LesbianPrideNewsletter_v1.no3.1996.03.pdf
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- LesbianPrideNewsletter_v1.no3.1996.03.pdf
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Volume I, Issue #3, March 1996
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© 1996 Makaw Press {~
Random Acts of Lesbian Kindness
Some time ago, when I was young and cocky
and full of myself - and newly out and very
proud - a buddy and I spotted a maiden in
distress on the mean streets of Oklahoma City. It
was late, it was dark and cold, and we were feeling gallant ... so we stopped to offer assistance.
The young woman had a dead car and was
ready to walk back to her apartment, some miles
away. We offered to give her a lift since neither of
us were skilled enough with cars to figure out
how to get hers running again. She gratefully eot
into the back seat of my Plymouth Duster.
Today, this kind of thing might be considered a random act of kindness; back then it was
just a nice and neighborly thing that Okies did for
one another. But even back then, I wanted to
make it an act of neighborly lesbiankindness.
As we reached our passenger's destination,
and as my buddy blushed and slumped and tried
to slide onto the floorboards of my car, I turned to
the woman and announced to her that I wanted
her to know she had just been helped by two
lesbians. I actually heard her swallow, and I saw
her eyes frantically search the outside of her
apartment building for help, but undaunted, I
went on. I told her to be sure and tell her friends
that she'd been rescued by two gay people and to
remember to tell them that we were just normal
people.
She mumbled something like "sure" and
practically broke her nose trying to get out of the
car to hightail it to her apartment building. My
buddy suggested we leave as quickly as possible
- which we did - and we laughed all the way to
the gay bar we'd been heading for before getting
sidetracked to do the good deed. I can't believeyou
said that! Did you see the lookon herface? Think we
changedher mind aboutanything? Think we madea
friend? Think she peed in her pants?
I don't know if I made my point with that
woman or not - it was 1973, it was in the heart of
the bible belt, and the gal was obviously scared to
death by the time I finished my speech. But maybe I did. Maybe someone in her life has come out
to her since then and she remembers back to a
winter night when a couple of cheerful dykes
saved her from a long, cold, scary walk home.
We don't always know if or when we make a
difference in someone's life, in the way they think
about things: sometimes the difference we make
is not immediately apparent; sometimes we never
know about it at all.
But there's nothing wrong with giving it the
ol' college try. Random acts of kindness - doing
something nice for someone for no reason other
than that it feels good - are in style everywhere
these days, for everyone. There's nothing wrong
with making the acts of kindness that you do
ones of lesbian kindness.
Performing anonymous random acts of
kindness will make you feel good about yourself;
performing random, lesbianacts of kindness letting the beneficiary of your kindness know you
are a lesbian, anonymously or not - will make
you feel even better.
Don't delay- do something kind today, and
do it in a lesbian way!
-Mel White
Don't Forget to VOTE!
Feed the meter for a stranger today,
and then leave a note on the
windshield that says
''A ~ ;a,ved you,fr~
fjdiing,,tv par~
iid:d:"
HoMO
H481LUS
---
LESBIAN SURVIVAL HINT #169:
CHANCES ARE, YOUR ANTHROPOLOGY
TEACHER ONLY SHOWED YOU A PORTION
OF THE WHOLE DIAGRAM.
If you are in a state that has a primary
election this spring, don't forget to make your
voice heard by voting. (And then don't forget
to vote again in November!)
As this is being written, Pat Buchanan
and his platform of intolerance and exclusion
are the front-runners of the Republican party.
Many of us seem to think it's impossible that
a guy like that with those beliefs could really
be elected President of the United States.
But remember the lessons we've learned
in the last few years, especially in the state of
Colorado: no one thought that bizarre, backwards Amendment Two could really pass in
this state, but it did. And the reason it did is
not that more people were in favor of it than
opposed, but rather because more people in
favor of it voted than did the people who
opposed it.
Just knowing and believing that an
amendment is wrong - or that a candidate is
dangerous - is not enough. You must make
your voice (and what you know to be true)
heard,and one of the most positive, easiest,
safest and most-time honored ways you can
do that is by voting.
