throwback

Six years ago today, I was lucky to witness first hand the four years of work come to fruition with the signing of Senate Bill 232 as Act 1 of 2011. Civil Unions had become the law in Hawaii.

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At the time, I was unemployed, but volunteering in Governor Abercrombie’s Policy Office, so I was able to attend the signing ceremony at Washington Place as Part of the Governor’s Office. I didn’t have to scramble for a ticket and was able to witness history without depriving someone else the opportunity.

It was a proud day for me and for so many others who had worked so hard to get to that point. There aren’t many things in my life of which I am more proud to have been a part.

Of course, a little less than three years later, marriage equality would become law. I was lucky to have been in attendance for that signing ceremony as well, but that’s for another time.

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I went to my Prime Photos in Amazon to look for a picture for today’s throwback, but Amazon did the work for me.

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This group photo, from one year ago today, was taken after (one of?) the first Hawaii For Bernie organizing meetings in Honolulu.

It marked the beginning of a rollercoaster year. Young and old, there are so many in this picture who weren’t previously politically active. Despite a disappointing Democratic National Convention and General Election, these folks are still engaged, determined to change the world.

I may not always show it, or say so, but these people are awesome.

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some photos make me chuckle no matter how many times i’ve seen them, or how long it’s been since i looked at them.

this is one of those.


from left to right: dan, can’t remember, bill, hal, can’t remember, val, doug, me, and some woman (i don’t think she was with us)

 

this was probably in 1998 or 1999? maybe someone in the picture (who actually reads my blog) will be able to fill in some of the gaps in my bad memory.

i can’t recall why exactly, but it always makes me think of the reservoir dogs. except we’re all young and jewish.

 

 

 

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during a discussion of the nodapl action taking place at standing rock, there was a question about whether president obama was planning to attend one last presidential holiday on oahu before leaving the white house.

it was our hope he would return, so protests could be organized near the residence he stays in in kailua. his silence on the issue has been hypocritical, heartless, criminal, and exactly what we’ve come to expect from this president.

alas, it sounds like he’s chosen to wait out his last days within the comfort and safety of the white house security perimeter.

still, the conversation reminded me of a similar protest progressives initiated back in 2010. we called for, among other things, an end to the war in iraq. the action was relatively small, but spirited. and peaceful.

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i’m learning that though i have a lot of pictures, they’re not very well organized, not to mention that they’re not all in one location. this makes it a bit frustrating to find pictures to post.

anyway…. after spending too much time fist-shaking at flickr and prime photos, i’ve settled on a few from thanksgiving 2010.

you’ll (probably) notice i’m significantly thinner than i am now. while i’d like to attribute this to healthy living, it was in fact a result have having lost something like 40 pounds over that summer. around the time these pictures were taken i was diagnosed with crohn’s disease.

two hospital stays, one major surgery, and a regular regimen of pills and injections and the crohn’s is under control. and i’ve long since added back all the weight.

its also important to note kellee jones in these pictures. she was one of the sweetest, kindest, and most troubled people i’ve known. kellee died a few years ago and is missed.

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