I've been trying very hard to stay out of the political discussions between my friends on facebook.  Mostly because I live in East Texas, and the majority (but not all) of my friends are conservative republicans, at least that's how they vote.  Most will tell you that they are "open minded" or that they are "socially liberal" to some degree and that they wish that I could get the same financial and social protections with my partner that a married person gets.  The one's that are honest will add, "But I don't think it should be called marriage" to the end of their stat ..read more

According to Mitt Romney, speaking today at a National Rifle Association function, Judicial Review of Laws by the Supreme Court is "Required" to protect us all from laws that restrict our constitutional rights.  He is of course talking about the Supreme Courts review of President Obama's Health care reform law. But, I wonder what his opinion is of the California Supreme Courts review of proposition 8, or of The Federal Supreme Courts review of Proposition 8 or DOMA, which will undoubtedly come.  I actually completely agree with him on the point that Courts must be able to ..read more

Rick Santorum is angry because a national TV host asked him if his belief that Same Sex couples have no RIGHT to marriage made him a bigot. He is offended by that. Well, one of the downsides of living in a country where you have a right to your personal beliefs, is that you have to live with the consequences of trying to apply those personal beliefs to other people lives. I firmly support Rick Santorum's right to his personal belief system. I don't agree with it, and I find people who use their religious beliefs to harm the lives of others sad and hypocritical, but I support his right to bel ..read more

The gay community professes itself to be very inclusive of others.  I mean, why wouldn't it be?  When you have a group of people who are for the most part seen as "different" by the majority of Americans, and who have had to fight for equality in their relationships, they tend to be more open to others who are seen to exist in the margins of the mainstream.  But there is one instance where the gay community is not very inclusive, and can be outright militant against those who don't fit in to their view of acceptable opinions.  That instance would be a LGBT person, who is no ..read more

When Nicki and I got married, more than a few of our friends voiced concerns about the fact that we would be working together, living together, basically together all of the time.  We were a little worried about that as well.  When you work in a high stress environment like the Emergency Department, as we do, there are bound to be days when you get irritated with even the closest of friends, not to mention your spouse.  But, after over two years of marriage, and working together almost every night that we worked, we've become professionals at "leaving it at work".  We've b ..read more

     Looking inward, sometimes you see things you don't really like.  Anger, jealousy, a lack of understanding or willingness to even try and understand.  That's pretty much what I was faced with recently when I took a good long look at myself.  I didn't like it very much.  It made me feel somehow smaller, less evolved really.  I mean, I was spending this amazing amount of time being angry at other people for my own predicament.  I was letting jealousy turn me into someone I hardly recognized.  I spent so much time demanding that my lov ..read more

I've spent most of my life looking at people who meditated, or did anything else I considered to be new age "crazy" like they were just that, a bit crazy.  It never really occurred to me that most of these practices had been going on for centuries, and that the people practicing them certainly seemed happier and less stressed than I was. I didn't have time, and actually considered myself kind of immune to enlightenment to some extent.  I am an ER Nurse.  Unfortunately, that means I am a bit skeptical of everything in existence and more than a little jaded when it com ..read more

            Sometimes I ask myself why Why do I wait in silence for something that may never come? Why do I believe in something that may not be true? Why do I yearn for something when that longing leads to pain? Why do I trust in something when it hasn't earned trust?   Then I remember that waiting helps your learn patience. That believing in something sometimes takes faith. That yearning for something makes obtaining it that much sweeter. And I remember that demanding proof of what can't be proven, kills your soul.   S.G.M.   ..read more

     Looking back over my blogging life, it occurs to me that I tend to write more when I'm in a low place in my life.  It seems that when I'm happy, I just don't have the stimulus to write anymore.  I hate that, because once upon a time, I wrote when I was crazy happy.  Poetry, short stories, blogging.  I used writing to talk to myself, and I miss it.  I miss talking to me.  You see, it never really mattered to me if someone else even read it.  Sure, it was great to get a comment on a blog post or poem.  I appreciate every one of the ..read more

Very soon, and I mean VERY SOON, I'm going to be having my 50th birthday.  It's so hard for me to believe, because I certainly don't feel fifty years old.  Although, I guess I can't really say that I know what fifty feels like.  I'm guessing it's not unlike forty nine, or forty eight for that matter.  I have, in my life thus far, experienced a lot.  A lot of good things, a lot of bad things, and a lot of days that were just......days.  It's funny how when you get a little older, the "just" days start to feel a bit like a waste of time.  Nothing good to make a ..read more