ann arbor pride fest 2023
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so happy to live in a city that takes pride in all people and celebrates everyone.
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“festivals promote diversity, they bring neighbors into dialogue, they increase creativity,
they offer opportunities for civic pride, they improve our general psychological well-being.
in short, they make cities better places to live.”
-david binder
After their LGBTQ pride flag was stolen twice in recent weeks, a pair of Ann Arbor churches are responding the only way they know how — giving away more flags.
St Aidan’s Episcopal Church and Northside Presbyterian Church, which share a building in Ann Arbor, are launching a “Need A Flag, Take A Flag” event today. The event will feature 300 LGBTQ pride flags and allow anyone in need of a flag to take home their own handheld versions.
Although the event is in part a Pride Month celebration, the inspiration for it comes from the theft of the churches’ own flags. On April 3, church leadership received an email saying someone had removed the flag and thrown it into the bushes. On June 1, the churches reported the replaced flag had been stolen completely.
“I still haven’t found it,” said the Rev. Thomas Ferguson, vicar at St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church. The Rev. Jenny Saperstein, pastor at Northside Presbyterian Church, told Ferguson, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, that whoever took it must have needed a flag. “She said, let’s answer this with something positive,” Ferguson said.
The churches, which often partner on social justice issues, will have 300 flags available and plan to order more if they run out. Launching the event on a Sunday allows the entire congregation to get involved with the advocacy, Saperstein said. “It’s really this church community that stands for that,” Saperstein said. “Not just the pastors.”
Hearing affirming messaging from churches is especially important for marginalized communities. “We’ll hope to change hearts and minds with love,” Ferguson said. “We’re not going away, and we’re not changing our stance here with the oppressed.”
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Donde termina el arco iris,
en tu alma o en el horizonte?
Where does the rainbow end,
in your soul or on the horizon?
― Pablo Neruda, The Book of Questions
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source credit: jordyn pair, mlive, ann arbor news
with the absence of so many humans
the animals have reclaimed their territory
and even branched out to try things that might be new
when i saw this goose standing full of pride and bravado on top of the bridge
all i could think of was that scene from ‘titanic’ when jack said to rose:
“i’m the king of the world!”
and he believed that for a little while.
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“the higher we soar the smaller we appear to those who cannot fly”
– friedrich nietzsche
what better way to celebrate the day than walking all together
the local merchants
the stormtrooper
the squirrel
the roller derby team
the pedal bikers
the mayor
the musicians with a cause
the snow buddies
the creatures.
and so many, many, more.
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“diversity is about all of us,
and about us having to figure out how to walk through this world together.”
-jacqueline woodson
jacqueline is the 2018-2019 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. She received the 2018 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award and the 2018 Children’s Literature Legacy Award, and is the 2014 National Book Award Winner for her New York Times bestselling memoir Brown Girl Dreaming, which was also a recipient of the Coretta Scott King Award, a Newbery Honor, the NAACP Image Award and a Sibert Honor. In 2015, Woodson was named the Young People’s Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation.
when one local dollar tree store closed
my favorite enthusiastic manager
moved to the new location
and judging by my recent visit
he has not lost one bit
of his dollar store fervor and expertise.
this was a conversation between bob (the manager) and evelyn (my cashier) as i was checking out:
E: “bob, you’re really good at remembering all of the balloon numbers to ring up and knowing each one of them without looking.”
B: “well, i’ve been doing it a long time. once in a while a number will change or a new shape will come in, like a unicorn, but it’s part of my job to keep up with it.”
E: “when i worked at the grocery store, i knew all the prices for the cucumbers, the peppers and tomatoes. the easy ones”
B: “some are trickier, like avocados, and for some of those things you only see sometimes it’s harder to remember the all the plu’s.”
E: “it’s really a skill, bob. to be able to do that.”
customer john interrupts:
J: “hey bob – so this is where you’ve got up to – how are you liking the change?”
B: “hey, john. good to see you. it’s great. every day is great. i’m so lucky to be here.”
and how lucky is dollar tree to have bob as a manager?
a man who truly loves his job
takes pride in all of it
is always smiling and helpful
knows exactly where every item in the store is located
and who happily learns the number for the new unicorn balloon.
how excited was i
when i discovered
that my local mcdonald’s
chose to give me this special cup?!
what a statement this was
what a compliment
they must have been waiting
for just the right customer to come along
this lid was like a badge of honor
clearly written in two languages
for all the world to see
i carried it with pride
as i went to add my cream
and it was then
that i noticed
that it had come from
a huge sleeve of coffee cup lids
all carrying the exact same message.
clearly written
in two languages.
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“when you’re hot, you’re hot; when you’re not, you’re not.”
-flip wilson
grandie b
read her book to us
out loud
proud and confident
while
younger grandie j
watched and listened
and
when she was done
he said
he was happy she could read the words
but he seemed
a
little bit
envious
and
sad
because he wasn’t sure how to read yet
until
suddenly
he had an idea
and
i saw
the lightbulb go on
just before
he announced
that he would
‘read his book to us in spanish’.
and
he proceeded to
show us the cover
as he
read us the title
and then
patiently
read
each and every page
in his version of spanish
taking his time
nodding and facing the book towards us
turning the pages
at appropriate times
pointing out the pictures
all while
happily smiling
confidently
chattering away
in a his brand new version of spanish
that was so very, very advanced
that we
the listeners
didn’t even
know the translations
but we understood
that he was proud
and
he was reading
and
when he was finished
he snapped his book shut
and said
in english
“that’s all.”
brilliant.
muy bien, and gagglesmithjong kipisanlomita paskajonti to you!!
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“if you want to talk about something new,
you have to make up a new kind of language.”
-haruki murakami
happy 4th of july from the u.s.a.
very proud that my country chose freedom over fear
so very proud to be attending baby daughter h’s graduation,
it has been a long and winding road,
with 2 small babies, a hubby, a career change, charity work, lots of fiestas, lots of challenges,
and pure grit.
no one in our little family takes the easy road to get places,
and i think we’ve been made all the stronger for it.
and i’m happy she’s following her own uncharted paths.
and now she will join the ranks of those who teach the little people in our world,
and they will be lucky to have her, just as we all are.
and she will encourage them to follow their own paths.
here’s to you, baby daughter, h, with much love and bursting with pride.
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“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”
Charles R. Swindoll
I didn't have my glasses on.... 