I was very depressed after picking up this week's City Paper.  The feature article on recycling was the slap in the face you really need even though it hurts like a bitch.  Bill Driscoll confirms my deep seeded fear that the majority of my do-gooder efforts are essentially pointless because I take the easy way out.  I can sort and pack and visit Construction Junction as often as I want.  It only matters if it gets me to make the paradigm jump (shift if you like) from being content to recycle to actually reducing my consumption of ... well, everything. 

This is the part where my head starts to spin from all of the overwhelming changes I must make to be a better person and I just want to lay down for awhile in a dark room.  Sense to Save blogger Kacie explores a similar issue around frugality and environmental consciousness. Is frugality just about saving money or reducing consumption?  Hmmm.

What Bill didn't do is answer a whole list of questions I have about recycling.  Why can't lids be recycled if they are made of plastic, too?  Why don't Whole Foods and the Co-op carry large blue bags for recycling in the City?  Is it true the bags are not recycled?  Cause that sucks.  Can you recycle an orange juice carton with the little plastic spouty thing?  Finally, where do you go to get these questions answered?  I've visited all the city, county and state websites.  If see the words "paperboard, like cereal boxes" one more time in print, I will wail and gnash my teeth. 

Moving on ...

The City Paper also covers recent goings on with the 3rd Annual Dyke March. I had a nice chat with Eli today, who reaffirmed that Persad has offered a lot of support (Go Betty Hill!) and other community institutions have made overtures.  She also told me she accidentally discovered Hoi Polloi while planning the march and is very excited to have an awesome lesbian-owned business to support as they plan, plan and organize.  Ledcat and I *a*d*o*r*e* Hoi Polloi.  Tonight, I discovered I like kidney beans!  Who knew!

Anyway ... stay tuned for more dyke march news and more hoi polloi news.  And more Betty Hill news, too, if I can find some. 

Letters to the Editor ....

Pat Gannon Voye of Robinson actually used the expression "Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve" in his letter to the Post-Gazette.   Even if s/he is stuck in the 1980's, a good point is raised as to why the separate, but equal solution will never suffice:

 But no way should those persons be afforded the dignity of legal marriage.

Yep, no dignity for us homos. 

Kristen Danzi of Oakland, however, has pulled back the wizard's curtain on the whole marriage amendment sham of an issue:

It is time for our state senators to dismount the dead horse of bigotry and return to their jobs: improving the lives of all Pennsylvanians, not reducing some to second-class citizenship.

The older white guy columnist for the PG (oh, can't you tell which one I mean?) has a little shout out for the homosexuals on the claim that conservatives are happier than liberals:

Well, I don't buy it at all. It has always seemed to me that conservatives are happiest when they are hot and bothered about something. I long ago concluded that being constantly dyspeptic is the fun of it for them, the sole reason they hold their peculiar views. It is why they listen to talk radio, so that their underwear will ride up their rear quarters in indignation.

What else can one assume when they go to such extraordinary lengths to invent issues to be irritated about? Who but cranky types care about the alleged threat of gay marriage, for example? It's simple to me: If you don't approve of gay marriage, don't marry a gay person, but in the meantime have the good manners to mind your own business.

You go, Reg. 

I haven't blogged about Tony Norman in awhile. He amused me today with memoirs of his cold, while he contemplated the role of race in Obama's loss in Pennsylvania.  I get what he is saying, but /.. you know what, I'm going to email him and ask him first.  Then I'll blog about it.

Anyway, that's the news from Lesbian Central.  I'm now going to go lay in the dark and avoid consuming anything. 

Pittsburgh's Delta Foundation recently announced the addition of two new board members.  Cindy Daro was elected by the Foundation membership.  Keri Harmicar was appointed by the existing board members. 

Both were gracious enough to respond to a few questions about their new roles in our community.

1.  What role do you see the Delta Foundation filling for Pittsburgh's LGBTQ community?

KH: I am hopeful that the Delta Foundation will be able to bring the LGBTQI community closer together. By recognizing there are differences in the communities, we should be able to address the overall needs better. The community as it exists now would gain so much more by working together for a (or many) common goals.

 

CJD: The Delta Foundation of Pittsburgh has the potential to become the communication and event planning hub of our region’s LGBTQ community.  Delta has already demonstrated their capabilities to provide community-related events and to raise monies for concerns like the GLCC of Pittsburgh.  The Delta Foundation is raising the bar for other LGBTQ organizations. That’s a good thing.

