I didn't go to the Gay Pride Parade yesterday, but I let my psychedelic freak rainbow fly high in solidarity. I had a perfect day, a day of unbridled hedonism (ah yes, the pleasure principle). If it wasn't for Sister Mary Aquanata (my third grade teacher - but really can I put all the blame in her black-robed lap?), I think I would have been a great Pagan. I did my best to drop my Catholic inheritance: profound GUILT! So I had a long and happy run along the lakefront. I took a long carefree soak in the bathtub reading the NY Times from front to back, I played my guitar, I had a great meal, I drank two ice-cold beers (2006 Illinois Inaugural Fat Tire!), I watched one of my favorite movies (R. Altman's The Long Goodbye). It was exquisite. No doubts, no pain, no guilt, complete satisfying pleasure!
Yes, happy and gay! My father, in his later years, after he outlived many of his contemporaries, used to quote that line: "living well is the best revenge." I don't think he meant it as revenge against anyone in particular (he wasn't a revengeful man), but instead it was a general claim against the doomsters, the nay-sayers, the backstabbers, the hypocritical moralists, etc. Of course for him living well meant a great bike ride on a summer day, a trip to the old fishing hole, a lazy baseball game on the tube, a day spent painting on a canvas...
So yes, let's all let our rainbow colors fly high. Be loud, be proud. We are human beings first...let's not forget or regret. There's beauty in all of us, let us all live well...
