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Thursday, August 21, 2003 ( 12:46 PM ) Melody Cheers for the Queers Oh for goodness sakes. Who cares if a cop let a couple of gay guys try on his uniform on national TV. OK. I know. I know. Now I need to add in the obligatory socially responsible homosexual person's response to "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy": Ugh. The show just promotes stereotypes. When will people learn that gay men are not naturally endowed with the style gene. Gays are just people like anybody else." My true response to the show? I frickin' LOVE Queer Eye. It's hillarious, and I really could learn a thing or two from a gay guy about fashion and home decor. You know people, it's OK to think it's kind of fun to be gay. It's nice to be part of a subculture sometimes. My question is, when are they going to come out with a show that's all about lezzies-- and no, I'm not talking about lesbians in threesomes with postmen or plumbers. I'm talking about a show that features cute, slightly dykey girls doing things like home or auto repair or teaching people how to distill salt water for drinking or build a campfire that will burn all night long. Or is stuff like that only interesting to other lesbians? Are gay men really that much more entertaining? Yeah, probably. # Tuesday, August 19, 2003 ( 3:41 PM ) Melody While we were on the Outer Banks, we took some time out to visit Roanoke Island, the site of the first British colony in North America. My mom has always told me that I can trace my roots back to Ralph Lane, the first governor of the colony of Roanoke. It's in our family tree. Well, let me tell you what's not in our family tree that I learned last week. Ralph Lane was chosen to be governor of that colony because he had shown military prowess against the Irish. He was chosen because it was believed that he would have a firm hand with the Native Americans already living in the region, not because he was a particularly diplomatic fella. Anyway, even though on the first expedition to Roanoke, John Smith got along well with the indians, Lane and his men were another story. Things began well enough, but the indians began to realize that disease and death seemed to scourge any village that Lane and his soldiers visited (they were scouring the countryside in hopes of finding Spanish gold). The indians thought that the English must be leaving invisible soldiers behind to kill them. Then Lane got it into his head that the indians wanted get rid of him and the colonists, so he launched an attack and killed their chief! After that, I'm not sure what happened to him. He and most of his men went back to England. I'm not sure when the Lanes or the Laynes (as my family spells it) got back to North America. It's a bit uncomfortable to have such an unpleasant connection with history confirmed for you. I'm ashamed of the way he behaved, and now I know that I, like most of European descent in North America, have blood on my hands-- the sins of the fathers yada yada. I don't want to claim him, but I have to admit that I'm fascinated by it. # ( 3:38 PM ) Melody Ocracoke I'm baaaaaaaack. Not that I want to be. I missed Ocracoke the minute I stepped onto the ferry. It's such a little haven. You still can't drive to it, and I'm hoping that it will be a long time before they build a bridge across Pamlico Sound to make that possible. We saw a lot more people this year-- a lot more SUVs on the beach, and that made me sad, but you can still get away by yourself there if you try. On our last day, Belinda and I took an early morning kayak tour of the wildlife refuge there. It was so peaceful. We stepped out on the point at Teach's Hole, the spot where, legend has it, Blackbeard used to divide his spoils and where he was finally killed. It's a place no one can drive to. The vegetation is thick and viney, like a prehistoric forest. You can close your eyes and almost imagine teradactyls crying overhead instead of gulls. Afterwards, we got back in our boats and kayaked over to the estuary. We saw blue herons and tiny crabs and turtles and oysters. It was peaceful. I could have stayed there for hours, but it was also amazing to paddle back across the Sound-- to be kayaking in the Atlantic Ocean! Why oh why do I live here in the Midwest where I'm so land bound? Oh, I know-- because these days it's impossible to make enough money to live oceanside. That's why. The fishermen who live there are barely breaking even, and the state is beginning to reassess the land now. Even folks who live in tiny shacks are barely able to pay their taxes. Maybe it's better for me that I don't live there. I don't have to see that happen, and I can keep my memories of the island as it is now and was in my childhood. # |
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