What if...?

My extremely clever and levelheaded husband Tomais Ashdene, who thankfully temporarily lost his sanity for a few moments when he accepted my marriage proposal, posted this image on his timeline of Facebook yesterday.

What if we said the same things to people with physical health problems that is often said to people with mental or emotional injuries?

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"Untitled" by Cat Thane

If you wish to see more of Cat's photography, please visit her Flickr photostream here.

The Aviary

The much honored Bock McMillan, laird of Southern Charm etc., etc., is a fortunate man to have found a royal consort like Tomais, who with dazzling good looks, devastating charm and impeccable taste can alleviate the lairds burdens.

As you probably are aware, the laird is a conscientious and diligent steward of his realm. He saves no effort in the painstaking upkeep and beautification of his lands. His consort offers him much needed assistance and guidance in these - and all other - matters.

The Balinese building on the home sim has for some time been an unfitting eyesore to the laird. It did not seem to match the rest of the sim, at all, although it had been beautifully exotic at the time when it was once erected.

When Tomais recently suggested a change the laird was slightly wary, but once he was  shown the replacement his husband suggested he was enthusiastic.

The minor princes and princesses of the clan were set to work and managed to demolish the old structure and build the new one in record breaking time.

Guyke, The Prince of Paradijs, tries the harpsichord

Southern Charm can now pride itself with a wonderful conservatory, named "The Aviary", where the royal couple can entertain themselves and friends with tea, light refreshments, musical entertainment and dancing.

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"Avilion Nexus - Gahworks CTA" by Osiris LeShelle

If you wish to see more of Osiris' photography, please visit her Flickr photostream here.

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"jj" by JJ Goodman

If you wish to see more of JJ's photography, please visit his Flickr photostream here.

And the Wall Came Tumbling Down

For those of you who are too young to remember and those of you who may have forgotten, this is the introductory paragraph of Wikipedia's article on the Berlin Wall.

"The Berlin Wall was a barrier that existed between 1961 and 1989 inclusively, constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off  West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin until it was opened in 1989. The barrier included guard towers placed along large concrete walls, which circumscribed a wide area (later known as the "death strip") that contained anti-vehicle trenches, "fakir beds" and other defenses. The Eastern Bloc claimed that the wall was erected to protect its population from fascist elements conspiring to prevent the "will of the people" in building a socialist state in East Germany. In practice, the Wall served to prevent the massive emigration and defection that marked East Germany and the communist Eastern Bloc during the post-World War II period."

The date on which the Berlin Wall fell is considered to have been November 9, 1989.

It's only 25 years ago, but it feels like more than a lifetime has passed. I remember the day well. After having lived in the Diaspora in Central Sweden for a few horrible years, I had recently returned down south, to my native town again, and followed the news closely and was filled with great joy at what was transpiring.

So much changed after the fall of the Wall, the cold war ended and the world felt like a better and safer place with great hopes for the future. For a while.

Now tension seems to be building up again, aided by the Russian president Vladimir "Little Father" Putin's desire to restore Russia to it's former glory as a world power.

"I'm Sorry..."

To the guy who punched me tonight for kissing my boyfriend pic.twitter.com/SMVmTpDCdL
— Cole Ledford (@ColeLedford11) November 7, 2014

This news reaches me via Wicked Gay Blog and Gay Star News:

"A US student, who was beaten up for being gay, tweeted a defiant message to his attacker and instantly became a viral sensation.

Ohio student Cole Ledford, who tweets at @ColeLedford11, was beaten up for kissing his boyfriend, and was left with a painful black eye.

Yesterday (November 7), he tweeted a picture of himself and his injuries alongside a text with the words: ‘To the guy who punched me tonight for kissing my boyfriend.’

‘I'm sorry that you called me fag,’ wrote Ledford.

‘I'm sorry you hit me for no reason. I'm sorry that whatever insecurities you have don't allow you to accept others for who they are. I'm sorry that I threaten you.’

‘I'm NOT sorry I'm gay. I'm proud to be this way. I'm proud to be confident enough to love who I love and to love me. I'm proud to have friends and family that love me regardless of me. Honestly, I'm not sorry.’

Since posting the image, Ledford has become somewhat of an overnight star. His tweet was retweeted more than 23,000 times.

He later posted a cute photo of him and his boyfriend with the caption: ‘Boyfriend wanted to say hi and thanks for the support! Off to Cleveland to see the fam! #loveislove #youallrock.’

He also tweeted: ‘overwhelmed by all the support. I have a nasty black eye but other than that, I'm fine. Thank you all so much! Love > Hate.’

He’s also been encouraging his new-found followers to support equality charities if they want to help.

‘If what happened to me makes you want to make a difference please consider donating to the @HRC and help their fight,’ he tweeted."

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Another everyday hero steps out of anonymity for a while to make us all proud. Proud to be humans, to be men and most of all to be gay men.