Science Forums 2

[Hasanuddin]

"Silly" meant "saintly?" Wow, that's an odd twist. I wonder how that perversion occurred? Personally, I prefer being more silly over overly serious.

This debate is over the wrong things. Look, as I said, by the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts I was wed to the other-half of my heart, of now twelve years. The most important part of the event was not a slip of paper, a number, or bragging rights, it was to be in front of family (and God) to crystalize it. Just have both friends AND family in one place was important. I had over eighty relations from 16 state come to the Boat Slip in Provincetown, Massachusetts. P-town, as it is more simply called, is the most fabulous gay-mecca on earth: drag queens, leather, nipple-rings, twinks, bear, and lots of lesbians. It was "tranny-week" that coincided with the wedding. This was all intentional on my part; Ptown is pretty, but it is unavoidably educational. My aunt Olga from New Mexico, was apparently in awe of the profoundness of the event. She later wrote to me that "it was the most important wedding she had ever been to."

I don't think it is a coincidence that Connecticut, Vermont, and Maine all flipped in favor of gay marriage, while New York and New Hampshire are hotly debating it. Mine was just one wedding, and I don't have any relatives from any of the states mentioned (except that both me and my partner have gay brothers living in NYC--the largest gay villiage on Earth.) But statistically I think I am an outlier for not having much family in New England. All the states mentioned border Massachusetts (and Maine was once administered by Massachusetts.) In other words, the other New Englanders saw that the sky didn't fall in Massachusetts... actually the opposite is clearly visible. Massachusetts' resorts, like Ptown, have benefitted by extended seasons caused by marriages like mine (that occurred on the autumn equinox.) Honestly, I don't know how/why Iowa flipped. I think its wonderful. Soon the Midwesterners will see that the sky will remain firmly above the Cornbelt as it has over New England.

Primarily marriage is about family, God, and society--legal aspects and verbal definitions are so trivial. Did it make things rosy and perfect... of course not. Did it bring everyone in the family closer?.. for the most part, yes, but the finale kiss seems to have estranged my partners nieces from me to this day--whatever. But, do I regret a second?.. not a chance.

Tip for all: the best aspect of the wedding event is that we hired a caller, fiddle, and another who gave us live English Country dancing. The best thing about English Country dancing is that it forces everyone to touch one another at some point in the whirling and twirling. (Actually, that's how Patrick and I met.) But by far that was the most important thing we did. For those remaining uptight, I'm sure the physical action of grabbing another man in a doecey-doe swing must have been like a slap of refreshing, but icy cold water.