Easy and Delicious Summer Entree

Top and avocado half with salad shrimp, salsa, and a little salt and pepper. That's it! It doesn't get much easier than that. I especially like it with a mango salsa. It's also very good with a bit of horseradish cocktail sauce mixed in with the shrimp.

I imagine you could use smaller portions, say a quarter avocado and less shrimp, and serve it as a salad or first course.

My Secret Self: A Story of Transgender Children

This evening at 10:00 p.m., ABC will replay Barbara Walters' 20/20 special about transgender children.

Quote of the Day

I really like this one. I've been pondering it quite a bit.

There are no uninteresting things, there are only uninterested people. –Gilbert K. Chesterton

Protecting Our Rights

I am for freedom of religion, and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendancy of one sect over another. –Thomas Jefferson

It is only through separation of church and state that our freedom to practice any religion we wish, or to practice no religion at all, remains safe.

• Who should decide when and how you pray?
• Who should decide how much money you donate to religion?
• Who should decide how often you attend worship services?
• Who should decide on the religious upbringing of your children?

You should!

The Constitution bars government from meddling in religion. Government should be neutral on theological matters and not seek to sponsor, promote or further faith.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State has been working for 60 years to defend religious liberty in America and guaranteed to us in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Quote of the Day

"There are just as many gender identities as there are individuals. Being transgender is just one part of who I am."--anonymous

Marriage Equality, Deb Wallace and Brian Baird

Several weeks ago, I signed the Marriage Equality Petition for Washington State. I, as I imagine did the others from Southwest Washington who signed the petition, received the following email from Congressman Brian Baird and the one beneath it from State Representative Deb Wallace. I have not heard from the other 10 elected officials that it went to.

Dear Ms. Crosland:

Thank you for contacting me to share your thoughts about domestic partnership. I appreciate hearing from you and apologize for the delay in my reply.

Let me begin by saying that I take my responsibility to represent the people who live in Southwest Washington very seriously, which is why I deeply appreciate you taking the time to write me. Hearing your comments and concerns on the important issues facing our country is important to me as I work to represent Southwest Washington in Congress. I believe that our nation's government is only as strong as the individuals who choose to actively participate in its improvement, and I am grateful when constituents take the time to contact me.

I share your interest in ensuring equal rights and privileges for gay and lesbian people. I do not believe that homosexual relationships threaten in any way the marriage of heterosexual couples. The strength of individual marriages and marriage as an institution depends, first and foremost, on the commitment and conduct of the people involved.

I have strongly opposed efforts to amend the U.S. Constitution to prohibit gay marriage. Since its drafting in 1787, the Constitution has only been amended 27 times and has never been amended to single out one group for the restriction of rights enjoyed by others or to allow one state to refuse to recognize the laws of another. Indeed, the framers were clear that a fundamental duty of our government is to protect the rights of all citizens, whether or not those citizens are in the majority, and whether or not the majority supports rights for those citizens.

Thank you again for contacting me. Please do not hesitate to do so in the future if I may be of further assistance. In addition, I invite you to visit my website at http://www.house.gov/baird/IMA/email.shtml and sign up for periodic email updates about my work in Congress.

Karen,

Thank you for sharing your support for gay marriage and equal rights. I greatly value the input I receive from members of our community. I've co-sponsored and supported in past legislative sessions the civil rights bill, which provided protection from discrimination in housing and employment, the domestic partnership registry and the expansion of the domestic partnership responsibilities and protections. I appreciate that you've taken the time to voice your support and look forward to hearing more from you on this issue during the next legislative session.

Best regards,

Deb

Deb Wallace
State Representative
17th Legislative District

Check out my legislative website: http://hdc.leg.wa.gov/members/wallace/

Kaiser

I don't know how long it's been in place, but Kaiser Permanente is now providing training to their practitioners in treating LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) patients. This should be part of training--and ongoing training--for all health care professionals. I'm glad to see Kaiser has taken a step in the right direction and is striving to provide "culturally competent care."

Kafka on the Shore

I've recently been listening to an audio recording of Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami. I wish I was better at reviewing and writing about books because it's definitely one of the best books I have ever read/listened to.

I first became aware of the book when I read that it was one of The New York Times' 10 best books of 2005. It caught my eye because I had read The Wind-up Bird Chronicle by the same author and had really enjoyed it, though I found it a rather unusual story.

As I've been listening to the book, I've been thinking to myself that I'm probably not picking up on everything the author is trying to say. According to a Wikipedia article, the author, Murakami, "...stated that the secret to understanding the novel lies in reading it multiple times. Murakami: 'Kafka on the Shore contains several riddles, but there aren't any solutions provided. Instead, several of these riddles combine, and through their interaction the possibility of a solution takes shape. And the form this solution takes will be different for each reader. To put it another way, the riddles function as part of the solution. It's hard to explain, but that's the kind of novel I set out to write.' "

Besides the riddles, the story contains many references to music and musicians, both contemporary and classic, as well as literature. In fact, one of the main characters spends a great amount of time in a library reading. What a wonderful way to spend time!

