Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

Thursday, November 28, 2013  How do you feel about the first blog post you ever wrote?/What is your greatest fear?

This was my first post – written on December 29, 2005.

– None of our nieces or nephews were yet born (eldest was on her way and born the following morning.)

– I thought Santorum v Casey was the most important election of my lifetime (Casey won, FTR)

– There were no high profile openly gay persons in Pittsburgh politics.

Fast forward

– 2 nieces and 2 nephews by biology, 2 other nephews by love

– Casey took out Santorum, but he rebounded for a Presidential run. I do think it set a tone. But “most important” is probably not the best term for a first blog post

– Our openly gay City Councilor is likely to become City Council President

It isn’t a bad initial post since I was testing the waters.

So here we are …. two lesbians, high speed internet connections and puh-lenty of opinions on just about every conceivable topic. 

But we are sooo much more than smart mouthed lesbian correspondents.  We’ve got a full array of supporting cast members (including the requisite homophobes), an overwhelming amount of magazine subscriptions and a shared compulsion to read the local paper cover to cover on a daily basis. 

That sounds about right. We’ve reduced the number of magazines, but we still get the daily paper. And life has brought along quite a cast of characters – especially from the regional political world, people I had never heard of in my life. And I still believe it boils down to being a lesbian with an opinion that I’m willing to publish. Because that makes me both a woman and a member of a minority community (two now that I’m disabled) speaking out and flexing those precious First Amendment rights so necessary to democracy.

My greatest fear is that I will allow myself to be silenced by my own demons or by external pressures. The road to true equality is long and bumpy and will not be achieved quickly, perhaps not in my lifetime (I’m 43.) We can’t afford to be silenced.

I am very grateful this Thanksgiving to have a blog, to engage readers and to contribute to the dialogue that creates progress. And I wouldn’t mind getting to judge another Halloween contest. Just sayin’