September 21, 2001
From Today is the



From Today is the 14th...:
"...and I have a feeling both of us benefitted emotionally from our chat."


Out of context right there, that quote sounds facetious -- but it is not.  After just a few minutes at Sovaj's site you know. 


Maybe my isolative behavior makes me more acutely aware of human warmth and sincerity.  Maybe I'm just seeing what I hope is there -- but I don't think so.  I don't think so because there comes with these recognitions of young men who are generous and sensitive a kind of jealousy on my part -- no, it's more like a soft lament for the boy in me who always wanted to be generous and sensitive, but never let it out.  That unpretensious sentiment makes me believe that my perception is accurate; that impossibly beautiful young gay men do exist.  And I don't mean beautiful that way -- I've never seen his picture. 


It's nice, even if it's not me. 

It finally dawned on me

It finally dawned on me what hurts so much about that picture; it's a warning light, intended to help aircraft avoid collision with these tall structures. 


I hope we do not let this horrific tragedy make us cynical in all our human activities.  I hope we can maintain the optimism which makes America one of the most desirable places on earth to live.  We cannot predict every monstrous plan, nor forsee every potential for evil.  We cannot create lives of utter invulnerability in America without losing a great deal of what makes those lives so very much worth living. 


The course of this conflict is not known, yet its outcome is certain. Freedom and fear, justice and cruelty, have always been at war, and we know that God is not neutral between them.
President George W. Bush addressing a joint session of Congress on Thursday night, September 20, 2001.
(I never thought I would ever quote him.  Strange times indeed.)