One Day Later...

...than it should be, I  finally have time to sit down at my computer for more than a moment.  Events really conspired yesterday to Shanghai my time right from the git go.  I got up around 9 and headed off to take care my morning business.  As I was coming out of the bathroom, I heard my bosses ring tone (called 'warning zone' for a reason!).  The truck that was to have arrived at 1 AM did not arrive until 9.  So I had to rush off to work for 3 hours to help put it up.  I did manage to get the Music and the Man Art selected before events distracted me.  I then had to go back to work for my regular shift at 5.  After work and preparing fettuccine Alfredo with grilled chicken and garlic bread for dinner, I was really too tired to write.  However before being distracted, I did find a couple of things I wanted to share with you and thus I shall.  

Most of my long time readers will remember some years back I was living and working in North Little Rock, Arkansas.  While in NLR, I attended a small church called the Open Door Community Church.  Open door was actually a spiritual community as the name suggests, however, the all inclusive acceptance and love for one another was as real as any I have experienced in my lifetime.  The Pastor there, Randy McCain, is a marvelous spiritual shepherd and I experienced a lot of peace while I was a member of his flock.  In the intervening years Pastor Randy traveled to New York with his long time partner, Gary Eddy, to get  married after Marriage Equality became the law of the land there.  Randy now goes by the  hyphenated Eddy-McCain as does Gary.  Randy has also written a book, And God Save Judy Garland. A Gay Christian's Journey which can be purchased HERE or HERE.  On Tuesday this week, Randy penned a piece in the Huffington Post entitled An Open Letter from a Gay Christian Pastor to My Non-Gay Colleagues in Ministry.  The letter gives a brief synopsis of his ministry and challenges other Pastors to join them in welcoming all comers with open arms no matter from whence they came.  When you get a moment, click on over to read what Randy has to say.  You will be glad you did.  

The other thing I was going to mention yesterday, was Michelangelo Signorile's article, also in the Huffington Post, Michael Sam and the NFL's Virulent Homophobia.  You all remember Michael, the NFL's first ever draftee to be openly Gay.  Michael plays Defensive End and was drafted by the Saint Louis Rams, a team laden with defensive talent.  Unfortunately, a football decision was made and Michael did not make the 53 man Rams roster.  The Rams also did not place him on their Practice Squad as they had needs in other positions.  Nor did any team claim Michael in the 24 hours he was up for waivers or any time since.

That all changed on Wednesday from an altogether unexpected source, my own Dallas Cowboys who signed Michael Sam to their Practice Squad using part of Head Coach Jason Garrett's weekly press conference to announce the signing.  This is of course significant because now Michael is the first openly Gay NFL player and he and the Cowboys will make history when his opportunity to play in a game comes up.  For right now, Michael will wear the number 46 which has a significance all its own. 

Michael Sam will wear No. 46 with the Dallas Cowboys. That number happens to be the year the Rams signed the NFL's first black players, Kenny Washington and Woody Strode. It's also the year Jackie Robinson and John Wright broke Major League Baseball's color barrier when they reported to the Brooklyn Dodgers' farm team, the Montreal Royals. Robinson took the field for the Dodgers the following year, in 1947.  Writing over on OutSports, Jim Buzinski says: "By signing Michael Sam to its practice squad today, the Dallas Cowboys got help at a position where it is woefully weak. It had the added benefit of sparing the NFL from intense examination over homophobia just as the season is starting.

The Cowboys announced the signing of Sam at Coach Jason Garrett's weekly news conference. I repeat -- the Cowboys coach used part of his news conference to announce the signing of a PRACTICE TEAM player, four days before their season opener. Sam's signing was the lead to ESPN's "SportsCenter" during a heavy sports week. This is how big the story is and how big the bullet is that the league dodged.

By signing with the Cowboys, Sam has become the first openly gay NFL player on a roster, and has the chance to becoming the first to play in a game if he is ever called up to the active roster; last season, four players were called up from the Cowboy's practice squad to the regular roster."

This is great news all around, particularly if you are a Cowboy fan, for Michael, the NFL, and for LGBT folks everywhere.  Here in one of the last bastions of rampant homophobia statewide that is Texas, the Cowboys stood up and did the right thing for the right reasons and got a helluva football player that fits their needs for a reasonable price.  Who'd a thunk it would be team in Texas, much less the Cowboys that signed Michael Sam to a contract.  That gives me some real incentive to watch what could be a dismal season for my beloved Cowboys and their fans.    

"How 'bout them Cowboys!"

Your Midweek Musical moment one day delayed features an intimate chamber concert from the halls of the Library of Congress with a program that includes works from three different composers.  The concert with Pamela Frank and Alexander Simionescu, violin; Dmitri Murrath and Nokuthula Ngwenyama, viola; Peter Wiley and Edward Arron, cello performs: Dvorak Miniatures, Op. 75a, Schoenberg "Verklaerte Nacht," and Brahms String Sextet No. 1, Op. 18.  Additionally, you may hear Brahm's 3 Violin Sonatas over on my tumblr with a terrific recording by Itzhak Perlman on Violin and Daniel Barenboim on Piano.  

Since I had already painstakingly selected Wet Wednesday's sizzling sexiness for display yesterday, I thought I would go ahead and let you be captivated by them for yourselves albeit one day delayed.  You might also want to check the Naked Pool Boy Hottie of the Day! over on my tumblr for a little additional sizzle.  Thanks for stopping in to say 'hey', see you again soon.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!