reader forum - mail

Breathless

k.d., you take my breath away ["k.d.: A Woman in Love," June 20]! That sweet smile of yours melts my heart! I am single, quite sweet, and loving but have yet to find my soul male. Thank you for giving me some hope. I look forward to buying your new CD.

Julie Coates, St. Louis, Mo.

The people next door

After reading your "Pride Across America" report [June 20], I feel a renewed belief that things are getting somewhat better in our country. It made me realize people can both adapt and still work for change by being the people next door. I also felt proud that when one looks at the "State of the Union" map, you can see that Middle America has a very livable, progressive state--Wisconsin.

Ray Schaefer, Milwaukee, Wis.

After spending 17 years in New York City, I left in search of things that couldn't be found in Manhattan. Loving good restaurants, theater, and other trappings of city life (including a visible gay community), I assumed I'd wind up in Denver, San Francisco, Portland, or Seattle. Much to my surprise, I've happily landed in rural southwest Montana. While at times I miss some of the elements that New York offers, I'm enjoying things that gay people aren't supposed to care about--hiking trails, mountains, clean air. I also find that being away from some of the darker sides of the urban gay male ghetto--the slavish devotion to status, the maddening obsession with the body, the rampant abuse of alcohol and recreational drugs--has brought me a peace of mind I'd never dreamed possible.

David Weiss, Gallatin Gateway, Mont.

Gee whillikers, Marge, lookit there--the Midwest actually has a life. A gay life, even. No kidding. Actually, life here between the coasts has been just fine for quite some time. I've been an openly gay public official here for 23 years now. There are many openly gay women and men throughout our fair town who over the years have established to our friends and neighbors our place as a part of the life of the town. We work in every type of local business, we live in every neighborhood. We truly are everywhere.

Kevin Phillips, Champaign, Ill.

In describing Pocatello, Ida., as a good place for gays and lesbians, you left out an important part of the story. When Alex and Nancy Nagy became pastors at Trinity Episcopal Church in 1995, there were no openly gay people in the congregation. As the Nagys made their openness toward GLBT people known, first one person came out, then a couple started coming, then another and another until there are about a dozen or more openly gay and lesbian people in the church. Is there a friendly and welcoming atmosphere in Pocatello? Yes! And Nancy and Alex should be credited with having built it.

Bruce Jarstfer, San Antonio, Tex.

I am a 22-year-old lesbian living in a very small town in Alabama. I was born and raised here, so everyone knows me. Since this is the Bible Belt, believe me when I say this town is run by the Baptist Church. They won't even let us have MTV because it's supposedly the "work of the devil." (The one good thing we have here is that our mayor is gay!) I came out when I was 15; I was not rejected by the town, nor was I accepted. And I now have a wonderful steady girlfriend my family has grown to love. I have to say that life in Alabama for a lesbian isn't all that bad.

Joanna Spruiell, via the Internet

Deep pockets

I was one of the thousands who volunteered to make the Millennium March Festival a success by flying to D.C. for the weekend ["Where Did All the Money Go?" June 20]. The four days were at my own expense, but I didn't mind; it was a worthwhile event. Or so I thought.

As we were meeting the volunteered for our booth at one of the entrance gates, I witnessed a disturbing sight. At the beginning of the festival (which opened an hour late), hundreds of folks were pressing against the entrance gates. There was no system for exchanging money for bracelets, tickets, or whatever. We witnessed a "lead volunteer" holding wads of money, stuffing it into his pockets as fast as he could, and screaming out for more bracelets. At the same time, he was trying to hold the gates closed so as not to allow more than a few people through at a time. Gee ... I wonder if he turned all that money in.

David Tomb, Los Angeles, Calif.

Mother's day

I don't think I can express how much Sharon Underwood's letter meant to me as a gay man [The Nation, June 20]. I thank her for speaking with such clarity the thoughts and feelings that we, the gay citizens of the United States, have tried and failed to say. As I deal with my own parents, whose greatest fear is that the neighbors will find out their son is a homosexual, I cannot help but be jealous of her incredibly fortunate son. She gives me hope for the future.

John Jeffers, Atlanta, Ga.

Pas de deux

Jan Stuart's review of the film Center Stage ["All the Wrong Moves," June 20] should have been titled "Reverse Bigotry, or How Hypocritical Can the Gay Media Be?" The impression this article left me with is that I should be offended this is another movie about the dance world that doesn't center on gays. Who are we to tell writer Carol Heikkinen her vision is not valid? This thinking is wrong and only helps to foster the idea that there is a "homosexual agenda."