I hate to write letters like this.

But I'll do it. And I'll put it on the blog.


6 August 2010



Target National Bank
PO Box 59317
Minneapolis, MN 55459-0317


Dear Sir or Madam,

Re: Target VISA 4352 XXXX XXXX XXXX

In light of the recent news reports that Target executives have donated upwards of $4000 to political groups opposed to same-sex marriage in my state, I have decided to close my Target account and not shop at your store anymore. I am deeply offended that Target’s leaders support amending my state’s constitution to deprive me and my spouse of the legal rights we deserve, and have worked hard to attain.

I take it for granted that today’s retailers make financial decisions while in possession of considerable personal information about their customers. It is only fair that customers do the same.

I have attached my destroyed credit card. Please close the account immediately.


Sincerely,


[redacted for web publication]


cc. Gregg Steinhafel, Target CEO

Love makes a family

A high pressure dome off the coast of California is keeping us sunny and warm in San Francisco. It was raining slightly when I came here to get married two weeks ago.



Today we came to protest 52% of California trying to take that away.











The sound system was a little faint, but we liked what we heard. The speakers emphasized the need for more cooperation and outreach, to avoid blaming other people, and to stay focused and clear-eyed. The winning side's support has fallen several percentage points in the last 8 years. We can win this, and we will.



As this is normally a garden blog, I am pleased to include a few pictures of the victory garden that was planted in the Civic Center last spring. Until today, I had not seen it. The garden was recently planted with winter crops like coles, greens, and peas, garlic and onions.



It was nice to see people enjoying the garden,



But a wood chip mulching is clearly in order.



And why not chip the clippings from the sycamore trees that got pollarded this morning.



We got there early, and the arborists were just finishing up. This picture was taken before the others. Fortunately, we found a spot under some trees that hadn't been pruned, so we had shade.

There were some good signs, most of them hand-made. We talked about making one, but unfortunately we didn't get around to it.



(Okay, I didn't even notice that Churh is missing a c!)









My favorite sign had a famous quote paraphrasing from Mohandas Ghandi, "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." So it goes.

For me, this one sums it up best:

November 15 anti-Prop 8 demonstration

I really don't like to talk about politics on this blog; that's not what I want to do here at all. But I also don't want to re-read my blog at some future date and find that I was mostly silent about larger events going on in the world that mattered to me.

There will be a nationwide political demonstration this Saturday to protest the outcome of Proposition 8 in California, and I'm going to attend.

I'm not going to bash Mormons or Catholics or Blacks or any other group of people. I understand that Americans have different opinions on the subject of same-sex marriage, and I respect that. At the same time, this is my life. I just got married and that means a great deal to me. I'm not about to let 52% of California knock it down without a fight.



ADDED: The rally, here.

My marriage, interrupted.

Guy and I eloped last week on October 31. It was the five-year anniversary of the day our mortgage closed escrow. We've celebrated it as our anniversary ever since. This year, we decided to take the opportunity to make it official by getting married.

Then a few days later it was taken away. I certainly knew that that might happen, but it hurts more than I thought it would, and I'm a little surprised by that. In fact, I don't feel quite like myself right now, and I certainly don't feel like blogging about my garden.

I don't expect this feeling to last, but for the time being this is what's going on with me, and that's that.