Peace on Earth and good will to all
Trim a tree fo r Providence Hospital’s annual auction
B Y
J A C K I E
mb
1 «S
D
(Jiiam in
m
_________ r ~—
(BETW EEN WASHINGTON & ALDER
V^
W O M A N
Imaginative Floral Design
ORDER NOW 233-7335
$ 3 .0 0 a i d t p
rjb r th
/
their private concerns and think of others.
We can take advantage of this time to spot
light our community, making the invisible, visi
ble; and we can do this without coming out as
individuals.
I have a specific proposal for Christmas
1989. Every year Providence Hospital auctions
Christmas trees to raise money for indigent
patients. Decorated and donated by civic and
commercial groups, these trees are usually in
turn donated to children’s hospitals, battered
women’s shelters, and other institutions.
Imagine the impact of a tree at that show
decorated and donated by the lesbian and gay
community. By contributing to the larger com
munity we would advertise our presence in a
positive way. Next year, let’s add to the peace
on Earth for gays and lesbians by showing our
good will to all.
/ 1 - 1
r o w o u r m ^JW H B U U trO nS tTY V M fru
wi£potntsithas, anary£s,
'
£rByr*nt£a£er*fas, dvw/tcuxpdinò.
tS£.X> S' fodiment ‘ 7 k-tf$rU. 0 r
OVERCOATS for EVERYON E
This is first in a series o f opinion pieces
submitted through the efforts o f the Lesbian
Community Project.
northw est
GARDEN SPOT
r
Do yourXmas shopping Now!
w
SANDRA K. PINCHES, Ph.D.
1 8 ( H ) N .Y V . J o h n s o n , S u * . 7
D O W N TO W N LUNCH
SPECIA L
AVAILABLE MON-FRI
11 AM-3:30 PM
5 2 4 SW 5TH
" ttt TL
PEOPLE
esk-cut tritò
PORTLAND S MOST
UNIQUE FOOD
STORE — OVER 5000
ITEMS"
(DOWNTOWN LOCATION ONLY)
FOOD* FRIENDLY
DESIGNING
3029 s.e. 21st
& 'food.
(Univi
INCLUDES A CUP O F FRESHLY
MADE SOUP. 1/2 TUNA SANDWICH
WITH SPROUTS. TOMATO & WHOLE
WHEAT BREAD — AND A HANDFUL
O F O R EG O N -M A D E TORTILLA
CHIPS. TOO!
Lö.v.-J
1 f*.-v.Cv|
1 l.i r.r.’.t.l
GOOD
“Flowers ... so sweet, the sense
fain ts picturing them. ”
gg?
Shelley
£<<•
HeaMwGuf
xiimniniiL
o d storeS
1» I
J
F O R T U N A T A
ecember is a complicated month.
Whether or nor vou celebrate the holi
days. you can naru \ ignore them. We are del -
uged with music, words, and sights touting the
holidays. But what you do in response to the
mass appeal is up to you. It depends on your
religious and spiritual convictions, kids, part
ner, friends, and degree of “ outness" to your
family. Almost everything about you influences
how you’ll celebrate, or how you won't, and
how you’ll feel about it. What are lesbians
doing this month? Can we use the holidays to
further lesbian community?
The humbugs are right about Christmas. It is
perverted by commercialism and media hype.
Every year Christmas appears earlier in the
stores. The push is on to do Christmas right.
We agree with the humbugs about Christmas
hype, but we celebrate, anyway. Why we cele
brate is answered by how we do it. We choose
from Christmas, Hanukkah, winter solstice, or
the African harvest festival. We light candles,
go to services, sit in sweat lodges. And rituals
with no spiritual meaning abound: tree trim
ming, carolling, gift giving, feasting, and
kissing under the mistletoe. If we have kids,
then Christmas is for them, celebrated with
Santa Claus, if not Jesus.
Most of us don’t want to be alone in
December; we want to be with family and
friends. This is so important to us that we will do
almost anything to make it happen, but peace on
Earth happens in the December rush for few
people. And we often get the added stress of
family versus friends. Will my friends accept
my parents? Will my parents accept my lover?
Some people spend time at more than one
Christmas: one with mom, one with dad. one
with friends, and one with their lover— they
are acutely aware of the limits and boundaries
of relationships. You may be invited to dinner at
your sister's, to whom you are out, but her
in-laws will be there, and you are not out
to them.
Private rituals are certainly important to each
of us. However, I propose another use for
December. There’s a Christmas phenomenon
that I think the lesbian and gay community can
take advantage of. What do we do for the
hungry at Christmas? We feed them. In fact, we
feed them a feast. The invisible poor are visible
during December and that prods the collective
consciousness of America. People set aside
PEOPLE'S
P o r t la n d . O R < )7 2 < H )
(ö O J ) 2 2 7
O'
T ?L £jt,
XA ju
S p e c i a l i z i n g in i s s u e s of:
• Recovering Alcoholics
• Co-dependency
• Lesbian & gay couples
• Intimacy & commitment
Just Out • 9 • December. 1^87