Meeting Places and Romance

Tam Martinides Gray: My team is the San Francisco Giants ... and it always has been since it was The New York Giants in The Bronx. I started going to games with my father, Ernie, when I was a year or two older than kindergarten age ... I have rarely missed a season that I didn't see a game in person or on television, except when I lived in Europe for a couple of years. I've married two men who didn't grow up sitting on those hard, wooden-slatted seats. But my husband today understands my state of mourning regarding what could become 'the lost season.' My mother told me that she was thrilled that I had taken to the game; this now meant she would never have to attend another game, ever, especially those games that were double-headers. Pop and I loved those games.   more »

Scottsdale, Arizona-based Alliance Defending Freedom has represented 14 churches in lawsuits and assisted more than 2,500 churches and ministries. First Liberty Institute, based outside of Dallas, Texas, received more than a hundred requests for legal help in the first half of May, significantly more than the few dozen they would have expected so far this year, according to attorney Jeremy Dys. One client was On Fire Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, which sued the city after the mayor banned outdoor drive-in services leading up to Easter in April. A judge ruled the services could go on. “We believe that beyond any shadow of a doubt it is crucial to be able to congregate with one another,” church Pastor Chuck Salvo said in a recent interview. But judges also have ruled against such challenges. The US Supreme Court dismissed an appeal from a California church to strike down Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s restriction of places of worship to 25% capacity or no more than 100 people. more »

Jo Freeman writes of the scene: "There were more white protestors than there were white cops. The white shirt NYPDs were mostly white and the blue shirts were mostly non-white (but diverse non-white). The former are the older generation, who have risen to positions of authority." "There were a lot of women on both sides. In the eighties, a time when I dealt with a lot of NYPD officers who were not thrilled about women joining the force, the men told me that women weren’t big enough or strong enough to be effective police officers. At that time cops had to be a minimum height of 5"6' – which eliminated most women without really trying. Last Saturday, I was impressed with the sheer number of short women of all colors, facing down the protestors along with the men. I only saw one woman white-shirt." more »

Elaine Soloway writes: After two marriages, in contentment with my solo routine, and blessed with family and a multitude of friends; I'm not trying to lure a guy. Hold on, let's change "guy" to "senior citizen," which leads me to an interesting question: Would I be attracted to someone my age who bears the same telltale signs of dotage as I? The gray hair, I'd likely adore. It's one thing to grow old with someone, but why would I pick a new swain who is accumulating wrinkles, saggy skin, body breakdowns, and signals of caregiving to come? more »