Great LGBT Weekend for Me

What a way to close out a week or begin February. Kay and I went to our Diocesan Convention which was held in Savannah, GA. We arrive Thursday afternoon and registered for the convention; that evening we met up with 3 other couples at the Casaba Restaurant and had a great evening. The entertainment for the evening was their regular ‘belly dancer’ who was quite a performer and at the appropriate time, grabbed who else to dance, but me and someone else from across the room. No there are no pictures available, thank goodness. Before we could leave she grabbled all of us to dance again. Great evening!!

The convention: we elected a new Bishop only a few months ago and it was a wonderful breeze of freshness listening to our new leader as he explains his vision for the Georgia Diocese and our Episcopal Church. We had to leave the convention floor early on Friday as we had made plans to attend the organization meeting for this year’s SCC for early fall.

As this year is the 20^th Anniversary for SCC, the planning committee has several suggestions but it is going to be a party. I met some friends from last years Atlanta Pride Celebration over Halloween weekend and reconnected, we marched together in the first ever Trans March for Pride, a small group because the march was organized very quickly; like the day before. She has just transition while on the faculty at UGA, how awesome for her. The other friend works for Trader Joe’s and was the cashier when we rang out one day; we didn’t see him during pride but did see him in the parade the next day.

I was quite surprised to meet another person at the organization meeting who at least knew of me in my military life as she remembered by name for some reason. She was one of the Trumpet Instructors at the Navy School of Music. Although I studied woodwinds and conducting, I can not recall meeting her. The Naval School of Music is the primary school for Army, Navy and Marines band personnel and the Army’s enrollment is about 1/3 or less of the schools total enrollment. We didn’t really have time to reminisce about ‘old’ times since it happened to be the lunch break. I was very excited to talk to her about how we crossed paths before. The only other person I have crossed paths with who was at the School of Music was the Army’s Chief Repair Tech for the school. The next time I met him he was the Woodwind Repair Supervisor with Music and Arts Company, out of New Jersey. When he came to inspect our shop after his company bought our company out he was the one I told that I was transitioning. That was just 5 months before Music and Arts closed our repair shop and warehouse as a result of the company’s re-organization.

You never know who you might cross paths with from your old life, so just go with the flow.