2.  Why did you apply to serve on the board? 

KH: I am new to Pittsburgh and I wanted to be involved with a group of people that are willing to get out there and make a difference. I saw the Delta Foundation as that group!

 

CJD: I applied because I saw the initiative and teamwork of the Delta Foundation in action.  I wanted to be part of a group that is striving to improve the quality of life for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Community of the Pittsburgh region.  I believe Delta has the capacity to catalyze change and follow through to make it happen. 

3.  Please describe how the current board represents the diversity of Pittsburgh's LGBTQ community.

KH: I feel the current board is reflective of the community as large; I would love to see more diversity at this point as advisors.

 

CJD: The make-up of the Board does not reflect all the letters in the acronym.  But, it is fully capable of representing all of those letters.

4.  What is your personal goal or objective for the duration of your tenure on the board?

KH: As I mentioned earlier, I want to make a difference. I have a lesbian aunt and a close gay cousin. Their lives could have been much easier if they had someone to help them ‘fight’ or stand up. I was too young at the time, but you can believe I am most definitely in their corners now. The labeling that I see in both the straight world and the LGBTQI world is so destructive. I want people to know people; to understand we are all the same. We all want/need/deserve love, respect and opportunity.

 

CJD: My main goal is to be a team player.  Additionally, I have a heart for spirituality, women’s issues, and problems faced by queer youth.  My dream is to help make the Pittsburgh region a safe place to be openly LGBTQ.  It won’t happen overnight and I can’t do it alone.

5.  What role should the Delta Foundation play in relationship to other LGBTQ organizations, specifically the GLCC?

KH: Delta is relatively new to this; they (we) are committed to bringing the entire community together to accomplish so much more. I am hopeful that the GLCC and the Delta will find some commonality.

 

CJD: Delta is currently in the process of tuning relationships with other LGBTQ organizations.  As to their role with the GLCC, that’s something which needs to be determined between both entities. 

6.  The Delta Foundation is very connected to Pittsburgh's gay bar scene, which leans heavily toward gay men.  How do you see the organization stepping out of that paradigm to meet the needs of other segments of the community?

KH: I think its natural that the Delta Foundation is so heavily connected to the ‘bar scene’; it is where most of the members came from! That being said, there is so much more we as a Board hope and plan to accomplish out of the bars….we’ll get thereJ

 

CJD: Delta knows the bar scene.  It’s smart to capitalize on what you know at the onset.  That’s one of the keys to success.  They also see the big picture.  As time goes on, the bar scene will be just be another faucet of the Delta Foundation.  Even now, the face of Delta is morphing: one of the new projects we’re sponsoring is Potluck Productions “Funny Grrlz: Laugh OUT Loud.”  That’s happening on Saturday, June 14^th at the Carnegie Library of Homestead Music Hall.  I’m really looking forward to it.    

7.  People have recently been quoted as saying Pittsburgh's LGBTQ community needs to be united or to work together.  Can you identify any recent local examples of gay unity or cooperation (outside of the Delta Foundation) that inspire you to continue along that path?

KH: I know many members of the Renaissance Choir and I admire the work they do together. The company I work for (Borders) is very supportive of diversity and we recently were awarded one of the highest honors from the Human Rights Campaign for our work environment for LGBTQI. I am proud of that and I hope to have all of the stores I work with reflect that position.

 

CJD: Speaking from my personal experience, I’d say the Renaissance City Choirs show how LGBTQ and straight people can work together in musical unison.  Susan Haugh’s queer youth performing arts troupe, Dreams of Hope, shows how creative expression connects people (in general) and educates the straight community.  Others successful collective efforts include Celebrate Art/Celebrate Life and Pittsburgh Pride, which show our teamwork in presenting benefits/celebrations for our community and the community at large. 

8. Beyond members of the Delta Foundation, please list at least one local LGBTQ leader who should always be at the table?

KH: I think as a Board, we are very open to suggestions from the community; if someone felt they had a thought or an idea to share, I know we would welcome their contribution.

 

CJD: I don’t know that the Delta Board needs to have leaders from other organizations at their meetings.  I guess it would depend on the project du jour.  I do believe there should be an annual or periodic meeting, of all LGBTQ leaders – a summit – to ensure that the ‘collective community’ is presenting a healthy perspective to the community at large. 

9. How long do you plan to serve on the board?

KH: My term is for two years.

