april 6.2001 ' J u s t out r
BpSöSout
)
i
it was obvious that these two had spent many
happy hours rehearsing the singers.
Their love of music and life was communi­
cated through and amplified by the ensemble.
The standing ovation from the audience that
occurred after the second bow.was honestly
heartfelt and deserved.
Although the message was one of “welcom­
ing” the coming of spring and all its beauty, the
finale (Bernstein’s “Make Our Garden Grow”)
was also an invitation. Each of us has a part to
play in developing ourselves and the lesbian/gay
community as well as the larger community in
which we live.
The PGMC, one of our community’s shining
lights, reminds us of that responsibility to par­
ticipate in the business of living and promoting
positive attitudes toward one another. Thanks,
thanks and ever thanks to the entire PGMC
organization.
E ric de L ora
Portland
Please drive carefully
To t h e E d it o r :
i
write this letter to the editor to remind peo­
ple once again to please drive carefully.
It recently was March 31. For a long time I
looked forward to that date, the day my
youngest child would be 18.
This year, though, I did not shop for new
shoes, new clothes or a favorite CD. Sadly, I
shopped for the appropriate flowers to place at
the spot where he lost his life.
The reality of this March 31 is it marked the
second year Allen Thompson’s life was celebrat­
ed without him. If my son’s accidental death
does anything, it will be to remind each of us to
please drive carefully.
1 now know more than ever that it only takes
a second— the time it takes to change a CD,
light a cigarette, take a drink of pop, look down
at a map— to be inattentive, not careful, actual­
ly careless.
In the life of a teen-ager, words fly. Our fam­
ily is fortunate and thankful that the last words
we heard from our 16-year-old son were, “I love
you, see you for dinner.”
So here I go again, saying those words we
hear so often: Slow down, drive carefully, and
remember to tell the people you love that you
love them. Every day!
K elli T hompson
Newport
We are family
To t h e E d it o r :
M
arty Davis hit the nail on the head with
the statement, “And now I never will
know, because there is no one left to ask”
(“Jell-O Salad and Montgomery Ward,” Jan. 5].
Like you, I am the oldest surviving member of
the family, and I’d like to ask a lot of questions
about the past, but there is no one to ask in most
cases.
Some of my grandchildren are interested in
our family history. 1 now advise them to keep
journals or computer records or buy one of those
new home CD-making machines so they’ll be
able to answer their grandchildren’s questions.
Although I don’t miss Jell-O salads, it is sad
that Montgomery Ward has gone out of busi­
ness. My farm family bought a lot of stuff from
Wards. An older girl in the Polish community
and I used to cut out the clothing models from
the Wards catalog to play paper dolls.
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R ollin Z awistowski
Lake Oswego
Clothing & Furniture
Pet project
To t h e E d it o r :
I
]| lease do not feature remembrances of passed-
away pets [“Did You Miss Me?” March 16].
Like you, 1 have loved pets, and 1 appreciate
the loss of owners after the death of an animal
for which they cared deeply, but 1 definitely
have no interest in reading (or having to skip
over!) this type of memorial tribute. I do not
think this is appropriate or needed in Just Out.
I will be disappointed if you and the staff
begin to include such articles. Where would it
end?
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Lake Oswego
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Age of innocence
business is through referrals.
To t h e E d it o r :
H
as anyone noticed that Showtime’s Queer
as Folk graphically portrays and endorses
on some levels underage sex?
The age of consent for male-male intercourse
is 18. The law imposes penalties for a man who
has sex with a boy younger than that.
The main characters on Queer as Folk, 29-
year-old Brian and 17-year-old Justin, have par­
ticipated in several explicit sexual encounters
during the show’s first season. Where is the out­
cry from the gay media community?
There hardly has been any strong objection
to this portrayal of underage sex. Is it that the
media are willing to turn their heads when
graphic sex is portrayed on cable or when the
actors are muscular and beautiful, or is it because
there is finally a gay show on television that
showcases graphic sex?
Not too long ago, much coverage centered
on gay groups across the nation condemning the
actions and policies of the National Association
of Man/Boy Love. Is there a difference between
these two levels of underage sex?
The gay media have been at the forefront of
tackling and addressing negative portrayals of
gay men and women in the past. They had a
problem with The Silence of the Lambs and Cruis­
ing because they portrayed gay and transsexual
serial killers; also, questions were raised with The
Jackal because Bruce Willis seduced and then
killed a gay man.
The gay media continue to have concerns
with rappers of old and new and their lyrics—
the list goes on and on. However, no outcry
regarding Queer as Folk.
Will there be an increase in underage sex
regarding gay men— who can say? But with the
current trends in today’s society, the door is wide
open for speculation, discrimination and more
negative portrayals of gay men.
C harles W ard
Seattle
ju st
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