Queer Musings

Thoughts on 9/11

It has been four years since our country was devastated by the actions of 19 extremists, and yet it still feels like it happened yesterday. I remember a friend from work calling and telling me to turn on the TV because one of our planes crashed into the on of the World Trade Towers.

I was in denial.

And yet I still turned on the TV. Smoke. Smoke was coming from one of the towers. Surely it wasn't because of a plane crashing into it. I watched in disbelief as another plane came into the frame. I was stunned when I actually saw it crash into the other tower.

Yes, I had just watched on live television a plane crash into the World Trade Tower, but it wasn't real.

It was a poorly done hoax.

When I got to work I would surely find out that it was a hoax. The talk of hijackings and planes crashing into the World Trade Towers and the Pentagon didn't really happen. No such luck. I got to work and the office was already converted over from taking reservation calls to taking emergency response calls.

My department was one of only two or three calls not taking emergency calls from the public. No one was calling our department. No airport agents, no travel agents, and no reservation agents needing help making changes to reservations. I think that was the longest day I had ever spent at work.

I was still in denial.

Denial however was slowly starting to change to a realization that this was really happening. We could talk about nothing else. Who had done this? How had they done it? Most importantly, why had they done it?

I think it finally sunk in when I went outside with a friend to smoke. It was strangely quiet outside. Even the birds knew something was up because they were not making a sound. The airplanes that we hear every day taking off and landing at the airport weren't in the air. It still amazes me how quiet it was that day. You get so used to the sounds around you that you feel lost without them.

That is the best way to describe how I felt that day. I felt lost. Time has passed, and still on days like today I still feel lost.

The silence is what made if finally real for me. Not seeing it actually happen on TV, not finding out our reservation agents were taking emergency response calls. Silence. Only something truly devastating could have caused all planes to be grounded. And with the planes grounded that left nothing but an eerie silence that horrified me more than the actual images I had seen.

I've now found myself sometimes straining to hear the planes if I'm outside at work now. I know how strange that sounds, but I don't ever want to experience that kind of silence.

I didn't know anyone on the planes, but today like every day that has passed over the last four years, the families of the passengers and flight crews are in my prayers. I pray that they and every other family in America never have to experience anything like what happened on 9/11.

Brokeback Mountain Trailer

Yahoo released the trailer for Brokeback Mountain. It looks like it will be a good movie.

Now if only December would hurry up and get here...

Schwarzenegger May Say No

While California may be the first state to approve same-sex marriage through the legislative process, it may also be the first state to have that process undone by a simple veto. Gov. Schwarzenegger feels that the issue of same-sex marriage should be decided by the courts or the voters.

What does Gov. Schwarzenegger have to loose at this stage of the game? As of late August, his approval rating was at a dismal 36%. I don't think taking action either way will affect his rating.

Oh wait... wasn't it the moral right that got out voting against marriage issues and candidates that supported anti-marriage issues this last November? So it might help bring him out of the Davis like depths of the polls. I don't think that this one issue will be enough to improve his standing with the voters come reelection time. Of course I could be wrong.

Missing Employees Located

The last update that we received from work was that all of our employees that work at the New Orleans airport have been accounted for. I can only hope that means they are all ok and with family somewhere, or at one of the shelters throughout the country.

Now however, headquarters is stating that we have not heard from three pilots and four furloughed flight attendants.

If anyone knows of any American Airlines employees that has not been in contact with AA, please have them do so. The number to reservations is 1-800-433-7300, they can help them get in touch with the correct people at work to make sure their families are notified, and what aid may be available to them through different programs we have started at work.

The current list of missing employees is as follows.

• Tom Frazier, pilot
• Robert Jennings, pilot
• Daniel Rowe, pilot
• Alison Mosely, flight attendant
• Rebecca Neal, flight attendant
• Wanda Funk, flight attendant
• Nancy Thomas, flight attendant

My thoughts and prayers are with all the families that currently haven't heard from, or located loved ones. I can only imagine how hard it must be for them. I don't even know my co-workers that are missing personally but I'm worried that we are getting to the point that we may never hear from them.

