rural route rainbow

Well, you had me from "Hello"
I felt love start to grow the moment I looked into your eyes,
You won me, it was over from the start.
You completely stole my heart, and now you won't let go.
I never even had a chance you know?
You had me from "Hello"

one of the lovely things about 2009 is the advancement of lgbt(etc) awareness. when i was a twink, it was fairly common for young queers living in rural areas to pick up stakes and head to the big city in order to live the lives they were meant to live. the burgs they hailed from rarely had the capacity to wrap their loving arms around a little sissyboy or sexual tomboy. and then the likelihood of meeting someone to share their lives with in smallsville usa was less than most were willing to gamble on.

so gay urban living began its ascent and it has kept growing by leaps and bounds since then. but with the onset of prop 8, glaad, hrc, logo, and the like, the assimilation of rural america to the lgbt sensibility has richened and progressed. i mean even iowa has passed same sex marriage laws. maybe small town families no longer want to lose their children because those kids can't feel loved.

i went to participate in the pride celebration in colorado springs this weekend. of course, it pales in numbers and flamboyancy to the big big cities life sf, nyc, la. but what doesn't recede is the level of visibility that a once despised community has garnered in this ultra right-wing and conservative burg. this was the birthplace of the inimitable amendment 2 as well as the home of focus on the family.

now i cannot say that this pridefest rocked my world at all. it was quiet, it was comfortable, and it was almost quaint. but it warmed my heart. having grown up a sissyboy in a farming community (population 3108) in rural illinois, i am well aware of many of the remarks and attitudes that smallsville queers endure as they move into adulthood. and when i strolled through arcadia park in downtown colorado springs, i drank in a general absence of disdain that i truly did not expect.

the 2009 springs pridefest definitely had me from hello. here's to progress for those rural route same sex americans. i will pray for the day that much of the rest of the world catches up.

today's sound choice is kenny chesney with "you had me from hello"