Diversity Rules Magazine

11 Diversity Rules Magazine January 2015 Lee Lynch wrote the classic novels e Swashbuckler and Toothpick House. She lives in rural Florida with her wife and their furry ruffians. In the face of the racist, puritanical, self-serving, money-mad, avaricious U.S. citizens and politicians whose votes and campaigns against fairness and reason won out in the recent midterm elections, we need to keep laughing, working to retain what we have gained, and believing in mira- cles. is fall, at Women's Week in Provinc- etown, Massachusetts, I got my little miracle. Of course, Tex is taking all the credit. First off, Tex was Best Butch at our wed- ding four years ago. She had a bad cold at the time and left before the wedding cake was served. We have been hearing about her trag- ic disappointment ever since. is year, the bakery was open thru Women's Week. My sweetheart ordered a smaller version of our cake. In the swirl of lesbian events, socializing—and searching for my lost glass- es—I was trying to connect with Tex to get her some cake. e evening before, I discovered that my glasses were missing. I've been wearing glasses, full-time, for over 60 years and my particular visual issues require a very expensive prescription, so this was no small deal. I spent the morning recreating my perambulations of the last 20 hours. I was pretty sure I lost them com- ing out of a book signing with writer Rachel Spangler because we were chattering with the excitement of the event and the week and reconnecting. I switched my clear glasses for sunglasses, carefully slipping the case into my brand new Human Rights Campaign (HRC) mini-messenger bag. I suspect that the glasses, in their case, slipped right on through and out the front flap of the unfamiliar bag. A little posse of us searched every inch of the area that night, but no glasses. My sweetheart posted the loss on Fa- cebook. at didn't find the glasses, but it did prompt our optician, back in Tampa, to respond, in horror, "Not the Pradas!" Well, yes, the Pradas. I am not in the habit of buying high-end frames, but I was having a heck of a time finding anything I liked until the other optician in that office, who clearly would understand the tastes of a lesbian butch, quietly left his seat and returned with a pair from the men's section. Love at first sight. Denim in color. Best. Frames. Ever. And now, in Ptown, they were lost for eternity. We had a lunch date with librarian pal M.J. and writers Karin Kall- maker and Pol Robin- son. By this time a good percentage of the Women's Week attendees, shopkeepers, hotel clerks, parking attendants, wait staff and police force were on the lookout for my glasses. Someone at our table suggested we check the Women's Week info center in the old firehouse on Commercial Street to see if they'd been turned them in. But first I had to find Tex and get some long-awaited cake to her. We agreed by phone to meet at the Farm- ers' Market. My sweetheart, M.J. and Pol headed off to the HRC store and I set out to find Tex. On my way, I passed the firehouse and asked about my glasses. ey didn't have them. When I found Tex she dragged me back to the firehouse in search of a Women's Week t- shirt. Tex was trying on the shirts and choosing colors, and I was advising her, as were all four volunteers, including Massachusetts State Representative Sarah Peake and her wife Lynn Mogell, owners of Heritage House, Amazon Trail - Con't on page 12 The Amazon Trail: Oh, No! Not the Pradas! By Lee Lynch (c) Can Stock Photo Inc. / grsphoto

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