So let’s go back to the beginning.  Way, way back to the beginning of what I can recall.  “Mommy says if you don’t go to church, then you’re goin’ to hell.”  Back in Georgia, that was the first thing I said from my kindergarten classmates.  In preschool, it was hard to announce a thing like that, because preschool was in a church, but come kindergarten I was not safe.  What do bible beating Georgians breed?  More bible beaters…  I did not quite fit in, because I was the product of a Californian and a Floridian, neither of which were heavily religious. 

When I was little, I did not catch on to many of these discriminatory comments.  I think deep down I realized that it was not really my classmates saying it, but some idea that they had; best thing about other people’s ideas are that they cannot really hurt you.  I realized it in other places too.  One Halloween I was a witch; green face, big black hat, scary black dress and all.  That Halloween I was completely hurt that every door I went to asking for candy, the adults inside were scared of me.  I did not want to be a mean witch; I just wanted to be a witch.  So!  The next Halloween I was a rainbow witch.  I explained at every door, I’m a witch, but don’t worry I’m a rainbow witch and that means I’m a nice one!  Granted at the time rainbows were not quite so synonymous with homosexuality, so along with the cute little face, my explanation set the adults at ease. 

As a little girl, I never wanted to scare much of anyone but my older brother, but that is what brothers for after all.  I was the cute little girl that, when we went to visit my great great aunt Evelyn, would run from old person to old person playing with the wrinkles in their hands.  I told my mom that her gray hairs were lucky, so she should not be so sad about them.  I was a little girl who wanted to grow up to be a Cowboy, a Ballerina, and a Paleontologist.  When my mom asked me if I wanted to be a mommy too, I told her NO!  Some things never change.