Rough Week

I am so glad it's Friday, and I am working from home today. It's been an exceedingly rough week, and I am pretty sure I could not have put up with it for another day. I've had a migraine nearly all week long. Thankfully, yesterday was better. I just want to be able to relax this weekend. 

I hope you all have a great weekend. Does anyone have any special plans for the weekend? 

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Migraines Suck

I’ve had a migraine since the weekend. It started while I was away, but it wasn’t too bad. However, it has steadily gotten worse. Yesterday was really bad. It doesn’t help that I am under a great amount of stress at work. The weather changes haven’t helped either. We had a thunderstorm last night, which is pretty rare in the part of Vermont. Hopefully, today will be a better day.

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Flag Day

Today is Flag Day. It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States on June 14, 1777, by resolution of the Second Continental Congress. The Flag Resolution, passed on June 14, 1777, stated: "Resolved, That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation." But June is also Pride Month, so I thought I’d do a post about the Pride Flag. Flags are symbols of community membership, unity, and visibility. A country’s flag shows a sense of citizenship and national pride. Likewise, the Pride Flag was created as a symbol of community membership, unity, and visibility.

 

In the late 1970s, Harvey Milk, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and the first openly gay man elected to public office, asked his friend Gilbert Baker to design a symbol to represent (what was then referred to as) the gay community. Baker collaborated with his friend Lynn Segerblom (also known as Faerie Argyle Rainbow) to design the rainbow-striped flag with eight colors: 

 

·      Hot pink: sex                                      

·      Red: life                                              

·      Orange: healing                                 

·      Yellow: sunlight                                 

·      Green: nature                                     

·      Turquoise: magic and art                  

·      Indigo: serenity                                  

·      Violet: spirit                                       

 

Baker and Segerblom’s flag debuted at the Gay Freedom Day Parade in SF in 1978. Each of the original eight colors had their own unique symbolism. With the help of close to 30 volunteers working in the attic of the Gay Community Center in San Francisco, Baker was able to construct the first draft of the now world-renowned rainbow flag. It was first showcased at San Francisco’s Gay Freedom Day Parade on June 25, 1978.

 After the design was unveiled, participants of the parade proudly waved the new symbol in solidarity. Baker then took the design to Paramount Flag Company, which sold a version of the flag without hot pink and turquoise, which were replaced with blue for practicality purposes. After the assassination of Harvey Milk on November 27, 1978, demand for the rainbow banner only increased. Popularity spiked again a decade later when a West Hollywood resident sued his landlord over the right to hang his flag outside his residence.

Queer artist Gilbert Baker preserved this 10- by 28-foot section of an original 1978 pride flag. 

GLBT Historical Society / Courtesy of Andrew Shaffer

Despite their outsized global impact, the two original flags were thought to be lost for more than four decades. One flag was stolen from a community center and never recovered. But Baker managed to quietly rescue a 10- by 28-foot segment of the second flag, which had been placed in storage after sustaining water damage. Baker took the item with him when he moved to New York City in 1994. After Baker’s death in 2017, the flag and his other belongings were shipped to his sister, who later passed the fragment along to Charley Beal, president of the Gilbert Baker Foundation. Beal did not realize he was in possession of the original 1978 banner until early 2020, when a vexillologist (or flag expert) examined the item firsthand and confirmed its provenance. In June 2021, the GLBT Historical Society Museum unveiled a glass case containing this rare artifact: a segment of the original rainbow gay pride flag, its colors as vibrant as ever. 

 

The iconic rainbow design has succeeded in part because it conveys a bright, hopeful message. In the years since it debuted, the rainbow flag has only grown in popularity and is now seen around the globe as a positive representation of the LGBTQ+ community. A mile-long version of the flag was created to celebrate the 25th anniversaries of two landmark events; the Stonewall Riots and Baker’s creation of the flag itself.

 

Baker died on March 31, 2017, at the age of 65, just two years after the legalization of same-sex marriage throughout the U.S. His legacy lives on in the six-colored flag that flies proudly every Gay Pride month, recognizing the lives, and loves, of LGBTQ+ people worldwide.

 

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Undressing You

Undressing You

By Witter Bynner

 

Fiercely I remove from you

All the little vestiges—

Garments that confine you,

Things that touch the flesh,

The wool and the silk

And the linen that entwine you,

Tear them all away from you,

Bare you from the mesh.

And now I have you as you are,

Nothing to encumber you—

But now I see, caressing you,

Colder hands than mine.

They take away your flesh and bone,

And, utterly undressing you,

They tear you from your beauty

And they leave no sign.

 

About the Poet

 

Witter Bynner was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1881. He graduated from Harvard University in 1902. After college, he worked as a newspaper reporter and, later, as the assistant editor of McClure’s magazine.

