Day 13: San Francisco (3)

Today I received my education in pride. I never considered myself one for pride; a supporter of equality, yes, a fearless advocate of being true to oneself, yes... but pride? My perception of it was that of partying, spectacle - an excuse to go wild. I never viewed the whole pride enterprise to be of great value to the cause until I actually went to a celebration. I discovered that pride is in fact what forms the community and holds it together; it is the foundation for rights advocation. Whatever kind of gay you are, you can and should have pride in whatever form that works for you. There certainly were those who were there to party - Mary and I saw a total of 8 fully naked people just walking around amidst the festivities. Hey, whatever floats your boat (so to speak). There were also abundant drag queens, people in various forms of rainbow wear, gays with disabilities, immense clouds of marijuana smoke, etc. What really had an impact on me was seeing a strong family contingent. There were many young kids and their parents (both gay and straight) enjoying the festivities and learning that one can and should be as one is. Personally I will never be one for the spectacle, and in fact there were many many people just observing like me. But one thing is for sure: amongst all the craziness and fun, I never once felt out of place. I was most assuredly where I belonged.

Mary and I watched the parade for a bit, walked through all the booths in the civic center, went to the Castro and had some interestingly-shaped pastries, did some shopping, and overall just had a really fantastic day. This afternoon I had a minor personal scare as the moving company called me and informed me they are delivering my stuff tomorrow, the day BEFORE I'm supposed to be in Los Angeles. Of course being Sunday I couldn't call the moving representative until the morning, so I was sort of at a loss. Fortunately it has been resolved. I will not have to leave San Fran a day early, I will not have to wire money, and I will not have to chew anyone out. Great.

Quote of the Day

Me (in the middle of the parade): Excuse me, do you know where I can find pride?