-mkw
Rhonda Dicksion in Stay Tooned
© 1993 Rhonda Dicksion, Used by permission
Published by The Niaid Press, Inc.
POBox10543
Tallahassee,FL 32302
Do something nice for the woman you live with.
If you don't usually wash the dishes
or make the bed, do that today.
Wash her car, brush her dog,
take her to her favorite place for dinner.
If you know someonewho needs
helpgetting to the polls,
give them a lift.
Help someoneelse's vote get counted
while you makeyour own
choicesknown.
Send us your fworite affirmations and we'll share them with everyone.
Every Day is a Day of Opportunity
Every day we have an opportunity to make a difference
in someone else's life.
Every day we have an opportunity to make a difference
in our own lives.
Every day we have an opportunity to share
what we have,
whether it is something material
or some skill or knowledge we have
that someone else might lack.
Every day we have an opportunity to share
what and who we are,
and to make the world a bit better
for ourselves
and for everyone.
-Mel White
...BekinE/toothers,.buf.always
rememberto.be kind.to yourselffirst. •
For Lucky Lesbians
born under the sign of
PISCES - February 19 - March 20 ])
Astrology by Stacy Chandler
REAL LIFE
RESTROOM DRAMA!!
A Service of Our "Quick Comebacks to
Memorize Ahead of Time" Department
Like so many lesbians, do you wrestle over
the ever-present problem of being mistaken
for a man in a public restroom? Have you
always wanted to answer with a smart retort
but have never known what to say?
You have never been
one of the little fishies in the sea.
You are ever alert,
scanning your waterways
like a barracuda in heat.
You do not need calm waters,
as you easily negotiate
the oceans in your life.
Like a marlin
you leap towards the sun at will,
breaking the water barrier that tries
to keep you aquatically bound.
Neptune only dares
to murmur your name.
You are
the essence of legends ... •
~
Be warned: The views expressed above do not
necessarily reflect the aura of the cosmos!
As a public service, two fearless lesbians,
Glenna Tallman and Laura Antoniou, share
their experiences and wisdom with us:
- Bald from.radiation treatments, I was
in an airport restroom when a very foxy
and pert woman asked me if I was in the
wrong bathroom. I simply pulled down
the top of my sweat pants and said, "I
sure don't think so, but you'd be very
welcome to check it out!"
- While I was in the bathroom at work, a
co-worker decided to embarrass me and
a friend of mine by mentioning loudly (to
no one in particular), "I thought this was
the women's room."
My friend replied, "No, it's the lesbian
steal-a-woman meeting center! And
we're so glad you could make it!"
Ellen Orleans in Who Caresif It's a Choice?
© 1994 Ellen Orleans
Used by permission
Published by Laugh Lines Press
If you donate clothes to Goodwill
or some other similar organization
or to your church,
put notes in the pockets that say
"~
piece,,
w~donated,
of~
by ev L~'
POBox259
Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004
Give someone you care about
an anonymous gift subscription to this newsletter
or to some other Lesbian or Gay publication.
Univilillllf
lllf
l]~i~
1I1iiH~1Ji1m111~111rr·
OK
M 001 024 351
C!HOfC!ESI
Cooking Impaired?
HAPPILYEVER AFI'ER
by
Stacy Chandler
Get Granny Dyke's Guide to Potluck Cuisine
- a Cookbook. $10 plus $2.50 S&H to
Rainbow Potluck Enterprises
2444 Floral Road NW
Albuquerque, NM 87104
NOW AVAILABLE AT
ALL BOOKSTORES!
ISBN 0-9639185-0-8
srn Gulf Coast Womyn's Festival, April 4-7 - Hurry and
register! Camp Sister Spirit, PO Box 12, Ovett, MS 39464.
The Dyke Daily Companion is a pocket sized booklet of
Positive Reminders for Lesbians by Mel White. $5 postpaid to
Makaw, PO Box 18561, Denver, CO 80218.
