Living Proof

This is the very first time that Rachel and Laurel Bowman-Cryer spoke out about the owners of Sweet Cakes Bakery in Oregon. The story is sort of making more sense as it all comes to a head. Rachel's mother was getting remarried back in 2009. They had ordered a cake from Melissa Klein, the owner of Sweet Cakes and said it was "to die for". Everything was a success. I guess in passing conversation (small talk) -- Klein mentioned she would love to cater for them again if need be. Melissa Klein is in business -- she wasn't socializing. Every business owner will encourage people to use them again. That's totally normal. But what happened here was a bit different. Melissa Klein didn't realize that Rachel had a female partner. Fast forward 2013, Rachel and her mother went into Sweet Cakes to cater for Rachel and Laurel's upcoming wedding. She was greeted by Melissa Klein's husband, Aaron.  Rachel tells the story below... "Aaron stated

How can Sandra Bland rest in peace when we're having another racial war in her name? But let's face it -- the war has already started. I took to Facebook with my previous article regarding Sandra's story and stated my opinions. For one, I think what the officer did was wrong. Plain and simple. He should have deescalated the situation, not blow it out of proportion. But who is in the wrong in the bigger scheme of things? First off, I was raised (yes, as a white girl) to never disrespect authority. It has nothing to do with being black, white, Christian, gay, straight or other. It has to do with respecting those who are in command to protect and serve us. Given the fact that we are all human and we all have some sort of hidden stash of raw emotions brewing, some of us just 'lose it' when it's the last straw that broke the camel's back. Is it right? No. But does it happen? Yes. Whether we like it or not, due to the defiant behavior of Sandra Bland, the

It's the first time in a very long time when I just have to say that I really don't have an opinion. The public has a right to their opinion and a right to lose "Facebook friends" over their psychic abilities to truly know what went down in Sandra Bland's cell. In a matter of days, everyone seems to have gotten a degree in forensic studies and law. We know she had epilepsy, we know she suffered from PTSD and we also know that she was awaiting bail money from her family to get out of jail from such a petty traffic violation. Why would she hang herself? Could it have been because this may have been the last straw that broke the camel's back? Could it have been that she was so sick and tired of being treated poorly by the authorities because she was black? Now I'm starting to sound like a detective like everybody else. I do have an opinion on something though. I have a very strong opinion about being disrespectful to law enforcement. Even if, your "

There's nothing wrong with being proud of who you are and what you stand up for, whatever the race, nationality or creed it may be. On a religious standpoint, religion is based upon historical events, along with faith-based "gods" and mythologies. That's even hard for me to type since my faith in God is very strong. My "faith" is my "truth", but I also know that my faith may not be somebody else's "truth". And that's OK. When does it come to the point of madness, when someone pipes in like a child, "Na-na-nana-na, my religion's better," and they go straight for the jugular in order to hurt somebody else's theological views or the lack thereof? Many conservative Christians are getting more vocal since two major events have taken center stage: 1. Same-sex marriage and 2. Caitlyn Jenner's outing. As a writer for the LGBT community, I have never seen such ugliness in all my life. I have never seen so many Ch

As you know, this isn't really a typical post of mine, but since I'm no stranger to chronic pain as well as dysmenorrhea, I had to get this out. In fact, I have been seeing so many people ask, "What other alternatives other than Advil or Motrin can I take for pain since now it's much more dangerous as thought?" Let me first explain my situation. I have been suffering since I was 12 years old with menstraul cramps. It got worse as I got older, but since the age of 12, I have been taking 800 mg of Motrin around the clock for one week out of the month. I switched up to Advil after the age of 30 so that I could take less pills, because it felt stronger to me. Long story even longer -- I ended up with stomach bleeding which kept me in the hospital for a few days. I had about three endoscopies, which led to more acid reducers, (mostly H2 blockers) where I had to figure out a way to limit the intake of NSAIDs. They were destroying my stomach. I thought that was the onl

Empathy. That's what society is lacking. The word itself encompasses not only compassion, but the ability to feel what others are feeling, or just the effort of understanding other people's struggles. What I have learned over the years is that religion itself can remove empathy. I'll never forget back in 1997 when Christians told me I was going to hell just for being a lesbian. I couldn't believe this because I thought God was an "all loving God" and that Christianity was accepting, tolerant, patient and kind -- all of the things Corinthians speaks about regarding love. They called me horrible names and made me feel extremely alienated. They actually made me feel "hated" by God. But on my journey in discovery God more -- discovering Jesus more -- I learned a valuable lesson: Jesus is the one who is accepting, tolerant, patient, loving and kind. Some of the members of his fan club are not. They are nothing like Jesus. In fact, when I come across th

Let's face it, we all are. And as much as I hate that saying, "It is what it is," -- it seriously is . Once we accept the "isness" and all that we cannot control, I bet life would be much more tolerable. But life is tolerable -- it's we the people who just aren't tolerant. We get offended so easily. Our feelings get hurt at the drop of a hat. I also hate using "we" because it lumps us together as a group, even though we may be on opposite sides of the spectrum. But I'm still going to use "we", so bear with me. All of us have our own opinions, views, beliefs and whatnot. Some of us love to be heard, while other people prefer to mute their trumpets in fear of offending other people. Whatever the case, all of us have our own personal convictions and beliefs or lack thereof. So, we're all in this together. Once you put on the news or read it online, we all form some sort of opinion whether we choose to voice it or not. Lif

To tell you the truth, even I'm sick of this legalization of same-sex marriage. It's not because I'm against it -- I mean, how can I be? I'm married to a woman. But it's the back and forth conversations (or arguments) of those who are for it and those who are against it. I'm pretty much over it, mainly because of all of the ugliness I have seen out there. I have heard outrageous arguments -- anything from, "Well wut' next? Yew gonna marry yer' brother or sister now? Yew gonna wanna hook up with your uncle? How 'bout yer' pet," to "It's a sin and you're going straight to hell in a handbasket!" (I never understood why they would place a handbasket in the mix.) For one, not every gay or lesbian out there is a Christian. Some may happen to be Atheists. That's just for starters. And two: comparing incest and bestiality to being gay or lesbian is just ignorant. And thirdly, as you've seen plenty of my arguments o