands - which is exactly what she did. Having been 20 people from the beginning of the parking lot line I had an excellent spot holding on to the barricade.

Michelle walked down the line, shaking hands with some and hugging others. She got to my line friend and said, "Thank you very much." Then she looked at me and before she could say anything I said, No, Michelle. Thank you very much.

Maybe it was my tee shirt adorned with a huge picture of her husband. Or maybe it was the I Voted sticker that was stuck on it. Or maybe she just liked what I said but she stopped and hugged me before moving on down the line.



The woman behind me grabbed my shoulder and said, She just hugged you. I gulped and nodded my head.

Oh, I wish she had hugged me, she said.

Quick, hug me. You can have a Michelle hug by proxy.

And we hugged each other which excited her to no end. And me? I'll never wash that Obama shirt again - not that I've washed it in a long time. Since I early voted and put that sticker on, the shirt hasn't seen the inside of a washing machine.

Michelle O.: a graceful successor who is sure (fingers crossed) to be the next First Lady of our United States of America. You go, girl!

Obama: Colorado Ain't Swinging No More

Over 100,000 people joined me in welcoming Barack Obama back to the Mile High City. This is three times the amount that showed up to welcome Bill Clinton when he campaigned for President in Denver in 1992. (1992 was the last election in which Colorado swung for a Democratic nominee.) Civic Center Park takes up three city blocks (not counting the Capitol steps mentioned by Obama). Before settling in the center of the milling throngs, I walked the outskirts. It was amazing and invigorating to feel the excitement and see the diversity.



About three hours later, Obama spoke in Fort Collins, Colorado (immediately south of the Wyoming border) in front of a reported 50,000 people.



Here's the Denver news story with photo credits. The ones I took didn't do justice to the expanse. Next time I'll bring my crane.









And lastly, this little one couldn't make it to the park but decided to join in the excitement anyway.

Obama: Rush's Race to Judgement

Rush Limbaugh believes that Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama is totally about race. So let's turn Limbaugh's attempt at logic around.

I proclaim that my endorsement of Barack Obama is totally about race.

Thankfully, Obama has a white mother because I could never vote for a black person.



Excellent video but why didn't the artist use creative license on Limbaugh's face?

UPDATE 10/29: How come the pig doesn't call out this McCain supporter for his endorsement of McCain being totally about race? Click the image for the Raw Story and very disturbing video of McCain supporters advocating assassination. This is scary stuff.

Obama: Schlepping for the..

A month after we moved into our house in Denver, I was driving south on Wadsworth Blvd. on my way to the in-laws (if there was a law). Waiting at a red light, I watched a man at the church on the corner cleaning up the letters he hadn't used for the church's sign. It touted the following Sunday's sermon. I thought the sign was funny but I also thought it odd that the cleric wrote it did not understand the implicit meaning of the words. I went back the next day to take a picture.



Unfortunately (I can only assume that) when the cleric saw the sign in the light of day, it (sic) must have finally understood because the words were gone.

A month ago I received an email with a picture from another house of worship. This one used a Yiddish word that I have heard often in my 50 years.



Yiddish is, in a simplistic nutshell, a German language written in Hebrew. In German and Yiddish, shvarts means black. Although I can't answer to any German interpretation I can tell you that shvartser in Yiddish means black person and the word is used as a derogatory term by alter kakers (a derogatory Yiddish term for old person). In this case, the cleric who wrote it did understand the explicit meaning in the words - vote for Barack Obama. I thought it a brilliant and funny attempt to reach the same group of people that brilliant and funny Sarah Silverman wants you to reach in the video, The Great Schlep.



After all this, it turns out that the latter sign was created online at a site called Church Sign Generator. When I saw what you could do on this site, I decided to recreate the former sign using the name of the zealous pentecostal church Sarah Palin left in 2002 - right before her first run for a statewide office. How convenient!

Palin didn't win her first run. I can only hope this generated church sign helps to defeat her (and the alter kaker she's running with) in her first run for national office.

UPDATE 10/23: Even if you and I don't think this race is about race, there are plenty who do.

UPDATE 10/24: People are schlepping.