 

Bynner published his first poetry collection, An Ode to Harvard (Small, Maynard, & Co.), in 1907. He was also the author of New Poems (Alfred A. Knopf, 1960); Take Away the Darkness (Alfred A. Knopf, 1947); The Beloved Stranger (Alfred A. Knopf, 1919); Tiger (M. Kennerley, 1913); and several other poetry collections.

 

In 1922, Bynner settled in Santa Fe, New Mexico with his partner, Robert Hunt. He died there on June 1, 1968.

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Summer Splash

If you are a regular reader, then you know that I grew up in rural Alabama in a very religious family. When I was growing up, I didn't know any gay people, and being gay was an abstract concept. I knew that being gay meant that it referred to men who liked other men in a sexual way. I also knew it was very bad. I had been called faggot, gay, sissy, etc., all my years growing up. I knew I didn't belong or fit into that world. I was different, but it would take many years before I could let myself realize that I was, in fact, gay. It took longer to come to terms with accepting who I was. But while I never belonged in the straight world, I never felt like I belonged in the gay world either. Honestly, I never felt I was accepted in either.

I have tried since I moved to Vermont to step out of my comfort zone and become part of the gay community here, but I still feel like I never fit in. I wasn't in great shape; I was shy; and, let's face it, I was awkward. I tried to venture more into the gay community here and there, but I just never seemed to be comfortable enough to succeed, and it wasn't like anyone was trying to help. I've never had gay friends other than a few guys that I dated and friends I met through this blog. So, when I came across information about a gay retreat center called Easton Mountain, just a few hours away in Greenwich, NY, I was interested in knowing more. Their website says their programs promote connection, personal growth, fun, and community. Eventually, I got up the nerve to book one of their retreats: "Summer Splash: Move Into Your Primal Self."

I'd never done anything like this before. I had gone to gay events and bars by myself, but never a retreat like this. Things have been a little rough lately. There are some issues at work and some personal issues. I needed a break. I needed a retreat away from my life. So, I decided, "what the hell" I'll try something that will push my boundaries and help me step out of my comfort zone. From the description of this weekend, not to mention the affordability as a first-timer (they have a special newbie rate), I decided this one was the one. I was going to take the plunge and go with the flow and see what happens.

When I arrived at Easton Mountain on Thursday, I was nervous but determined to make the most of my little vacation. I was ready to step out of my comfort zone, but when I got there, checked in, and began meeting people, I realized I could not step out of my comfort zone. I was in my comfort zone at Easton Mountain. That's not to say I did things that I would not have been comfortable with the day before, but the community there made me feel safe and included. There was no judgment, just a welcoming attitude from everyone (if there was any judgment, people kept it to themselves and didn't let it show). Each person there, whether staff or visitors like me, made me feel like part of a community. Everyone was welcoming and accepting.

The activities over the weekend were great, and each one put you more and more at ease. Everything was optional (even clothing, LOL). We weren't forced to participate in any of the workshops or events. I did opt out of a few things, particularly morning yoga. I did yoga on the first morning and realized it was not for me. Mostly though, I participated in as much as I could, even though I might have thought something was a bit silly when I first read about it, but I never really felt silly, and if I did, it was because we were meant to feel silly. There was a camaraderie among gay men at Easton that I'd never experienced anywhere else. I think we all know what it's like to go to a gay event, a drag show, a celebration, whatever, and there were little cliques, and if you were not in that clique, you probably never would be. The gay community can be very exclusive at times. Easton, though, was very different. I've never felt anything that was so inclusive.

And the icing on the cake was that the food was phenomenal, and the dinner conversations were great. It did not matter who I sat with, we were going to laugh and chat and have a good time eating our delicious meals. If you ever go, I really hope they do the barbecue rib dinner. It was so good, and the homemade barbecue sauce was exceptional.

If you ever want to experience something like this, I would really recommend Easton Mountain. There is an instant feeling of community there. As everyone was leaving, people went around and hugged everyone they met. When I told staff members goodbye, they all hugged me and said they hoped I'd come back. At any other place, I would think they just wanted the repeat business, but with Easton, it really seemed like they really want you to come. When you go to an Easton Mountain event, you become part of the Easton Mountain family, and for me, I can't wait to go back. Will I go back? I'm not sure. I want to, but at this point in my financial life, I'm not sure I will be able to. With that being said, the prices are very reasonable. Where else are you going to find a vacation where food, lodging, and such a welcoming environment for basically $200 a day. I certainly can't go to Montreal for that or basically anywhere else. But, like a lot of people, money is tight at the moment.

Honestly, as I was driving away, I had tears in my eyes. I wish I never had to leave, but it's back to the real world today. I really do hope I get back to Easton sooner rather than later. I can't recommend it enough. Don't expect 5-star resort accommodations, but expect good food, good friends, and comfortable accommodations. I really don't think you'd be disappointed. Maybe I will see you there sometime.

Easton Mountain gets ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️  from me.

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