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Melissa Carter: We can help bridge the gap between past neglect and future stability

The Georgia Voice Editors
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Melissa CarterI think we’ve made great progress with Trevor. Our first foster dog, this GoldenDoodle was found on the streets of Alabama and sent to Adopt A Golden Atlanta.

A few years ago, we adopted our dog GiGi from Adopt-A-Golden. They asked that we foster Trevor and try to get him more comfortable and emotionally healthy so he could one day soon be moved into a loving and permanent home.

When Trevor came to us he kept his distance, literally. We let him out in our fenced back yard and that is where he stayed, choosing instead to sleep outside the first night. He wouldn’t let us pet him and showed his teeth to our other animals when they came too close.

Outspoken: Fred Karger, Barack Obama, Chely Wright and more…

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GOP presidential hopeful Fred Karger

“I’m a moderate Republican, I have the best jobs plan, I’m pro-choice, support gay marriage and I want us out of Afghanistan now. If you’re not excited about Mitt Romney or the direction of the Republican Party, then I ask you to vote for me.”

— Openly gay Republican presidential hopeful Fred Karger, who won 0.1 percent of the primary vote in Maryland, in his new “Sexy Frisbee” campaign video that intersperses his remarks with beach scenes of shirtless men and bikini-clad women, plus two guys kissing at the end. (Pink News, April 24)

“There’s so much work to do. If 80 percent of what I talk about is gay issues — I didn’t come out to shut up. I came out to talk.”

Melissa Carter: How can we help LGBT youth be not only out, but proud?

The Georgia Voice Editors
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Melissa CarterIt seems that suicide is spilling into our headlines more than ever before, with another gay teenager falling victim to this tragic trend a couple weeks ago.

Kenneth Weishuhn Jr. of Iowa took his own life at the age of 14, after being tormented by classmates for his decision last month to come out. His mother told The Washington Post that Kenneth quickly became the target of threatening cellphone calls, voicemails, and online comments.

Kenneth was a popular kid in school, but only when classmates thought he was straight. Once they learned his truth, Kenneth’s peers quickly turned on him and that rejection led to his death April 15.

Topher Payne: Travels with my aunt, preparing me for the journey ahead

The Georgia Voice Editors
Domestically DisturbedOutspoken
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Playwright and writer Topher PayneI was sitting in the front seat of my Aunt Merry’s big blue Cadillac, freezing. It was April in Mississippi, already in the high 80s, but that luxury automobile had killer air conditioning. I sat silently, odd for me even at age 12, watching the goosebumps rise on my arms. The knot in my stomach was growing exponentially. By the time we got to her house, it would weigh a hundred pounds and I would be unable to rise from the blue leather seat.

“You’re quiet,” said Aunt Merry. She phrased it as an observation, not as a concern.

“I’m just sleepy,” I said, watching the pastures race past the window. She always took off like a rocket when we turned onto Military Road, because encountering another car was such a rarity. Maybe the occasional deer, but she had one of those repellant whistles mounted to the hood of her car to keep them from running into the road and messing up her Cadillac.

Outspoken: T.D. Jakes, Anne Rice and more…

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“While the President does not weigh in on every single ballot measure in every state, the record is clear that the President has long opposed divisive and discriminatory efforts to deny rights and benefits to same sex couples.”

— Kristen Sosanie, spokesperson for President Barack Obama’s Minnesota campaign, on why he opposes a ballot initiative to ban gay marriage in the state. The measure “would single out and discriminate against gay and lesbian couples,” she said. (Huffington Post, April 9)

“Happy Easter, Gay People of the World: you have indeed risen in the last decades from centuries of persecution and oppression. May this be a great holiday for you all wherever you are. You are winning the battle for equal rights. And your victory over discrimination and hate is a victory for all oppressed persons.”

— Author Anne Rice, whose son is gay, posting on her Facebook page (On Top Magazine, April 9)

Melissa Carter: TV made me smarter

The Georgia Voice Editors
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Melissa CarterI am a smarter person because of Made-for-TV movies. I realized this the other night when Katie Jo and I were sitting on our back porch talking. The topic of Helen Keller came up, and I began to tearfully recall the scene from “The Miracle Worker” where Patty Duke’s Anne Sullivan finally gets through to Melissa Gilbert’s Helen at the well.

W. A. T. E. R. Who doesn’t get choked up at that memory? Katie Jo.

When I realized my other half gave no reaction to my description of that pivotal scene, I questioned if she had ever seen “The Miracle Worker.” She had not, and went on to tell me she really wasn’t that familiar with Helen Keller’s life. I was shocked, but remembered that if it weren’t for Duke and Gilbert, I might not be either.

So much of my early education came from those mini dramas, which provided greater opportunities for learning than books or theatrical releases ever could. That’s because Made-for-TV movies came on one of the only three or four channels available then, and the lack of choice forced everyone in the family, and the country, to watch it together.

Topher Payne: In Mississippi, your husband could just as easily have been your cousin

The Georgia Voice Editors
Domestically DisturbedOutspoken
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Playwright and writer Topher PaynePreppy offered our guest room to a coworker in town from Miami, meaning there’s even more conversations than usual around our house involving phrases like “loss prevention” and “opportunities.”

“Opportunities” in particular is a major buzz word at his company. It’s a euphemism for “total fail,” but they’re savvy enough not to say that. But I’ve been with my husband long enough to translate what he means when he says there’s “opportunities” in our kitchen sink.

I’ve been spending my evenings playing Auntie Mame, which also sounds like a euphemism, but is in this case literally what I’m up to. As proud as I am of my career, I do hate it when I’m dressed like a lady the first time I meet one of his coworkers. But some things just cannot be helped.

Melissa Carter: My mother is going blind, but her artistic vision remains

The Georgia Voice Editors
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Melissa CarterMillie Pete is going blind. My 82-year-old mother was diagnosed with macular degeneration two months ago, and the condition is quickly taking away her vision because of damage to her retina.

As an artist, this has posed a serious challenge to her lifestyle, since the result of the condition is the inability to see detail or recognize faces. As the daughter of this artist, I have come to realize these past few weeks that is was through her art that I learned my most important life lessons:

• Shadows. My mother taught me never to use black when shading paintings. Instead you use complimentary colors to show depth to an object. As a child I saw shadows as dark places to avoid, but Millie Pete allowed me to see they are never as black as they seem, and that shadows actually help enhance the world around you.