The story is full of both the real and the surreal. The two main characters are unusual, the 15 year perhaps wise beyond his years, and both very endearing. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to read a contemporary, thoughtful novel.

It's Okay, It's Only Love

Gender Identity vs. Sexual Orientation

The more people I talk to, the more people I find who don't realize--or just haven't thought about--the fact that gender identity and sexual orientation are two different and independent things.

Gender identity is the gender of your psychological self, the gender your brain and soul know you to be. This may be male, female, both, or neither.

Gender Identity

(Psychological sense of self)

man -------- two spirit/third gender -------- woman

Sexual orientation is the gender you are attracted to. This may be male, female, both, or neither.

Sexual Orientation
(romantic/erotic response)

attracted to women---bisexual/asexual---attracted to men

At the time of birth, a person's gender identity and sexual orientation have already been established. They are a part of how they were made.

Pill instead of Liquid

I just read an ad in Prevention magazine for a pill that is now available for colonoscopy prep. Anyone who has had to drink the awful liquid as prep will be interested. From what I read, you need to take between 12 and 20 of these pills, depending on your doctor's instructions, but you get to choose your own 64 oz. of clear liquid to drink with it. Imagine drinking tea, apple juice, and or 7-Up instead of that nasty, salty stuff!

Rush

On Sunday, June 1, I was fortunate enough to attend the Rush concert at the Clark County Amphitheater, the band's second stop here as part of their Snakes & Arrows tour. What a great show! One of the things that really stands out for me is the amount of energy the guys had, especially during the 2nd half of the show. After nearly 35 years together, and on a tour that's lasted over a year, they still get up on stage night after night and give their fans an amazing three-hour show.

Besides the obvious--songs from the Snakes & Arrows album (I think they played nearly all of them)--the set list included several songs from Permanent Waves, which is probably my favorite Rush album overall. The song that probably got the biggest audience response was "2112," though the crowd--which was much bigger than when I saw Rush in 2004--sang along to many of the songs, including "The Trees," "Natural Science," "Limelight," "Freewill," "The Spirit of the Radio," and "Red Barchetta."

The stage effects for "Witch Hunt" were especially impressive, including lights and fire that really fit the tone of the music. The stage lights in general were just amazing, with five huge UFO-like light fixtures that went up and down, independently of each other, during the show, providing a wide range of effects. I can't begin to imagine the man power it takes to set up, take down and move all of the equipment from show to show.

And then, of course, there were the videos, a Rush tradition I think, which really show the band's sense of humor. Scottish kilts, Barbie dolls, Jerry Stiller, Lil' Rush, chicken...

What a great evening! My only regret is that I procrastinated so long in buying tickets that I ended up third row from the back, standing on tip-toes the entire evening so that I could see the stage. I still had a great time though!

Quote for the Day

"Evil in Austen, as in most great fiction, lies in the inability to 'see' others, hence to empathize with them." [...] "We are all capable of becoming the blind censor, of imposing our visions and desires on others."--Azar Nafisi in Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books

Thank Goodness for AAA

Last July, as my car was approaching 100,000 miles and I was planning trips to Olympia and Philomath, I decided to purchase a AAA membership. Membership is very affordable and, though I take pretty good care of my car, it made me feel a little more comfortable about the road trips I frequently make.

A few weeks ago I used the membership benefits for the first time, receiving a bit of a discount on a hotel room reservation. But thankfully, in the nearly 11 months since purchasing the membership, I hadn't had the need to call for roadside assistance with my car. That changed early this morning at about 1:00 a.m. as I was driving home from Portland. I had just crossed the I-5 bridge and was merging onto Highway 14 when I noticed that my car sounded and felt funny, and it didn't seem to "want" to increase its speed back up to 60 mph. As I was trying to figure out what was going on, I noticed that the car in the lane next to me was going the same speed--odd because I was only going about 40 mph at this point and the speed limit is 60--and that the passenger had his window rolled down and was trying to get my attention. I rolled down my window and heard, "You have a flat tire." Of course! It all made sense.

I pulled over--thankfully there's a nice wide shoulder on the side of Highway 14 at that spot--turned on my flashers, and called AAA. A tow truck and driver arrived in about 20 minutes. Less than 10 minutes later, without me even having to get out of the car, the tire was changed and I was ready to finish my trip home. I flat tire is never fun, and at 1:00 a.m. in the morning it's a bit scary, but the AAA membership made it a relatively pain-free experience.