Some of us first encountered drag queens at the movies. (Remember when we used to *go* to the movies?) I think you’ll agree that lovely, loving movies like To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, Tootsie and even Hairspray left us hoping that everything the queens wanted would come true! I have a fond memory of watching The Birdcage with my former mother-in-law and her homophobic son. (FORMER is a very key word in that previous sentence as homophobia was the least of his many…
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Becoming a Pig Spotter on I-95
There’s something to be said for local knowledge. Some of my southern relatives have a level of fear when they think about driving on the hilly, curvy roads of the northeast. Our California friends thought I was silly to want a wildfire app on my last trip to that side of the country. And then there are those who take tornadoes and hurricanes as much in stride as I do snow storms and secondary roads. Useful local knowledge does not need to be limited to dramatic…
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Gun Violence and Passive Voice
It breaks my heart that gun violence has become an evergreen topic, but here we are. I won’t list them but the Gun Violence Archive does. It’s unsettling to look at the list and see how many of these terrible tragedies have already faded in memory. The following is an update of post that appeared here three years ago. ## What do you see when I say “passive?” Hankie-totin’ Southern ladies on their fainting couches? Perhaps a heroine, reenacting The Perils of Pauline, tied to the…
