march, marCH, MARCH!!!

At first I wasn’t sure how to feel about this Equality March in DC. I’ve done quite of few protests for various causes including Gay Rights, Women’s Rights, Lesbian Rights, Reproductive Rights, AIDS/HIV Health, blah, blah, blah… I’ve gotten a little apathetic, a little cynical, a little out of shape. My Marching muscles (both physical and mental) needed a boot camp or at least a pep rally.

Walking through DuPont Circle district on Saturday was it. Not because we walked for about a gazillion miles nor because the streets were strewn with rainbow flags or because my gaydar was beeping non-stop. The shot in my arm was that is was none of this. The shot in the arm was the normalness of the scene. The streets were filled with tourist, window shoppers, and friends laughing at cafe tables. You had to look closer to see that it was a predominantly gay crowd. This is what normal life looks like for all of us, gay or straight. We have come so far…

The next day at the March it was very much the same. Oh there were signs, and chants, and cheers for all the colorful queers… but for the most part gone were the Drag Queens, gone were Chap clad boy toys, and the radical spike dykes beating drums from previous Marches. We didn’t need those to get noticed. We are not just a fringe community with a few that feel brave enough to show our faces… we are mainstream! We are your neighbors, your bank teller, your grocer’, your pharmacist, and postal workers, all marching without the fear. We are the baby boomer survivors refusing to give up struggle… and we are the students that have picked up the torch and assumed the struggle.

One neo-nuclear family mom pushing a stroller said to me that she was marching in hopes that “her daughter would not inherit the struggle.”

The signs over head say it many ways but the message was singular. EQUALITY… EQUALITY… EQUALITY…!

And if a picture is worth a thousand words… here are a whole bunch for you. click here for my slideshow or click here for individual photos

Peace, Luv, and Equality for All, barbie

Drive By Fall

Fall arrives early in New England. As we readied for our departure from Mt Desert Isle, fall showed up. It’s like the curtain went up for the third act and the scenery change was a shock. It should not have been… if the soggy first act “Spring”had not been foreboding enough, then surely the every so brief appearance of Summer in the second should have been all the warning we needed. But not us, our oblivion we complete as we were too swept up with the story to notice the back drop. So here we are, with (for now) the best seat in the house/country and the pictures to prove it… albeit from the rig and its balcony view.

Enjoy.

PS. The encore of pictures is Portland, Maine which we found to be an amusing town as well as the home of Longfellow.

Peace, Luv, and Crimson Colors, barbie

Photo link: http://my.inbox.com/photos/brv?CAID=jmoofKTU3eXcxVQhPr9H8&_=1

Lobster Pound?

So I have been pondering the “Pound” question? You know… Why are Maine roadside restaurants that sell lobster called Lobster Pounds? I suppose I could look it up on Bing or Jeeves but that would not be half as fun.

While my (very cool) niece and nephew were visiting, late one night we were star gazing up near Cadillac Mountain. I suppose I should have been giving them some sage advice or contemplating the mysteries of the universe. As it turned out, we mused the origins of the name Lobster Pounds. Of course, “up here” in Down East Maine it is pronounce “lŏb'star”. So perhaps the topic was a cosmic star connection… or perhaps our train of thought was derailed by the altitude.

Whatever it was…, here is our version of NPRs: “Wait, wait, don’t tell me!”

• Lobster Pound theory #1:

Henry’s been out working in the cranberry bogs all day in hip-waders just like you see on the two guys in the Oceanspray commercial. (by the way, I’m not sure, but in my thinking any job that is located in a “bog” has gotta smell… don’t you think?) Anyway smelly Henry’s finishes his long hard day and now all he wants is a “Lŏb'star!” But it’s tourist season and the counter is 6 families deep. It’s gonna be a while before Henry can make his selection. He is not feeling particularly patient, but he’s a Mainer, so he suffers in silence. He is waiting, and waiting, and waiting when little Johnny throws a hissy fit because Dad wouldn’t let him have the biggest crustacean in the tank. Henry is still waiting when Johnny’s sister realized that Dad has replaced Johnny’s selection with the cute little lobster in the corner of the tank that she has named Lulu. And Johnny may now actually eat Lulu. A second round of hysteria breaks out. By the time Henry gets to the counter he is up to ears in tourist and he’s starving. He gonna blow… raises his fist and starts “Pounding” on the counter. “I want Lŏb'star… I want Lŏb'star and I want it now! ” And the term “Lobster Pound” was coin right then and there.

• Lobster Pound theory #2:

Brianna and Joel are sophomores at COA or the College of the Atlantic. It is an institution of higher education known for its many shades of green. Two of the most prevalent being its eco-centric marine left bent, as well as its students’ abundant bank accounts… I personally dubbed it the school of the “rich and amphibious.” Brianna and Joel are standing at the counter getting ready to order dinner.

“Whatever!” Brianna said brushing off Joel. “I don’t care how good they are in butter and garlic; I just can’t bring myself to eat him. He reminds me of Sebastian from Little Mermaid.”

“Wrong crustacean” smirked Joel.

Brianna “I don’t care, have you seen all the colored buoys in Frenchman’s Bay? They haven’t a chance. Have you seen all the boats going out to catch them and the tons of little cages stacked up?… they’re like dog catchers, rounding up all the free rooming lobsters… to take them to the Pound. And here we are, at the Pound… the Lobster Pound! Picking out which Lobster to take home with us… only… I don’t think he will sit up and beg…” Brianna’s voice trails off.

Joel: No but I am going to “Pot”ty train him. lol

Hence the term Lobster Pound was cooked up right then and there.

Well traditionally, there would be three stories to pick from on Wait, wait… but this blog is neither traditional nor on NPR. So rules be damned. And since I also have no callers, I will have to wait for your comments and/or emails in response to the blog and you’ll just have to wait until the next blog to discover the origins of the term “Lobster Pound”.

Until then…
Peace, Luv, and Nephropidaes, barbie

Run credits
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Concept Contributors – Dann and Em Herwerden, the niece and nephew whose conversation sparked this blog

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Producers – Karen and Rick Herwerden, conceivers of the afore mentioned contributors.
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Bouncer – Lobster Johnson previously employed by Dark Horse Comics
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Lunch provided by Red
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Accounting – Crayg “countem’ Fish
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Lunch Seasoner – C. Saltner
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Location Finder – Ocea N. O’Graffer
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Hair and Makeup – Clawdius Du