Some of my close friends and family members get a bit rattled when I start a sentence with, “I’m an old man, so…,” but the reality is that I not only look older, I feel older. The svelte and trim body I moaned about as out-of-shape, is now REALLY the nightmare I once dreaded. I guess when I’m finally fed up with saying it, I’ll actually do something about it. In the meantime, I’ve matured enough emotionally and mentally to be a confident and comfortable man in spite of it. A comment that would have normally sent me off the deep end, today barely registers as a drop in my ocean of experiences. Case in point, while picking up lunch in our staff cafeteria moments ago, one of our servers – and may I say that our caf staff loves us and gives us the utmost respect – mentioned that Ricky Martin was a heathen and was going to burn in hell. When my coworker Nancy caught what the caf guy was eluding to, she interjected to say that everyone was a sinner and fell short of God…he continued to rattle on about Ricky’s disgusting and sinful ways. I could only smile. Finally, I turned to him and said, “Evangelist Miguel, would you give me more gravy please.” He smiled and seemed thrown off his rant, not mentioning another word of it. As I returned to my desk with Nancy, I said to her that an odd thing had begun happening in my life. I no longer felt the need to defend or fight certain people over certain things. In particular, I don’t feel the need to explain and defend the gay issue. I am a gay man; the Lord is aware of it; he continues to bless me; you’re an, alleged, devout Christian; you’re consistently angry and confrontational; your life is crumbling around you; Enough said. Sometimes, if you allow ignorance to speak freely, it will hear itself. This isn’t to say that I won’t tell you that I support marriage equality and equal rights for all – White, Black, Gay or Straight – but it does mean that I’m not dedicating any energy to explaining and justifying my blessed life to someone who isn’t worthy of my expending any energy on them and their ignorant musings. Life is too short folks. Dedicate your time to the people and things that truly matter. Let us remember that wise, old saying, “Opinions are like assholes; everyone has one.”
Keep passin’ the open windows…
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