Introduction and Explanation

Hello,

I see you've discovered my blog.  You're probably wondering what kind of a blog this is and whether or not it is worthy of your time. The answer to your first question is this is my blog for me to talk about things that are on my mind. I'm a very random person who often jumps from one topic to another, so at first, I expect that this blog might not seem very coherent or put together. That is one of the things I want to focus on. I want to use this opportunity to work on focusing my thoughts and attentions.  To that extent, I am going to challenge myself to find a topic for a blog and stick to that topic.

The answer to the second question of whether my blog will be worth checking out is it depends. I strive to speak my mind and give my honest opinions based on who I am and my experiences.  To that end, I will spend a little time telling you about myself in order to help you decide whether you want to continue reading.  And since it might be easier for me to explain if I break down the many layers of what makes up me, I will give you a number list as way of introducing myself.

1. Background: I was born in Cairo, Georgia in the middle of Summer in 1970. My mother was an unwed teen.  My father was not in the picture. When I was four or five, I moved in with my maternal grandmother and her second husband. They would be my guardians for the rest of my childhood. Life was not perfect, but I grew up knowing that I was loved.

2. I grew up in poverty, but we always had food on the table and a roof over our heads. I experienced times when my grandmother would have to be creative when money had run out, but some of my favorite meals were the ones that didn't cost much to make because they were made with my grandmother's love and creativity. I never had many luxeries, but I always had what I needed and most of what I wanted. We lived out in the country, but we weren't isolated like many might think when thinking of living in the country. I had plenty of land to move around in, but I also had neighbors that were within 500 feet of our front door.

3. I lived in a tiny town outside of Mobile, Alabama from age 5 to 12, and from 12 until 24 in a small community outside of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. I lived for about 2 years in Monmouth Oregon, which is just outside of the capital, Salem. In 1996, moved to San Francisco where I have lived for the past 21 years.

4. At the age of 13, I discovered the wonderful world of Comic Books. I remember in fondness that my first comic was Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars #2. I was immediately drawn into this world of fantasy where normal humans suddenly discovered that they had powers that set them apart but also gave them purpose as they protected their cities from the villains who would try to destroy them. 

5. My all-time favorite superhero was Rogue from the moment I first saw her and remains my favorite to this day. I was drawn to her because she was a mutant with a curse in that she could not touch without skin-to-skin without absorbing powers and the life force of others which she had no control over.  There was something about her vulnerability yet her willingness to press on that I could relate to.  The fact she was also from the south had something to do with it too.

6. I came out to the world, myself and to close friends during my thirtieth year. I knew I was gay from an early age, but I had two issues to overcome first before I could be honest with myself. First, I live in the south, which was not very welcoming or accepting of gays. Second, I had become a Christian when I was sixteen, and I needed to come to terms with my sexuality when everything I had been taught told me that homosexuality was a sin.

7.  Because we tend to become passionate about things that are personal, there are a few things that I'm quite passionate about.  Comic books and comic-related things will probably always be a part of my life, and I WILL mention them from time to time. If you think comic books are for kids only, then you probably will not enjoy much about what I have to say.  I'm also going to be passionate about promoting equality especially in overcoming the damage done by those who can't accept homosexuality or any type of alternate lifestyle.  I am especially sensitive about how homosexuality is treated in the deep south, or the bible belt, if you will.  As someone who suffered a lot of trauma around my sexuality, I want to be there to show the youth struggling with their sexuality and live in the south that they are not alone in their struggles. If I can provide hope and courage to just ONE person, then I feel my story will be worth it.

I tend to talk a lot, and this is something I am trying to fix. So, I will end this post. Please feel free to comment and ask any questions you may have. I am also considering the format of my posts. So, once I have that figured out, I will put up a schedule in case there are some people who only want to read about one subject and not others.