EDITOR’S NOTE | QPDX
by Alley Hector
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Jonathan Kipp
“
...the truth is I will
always love you. I have
you burned into my
heart and tattooed on
my body.”
Dear Valentine,
Late winter has never been my favorite time of year. I’m suffering from post-holiday-let-down and,
whether I’m single or coupled, Valentine’s Day has never been one of my favorite holidays. Don’t get
me wrong, I like an excuse to book dinner at a fancy restaurant and an buy massage oil and expensive
chocolate, but the sugar-coated commerciality gets to me almost as much as either the pressure to make
your partner love you more or the loneliness of not having one to disappoint.
That said, like the occasional weeks of amazing sun Portland can sometimes get in February, the month
of red and pink can sometimes surprise you with intense moments of love and joy. I’ll be spending the
very beginning of the month traveling islands off the coast of South America with one of my best friends
in the world, certainly a love as important as anyone I ever bought sex toys with. And while this has
plenty of potential for its own post-vacation sadness, who knows what the rest of the month has in store.
Sure, it is bound to have its rainy, gloomy days. It will have days where I am freezing after riding my bike
in the pouring rain or having been splashed at the bus stop by careless drivers. It will have moments
where I want to tear my hair out, yell at my loved (and less loved) ones, hide in the darkness of my room.
But it will also see the very beginnings of bright flowers poking their heads out of the ground in this
wildly fertile land we live on. Sexual energy and the will to urge spring forth will be in the air. It will
have the intense love and care of my family, a few sweet nothings from friends or lovers, the support of
my close-knit but diverse LGBTQ community, and even random acts of kindness by strangers. It will
continue to be the constant reminder that I consistently seem to need that I am very blessed to live in
this place with these people.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Alley Hector
ART DIRECTOR
Horace Long
A&E EDITOR
Ken Hoyt
HISTORIAN AT-LARGE
Robin Will
COPY EDITOR
Ellen Fiscus
REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS
Cathleen Busha Anna Deligio
Atlas Flynn Jonathan Hopp
Anne Jaeger Brad Larsen
Logan Lynn Scott MacDonald
Lyska Mondor Courtney O’Donnell
Mary Emily O’Hara Leo Schuman
Aaron Spencer Rev. Jennifer Yocum
SPECIAL CONTRIBUTOR
Evrim Icoz
DIRECTOR OF SALES
Eddie Glenn
Rivendell Media, Inc.
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Phone/Fax: 503.828.3034
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©Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
just out™
So this is my love letter to you, Portland. We’ve had our good times: a long honeymoon period, birthing
and co-parenting babies of art, writing and music. We’ve had our rough patches: fought, cheated on each
other, almost broken up so many times, been to couples counseling. But the truth is I will always love
you. I have you burned into my heart and tattooed on my body. So Portland, will you be mine?
Love, Alley
Just Out’s Editor-In-Chief Alley Hector writes QPDX. Reach her at Alley@JustOut.com.
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JustOut.com
Founded in 1983
FORMER PUBLISHERS
Founders Renee LaChance & Jay Brown
Marty Davis
Just Out has a long and proud history of informing and
entertaining the LGBTQ community in Oregon and
SW Washington, our supporters near and far, and working
to build bridges that lead to justice, fairness, and
equality for all people.
Printed in the U.S.A.
February 2013