Pro Marriage Rally

I just received an email from No Nonsense In November that I thought I would share with my fellow Texans that are planning on voting no on Propostion 2 this November.

What: No Nonsense Campaign Campus Organizing 101 with Campaign Director and former State Representative, Glen Maxey. And, The Tarrant County No Nonsense in November Rally and Mixer
 
When: Saturday, September 10, 2005
 
No Nonsense Campaign Campus Organizing 101 11:00am- 1:00pm
 
The Tarrant County No Nonsense in November Rally and Mixer 2:00pm- 4:00pm
 
Where: Angel of Hope - 900 Page Ave. - Fort Worth, TX 76110
 
The No Nonsense in November campaign brings you Campaign 101 : A Crash course in political organizing on your campus and in your neighborhood to defeat the Texas Constitutional Marriage Amendment.
 
Constitutional Amendment #2 would write into the Texas Bill of Rights a prohibition against marriage and civil unions for same-sex couples. We must stand together to defeat the Nonsense.
 
The voters on your college campus and in your community can play a huge role in defeating this amendment on Nov. 8. Learn how from former State Representative and No Nonsense in November campaign director Glen Maxey – an expert on campaign organizing in Texas.
 
Maxey will be introducing the No Nonsense in November campaign followed by training in:
Strategy
Framing
Messaging
Voter Identification
Voter Persuasion
Get Out the Vote
And More.
 
Take this opportunity to learn from Maxey’s over 30 years of political organizing. Learn how you can put your training in to action right away. Your hard work and dedication in organizing students and voters around Tarrant County will play a key role in victory for Texans and families across the state.
 
Following this event please join us for the Tarrant County No Nonsense in November Kick off Rally where you can meet other interested and activated individuals and learn how to get involved in the fight against this discriminatory Constitutional Amendment immediately.
 
REMEMBER: Marriage Matters. Family Matters. We Must Work Together Against Constitutional Amendment #2.
 
For more information about either event, email Keith@NoNonsenseInNovember.com

I currently have to work on that day, but I am going to try and get off work so I can attend and see what I can do to help put an end to this type of bigotry in Texas.

Some Couldn't Afford to Leave

I have to thank Dr. Phil for saying what very few people have said about evacuating New Orleans before Katrina hit. I'm watching Larry King, and he is on there talking about how many of the people who stayed in New Orleans just didn't have the means to leave.

I don't think I would have been able to leave. I've tried and tried to reduce my spending, and I've actually succeeded but I still live pretty much paycheck to paycheck. If I lived in an area where we had plenty of warning before a natural disaster, I could probably get out of harms way. That is if the disaster just happened to fall within a few days after a payday. Or, if I had to evacuate before a payday, I could always go to a gas station that accepts checks (hmmm, wonder where one is around here...) and just write a hot check. I can always deal with the bounced check fees after things returned to some semblance of normal.

But what happens to someone that is living at or below the poverty level and doesn't have the luxury of a checking account? Do you forgive them if they do something a little more drastic like fill up their vehicle and just driving off from the gas station? Do you forgive them if they take it even further and steal a car before going to the gas station?

Sadly I think after everything was said and done they would be the one held accountable for their actions if they resorted to theft. Part of the accountability would sadly be to place someone into the prison system that was truly trying to survive.

We live in the richest country in the world, and I find it unacceptable to think that someone might resort to any of the above actions to try and survive a catastrophe such as Katrina.

Who do we hold responsible?

Do we need to blame the city or state government for not commandeering buses to help the poor evacuate?

Do we hold Washington or better yet FEMA responsible for not providing help in evacuating the city before Katrina hit?

Do we hold those that were able to leave town responsible? How many people left town with an empty seat in their car, truck or SUV? Surely they could have stopped and picked up a fellow American in their time of need.

Given the absurdity of all the finger pointing it will only be a matter of time before someone blames Greyhound or the commercial airlines for not providing assistance.

