
Monthly Archives: July 2018
Pools

I miss having a swimming pool. I used to have one in Alabama, but few pools exist up here in Vermont. I guess even in the summer the water stays too cold. Some people around here seem to even wait until August to go to the beach because the water has finally warmed up some. Of course, people who are used to it up here don’t seem to mind the colder water. I guess they’ve never experience what it’s like to have a day so hot that you sweat as soon as you step out the door and then go plunge into a cool, but not cold, pool. Of course, with that type of pool, your body acclimates to the temperature and it just becomes heaven. Oh well, maybe I just need to experience the waters up here. There are a few gay swimming holes in Vermont. Maybe one day I’ll get into shape and brave the cold water.
Neil Rafferty for Statehouse

Well, here’s some slightly good political news during what is proving to be an otherwise very bleak week in American politics…
After a tough primary followed by an even tougher runoff, a former U.S. Marine and openly gay man running for a House seat in Alabama’s 54th district has just won his party’s nomination.
Neil Rafferty announced his bid for a seat in the Alabama House back in February of this year.
The seat is being vacated by Democrat Patricia Todd, the state’s first gay legislator, who announced in January that she would not be seeking reelection.
Yesterday, Rafferty won the Democratic runoff election, receiving 2,531 votes, or 67.12 percent, of the vote. His opponent Jacqueline Gray Miller, an environmentalist and marketer, trailed behind him at 32.88 percent.
So how did he celebrate his runoff victory, you wonder?
By going to a bar, of course!
After the results came in yesterday evening, Rafferty, who works as the director of research and development at Birmingham AIDS Outreach, took to Facebook to invite his friends and supporters to celebrate with him at Crestwood Tavern, a local dive bar.
But today it’s back to work for Rafferty. He needs to prepare for the general election in November, where he will face off against Independent Joseph Baker.
A Tempest in a Teacup

A Tempest in a Teacup
by A. Van Jordan
Prospero
Assume, just for a moment,
I am denied a job
in the factory of my dreams
under the fluorescent lights
of a porcelain white foreman.
It’s orderly and neat.
I feed my family.
No one questions my face.
I raised my son in my likeness,
so he would never go unseen,
bobbing on a wave of expectation,
I set in motion with my back
put into my work, praying
for my country, blessed
with more of me, never worrying
about those who might die,
or those who did, trying
to stir a storm, trying
to stand where I’m standing.
About This Poem
“This poem is part of a series of poems in which characters from The Tempest become composite characters who wrestle with the tensions around how we talk about race today, particularly when that talk is gendered. Prospero represents the older, straight white male who fears the cultural shift in America, without seeing the benefits of that shift both for America and even for himself.”
—A. Van Jordan
A. Van Jordan is the author of four poetry collections, including The Cineaste (W. W. Norton, 2013). A professor of English and literature at the University of Mich
Another Monday

Yes, it’s another Monday, and time marches on. I had stuff to do over the weekend, but very little of it got done. I have a busy day today catching up. I hope I don’t get drawn into things at work and can get caught up. This online class that I am teaching is murder. What they expect of me is insane. Online teaching is not supposed to be this hard. Thankfully, I’ve looked ahead, and it does seem to get easier than the first two weeks. It’s maddening though. It will all get done though. I have my online class that I’m taking to deal with too. This week’s assignment is fairly easy, so I can get it done quickly.













