It was a beautiful Saturday morning as the crowds assembled to watch the Manitou Springs Pridefest parade, and full of color, from the azure sky and the emerald slopes to the bright and rainbowed attire on many of those gathered to watch the parade.
My teenage daughter and I had a rare morning of it being just the two of us – there are three younger kids in the family – and we chatted as we strolled the sidewalks, admiring the displays in the storefront windows and exchanging smiles with everyone we passed. We milled through Soda Springs Park as the vendors set up their booths, across the bridge over the burbling waters.
My daughter wanted to wander around solo, and so I had an even more rare experience: a few moments all on my own. I got a coffee from Sahara Café and sipped it slowly, savoring, as the parade rounded the corner.
What an absolute delight! The paraders brought a spirit of joy and celebration up Manitou Avenue with creative costumes, decorated vehicles, banners – even beads, flowers and other goodies for us watchers. I loved that Batman appeared with a wonderfully dolled-up companion in the passenger seat of the Batmobile. A sweet-faced parader handed me a small Pride flag that I waved as the procession continued by.
As I watched the parade, I appreciated how much things have changed since I was a kid.
Way back in the 1990s, when I was the age my daughter is now – 15 -I babysat for a woman who I’ll call Diana. (I’m changing all the names since I am not able to reach them to ask permission to share this story).
Diana had two kids, Lisa and Michael, that she was raising with their aunt, Lindsey, who lived with them. They lived in a nice neighborhood in our smaller city in East Tennessee. My mom knew Diana from work, and that’s how I came to watch her kids.
Aside from Diana knowing my mom, there was another reason it was me who babysat – and it wasn’t that I was a particularly responsible teen. They felt it was safe to let me in on a secret: Lindsey wasn’t really the aunt. The separate bedroom that she kept was mostly just for show. Lisa and Michael had two moms, but they didn’t tell most people that for fear of teasing from other kids or professional reprisal for Diana or Lindsey. Or worse.
Diana and Lindsey had one of the most loving homes I’d experienced at that time. I knew them for a few years, but lost touch when I moved for college and they moved as well.
Part of the reason that I picked the college I did – Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, North Carolina, just outside Asheville – was because when I went to visit, I saw two young women students holding hands, unafraid, walking around campus. It was a revelation to me of the meaning behind “freedom, equality, and the pursuit of happiness.”
I appreciate that June is the month of Pride as well as Juneteenth, the celebration of the end of slavery in America. It is fitting that these events occur in the run up to Independence Day since each holiday is an affirmation that Independence Day is truly for every member of our society.
I thought of Diana and Lindsey when marriage equality became the law of the land in the summer of 2015. (Diana and Lindsey, wherever you are, I hope you put a ring on it and don’t feel you need to hide your relationship anymore). And I think of them when I hear talk, especially from a member of the Supreme Court, suggesting perhaps marriage equality should be overturned.
I thought of this as I stood on the side of Manitou Avenue, waving my Pride flag.
We stand for equality here at the Bulletin. Every person gets a fair shake in these pages, and we will do what we can to see that everyone gets a fair shake outside of these pages, too, by continuing to shine a light on the stories of all our community members.
If you see a way we can further this goal, drop a line to heila@pikespeakbulletin.org or call me at 719-373-1150.
