Brody's Scribbles... This Year's End & A New Year Begins

I was going to quietly wish all of you a Happy New Year's and then slip out with friends to the pubs of DuPont Circle, to revel in the ambiance & atmosphere of the Gay Community here in Washington D. C. where I live and work, in celebration of the New Year pending in a short few hours from now.

But as I finished replying to my last few e-mails and read my last few RSS feeds from the bloggers I avidly follow this evening, I realised that I wanted to muse on a few things that made this past year unique and in some ways special.

The passing of every year is always marked by events both great and small and rarely is it a year in recent memory that has not marked each of us in a signature fashion and so it shall be with 2009.

As a journalist I sometimes feel jaded as I cover the news because for me its the grist of my existence, my job, & my life. I am so privileged to be able to witness the stories that make history and to have an active role in reporting them to you.

This year saw the inaugural of a Black American President, noteworthy because this signified a change in the direction American politics had been taking and breaking barriers that had never been breached in the race for that office.

2009 also saw the annual rite of passage and transition in the United States as the great and the not so great died. From Senator Edward Kennedy to the murdered 19 year old Gay kid from Puerto Rico Stephen Lopez-Mercado, and artists like Michael Jackson to a young 34 year old award winning journalist from my homeland of Canada, Michelle Lang.

As a Gay man, as I watched the events of this year unfold, I felt heartened and renewed by the passage and signature into law of the Matthew Shepard-James Byrd Hate Crimes Law just as I felt anger as I watched more LGBT civil rights erode away with the defeat of the Marriage Law referendum in Maine. It was heady experience to see the District of Columbia pass its Marriage Law and then outrage and disgust over the actions taken by lawmakers in Uganda and Rwanda in attempting to pass legislation that would mean the death penalty for my fellow LGBT community members in those countries. Followed by an even greater sense of anger at the fact that the impetus for that onerous nonsense was provided by American Ultra-Right religious leaders such as Rick Warren who later was forced to repudiate his support. 

2009 also saw moments of massive conflict and divisiveness within the LGBT community itself as the spectre of Transphobia raised its ugly head again and again promulgated by respected members of the Gay community which brokes ill for the LGBT community as a whole. 

I also mark the beginning, in this year, of this blog, which is my tiny contribution to the world wide greater blogosphere with the humble hope that somewhere, out there, maybe a person will stumble across my Notes & Scribbles and learn a little something that may ease their life or makes a difference. 

I also want to thank and wish a very Happy New Years to my sons, my favorite Ukrainian nephew, my dear friend who is only from across the sea, and without reservation many thanks to Brad, Lins, Dan, Marcus, Jason, Kevin, Bryce, & AJ for making my daily life so pleasurable with their warm humanity and companionship.

To Nick on the South Island hard by the sea, my gratitude and huge hugs kiddo. John, you & I can agree to disagree, but I do enjoy your sage advice and friendship with the Oz twist.

Finally, A very Happy New Year's to all of you who stop in to read my blog, I appreciate it much, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Be Well All!

Warmest Regards

Brody Levesque