The Heaviness of Being Dependent on Other People

cold snowy day

I’ve been emotionally struggling recently, a combination of post-holiday ennui with a reflection on my current situation. Also, I miss my nephews. One reality I cannot avoid is that I am not self-sufficient. I haven’t had to think about myself as unit of independent sufficiency for 20+ years. Now I’m caught in the fallout of […]

Here’s What is Coming to Pittsburgh Live Theater This Spring

Pittsburgh theater

Among the many losses I’ve experienced these past two years, my connection to local live theater has been a significant source of grief. Without a car, I must rely on others to transport me and hope it is a show they’d like to see as well. And I’ve lost my best theater companion. It is […]

Join Dr. John P. Ruffing VMD Pet Food Pantry in Celebrating Betty White Day With a Volunteer Project

Betty White Day Pittsburgh

The birthday of beloved actor and animal advocate Betty White is approaching. It is a terrific opportunity to help your neighbors who take care of local animals. Her birthday is Friday Jan so we’ll be observing on Saturday Jan 18. We’ll be meeting at the Pgh Pet Food Pantry on the Northside to sort through […]

Photos: Community Cats in Cold Winter Weather

The trail cameras on my deck captured stunning images of our cat colony this week. The camera is next to their heated water bowl and lined up with the two heated shelters. The gallery is here We see them at vulnerable moments, escaping the cold or readying to face it. Proximity to the water dish […]

Gallery: Community Cats in Cold Winter Weather

A little background information here

Another Blow to the Integrity of the Pine-Richland School District Athletic Department

A former athletic trainer with the Pine-Richland Middle School and High School is facing 35 different charges related to child pornography, two dozen of which are felonies, according to State Police.  34-year-old Samuel Elliot Fischer was caught by a student recording his teammates while they showered in the Owens J. Roberts School District in Pottstown, […]

Video: 1986 Short Film Focused on Three Lesbians

This brief film featuring three lesbians discussing their lives in 1986 has been one of the most well received posts on my Instagram feed. Everyone want to know what happened to these three women. I hope to find out! Lesbians (1986) has been digitally preserved by UCLA Film & Televsion Archive in conjunction with Outfest […]

The 40 Most Frequently Read Blog Posts of 2024

2024

Each year, this wrap-up post is a challenge. The sobering reality of how many people came to read about the lives and acknowledge the deaths of trans neighbors is always difficult to process. I wrote 40 memorial posts in 2024. 33 of those posts honored neighbors who died this year. The other seven died in […]

Trans Youth 25 and Under Represent nearly 50% of the Reported Violent Deaths of Trans Americans in 2024

On December 1, 2024, the body of Ra’Lasia Wright was discovered in Minneapolis. She was just 24 years old. Nearly a month later, police have not identified suspects or released information about the case. To date, media coverage has been limited mostly to local media outlets. Even the national LGBTQ media has failed to acknowledge […]

Did You Know The John P. Ruffing VMD Pet Food Pantry Has a Newsletter? Here’s How to Subscribe

pet food pantry newsletter

We call it ‘Tails From the Backyard’ – first issue went out in December. In red and green envelopes no less. Our target audience are the people who live close to the pantry and the Fort Faulsey cat colony in Manchester. But the information is useful across the Northside and beyond …. If you would […]