Walking Manhattan: Gay Pride

Day Two: June 28, 2010

by Lisa Weldon of reSoulin’ my dancing shoes

It seems I always find myself right in the middle of historic events. I was in Memphis when Dr. Martin Luther King was shot. I was in France when Charles deGaulle died, I was shut out of the country when 9/11 hit. Now I’m in New York as the governor signs into law the same-sex marriage law.

I got up early this morning. Tried to stay put, but by 6:30 I could no longer stay inside.

First thing I noticed when walking were all the wreckers towing cars. I saw 20+ at least. I finally stopped and asked a policeman why and where they were taking all these cars. Today was the Pride Parade so they needed to close the streets. He said they were just taking them a few blocks away, not far. There gonna be some testy people when they wake up and find their cars missing!

As I walked the streets I noticed the Pride colors everywhere. Rainbow flags, rainbow colored men’s ties, cupcakes, flags, umbrellas, everything. The Michael Kors window displayed beautiful wedding cakes decorated with two grooms or two brides. Rainbow colors  everywhere!

All this was in preparation for what would be a celebration like I’d never seen before.

 

After a late morning nap I ventured out for the parade which began with a moment of silence for those lost to AIDS or victims of a hate crime. Once thing I love about New Yorkers is that they are open to differences, they embrace change and they celebrate personal freedom.

In the crowd were preppy straight folk, bejeweled transvestites, gay and straight politicians, parents with their children – people from all walks of life, all out supporting their gay friends and the new law. There were people from all walks of life at the parade. I just caught some of the more ‘photogenic’ ones!

 

Today reminded me of the late 60s. I clearly remember people of color were not allowed the same rights as my family. Women were not allowed to preach from a pulpit and ‘stay-at-home Dads’ were frowned upon. Maybe one day we’ll understand that God made us all in his image, no matter if we’re white or black, gay or straight, Methodist or Buddhist.Hopefully we’ll see that our differences are what make this world so great.

The day ended with about an hour of fireworks. It was quite a celebration in the East Village of NY. I’m so glad I was able to be part of it.

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  • Lisa

    Yep, Jayne, it was. btw, you have a great blog.

  • http://injaynesworld.blogspot.com/ Jayne

    Lucky you to be part of such a festive day.

  • Lisa

    Walker, I do get myself into some doozies, for sure. I was in Mexico celebrating a friend’s 50th when 9/11 hit. It took us days to get out.
    ok – off-the subject question: I’ve got almost 1,000 photos from my NYC trip that I’ve never posted. I’d love to offer them up to folks. Do y’all use flickr or some other program for viewing photos?

  • Lisa

    Oh, Sylvia, Yes, there’s an energy that engulfs me when I step foot in NYC. I can’t explain it. But Singapore, Sylvia?? I would love to walk that city in the future. How did you get there? Do you love it?

  • http://40plusstyle.com Sylvia_40PlusStyle

    Sometimes I just wished I lived in New York. It just seems such a happening place!

  • http://awomanspage.com/ Walker Thornton

    Wow, you do have a habit of being in times and places of great change. I bet the NY experience was fun… how often do we really get to see celebration on such a massive level. Thanks for sharing these stories, I’m looking forward to the series.

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