UPDATE 10/29: More information on her sashay from the WAOG can be found in the Newsweek article, What Are Sarah Palin's Religious Beliefs: Jesus and Witches.

With a Dog and a Cat...

...working from home can get a little crowded.

Sarah Palin: Not America's Next Top Model Either

I like totally spaced on the premiere of America's Next Top Model a few weeks back. So last night I went straight to CWTV.com and got caught up with transgendered Isis, darkly sexual Elina, and can't-quite-figure-her-out Clark.



The premiere episode had the following exchange between Tyra and ultimately-axed contestant, Susan. With a BA in American and English Literature from Harvard University, Susan has never heard of Jack London's White Fang, Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca, Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth or Shakespeare's Viola. She does though remember Jane Eyre. She probably saw the movie with Keira Knightley. (Did she even make Jane Eyre? Yet?)

It's amazing to watch Ms. Banks spout off the names of these books. She dedicated the second episode of ANTM to getting out the vote. Granted it was girls in minis in front of a voting booth but you do what you can. Tyra, you are fab-oo!

Today, I happened on this clip of Katie Couric asking Sarah Palin why Alaska's proximity to Russia can be considered foreign policy experience. With a BA in Journalism from the University of Idaho, Palin looks caught in the headlights and can't put a coherent thought into a grammatically correct sentence. She does though complete a few towards the end with the type of brilliant insight I want in a vice president.



And for a quick take on Palisn't's (sic) escapades in the un-truth, here's a pictorial by Tim Dickinson of Rolling Stone called The Truth About Sarah Palin.

Sarah Palin's credentials as a reformer are nothing but spin. She has sided with Big Oil, lobbied to increase pork spending and abused her public power to carry out personal vendettas. Here's a guide to separating myth from fact.

This is a nightmare.

Obama: $1000 Tax Break to Middle Class

My hairdresser is gonna hate me. She replied to my post. (I feel like Kathy Griffin.)

I have read Obama's economic plan and there is no tax cuts as he promises! However, under his economic plan he will be more than happy to have the IRS complete your yearly tax returns for you. This is in black and white. But- he only TALKS of tax cuts.

I replied.

And you believe John McCain is going to cut YOUR taxes, *****? He wants to make the Bush tax cuts on those earning over $250,000 permanent. (If you make over 250,000/year I am in the wrong line of work.)

And I went on as I often do, probably a little too snarky but, at this point, I don't want to be liked. I want a vote for Barack Obama. We are drowning and Barack offers a lifeline of civility. And in the video below, Barack speaks with pride in the knowledge that his plan is right and conviction in his ideas - like a President should.



I'm not sure what other economic plans are out there but this sentence fragment links to the real economic plan of Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Which Candidate Will Raise Your Taxes?

Excellent web page from slsinsf, my BFF in SF. ObamaTaxCut.com uses a small computer program (or servlet for the technically inclined) to figure out the approximate tax cut (if any) you would receive under an Obama presidency and under a McCain presidency. (The underlying mathematics was derived by the independent and non-partisan Tax Policy Center and based on the economic plans available on each candidate's web sites.) As most McCain supporters believe Obama will raise their taxes, here is a real-time way of finding out (roughly) what each presidency will mean to your personal bottom line.

I would receive no tax cut under an Obama presidency but money isn't everything. Truth, compassion, and honesty are part of the picture. Oh, and health. Don't get me wrong, money's there too; I'm just not an extremist.

Cindy McCan't: Take the Heat

And she's nowhere near the kitchen. She's on The View.

All this relates to her appearance last week with John. A lot seems to have gone down following the interview and I thought it was neatly and fairly summed up in this segment from CNN's Showbiz Tonight.

But most important is one of the commentators. I don't know who you are are Lauren Lake but, girl, you are my new best friend!

Which Candidate Is Better Educated?

No matter how old I am or how many jobs I may apply for, I am always asked about my education and college degree. Here are the answers to that question regarding our presidential and vice-presidential candidates.

