New bride punched and kicked by random stranger

~ susie

Mich. Marriage Equality

“Manly” men of God, I suppose:

An unnamed Michigan woman who took part in one of the state’s first same-sex marriages was beaten unconscious on Monday, after her attackers allegedly recognized her from a televised report on her wedding. The unnamed woman and her new wife were one of 300 couples able to marry in late March after a court order briefly lifted the state ban on same-sex marriage. On Monday, a group of men approached her on the street, made reference to her TV appearance while using a homophobic slur, and then punched her to the ground, according to the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office.

In a news release quoted by the Detroit Free Press, the sheriff’s office gave the following account of the attack:

“One of the males stated, ‘Hey b—-. Are you that (anti-gay slur) from the news?’ One of the males then punched her in the face, which knocked her to the ground and unconscious.”

The Free Press adds that one of the men kicked her in the gut after she regained consciousness, and then fled. The woman described one of her attackers as “white, 5-feet-10 inches to 5-feet-11 inches tall, heavy set and with a low or husky voice.” There were at least two other men involved, however authorities haven’t provided a physical description of them.

H/t Nicole Naum

Dream

~ susie ~ 1 Comment

#tintagel #tintagelcastle #tintagelcornwall #coast #coastal #sea #seaside #cornwall #coastline #countryside #cliffs #castle #scenic #scenery #landscape

This was a funny one, because it was such an obvious pastiche of other things. I was walking in Cornwall (where they film BBC’s “Doc Martin”) by myself, and to get to where I was going, I had to slide under a hole in the rocky cliffs to get through (my recent MRI). While I was halfway through and couldn’t move, the guy who plays the police chief in “Doc Martin” (the one who looks like my chiropractor) shows up and starts talking to me. I realize he’s the serial killer everyone’s been looking for, and he’s going to kill me. I reach into my pocket and write that on a matchbook I stick back into my pocket (an episode of “Bones”.)

To the woman behind me in line at the grocery store

~ susie ~ 1 Comment

receiptandrea
Aww. Go read the rest of Andrea Gardner’s post:

Dear woman behind me in line at the grocery store,

You don’t know me. You have no clue what my life has been like since October 1, 2013. You have no clue that my family has gone through the wringer. You have no clue that we have faced unbelievable hardship. You have no clue we have been humiliated, humbled, destitute.

You have no clue I have cried more days than not; that I fight against bitterness taking control of my heart. You have no clue that my husband’s pride was shattered. You have no clue my kids have had the worries of an adult on their shoulders. You have no clue their innocence was snatched from them for no good reason. You know none of this.

What you do know is I tried to buy my kids some food and that the EBT machine was down so I couldn’t buy that food. I didn’t have any cash or my debit card with me. I only had my SNAP card. All you heard was me saying “No, don’t hold it for me. My kids are hungry now and I have no other way of paying for this.” You didn’t judge me. You didn’t snarl “Maybe you should have less kids.” You didn’t say “Well, get a job and learn to support yourself.” You didn’t look away in embarrassment or shame for me. You didn’t make any assumptions at all.

What you did was you paid that $17.38 grocery bill for us. You gave my kids bananas, yogurt, apple juice, cheese sticks, and a peach ice tea for me; a rare treat and splurge. You let me hug you and promise through my tears that I WILL pay this forward. I WILL pay someone’s grocery bill for them. That $17.38 may not have been a lot for you, but it was priceless to us. In the car my kids couldn’t stop gushing about you; our “angel in disguise.” They prayed for you. They prayed you would be blessed. You restored some of our lost faith. One simple and small action changed our lives. You probably have forgotten about us by now, but we haven’t forgotten about you. You will forever be a part of us even though we don’t even know your name.