The three worst August 27s of my life

Today, August 27, marks three of the worst days of my life. August 1992 In August 1992, I had just moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana for graduate school. A Hurricane named Andrew was coming our way. I was terrified. My roommate, a lifelong Louisiana resident, left me to go to her sister’s apartment, saying there […]

Did the Thin Blue Line distinguish German Police Officers from Nazis?

CN: Nazis, ICE, police, family stories This pops into my head quite often when we see police officers supporting ICE. They claim a fine line divides them from ICE and other immigration officers. They are there to protect the public. But that often looks like manhandling citizens protesting to keep ICE safe. Preserving public safety […]

How to celebrate this blog’s 20th anniversary?

No news on the legal front, but some good news! Picture it, Manchester. December 29, 2005 was a Thursday. I was on a week of vacation from my job. Somehow I found myself opening up this software called ‘Blogware’ and launching my blog, Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents (pghlesbian.com.) My oldest nibling was born the very next […]

Video: 1986 Short Film Focused on Three Lesbians

This brief film featuring three lesbians discussing their lives in 1986 has been one of the most well received posts on my Instagram feed. Everyone want to know what happened to these three women. I hope to find out! Lesbians (1986) has been digitally preserved by UCLA Film & Televsion Archive in conjunction with Outfest […]

Video circa 1972: Three 70 year old women talk about their childhood Christmas traditions

This is delightful. Recollections on Edwardian era holiday traditions by a trio of older women in 1973. The oldest recalls Christmases from 1902 and 1903. The host is a bit precious and dismissive of modern traditions, but the stories are good. I will say over and over again – we have a lot to learn […]

City of Pittsburgh Commission on LGBTQIA+ Affairs honors LGBTQ History Month

The City of Pittsburgh Commission on LGBTQIA+ Affairs honors LGBTQ History Month thisOctober. We know that groundbreaking moments, big and small, have shaped the evolution ofour community since long before colonizers arrived on these waters and lands. The history ofour community is deeply intertwined with the histories of Indigenous, Black, and BrownLGBTQ peoples and we […]

Guest Post for International Lesbian Day: A Boomer’s Bar Life in Pittsburgh

I first met Sue B. a few years ago on social media. She and my wife had mutual friends so we began corresponding and dining out together back when we did those thing. I begged and pleaded with her to put her recollections of queer women’s history into writing. There’s very little first person documentarian […]

Dear David. September 5, 2020

David DeAngelo Pittsburgh

I haven’t written in awhile. As you know, my sweet little dog Ana died suddenly ten days ago. I’m still struggling with this loss. Please forgive my distance. So Wendy Bell got herself silenced on KDKA AM and very likely got herself a national slot somewhere in white supremacy conservative realms. You’ve done important work […]

Part Four – Plagued by Worry: An Historical Look at Pandemics in Four Parts

Read Part One and Part Two  Part Three   Part Four Literature It was Edgar Allan Poe’s short story The Masque of the Red Death that probably sparked my early fascination with epidemics.  I remember checking it out of my elementary school’s library over and over.  It both terrified and intrigued me.  Prince Prospero is hiding in his […]

Part Three – Plagued by Worry: An Historical Look at Pandemics in Four Parts

Read Part One and Part Two When a disease is ready to spread to humans, it will find a way, and, like rats, bacteria do not recognize international borders.  It’s natural to want to find something to blame for a disease like this.  But it shouldn’t be at the expense of already vulnerable populations, or […]