John McCain

1. United States Naval Academy: Class rank 894 of 899*

Barack Obama

1. Occidental College: 2 years


2. Columbia University: B.A. Political Science with a specialization in international relations


3. Harvard University: Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude*

Sarah Palin

1. Hawaii Pacific University: 1 semester


2. North Idaho College: 2 semesters - general study


3. University of Idaho: 2 semesters - journalism


4. Matanuska-Susitna College: 1 semester


5. Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester


6. University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in journalism*

Joeseph Biden

1. University of Delaware: B.A. in history and B.A. in political science


2. Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)*

Gracias, Monsieur Bissell.

---

* As far as I know, the United States Naval Academy doesn't qualify their degrees (as others do with a B.A. or J.D. - doctorate of law) so I added John McCain's ranking as the qualifier. Copied from the McCain web site regarding his education:

John attended college at the United States Naval Academy, and launched a 22-year career as a naval aviator upon his graduation.

John McCan't: Please His Fellow POWs

Interesting article by Phillip Butler, a man who was with John McCain during his internment in Vietnam. John McCain uses this time as a reason why he would be a good commander-in-chief but this man doesn't think so.

I Spent Years as a POW with John McCain, and His Finger Should Not Be Near the Red Button

Just add it to the pile.

John McCan't: Please the Ladies of The View

All dressed chromatically in black and white, three of the ladies were on top of it with Barbara seemingly showing her true colors, Whoopi not showing enough of hers, and joy finally coming into her own - for a few minutes anyway. Sherry didn't say a word until she threw a couple of softballs to Cindy in part 3 while Elizabeth prided herself on her question concerning Roe v. Wade, "No softballs from me." She's quite the journalist.



Someone should have called McCan't out when he touted Palisn't as the most popular governor in America. Is that per capita? I think Arnold Schwarzenegger might have something to say about that statement - at the least.



Cindy-bot joined for part three. She has a good engineer.

Sarah Palisn't: Well-Liked Among Alaskan Women

Here's a link to a very interesting account of the Alaska Women Reject Palin rally.

And here's what Tina Fey has to say on the whole Palisn't matter.



I love Tina Fey.

John McCan't and Sarah Palisn't

UPDATE: I felt I should update this post with the real reason I started using these names for John MCain and Sarah Palin. I was walking my dog through the neighborhood and saw a few houses with signs that read, in the Obama campaign blue color and font, NOBAMA - with a slash through the O. I felt that was a deceptive way of supporting your candidate (similar to the types of things I've read about in previous campaigns). So, being the writer, I went to the place of turning the last names McCain and Palin into grammatical negatives. And McCan't and Palisn't is what I came up with. Not as polished sounding but I only have until Nov. 4. Now I've written a few entries and, although I like the flow of the titles (Cindy McCan't: Take the Heat - very cute), I do understand that using these names is like putting a sign up on my lawn. I am a little embarrassed so maybe I'll stop. Oh...we'll see.

John McCan't govern this country with intelligence and foresight as he's proven with his consistent pandering to special interests and lying in the television advertisements that he approves. All for a vote. Does he believe in this country? Or in himself as a President?

Sarah Palisn't qualified to be Vice President. Can McCan't, with the millions of citizens in the United States, not find a person with more than 4 years of municipal and state experience to run this country in case he, THE 73 YEAR OLD MAN AT THE TOP OF THE TICKET, dies?

Ptth. Ptth.

That's taking this country into the 21st Century using a little red wagon.

Matt Damon on Sarah Palin

Matt Damon speaks with intelligence and aplomb about the nomination of Sarah Palin as the Republican Vice Presidential candidate.

Obama 2008: A Change in the Wind

My hairdresser scared the sh*t out of me.

You're really voting for Barack Obama? His name scares me, she said.

His name? Here is a woman living in the cosmopolitan center of the Rocky Mountains who thinks John McCain was the better choice for president because his name was Anglo-Saxon? I asked her to please educate herself on Barack Obama before November 4 and not just spout off, what sounded to me like, talking points from Fox Television. The people in this country can't take four more months, much less four more years, of Republican rule.

