Separate but equal

Wanda and I went to The Henry Ford museum this weekend. Among many very excellent exhibits was one of the African-American civil rights struggle in the United States. We even got to step into the actual bus Rosa Parks took her historic stand in. There was a lot of history at the exhibit, and I enjoyed reading about the details.  I found myself comparing the struggle of black people to that of modern-day GLBTs. Please note that I am not suggesting that the injustices that African-Americans suffered are equal to those of GLBTs today. There is no establishment de jure of capital punishment for same sex couples, and the idea of public lynchings of GLBTs is absurd.

However, while exploring the history, I couldn’t help but apply modern mores in a similar light. For example, I believe that most individuals would find the Dred Scott verdict to be absurd today. How many of those same individuals are in favor of modifying the state constitution to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman?

While pondering, I pictured many of those conservatives who call into my talk radio programs and suggest things such as, “I don’t care what they do in private, but they shouldn’t be allowed to marry!”

I guess history does repeat itself sometimes.

October 29th, 2008  News & Current Events   Tags: bigotry, equality, glbt, marriage, museum, more...

Weekend

Wanda and I did more than we usually do on the weekend. Yesterday (Saturday), we went to the Neville Public Museum in Green Bay because Wanda had never been. We enjoyed a lot of the local history, although we could have done without the “dairy” and “Green Bay Packer” exhibits (not that I have anything against dairy, but the exhibits seemed more geared towards children). Overall, it was a good time.

We then took a quick trip to Circuit City to look for an HDTV antenna. After that, we logged many miles throughout Green Bay looking for a decent seafood place and just going for a “Sunday Drive.” We knew where Red Lobster was, but Wanda wanted to try something different. Eventually we decided to try Marty’s Boston Crab near the stadium.

The restaurant turned out to be a letdown. The bill+tip came to $70, which we wouldn’t have necessarily minded since it was a date; however, we expected a lot more for the price. We both ordered steak with “Dungeness crab legs”. Salads were extra @ $3.50/ea. For sides, Wanda chose Asiago mashed potatoes and a salad, and I chose the Asiago mashed with “pub chips with skins and seasoning”, which I assumed would be something like steak fries. I should have asked – they turned out to be overcooked potato chips. Wanda’s sirloin was very good, but my rib eye (which cost more) was all gristle. I make a way better New York strip at home for a lot less money. Finally, although the crab legs tasted very good, they were extremely meager. On a bright note, their seasoned bread was amazing, but it wasn’t all-you-can-eat like Red Lobster’s garlic cheddar muffins. Red Lobster for the win.

Today (Sunday) was fairly uneventful. Wanda wanted to go for a bike ride really badly with me to show off her new bike. I hadn’t ridden a bike in probably 9 years. I was very reluctant because a) I look gay on a bike, and b) I hadn’t intended on riding a bike again until after having kids (due to the male fertility thing). However, she got me to go along and it turned out to be fairly nice. We biked to the gas station to get a newspaper and then around the neighborhood a bit.

Wanda got a lot of cleaning done. I did a bunch of dishes and some laundry. Wanda was sweet enough to make a romantic dinner (“supper” for those of you in Rio Linda) of lobster tail, king crab legs, garlic cheddar muffins, and caesar salads. (Yes, we had seafood two nights in a row.) It was fantastic! My cat Josie couldn’t resist jumping on the kitchen table to investigate the strong smell of seafood. She hadn’t jumped on the table in quite some time since she knows she gets yelled at if she does.

We settled the night by listening to All Request Love Songs on I94 (which play Sunday nights from 8pm to midnight), while Wanda did her homework and I goofed off on my laptop.

March 26th, 2007  Uncategorized   Tags: Food, green bay, museum, music, outdoors, quality time, seafood, more...