%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 |
What I have learned in my 4 years living in Anchorage Alaska |
|
So many people don't think that gay marriage is important, at least up here in Alaska I have had a lot of people ask me why I want the right to marry? "People don't care if your gay so why does it matter if you don't have legal rights?" I want the same rights as anyone else, no more and no less, I don't care what straight consenting adults do in there home and it is no one's business what I do in mine. I have been out of the closet for years in an attempt to show other people that gay people are everywhere, I have marched the streets and I vote every year trying to get the same rights for my tax money. Recently I had to call 911 and have my wife (we got legally bound in Feb of 2009) taken to the ER, while I was n the phone with the dispatcher I told her that my wife was having a dizzy spell and I needed help getting her to the hospital. "Your Wife?" "Yes my wife! I need help!" It took her a second to compose herself and get back to her job. I needed help and I didn't want to waste time justifying my relationship, the paramedic who showed up were great, they just asked what had happened, how she was doing and then they asked me to fill out the forms for her and then to met them at the ER (they thought she was having a heart attack). Once I got to the hospital I told the nurses who I was and they took me right back to sit with her. She was out of it and was now dozing on and off, when admitting came in they let me fill out her information but they had to have my wife sign since our marriage is not legal in the state of Alaska. That was when it really hit me, what if something was really wrong, what if she needed surgery and was unable to consent to it herself? We have been together for almost 18 years, her parents live in Washington, what if they couldn't get here to sign consent? What would that mean for my wife? I was so scared, not knowing was the worst part. That situation is why I want equal rights, I want to be able to take care of my family, I don't want to have to explain or justify my relationship, a straight couple isn't questioned even when it is a bad situation. While I sat there next to the little curtain the separated us from the woman next door who was getting stitches in her head because her boyfriend hit her with a pipe as she tried to leave the house. The doc kept trying to get her to go to a woman's shelter and to get hurt but she was not interested. The woman's friends showed up and the talk got lively and the woman was feeling better so her friends were gonna take her back home to the boyfriend. I find it amazing that an abusive straight couple is more acceptable in this community than a loving healthy gay one. People ask me why I want to move out of Alaska? We came to Alaska to do a favor for a family member, we agreed to a year this summer it will be four years since we left our home, Washington. Our job is now done and it is time for us to get back to the states where we will have a few more rights than up here. I will continue to fight for the rights for my family and for others, maybe someday in the future I will live to see the day when Gay marriage is federally legal and a marriage will be marriage no matter what dirt of the United States you are standing on. And by the way my wife turned out just fine. Always stand up for your self and those who can't stand up for themselves, that is the only way people will listen sometimes. |
| The wife and I are cleaning out the house so that we can get back to the lands of raindrops and ferry boats, Grandma and Grandad raised four kids in this house they built it in the early 60's, it is full of nooks and crannies. I work full time and my wife has been working everyday to get rid of stuff, there is nothing like cleaning out someone else's stuff to make you realize what little stuff you really need. After a couple of months of carefully going through everything we bit the bullet and ordered a full size dumpster once we looked into the attic. The attic is bigger than my first apartment and it is stacked floor to rafter with stuff. We have found cast iron pots, several sets of tires on rims, old wooden cots and lots of dead animals (furs and antlers and the such). They were a true alaskan family, the three boys all played ice hockey and they went camping every chance they got. We have dozens of RV tables from RVs that were sold over 10 years ago, they must have played so many games of cards on those very tables. it isn't easy to go through someone else's things and assign whether it gets sold in a garage sale, gifted to someone or hucked into the dumpster. Every little treasure we find we value what it meant to Grandma and then we throw it as hard as we can to get it to shatter into as many pieces as possible. This little ritual might sound heartless but knowing Grandma and can bet she was looking down smiling as the bulb shards fly out of that ugly lamp with the moose on it or the old green coach pillow whose cushion has turned to dust, man did that thing fly. We just don't need so many things, we want to live simply but we respect the times that grandma and grandad come from. After three long days the dumpster is full but our stress still lingers so it is time to get the dumpster picked up and a new one delivered. Fill her up again. |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