Dearest *****:

One of my favorite songs from the '80s* took on a whole new meaning when I heard it on the way home. The song speaks to the spirit of Barack Obama and his supporters. The video clips give you perspective on what should and should not be feared. Please watch it, dance along if you'd like, and use the links below to get more information. Your fellow citizens will appreciate you for doing that.

all the best,
michael



Links:

• C-SPAN


• Think Progress


• Media Matters for America


• BarackObama.com

Video Credits:

• Red. White and Blue


• Hurricane Katrina: The Drive: New Orleans Lower 9th Ward


• WAR ON IRAQ HELMET CAM FIGHTING


• Bush, McCain - So Happy Together


• BarackObama.com

*Change in the Wind performed by the Boston-based band Face to Face with vocalist Laurie Sargent from their One Big Day LP released in 1988. How prescient are they?

Tired of Toein' the House

Check out Rocky Burnette's hit from 1980 because sometimes we all get Tired of Toein' the Line. It's how I feel about cleaning this house every time a potential buyer wants to look at it.



Recognize me without the red glasses? I still wear them sometimes.



Oh vez mear. Time flies when having fun!

Obama 2008: Hitting One Out of the Ball Park

When my neighbor told me I had been sitting in the end zone during the last night of the Democratic National Convention, I realized that Mile High Stadium is not that kind of ball park. So Barack Obama accomplished another first by hitting one out of a football field. I will retrace how he did that for those not lucky enough to be in Denver.



By the time I got to the very end of the security line for entrance to the Democratic National Convention, a helpful policeman told me that he sees a guy on the line that asked him how long the wait would be two hours ago. I prepared for the worst but I was through the gates in a little over an hour.

Thank you, Mr. Police, sir.

After flying through security, I grabbed a plate of enchiladas, a pizza, and a lemonade before finding my way to the end zone where I, straight out of Massapequa, sat between Taisha, straight out of Compton, and Merilyn, straight out of Berkeley. We all just met and we were all cheering and voting for Obama. What a world.


Jennifer Hudson sings the National Anthem

I must admit it was a lot easier to hear the words the speakers were saying when I was watching the proceedings online. (ABC News was streaming it live with commentary by creaky Sam Donaldson and some other guy who looks like a geek.) This evening, the last night of the Convention, the most rousing speeches were those given by the little people or as the DNC lists them, American Voices. Sure, Al Gore was inspiring but Roy Gross, Monica Early, Janet Lynn Monacco, Teresa Asenap, Pamela Cash-Roper, and Barney Smith - whose chant that we want a president who cares more about Barney Smith not Smith Barney was a highlight for all - spoke passionately and eloquently (!?) about their personal travails over the last eight Bush years.


Look closely at the bottle bobby-pinned to her hair

And then there's Obama - whom I could hear clear as a bell. I'm not going to reiterate what Obama spoke about in his speech but, suffice it to say, this man is the future of America. I fear for this country if he does not win this election.


John Legend and Will I Am sing Yes, I Can

About two-thirds of the way through his speech I left the comfort of my cushion between the two archetypes I had been playing with for the last five hours and got closer to the stage. (I always do that. Ask Carol Channing.) I soon found myself next to the ABC, CBS, and NBC news tents watching Obama orating magnificently. At the same time, I was watching Katie Couric, Charles Gibson and Brian Williams, our three national network news anchors, with their backs to the speaker, their heads down, and their eyeglasses perched on the tip of their respective noses, reading from pieces of paper.

Now granted, they were undoubtedly reading the speech on paper but they were not experiencing the speech as the rest of the attendees. They were reading words and dissecting grammar so they can have probing questions and insight but not one of them was experiencing the audience reactions or the speaker's expressions and movements. They were about to mislead their viewers.

And then it was over. Fireworks closed the evening and I literally ran out front to get a wide angle of the stadium and the sky. Enjoy!

And remember to vote for Obama on November 4, 2008!!

Obama Tour 2008: DNC Day 1

ABC News is streaming the Democratic National Convention live with commentary by creaky Sam Donaldson and some other guy who looks more like a geek. This is online gavel-to-gavel coverage. Television has High School Musical and an hour of DNC highlights. Pretty cool.

