A Virtual Walk

On Friiday I signed up to participate for the 33rd time in AIDS Walk San Francisco. I wish it didn't have to be so of course. I wish a cure had been found long ago. That isn't the case though. Now were are faced with the COVID-19 pandemic too and so we can't go walking in the park as usual. That happened last year too. Ugh!

They have also moved the date from the usual July day to one in mid May. This means two months less of fundraising. This means a much tougher job.

Of course AIDS Walk isn't just about raising money, although the event benefits participating HIV/AIDS service organizations in all seven Bay Area counties. It is also about information, educaton, and erasing the stigma.

Can you help?  Since this is a virtual walk in 2021, you don't have to be in San Francisco.  You can actually participate from anywhere in the world.  How good are you at fundraising?  Sign up and give it a go.  You can also sponsor me, for which I will be most grateful, by going to https://sf.aidswalk.net/MichaelFullam 

Gaga for cookies

They are flying off grocery shelves. Lady Gaga partnered with the Oreo foks for a special "Chromatica" cookie inspired by her dance album. They are vanilla-flavored, bright pink in color with green crème filling. Oh and they are only around for a limited time. We can all create "Oreograms," by recording a personal message on the "Sing It With Oreo" website.

This isn't something I made up!  There are doubters out there though and people have actually been checking with snopes to see if this is real.  It is.

So why am I starting my Saturday morning telling you about cookies? How does that even fit with the theme of this blog? Well music makes you happy and so do cookies. Our world can never have too much happiness! Lady Gaga has also brought a lot of good to this world in others ways too, such as her Born This Way Foundation and her LGBTQ advocacy.  I'd say more, but right now I am craving some cookies.

Grateful for their lives

Saying goodbye is never an easy task.  I much prefer saying hello.  This week though has seen the lives end of an excptional number of famous people.  Among the many who have died are Bruce Kirby, Cicely Tyson, Tom Stevens, Carmen Vázquez, Cloris Leachman, Tseng Chang, and Corky Lee.  

Any of these people could easily be written about separately as each one of them gave back so much to society and made a differenct in our world.  For Kirby, Tyson, Leachman, and Chang, it was through acting, but more than just their performances.  They each were firsts at something.  Long Ryders bassist Tom Stevens gave us the gift of music.  Corky Lee and Carmen Vázquez were activists and Corky documented so much with his ever-present camera.

A lot of their work you already know about, but some things might not have gotten as much attention. Cloris Leachman was a Grand Marshal at the 2009 LGBTQ Pride Parde in San Francisco. Her dedication to animal-rights issues is was another one of her passions. Ms. Vázquez was the founding director of the Women's Building in San Francisco and also helped found the Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center in San Francisco, and the LGBT Health & Human Services Network in New York City. Mr Lee's photos are legendary and even he called himself the "Self-appointed undisputed, unofficial Asian American photographer laureate."

Someone said to me that these people led full lives and we shouldn't be sad.  Full lives indeed and so many contributions to our world.  Still, while I am grateful for their lives, I am sad that we will not be seeing them again.

The day of the Challenger tragedy

Seven lives were lost on this date in 1986 when the space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after takeoff. I will never forget that morning and the terrible sadness. The crew of seven were Francis Scobee, Michael Smith, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe.  They all perished.

All eyes were on televisions screens that day.  The story was tod over and over.  We watched in disbelief.  We also watched in great sorrow.  Ronald Reagan was President of the United States at the time, and regardless of your political leanings or what you think of the Reagan Presidency, I think you will agree with his actions that day.  Quite simply he did what a President should do.  He was presidential.

The State of the Union Address was schedued for that night, but instead of that, we heard another speech. It was televised from the White House. Reagan described the tragedy "On the day of the disaster, our nation held a vigil by our television sets. In one cruel moment, our exhilaration turned to horror; we waited and watched and tried to make sense of what we had seen."

President Regan's speech was only four minute long, but it was soothing, comforting, and just what America needed. Quoting from the poem High Flight by John Gillespie Magee Jr Regan closed saying "We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and 'slipped the surly bonds of earth' to 'touch the face of God.'"

Are we better off

Are we better off today than we were last Saturday?  Am I asking for a judgement on Joe Biden't performance with just a few days in office?  Well no.  I want to be fair.  Let me also take a few moments to point out some things.

For some reason there are folks who expected Jor Biden to take the Presidential oath and then everything would be okay.  All of our trouble would disappear.  It doesn't work that way.  He is our President, not our wizzard.  He has already accomplished a lot though.

Mr Biden stopped our withdrawal from the World Health Organization.  That alone is big, especially during a pandemic.  He asked us all to unite toward a common goal.  He extended the nationwide moratorium on evictions and foreclosures to March 31.  He also ended construction of that ridiculous border wall.  Oh and he canceled the Muslim ban too.  Biden has held frequent press briefings too and has a very competent press secretary,  We have rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement.  Students can breathe a little easier after President Biden extended the pause on student loan repayment and interest to September 30.  Yup, September.  Eight months from now.  Biden has put in place COVID-19 proticals aimed and bringing this pandemic to an end.  He issued an order too prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

This is just a tiny bit of what President Joe Biden has done in less than three days.  Yes, we are better off, at least in my opinion.  More good things are coming too.  We need to help him though.  We need to show our support and to make positive comments.  I think down the road we are going to find ourselves MUCH better off!

Honesty and Unity

The United States has a new President. I'm sure many of you were watching yesterday when Joe Biden took the oath of office. The cermonial moments, the speeches, the bands and the marches - I find it all very moving. Oh and that stirring speech! It was a sort of call to action; a call to unite. On FOX, anchor Chris Wallace said “I thought it was a great speech. I thought this was the best inaugural address I ever heard.” High praise.

“Recent weeks and months have taught us a painful lesson,” President Biden told us yesterday in that Inaugural Address. “There is truth and there are lies, lies told for power and for profit. And each of us has a duty and responsibility, as citizens, as Americans, and especially as leaders, leaders who have pledged to honor our Constitution and protect our nation, to defend the truth and defeat the lies.” 

Mr Biden spoke of another enemy too - divisiveness. "But the American story depends not on any one of us, not on some of us, but on all of us." That was really the central theme of his speech. He outlined the many things that need fixing within our country and then said "To overcome these challenges - to restore the soul and to secure the future of America - requires more than words. It requires that most elusive of things in a democracy: Unity."

Will we all unite? Will we be honest? Of course I don't have the answers, but thinking of the last part of President Biden's address, I do have hope. In closing he said "So, with purpose and resolve we turn to the tasks of our time. Sustained by faith. Driven by conviction. And, devoted to one another and to this country we love with all our hearts.

A very big day

Today is a big day, a very big day.  Health and safety concerns have caused a lot of changes in what we might normally expect, but today is still a big day!  The inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States in just a few hours, marks the beginning of the four-year term of Joe Biden as president and Kamala Harris as vice president.  Today is a new beginning.  Today is a big day.

The oath will be administered to the vice president first. Immediately afterward, the United States Marine Band will play four Ruffles and Flourishes, followed by Hail, Columbia. Joe Biden soon afterward recites the constitutionally mandated oath of office for President:  "I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Some of the details for today's event keep changing.  There really is a lot to take into consideration.  Usually there are huge crowds, but people are being urged to stay away and to instead watch on tv or the internet.  More details about the Inauguration are available at bideninaugural.org and you can also watch at youtube.com/bideninaugural  Most of the networks will also be covering everything live.  

It is a big day America, a very big day!