fiction and musings from a gay black dude with delusions above his station
My dear brother, Robert A. Russell, passed away last week at the too young age of 58. Cancer. I hate cancer. It has been a whirlwind of emotions, feelings, history, day-to-day which has all been overwhelming. In time I expect to start writing about things. Until that point, the gar spot will be on a temporary…
[Originally published January 2013] When he opened his eyes, a bright light hit him, though despite its brilliance, it did not make him flinch. He felt warmth from it, but it did not make him perspire. He turned around and saw behind him unfocussed blobs, like muted watercolor brush strokes. Their shapes looked familiar, like…
Members of the 1% have been pitching hissy fits lately over perceived slights and injustices. One recently declared that there is a “war” against the 1% and then compared the outrage over the rich to the Nazi anti-Jewish pogrom Kristallnacht. He later apologized, sort of. Last weekend, Think Progress highlighted comments by Bayer CEO Marijn…
They came out in Levis. They came out in flannel. Some wore dresses. Some wore fine suits. Some looked like they had just gotten off from work. People waited in long lines. Many waited with them, to witness the moment, to share the moment. A Boy Scouts troop brought some of them pizza. This was…
There is an old stool sitting in the back of the garage next to the treadmill. It has gray painted metal legs and a round wooden seat. Part of the seat broke away, exposing some of the metal support underneath. How this happened I couldn’t say. I cannot recall a time when it did not…
[Originally posted in December 2010. Since I associate Honey Cake with Christmastime, and since I’m about to make the first of the seasonal honey cakes tonight, I thought I’d repost this early gar spot piece. The recipe for this tasty Dutch treat is at the end.] Some time in November 1975, I was home from…
Spring 1985. UCLA. We named our protest encampment Mandela City. I was lying on a sleeping bag in a tent on a grassy field in front of Schoenberg Hall, a sitar that I borrowed from the Music Department on one side, my shortwave radio on the other. I took the shortwave and extended the telescopic…
Tim Schaefer married his boyfriend in 2007. He gave his father, United Methodist pastor Frank Schaefer, a choice: Will you officiate at the wedding? Tim said that he didn’t want to put his father in a hard position, but at the same time, he thought it would seem disrespectful if he didn’t ask. So he…
So let me get this straight. BART management signed a contract with their unions on October 21. Apparently, three folks representing management signed the contract. One of them was their highly paid negotiator. Now, nearly a month later, BART is saying they had no idea that a provision in the contract calls for paid FMLA…
When the Republican-controlled House of Representatives finally approved bills to raise the debt ceiling and to reopen the federal government, voices near and far swore up and down that such a thing would never happen again. Senate Minority Leader Mitch O’Connell declared, “There is no education in the second kick of the mule.” He further…
