Proud to be a 'sexual pervert'...

I went to NC Pride yesterday, a first for me. I don't know how I went all these years without attending at least a minor celebration, but I did. NC Pride is a major event, so it is safe to say I made up for my lack of participation all these years.
Being among members of the LGBTQ community, and not just supporters, was elating. I felt completely at peace and accepted. Actually, I felt normal. Then I saw the church vans...
I'd wondered if they would be there, and I was not disappointed. The 'kinder' people simply sang hymns. Others were less careful in their so-called outreach to us. They shouted scripture verses at us, carried signs declaring homosexuals hell-bound sexual perverts, and one man even disrupted the event by reenacting Christ carrying the cross to his death (for us, I can only presume).
I know this kind of stuff goes on, but I'd never seen it in person. It is despicable, hateful, and totally pointless. I will never convert to their religion, go to their churches, or worship their god. Why would I trade the love and acceptance of my community for what the church is offering? No, I'd rather be a perverted sexual deviant than treat others the way I was treated at Pride.

Balls on a play field...

Most days I view life as a cosmic pinball machine. We're the balls, batted around seemingly at random. The popper launches us into orbit, and we proceed around the lane. But unlike actual pinball, we don't spend our time en route to the drain. Ok, perhaps some folk do, but I think most people don't do exactly that. Rather, we get popped around continuously, occasionally bumping into others on the lane. Our encounters with others on the lane might be brief, last some moderate amount of time, or perhaps they will last for years. No encounter is truly random--the universe controls the flipper, remember--and perhaps more important, no encounter is ever a waste, although what is gained can most certainly be. I think most encounters, however long in duration, only happen once. The flipper keeps us in perpetual motion, and we are all being tossed into other directions on the play field. But once in awhile, we encounter the same person twice. What we do with that encounter is entirely up to us, however. Do we meet briefly, learn something, and then move on, or do we allow for something more? I think it's important to consider it carefully. Most of us never get that chance again.