Ray DeForest: It's Fundamental!

By Ray DeForest: I read a lot.  Since I was given my new Kindle, I have my books, newspapers, blogs and anything else I need to read with me everywhere I go. It’s all my dad’s fault! It started when I was a kid in Staten Island. Dad asked me to come downstairs with him. I always got so creeped out when I went down there. We descended those stairs into the dark, damp, scary basement. I always knew there was something or someone lurking in the shadows. But with my hero at my side I knew I would be ok. I wondered what he wanted to show me down there. He reached behind the stairs and pulled out an old cardboard box. Inside was a treasure I will never forget! It was his Batman and Superman comics from when he was a kid! We went out back together and read. I was introduced to a world that took me to places I could only dream of. I could see that look on his face. He was right there with me, flying around Metropolis, saving the good guys and getting the bad guys. That was the start of my obsession with reading. I remember those PSA’s on TV at the time…”Reading is Fundamental”!

I couldn’t stop reading! When I was in grade school, we would get a paper pamphlet describing books we could order. I would run home and read those small synopses to my mom, with my heart beating fast, and that “mom pleeeease!” look in my eye. She would eventually give in and I would wait impatiently for the books to arrive. Then there were the “Happy Hollisters” series of books. I had to read them all. I soon discovered Fantasy and Science Fiction… Kurt Vonnegut, Jules Verne, George Orwell. Next it was mysteries from Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle. Later, I fell in love with Lillian Jackson Braun’s “Cat Who Mysteries”. Then I discovered Dr. Kay Scarpetta. Her stories are written by the best-selling female writer in the world after JK Rowling, Patricia Cornwell.

Ms. Cornwell is married to a woman. She lives in Massachusetts. Lucky her! She recently opened up about her marriage and said that she is finally feeling “rooted somewhere”. To me, being in a relationship is the most wonderful feeling. To have someone to share your thoughts and life with is amazing on every level. But, last week we lost a big battle in Maine. The voters there turned out against our community. It makes me sad to know we keep taking steps backward. But, it is our right as people in this country to share the same equalities that others share.

Meanwhile, a clear bright note: 62 percent of voters in Kalamazoo, Michigan voted Tuesday night to retain that city’s recently passed law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Also, on October 28, our new President passed the “Matthew Shepard Act”. The President said, “…No one in America should ever be afraid to walk down the street holding the hands of the person they love.” He also announced that the Department of Health and Human Services has finally crafted a new regulation spelling the end to the HIV Travel and Immigration Ban. It seems the ebb and flow continues and as one of my positive thinking friends reminded me on Facebook… “The tide of history is against the anti-gay bigots. The younger generations overwhelmingly support our full equality as citizens.” I smiled as I read this. That is why it is so important to have my community with me at all times. Just when I feel a bit defeated, someone picks me up and sends me onto another day.

So, as this day starts, I pick up my Kindle and start to read the new Patricia Cornwell novel, “The Scarpetta Factor”. I wonder if Ms. Cornwell’s newfound “rooting” is reflected in her writing. As I reflect on the week, I realize… reading, marriage and equal rights for all… it’s Fundamental!

Hugs and love…