It sounds like a gay man...excuse me - a gentleman with a semi-pronounced lisp...is announcing Howard Dean as the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

Nancy Pelosi drones on. I appreciate her but she's not someone with whom I've always agreed. I go out to the back yard to clean leaves from the pond and return to find her STILL talking.

Is Howard Dean still a Governor? How come he is introduced as Governor Howard Dean but I am not introduced as Tax Collector Teger?

Ted Kennedy brings electricity to the Pepsi Center. The crowd was immediately drawn to him and his recent health issue. Intersperse this with shots of Caroline, Maria, Patrick, and the other male cousin and the Kennedy mantle is clearly being bestowed upon Barack Obama.

Oy, an invocation. Can't we just keep God out of it? Means nothing to me.

Craig Robinson introduces his little sister with some childhood tales. Immediately responded to him because of my own experiences with a little sister.

[Barack's] a blank slate right now so we project all our dreams and hopes and desires on him. But he'll be a president for everyone.

Michelle is poised, confident, passionate, defined, articulate, giving, and lovely. Her speech inspires and brings emotions to the fore. She talks of her parents, Her family, her daughters, and Barack and charmed everyone. The crowd loves her and the couple's two daughters, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, who gave us a true glimpse of the family when Barack peered through a video window after his wife spoke. Very effective.

The gavel comes down on Day 1, Sam Donaldson says good night and I finally hear the geek's name: Rick Klein. Nice job, Rick.

Obama 2008: The Tale of A Ticket

Some might know of my current plans to sell a house in Denver and get back to the Bay Area in California. (Not that I ever left; I'll always be a Californian and a New Yorker - dual citizenship.) Well, during this summer of 2008, the operative words are indeed plans to as the house has sat on the market for three months without a bite. I don't know if it's the real estate market, the real estate agent, or the real estate we're selling?



When George and I put the house up in June we were so optimistic. We had a huge garage sale, the house looked great, and everyone was clamoring for it. We would be fielding multiple offers, ultimately, bringing the sale price up an additional $4,000. What a world! But I said to our agent, there is a pin to this bubble.

A pin?

Yes, whatever deal we accept we have to draw out the paperwork through the end of August so I can still be here and see history happen when Barack Obama accepts the presidential nomination of the Democratic Party at INVESCO Field.

She winked. We'll be sure to, Michael.



It's now three months later, the price has dropped 10%, George is in California, John McCain can't count as high as the number of homes he owns but he wants to be president, and I'm keeping a house clean for the first time in my life - what would Toby think?

Roughly three weeks ago, I heard rumblings about where to get tickets for Obama's INVESCO Field appearance. It was late at night but I went to the Colorado Democratic Party home page anyway and was able to sign up. A ticket, it seems, is referred to as a Community Credential. I also checked a box that asked if I would like to volunteer for the campaign for six hours to receive an All-Star Credential. After clicking Submit, I received an immediate confirmation via email that thanked me for signing up to ''receive information about INVESCO Field and other updates from the Democratic National Convention''.



The next morning, all hell had broken loose. Video, blogs, articles and news sources across the Internet were ablaze with the talk of going to the Colorado Democratic Party home page to sign up for your Community Credential. 80% of the available tickets were going to Coloradans and being a Coloradan (for convenience this one time) I'm planning to go.

What was that operative word?

There were so many requests, they stopped taking names after 80,000, the field's capacity. A few days following that milestone I received an email, with no mention of a credential, that discussed ways I might volunteer for the campaign. I called up the telephone number in the email and the woman on the other end explained that I had to volunteer six hours within the next five days. The email I received was just explaining my options. I took the next day off from work, went to the Barack Obama Campaign Headquarters on 1355 South Colorado in Denver (the office) and proceeded to do six and a half hours (just to be sure) of data entry and cold telephone calls.



Hi. I am working for the presidential campaign of Senator Barack Obama and Congressman Mark Udall...yada...yada...yada.

I went home psyched for the work and the people I'd met and for my plans to see Barack Obama at INVESCO Field.

What was that operative word? Oh, yeah.

Within a few days I receive a voice mail informing me that I was put on a wait list for a credential. So it wasn't first come, first serve. But I just volunteered so I must be getting one of those All-Star Credentials, right? I assumed my plans to see Barack Obama were struck down in their prime.



