It Happens in Threes

Southern politicians should be able to breath a sigh of relief now that the third of their compatriots has crossed into the ether this week. I’ve seen the faces of Lester Maddox and Maynard Jackson on the television news every morning at the gym, without benefit of sound and this morning the radio informed me of Strom Thurmond’s death.

As these things go, Thurmond should be the last of a string for a while. What an odd group of people to mourn simultaneously. All I know is that ever since Maddox dies I’ve had Randy Newman’s Rednecks stuck in my head on continuous play.

Pride

A lot of gays have really mixed emotions about Pride celebrations. Another Atlanta blogger talks about that a little this week. But this year there is a lot to celebrate, not the least of which is this news about the sodomy laws. I’m also overjoyed about Canada’s decision to legalize gay marriage.

So yeah. We’re going to Pride. We’ll add to the numbers and enjoy the fun and the fellowship. It’ll be hot and possibly rainy and there will be people in the crowd I’ll want to strangle. And I’m sure I’ll do a lot of laughing and pointing. But mostly for me it will be a quiet act of solidarity. It will be me standing with my wife and more than 300,000 other gay Atlantans, if only to remind Sonny Perdue how many of us there are.