A First Anniversary After 27 Years

Today we celebrate our First Anniversary - Leon and I were married on October 25th 2014.
Our "First" Anniversary after 27 years together.

This morning we went through all the cards we received on the occasion of our wedding and all the beautiful words and sentiments that our family and friends expressed. We love and appreciate all of you - immediate family, mom, brothers, sisters, in-laws, cousins, aunts, uncles, friends. Your support and love means more than you can possibly know!

Over the past year I have been getting used to tossing around the word "husband" and the rebel in me gets a thrill out of correcting people who ask me about my "wife".... "no that would be my HUSBAND who is (the co-owner, going to be home at 3, the second on the AAA membership, or whatever)."

Sadly both my own sister, Mary Ann and our Justice of the Peace, Michele, passed away this year. We have fond memories of them on the happy occasion of our wedding and we are grateful that they were there with us.

Here are a few photos of the day.

Leon trying on the baseball cap veil

Me trying on the baseball cap veil

With My Sister Mary Ann DeFrancesco, RSM (Religious Sisters of Mercy)
who passed away on May 11, 2015 

With my Brother Mike, Sister-in-law Claire, Sister Mary Ann

With Leon's Sisters Lisa and Brenda, Brother Martin, Sister-in-law Debbie and Mother Joan

Dinner at Pagliacci's Restaurant

Michele Boyko, our Justice of the Peace who passed away on April 30, 2015

An Ally Speaks Out Against Gay and Trans Hatred Re:Houston

Link to Sports Illustrated, The Cauldron Here: https://the-cauldron.com/an-open-letter-to-bob-mcnair-owner-of-the-houston-texans-c5f60784df64#.ahvmxu796

Who Am I To Judge?

Looks like the Vatican has confirmed that Francis' meeting with Davis was in no way meant to be "a form of support of her position in all of its particular and complex aspects.” - possibly one of the rooms in a series of rooms the Pope wandered through in lieu of a reception line. But there is a video of Pope Francis meeting with, conversing with and exchanging warm handshakes and hugs with a long time GAY friend and former student AND HIS PARTNER OF 19 YEARS. 

Who am I to judge?

Exactly - who are we to judge? I have seen judgements being made literally right and left about every aspect of Pope Francis' visit and his speeches - from conservatives to LGBT liberals and anarchists. (I am not talking about thoughtful, reasoned critiques.)

And beyond judgements, there was outright vitriol and ignorance. Especially in the comment threads on Towleroad and other blogs.

The verbiage on this topic and many others sickens me. While I want to stay informed about LGBT issues, I have had about as much as I can take with the juvenile name calling, thoughtless, unprofessional editorializing and other nonsense that is rampant both in blog posts and in the comment threads.

It is ruining any credibility of the bloggers and making the internet experience wholly unpleasant.
T
And there's this from yesterday: Esquire Article

A speculative article, but highly palusable.

The blunder was that this so-called meeting (likely a receiving line where people were shuffled in for a brief face-to-face handshake and souvenir rosary beads) wasn't seen as an opportunity for political fodder. It is being used to claim Papal and RC support for Davis and her "case" - hopefully something that was not intended and now seems to have become the focal point for the entire Papal visit. I don't need Francis to be my "friend" but I do "pray" that he will steer the massive RC ship in a more loving direction. The backlash against Vatican II has had years to consolidate under Ratzinger and John Paul II/Benedict XVI and Francis ain't going to change it in his lifetime.