A week later, I receive another voice mail reminding me to pick up my credential starting Friday 10 AM and before Saturday 5 PM. Was this for real? So I picked up the telephone and called HQ. (Volunteers can use that acronym.) It turns out that well, I got it! And you can see it. Here is a video I made to show the Community Credential because the front image changes in the light.



As this is the Community Credential, I'm not sure what the All-Star Credential is, or if I will be upgraded to it. But I do know that my plans to see Barack accept the nomination on August 28 have come to fruition. What was that operative word again? Oh, yeah. Bodes well for the sale of the house now, doesn't it?

My Yiddishe Mama and Her Notes

I often have to search the internet for some Yiddish translation. Why? Because Yiddish is fun. Recently, in a search, I found Mendele: Yiddish literature and language. This seems to be a bunch of text files generated from email, dating as far back as 1991. The email contains a huge amount of Yiddish information - you just have to use Edit - > Find in your browser to search the term you want on a particular page. You just might find something you never knew before.

And in keeping with today's theme, here's a clip with the late, great Sophie Tucker singing My Yiddishe Mama - first in English and then in Yiddish.



And of particular interest to some might be this recording of the late, great Billie Holiday singing My Yiddishe Mama. Who knew? Just like me and Sophie! (Images of Barbra are a nice addition to the clip.)

My Congratulations to Ellen and Portia

The die is cast, come weal, come woe,
Two lives are joined together.
For better or for worse the link
Which naught but death can sever.

The die is cast, come grief, come joy,
Come richer or come poorer.
If love but binds the mystic tie,
Blest is the bridal hour.

-- Mary Weston Fordham

I'm fifty years old and I could care less about the sentiment in that poem. And then I saw the cover of People.



Mazel tov, ladies!!

I have watched the gay marriage debate from the sidelines. Never did it and never thought about it. That's how I was raised - in a time when marriage was not an option for me. I would surmise that getting married is nice but honestly I would rather be able to hold George's hand in a restaurant without fear of retribution (otherwise since it certainly wouldn't be divine). I want to be able to run to George in an airport like they did in those commercials from the 70s without getting stares and glares. (OK, I'm sure some would stare if we were running slo-mo towards each other, arms akimbo, but you know what I mean.) And I want people to understand the trials and tribulations and the love and the hate and the laughs and the cries that George and I face every day in our relationship is just like those faced by the straight couples who...are...able to...get...married.

Dearest Ellen:
I can't begin to tell you the rush of feelings I had when I saw your lovely photo on the cover of People magazine. Yes, you were on the cover of People for coming out but that was you. And not to trivialize the decision but, you just came out at work. I've been living my life out at work since I've been...well...working. From cleaning toilets to tax collection for the City of Los Angeles; from high tech firms in Silicon Valley to little Paperback Booksmith - everyone knew and no one made it an issue. I was even an out and proud cabaret singer and comic before, during and after your coming out year of 1996. I realize Hollywood and celebrity are a different animal and I understand the impact you made globally and the effect it has and will continue to have on younger people now coming to terms and oldsters trying to navigate the minefield. But personally, been there done that.

Then I saw the cover of People.



Dear Portia:

I've seen you in Ally MacBeal. I also saw you once or twice in Arrested Development but that was only the episodes in which Liza was appearing. (Did I mention I was a gay man?) One day I read that you and Ellen were having a romance. Hmmm, I thought. Who knew? She must be a GREAT actress. And then I moved on - because you moved on. You were non-chalant which made it easy for everyone (certainly in the media) to accept your relationship with Ellen, even with the burden of prominence. Considering the tabloid/gossip/blog explosion that has occurred since your wife came out, you are a role model for many. And if I may say so, a woman with grace.

Then I saw the cover of People.



And now I am now thinking of marriage. The picture has touched my New York heart as have your nuptials. And those of everyone who has followed, or will follow, this path. Hell, if our coupledom has lasted five years, marriage should be a cinch!

So, where are you registered?

Or should I just send a Hallmark card?

all the best to you both,
xoxo
michael