On my recent trip to visit him, I was lucky enough to be able to attend PrideFest 2008. It was an incredible gathering of incredible people who were there to celebrate diversity.
I could NOT have had a better time. I was loud and I was proud!
The photos that follow were taken at the parade held on Sunday, June 22 in beautiful downtown Denver.
I cried a dozen times during the 10 hours we were in downtown Denver, hanging out with my son and his friends.
I cried for joy at the beauty I saw, the hands of the young lovers entwined...the parents marching in support of their gay children...the children marching in support of their gay parents...the mothers and grandmothers arm in arm...all of those things made me cry.
Other things made me cry too, but not for joy: the words of my son's roommate who said Pride weekend was the one weekend of the year that he could hold hands with his lover in public without fear of being mocked...the people holding rude signs and chanting "repent sinners" as the parade passed by their "church", and most of all, I cried when I thought of all the young gay men and women who had to move from states like Montana and Wyoming to find a modicum of acceptance in the big city.
I wish I was a poet, or even a writer...I'd have profound words to say...words that would make a difference, but I'm not and I don't and I can't.
Next year Pridefest will be held on June 27th and June 28th in downtown Denver and I'm going to be there. Once again I'm going to be loud and proud.