 

CJD: My term expires in August of 2009.  I will serve as long as they need me, and as long as I think I am adding value to the organization.

I appreciate both women taking the time to answer my questions, poorly crafted as they (my questions) were.  Increasing the number of women on the board is a step toward diversifying leadership and I hope the organization continues to move forward in that direction. 

What do you think? 

With hopes of forgiveness from the Post-Gazette, this should be read by all.

Randal G. "Randy" Forrester was 16 when he came out as a gay man to his parents, and likewise was open about his sexuality with his friends and classmates.

That was in 1963, when society's attitudes about homosexuality were in the Stone Age compared to today, and it illustrated Mr. Forrester's honesty and bravery.

Those attributes, along with intelligence, passion and a sense of humor, would serve him well over the next four decades as he worked tirelessly as a pioneering crusader for the rights of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community as well as for women, black people and other minorities.

Mr. Forrester, 60, died Wednesday in Forbes Hospice, where he had been treated for 10 days. He died of cell carcinoid cancer of the liver.

He was first diagnosed with a tumor 26 years ago, but, amazingly, only in the last year did it present him with serious health problems, said Jim Huggins, Mr. Forrester's life partner of 37 years.

Mr. Huggins, who co-founded the Persad Center with Mr. Forrester in 1972, said he was a visionary who affected innumerable people through his activism and the way he lived his own life.

"Randy was at the forefront of most changes in the sense he was a person who kept pushing the envelope, getting people to look at what gay people and lesbians are really about and not to look at the stereotypical images," said Mr. Huggins, who with Mr. Forrester lived on a houseboat docked at Fox Chapel Yacht Club.

"People are people, human beings are human beings and our 37 years of an incredibly loving relationship is certainly testament to that."

"He was incredibly always ahead of his time, a visionary," said Betty Hill, executive director of the Persad Center, the nation's second-oldest licensed counseling center specifically created to serve the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. "I think he arguably is this region's most influential gay rights figure. I can't think of anyone else who has done more for the gay community and the HIV community."

Dr. Tony Silvestre of the Pitt Men's Study, the long-standing AIDS research project that Mr. Forrester helped launch, noted that Mr. Forrester's pioneering work for gay rights was courageous, occurring as it did at a time that was "risky and dangerous. People were still being attacked on the street, activists were receiving threats.

"Driven by his vision, driven by the need he saw ... he stepped out loudly and never quieted down for his whole career. I think it took incredible courage, incredible determination and great compassion. I have no doubt he has had a profound, positive effect on thousands of people if not tens of thousands of people. He was a true hero."

Mr. Forrester was No. 53 in Pittsburgh Magazine's list of the 100 most influential Pittsburghers of the 20th century.

A North Hills native, he studied psychology at the University of Pittsburgh and music at Duquesne University.

From 1972 until 2001 he was executive director of the Persad Center, after which he served as a consultant for Persad and other nonprofit groups.

He served as president and vice president of the Pennsylvania Coalition of AIDS Service Organizations; was a board member of the Southwestern Pennsylvania AIDS Planning Coalition and the American Civil Liberties Union; and assisted in the creation of the Governor's Council for Sexual Minorities.

He chaired the city's Commission on Human Relations from 1991 to 1994, was on the community advisory board for WQED/WQEX-TV, and founded the Lambda Foundation, a fund-raising organization for the regional lesbian/gay community.

A Democratic committeeman from 1990 to 1993, he ran for Allegheny County commissioner in the 1979 Democratic primary. He lost the election but succeeded in using his candidacy to illustrate the need to include in the political process the views of sexual minorities, women, blacks and others who often were disenfranchised, Mr. Huggins said.

"After he ran, there was a lot more awareness on the part of politicians," Mr. Huggins said.

"Randy was such a character, just a very bold and interesting personality," said Ms. Hill. "That just added to the way he was able to get people to listen, to challenge systems, to challenge discrimination."

"He was a very intelligent, very witty, very kind and loving person," said Mr. Huggins. "He made friends easily. He was a perfect spokesman because he was so bright and articulate and knew what he was talking about."

Mr. Huggins said he and his partner loved to travel -- they visited Egypt and England twice as well as Greece, Italy and Thailand, among other countries -- and to play with their Labrador retrievers, Willie and Joey.

Even in death, Mr. Forrester gave to others, donating his body to science.

A celebration of Mr. Forrester's life will be held May 4 at 2 p.m. at The Priory on the North Side.