We are lucky enough to be located close one of the biggest and longest PRIDE Celebrations in the country;
the city of St. Petersburg celebrates everyone under the Rainbow, all month long through a dizzying and
spectacular array of events typically culminating in one of the most beautiful and dazzling parades that
I have ever seen or been a part of (totally worth the blisters).
Of course, not much needs to be said because we all know what happened in 2020 and how different last year’s festivities were. The dismal, damp blanket of emotion that befalls me when I think of how the LGBT+ community was unable to get together for one of the very few big events that truly celebrates them is hard to bear. I do feel it necessary to add that those not members of marginalized groups have also experienced a previously inconceivable amount of pain and loss. All of humanity, our GLOBAL community is reeling.
When I’m not writing books or blogs, advocating for Trans Youth, teaching, or just trying to make the world a better place-I’m working with patients as a licensed healthcare provider, which gives me the opportunity to meet 10-15 new people a day and plenty of time for small talk. I used to hear about Lois’s bridge club or Saul’s bakery customers, now it’s just pain… a member of Lois’s bridge club passed away from COVID last year a week after her husband and Saul is filing for bankruptcy. We all hurt, in our own ways.
I do feel that people within marginalized communities like the LGBT+ community and so many others from POC to those differently abled, also experience a unique, palpable loss when times of crisis take one of their most precious commodities, each other. There are not that many people they can just be themselves around (including their own family!) and to be robbed of that connection is just one more loss that we had to push through to begin to get to the other side.
Well, hang on, just a little longer. We are only a week into June and we can see each other smiling outside, we can connect and talk and enjoy knowing that we are about to go download the guide to St. Pete Pride Month Celebrations lasting all month long!
