Ah, Mondays, what can ya say? It has been a mixed bag of a day with its ups, downs and runarounds. I guess I will start with the Cowboys who beat the hapless Cardinals yesterday 27-10 like they should have but we lost Greg Ellis for the season with a torn Achilles tendon. Ouch! Next up are the undefeated Colts on Sunday followed by the Buccaneers on Thanksgiving Day. Quite a challenge for the 'boys in the Colts but not so much of one with the Bucs. All in all, though the second half of the season looks mostly doable. I just hope they remain focused on the job at hand. Go, Cowboys!I want to thank all of you readers who have provided so many nice comments on Nichevo's different postings. You have all been very kind and encouraging to this newbie in the biz. I have also received some very encouraging emails that have inspired me to continue doing what I am doing and striving to improve day by day. You guys can also subscribe to Nichevo through FeedBlitz in the space provided in the sidebar. When you subscribe, you will receive an email asking you to confirm your subscription and providing a link to do so. I urge you to confirm so that you can receive my postings in your email. Many thanks to those of you who have already done so, it really pumps me up when I get notice of your confirmation in my email.
Speaking of FeedBlitz, they provide me with a lot of material that I can use or point you to on a daily basis. One of the feeds I got this morning was on the Ex-Gay Love Won Out conference in Woodstock, GA. over the weekend. I read the whole thing and was astounded by some of the stupid shit that they come up with. The picture at right is of the author of one of the articles, Daniel Gonzales, who writes from personal experience with the ex-gay ministries. One of his points struck home with me, it seems that most of the ministries involved are afraid of us and the gay press. So afraid that they refuse to offer credentials to the journalists from avowed gay publications like the Southern Voice who was trying to cover the conference as it is a matter of interest to a great many gay people nationwide. Here is and excerpt from Daniel's article over at EX-Gay Watch :
- Contrast that to the treatment Dyana Bagby, Southern Voice news editor, received when she covered “Love Won Out,” Focus on the Family’s traveling ex-gay conference, last weekend at First Baptist Church of Woodstock.
- The event’s media coordinator was initially happy to help Bagby when she called to inquire about press credentials. But when the man learned that Southern Voice covers gay issues, his attitude immediately changed.
- Gay newspapers are banned from obtaining press credentials for Love Won Out, he said, and we could attend only by paying the $60 fee as a member of the public — although several other media outlets attended free-of-charge.
Now I myself have not been to any of the various Exodus or Focus on the Family conferences or camps. I have been exposed to the radical evangelical point of view in a real personal way. At a real low point in my life, a "friend" of mine discovered me sitting on a street corner surrounded by what few possessions I had remaining after being evicted from my apartment. He said he was on his way to the gym and if I was still there when he finished, he knew a place where I could go. It did not occur to me at the time that his workout was more important than my life, but I was so addled by drugs that coherent thought was beyond me. Anyway, when he returned we piled my pitiful belonging into his pickup and he took me to a men's home run by a ministry headed by an ex-addict from CA located over in an old east Dallas neighborhood.
They took me in, prayed over me, fed me and sent me to bed where I remained for about 3 days. I must tell you that I was pretty far gone and could barely sit up, let alone walk. However, I was terrified that they would discover my inherent gayness, so terrified that I could not bring myself to speak aloud to anyone. Unbeknown to me, the leadership had already combed through my stuff, finding my gay porn and toys yet not revealing this to me. I remained silent for about 3 months and then I was still reluctant to extend my trust to anyone there. Their program included Bible study of course, church attendance several times a week as well as twice daily preachings at the house. The Day started and ended with two hour prayer sessions where you were "encouraged" to kneel and bury your head in a chair or walk around praying out loud. I could not pray as they wanted me to, I could not get into the throwing my hands up in praise, and I really thought the whole slain in the spirit rituals at the end of services was a bunch of shit play acting. Believe it or not I spent two years involved there before I escaped. I had many good times, a lot of soul searching, some maddening discipline, and a final realization that I could no longer stay there and maintain my sanity. I desperately tried to pray away my homosexuality to no avail. What really got to me though was the overiding sense of guilt I felt for being unable to change. There were some there that persecuted me unmercifully for being gay, while there were some who sought me out for sexual favors. I was finally able to escape when my mother broke her hip and my family needed a full time care giver for free. From one guilt trip to another, but that is for a later post. I need to move on to something more positive before I gag myself.
There, I feel better already. As you guys know from an earlier post, I am currently between "real" jobs and I filed my first request for payment of unemployment insurance with the State of Texas today. I was able to do it online after several tries and two phone calls. Now the waiting and watching the mailbox begins. In the mean time I went to the state human services local office to apply for food stamps as my unemployment insurance will pay the rent and little else.I took my number and filled out 10 pages of forms and waited for them to call my number, and waited, and waited. Finally after about two hours they called my number, took my paperwork for which they gave me a receipt and said I would receive an appointment by mail to determine my eligibility withing 7 to 14 days. Luck for me the food pantry downstairs provide some assistance in the way of groceries for my cupboard. I am so glad I don't have to deal with the state on a daily basis. I think I would go crazy trying, though some would say it would not be a long trip!
I wanted to add a PayPal button to the blog in the event that some kind soul wanting to contribute to the cause would have an easier time of it. It has been a year since I logged in to my account and I could not remember my password. Having replaced my computer since my last login, my computer did not remember either. I went to the pay pal sight and went through the process to recover said password only to be frustrated by the inability to receive an email with the link to reset it from them. I even call their area code 402 help line on my cell phone as I don't have long distance blocked on the home number. After $5.00 in air time and no resolution in site, I got cut off. So I emailed them with my main and alternate email addresses explaining my problem and the desired remedy, yet I have still to receive a response in my inbox. No one else seems to have a problem getting an email to me and I don't have their address blocked, so I guess wait and see is the best I can do for now.
I interrupted my typing tonight to watch this weeks episode of Heroes on NBC. I am so hooked on this show. The cast is superb and the writing is fantastic! Each week provides new twists and subplots that arouse your curiosity so much you get entangled in the mystery with almost no effort of your own. One of the main hook phrases is "Save the cheerleader, save the world." Well next week someone will get there chance to save the cheerleader and I can't wait to watch how it all develops. Will it Hiro or Peter who saves her or some one else? I will watch to find out. Tune in next week at 9 eastern time, 8 central on NBC and we will find out together.I suppose I am finished ranting for the day so I will provide you with some eye candy from the archives. Keep on coming back, posting your comments, and write me with your suggestions. I promise to listen to you. Until next time, as always, Enjoy!
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