Last night my wife, Nancy, and I attended a candlelight vigil honoring the life of Angie Zapata. Angie, a transgender teenager was murdered July 17th in a hate based crime. As one speaker suggested, "she was not murdered because she was a transgendered woman, but because her killer was taught to hate that which is different and/or threatened his masculinity." In his statement to Greeley, Colorado police he referred to Angie as "it". ( He took a fire extinguisher off a shelf and struck Zapata twice in the head, telling investigators he thought he "killed it.")
Today was the perfect day for a hike. After a quick stop at Starbucks to get Amber her morning coffee fix, we headed up to the Wild Basin Area of Rocky Mountain National Park. The hike we had in mind was to Ouzel Falls, a 2.7 mile (one way) hike that begins at 8500 feet elevation and reaches the falls at an elevation of 9450 feet.
June 21st 50 years ago was a life changing day for me. On that day in 1958 in Des Moines, Iowa I became a father. Kevin entered this world after 12 hours of hard labor. In those days they didn't let the dad be a part of the 'miracle'. He had to sit in a waiting room with other 'fathers to be' and smoke cigarettes. I was so nervous I lit the wrong end of a filter cigarette that one of the other dads had given me (I didn't usually smoke filtered cigarettes).
and gave us the opportunity to volunteer at a fund raising breakfast while we were there. Then it was off to Vernal for a few days to explore Flaming Gorge and Dinosaur National Monument. A final stop at the KOA in Gould, Colorado gave us the opportunity to photograph Moose. We managed to site 10 in all.
Spring is a great time of year in Colorado. One day is sunny and in the 70s - the next day it's snowing! I would have to say however, that our roller coaster weather is better than tornadoes, hail and floods that are pounding other parts of our country. I guess it's like the man who complained that he had no shoes, until he met a man with no feet. It could always be worse.
May 1st my youngest grandson, Matt, will leave Big Lake, Alaska for Fort Benning, Georgia for basic training. Timing would probably never be good I suppose, but this time in Matt's life will be especially difficult. Matt became a father just one month ago. 
Isaac Knight Darnell came into this world around 10:37 a.m. Alaska time on Thursday, March 27th. Weighing in at 8 pounds 12 ounces he managed to wear out the parents and grandparents who spent most of the night waiting for his arrival. They all report it was worth it!
This week a book I’ve been waiting to be published arrived in my mailbox. It has been difficult to put down and I’m almost all the way through it already. The book is “HOMOSEXUAL SAINTS: The Community of Christ Experience”. The book, edited by William D. Russell, is a collection of personal stories about gay and lesbian experiences in connection with the Community of Christ (formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints). In addition to the stories the Introduction traces the history of this issue within the church during the last several decades. Friends of ours, Dick & Barbara Howard, are quoted on the back cover of the book; “If ever there was a collection of stories to inspire and enlighten, this is it. Here also is an example of the power and beauty of story to build sacred communities. These stories will do far more than legislation or official dogma to dismantle walls of fear and indifference.”
The guilt, shame, pain, isolation, struggles and difficulties caused by our culture and our churches to the gay community is shocking. Bill Russell doesn’t mince words when he says, “If homosexuals are not treated as equals in a particular church, in that regard it cannot responsibly claim to represent Jesus Christ.”
Amen!
I just returned from a meeting in Minneapolis. Brrr! "Towards A Welcoming and Inclusive Church" was the name of the workshop attended by members of Disciples of Christ, American Baptists, Brethren Mennonites and Community of Christ. In all, 25 participants spent from 4 pm Friday until noon on Monday exploring ways to help congregations become welcoming and inclusive for all of God's children - LGBT folks in particular (who most Christian churches do not openly welcome). The Rev. Anita Bradshaw and Rev. Rebecca Voelkel were the instructors for the weekend. Mayflower Community Congregational United Church of Christ in Minneapolis hosted the event.http://www.welcomingresources.org/
Yesterday was Super Bowl Sunday. The game between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots was a little slow until the 4th quarter. Lots of good defense with neither team able to score more than once. Then it got exciting towards the end with the Giants winning in the last minute 17 to 14. Some of the ads were creative as usual. You can see the ads on myspace.com/superbowlads. I especially liked the FedEx carrier pigeon one.
We have been having an unusually cold winter for Colorado. Lots of snow in the mountains (which is good) and even quite a bit here along the front range. When we went to bed last night the temperature was in the low 20s. When we awoke this morning it was in the high 30s thanks to a "Chinook". It climbed into the 40s before noon. The Chinook winds are always a welcome break in the Colorado winter. I was beginning to think we weren't going to see one this year.
"President Bush said Saturday he is open to the possibility of slowing or stopping plans to bring home more U.S. troops from Iraq, defying domestic demands to speed the withdrawals. Updated on war developments, Bush said the U.S. presence in Iraq will outlast his presidency."
Another year has passed into history and a fresh new year is before us. I remember thinking when I was much younger, how odd it would be to live in a century where the year would begin with 20 instead of 19. It was hard to imagine that in the 1960s & 70s. Time passes so quickly and now we find ourselves, not only in the 21st century, but beginning the 9th year of that century. WOW!
