Honored

The Pride committee voted to honor Charlie posthumously at last year's gay pride celebration.  I was too broken up to go to Sacramento for the state legislature's presentation and for presentations here in San Diego, but did ride in the gay pride parade in a convertible with Gloria Johnson, another gay rights and womens rights activist, another long term Democratic activist and friend of both of us.  It was very nice they chose to honor Charlie.  The crowd was estimated about 150,000.  Some people did not know who Charlie was, they thought I was Charlie.  I held up a photo of him so people could see who he was.  One person from the crowd shouted, "Is that your grandson?"

Which brings to mind a memory.  Charlie loved playing basketball and was very good at it.  He played in as many as four leagues each week.  One was the gay league and that league has many women players.  At one point one of the women asked who Anita Bryant was.  So you get your positive:  Anita Bryant has faded into insignificance.  But you get your negative:  Bryant's assault against gay equality was, well, evil and cruel.  One of my favorite possessions, I wonder if I still have it, was a copy of some scandal sheet like maybe the 'Star' with a headline story from Bryant's divorced husband proclaiming in huge red letters that his marriage to Bryant had been a living hell.  And so it goes.