Sadly I don't have any of the answers on how to prevent such a catastrophe like this from happening again. I just hope and pray that someone can find the answers and make the people in charge wake up and take notice of it.

National Next of Kin Registry

I can only imagine the worry family and loved ones must feeling, I know how worried I would be if I didn't know if my mom, sister or nephew were alive or dead. I was watching Larry King last night, and discovered there is a National Next Of Kin Registry.

With the registry, you can fill out a form with the information of a missing relative, and check a message board from evacuees letting you know they are ok and where they are located. The registry has other uses beyond that, but I know in these trying times finding loved ones that are victims of Katrina is of the utmost importance.

Also I found out from a friend at work they have found out the status of three more of our co-workers. The revised list has not been put out from headquarters yet, but again, I urge anyone that knows the status of a missing New Orleans American Airlines employee, please contact AA at 1-800-433-7300. That is our general reservations number, but they should be able to help the employee or yourself get in touch with the correct people at work. Our company has been in touch with family members of the missing and this would just be another way to help them find out about their loved ones.

Chief Justice Rehnquist Dies

Chief Justice Rehnquist has passed onto a better place.

After a long career, it is time for us to say good bye. I wish his family well in their time of sorrow.

Belated Meme

I received this a few days ago, and told JW I would get to it as soon as I could. Today is a perfect day, I need a break from the insanity that is work and dealing with calls about hurricane Katrina. I'm not really into the whole meme thing, but I need something that might help me take my mind of things for a couple of minutes.

Answer these following questions about similarities and differences from when you were a kid to now. Then, tag five more people to play.

1. What did you really love as a kid that you still really like now?
2. What did you really love as a kid that you don’t like now?
3. What did you hate as a kid that you still don’t like now?
4. What did you hate as a kid but kinda (or really) like now?

Well here goes nothing...

1. I guess the one thing that I still love would be spending time at a beach. Up until the age of about six, my mom and I followed my dad's naval career to such places as Hawaii and California. While I don't really remember HI that much, I do have fond memories of being at the beaches in CA with my mom while my dad was out to sea.
    
   After my mom and dad divorced we moved to a small town here in Texas on Lake Texoma, so every weekend during the summer we were always at the beach cooking out and having fun.
    
   I don't get to a beach as much as I would like now, but I think that is for the best. In some ways it makes the time more enjoyable.
2. As strange as this my sound, I used to love liver and onions. However I have found that as I've gotten older, I don't like the taste of liver any more. I don't know if it is just the fact that I've learned that a liver is the bodies filtering system, or if my tastes have just changed.
3. This is a tricky one. I guess the best answer I can give is I hate bigotry. After my mom, sister and I moved back here to Texas, I learned early on about discrimination. My mom being the first divorcee to move into the town caused a little bit of a scandal. As a result I had to deal with parents that wouldn't let their kids come over to my house to play. I guess they thought my mom was going to corrupt them in some way with her divorcee ways.
    
   Now don't get me wrong, I love my mom dearly, and really wouldn't change anything that happened in my childhood. It has made me the person I am today. Also having to deal with those issues better prepared me for adolescence and the noticeable fact that I didn't seem to like girls the same way other teenage boys in town did.
4. Movies with subtitles. This is something that I've learned to appreciate over the last few years. While the overall stories are the same, I've found a deep appreciation for listening to movies in their original language. Sure I have to keep us when the dialogue is moving quick and the subtitles a racing across the screen, but the emotions seem more real from the actual actors when in their language versus having it dubbed.

That wasn't so hard. Well, not if I ignore the clock to see that it's taken me about 20 minutes. I know I'm supposed to pass this along to five other people, but I can't think of five people at the moment to pass it along to. Hope this gives a little more of a clue about me.

Price Gouging in Georgia

According to USA Today, Georgia is going to investigate complaints of price gouging. Gougers in Georgia can be find up to $5,000 for each violation and they are going to check to see if each gallon of gas could be considered a violation.

Makes sense to me to penalize gas retailers for each gallon since that is how it is priced. I hope that the "opportunity" to make a quick buck was worth it.