Left to my own devices

Odd how listening to satellite radio this morning, and observing a small bug crawling across a tiled bathroom floor later in the day, could evoke similar thoughts about the same subject, but then the mind works in it's own peculiar way sometimes. The subject is life after death, or, to be more precise, the existence (or not) of a soul. Contemplating such a topic is not unique to yours truly. It has vexed humankind for eons. This morning, however, gave me pause.

F or better or worse, I associate certain songs and genres of music with being gay. Or at least with me being gay. This goes to having gone to the local LGBT club after coming out in the 1990s, and enjoying the music and atmosphere there. I've never lost my penchant for synth/dance music during the intervening years, and that's the sort of stuff I listen to during LGBT Pride months. It's PrideFest weekend in my hometown, so of course I've been listening to a self-curated playlist of songs that put me in mind of the joys, sorrows, ups and downs of being an out and proud gay man. Here are a few music videos of those songs, should you care to take a gander into the world of Matt's Pride Playlist. Hope you enjoy.

September 11, 2001 was also a Tuesday. Hopefully today will be far less memorable. Tuesdays tend to be fairly innocuous. Not a dreaded a Monday, a hump day Wednesday, an anticipatory Thursday, or a fun Friday. Tuesdays are supposed to be fairly routine during the traditional work week. People certainly aren't supposed to lose their lives, violently, en masse. Yet, that is what happened seventeen years ago today, a day that no one who lived through it will be likely to forget. That Tuesday began just as seemingly innocent as this Tuesday. When it was over, so many were dead, others in mourning, a nation sent reeling, and those of us -- the supremely vast majority -- who'd survived the day were left in a state of fear, despair and even anger. I remember going to bed that night thankful to be alive, but also frightened for how long that might be for. The day had, among other things, been a reminder of how quickly and violently life can be ended.