Someone you know should be certified! Certificates for
anything imaginable: you tell us who and what for, we'll do
the rest. $3 (ppd) for 8.5Xll; $2.50 (ppd.) for half-size. SASE
for more info. Makaw, Box 18561, Denver, CO 80218.
Announcement: Lesbian Separatist Celebration, June 22,
1996 (in San Francisco East Bay Area). SASE for more info to
SEPZ (Separatists Eliminating Patriarchy with Zeal), Box
1180, Sebastopol, CA 95473-1180.
Donations Welcome! Ohio Lesbian Archives, Room 304,
Women's Bldg., 4039 Hamilton Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45223.
Lesbian Paradise
20 charming rooms, 100 acres, pool, hot tub,
hiking/ skiing trails, peace and privacy.
HIGHLANDS INN
Box 118LP, Bethlehem, NH 03574
(603) 869-3978
Tin Roof Bed and Breakfast
Visit Lesbianville in Northampton, MA.
Three guest rooms share 1 ½ baths;
No smoking; Cats in residence; Reservations
required. Brochure available. 413-586-8665
SUPPO~
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EUSfNESSESI
Discover a True Womyn's Paradise:
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Our Lovely
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Include:
Bedroom with
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Other Amenities for your Vacationing Pleasure
Include: Heated Swimming Pool • Extensive Decking for
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DIRECT: (303) 331-4563
MOBlll: (303) 888-2203
Sunbathing • Shaded Tropical Pavilion for Lazy-Day
Lounging • Walking Distance to Disco-Dance and Restaurants • 1/2 Block from Shopping District • 1 Block to the
Atlantic Ocean & Southernmost Point in the Continental
United States.
1-800-74-WOMYN • 1-800-749-6696 •1-305-292-1450
525 United Street, P.O. Box 1836, Key West, FL 33041
Do you know about ... ?
THE a°1
GULF COAST WOMYN'S FESTIVAL
If you haven't heard of the Gulf Coast
Womyn's Festival, maybe you have heard of
Wanda and Brenda Henson, the two Lesbians
who received national media attention when they
successfully defended themselves against a local
lawsuit filed to keep them from holding women's
festivals on their land near Ovett, Mississippi.
The Hensons won the lawsuit* (Hallelujah
Sister!) and are still on the land they love. They
remain committed to keeping their land - Camp
Sister Spirit - a safe, sober, peaceful haven in the
Deep South for Lesbians and Feminists (from
everywhere!) to gather and share a variety of
cultural and educational opportunities.
During all the lawsuit hub-bub, other Southern Lesbians in the area loaned money to Sister
Spirit, Inc. (some $44,000) to pay off the amount
owed on the land to the original owner. Now the
Hensons owe their first year's payment - an
amount of $10,000 - to the sisters who helped
them buy the land.
The 8th Annual Gulf Coast Womyn's
Festival at Camp Sister Spirit near Ovett will be
the major fund.raising effort to raise the money
to make the payment. This year's festival dates
are April 4-7.
Attend if you can. If you can't, please consider making a donation (your donations are taxdeductible - Sister Spirit Incorporated is a 501
[c][3] recognized organization).
For more information or to order tickets, call
or write:
Camp Sister Spirit
PO Box12
Ovett, MS 39464
601-344-1411
E-mail: Sisterspir@AOL.COM.
* The judge ruled " ... The court cannot set a precedent of
issuing injunctions against persons who invite a reasonable
number of people to come to their property for an infrequent
event - whether that event is a 'Womyn's Festival;' a family
reunion; a private party; a church meeting; a gathering of
hunters at a deer camp; or a political rally ... "
You go, Judge!
-Man; Brnce Reid,© 1978, 1996
L~'Pude
~
• is published by Makaw Press
Lesbian Owned artd 0pi!rated
Mel White,Owrter, Editor; F'ublisher ·
1
Special thattks to
ArleniHoltrWettdyLevy and. Stacy Chandler
© 1996 Makaw Press, All Rights Reserved
• SASE for submission guidelines artd/or ad rates.
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(In Canada $25 US Funds for 12 issues).
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MakawPress
POBox18561
Denver, <CO 80218