Kiley Pike

Life

A Tale of Ten Legs

I'd driven down to NC to visit my parents today, and as my return to VA neared, I opened the passenger door of my car to load in a few items. As it were, I'd left the windows cracked a bit so the interior wouldn'

LGBT

The Radiant Joy of an Unexpected Kiss

Positive story alert: This morning, I exited my building to deposit a birthday card into the curbside mailbox (which is a block away) and to take a walk in the lovely weather. However, just a couple of buildings down and across the street, I noticed two men, somewhere in the

Coronavirus

Distanced: Coronavirus Chronicles

In March of 2020, the dawn of the COVID-19 era began in Virginia. The swiftness and seeming suddenness of its onset and our shifting perceptions about the threat it posed were remarkable. I had been invited to two weddings that month, the first of which was about seven days into

LGBT

Rainbows in an Era of Gray

Photographing rainbow flags that I encounter around Norfolk during the month of June has become a tradition for me in recent years. I began doing so because seeing them always brought me a sense of joy and of solidarity, and sharing that is something I consider worthwhile.

Norfolk

Faded Glory in the Golden Hour

There are several things I'd like for you to know about these photos, the first of which is that I'd been assembling a series of images loosely organized around the coronavirus crisis – namely, visual markers of such as relates to public life. One thread of that

Pride Featured

Always Chasing Rainbows

Years ago, a sighting of even just one rainbow flag or sticker around and about the neighborhood would hearten me, as they'd typically been quite rare. These days, however, I find my spirit and sense of support bolstered by the number of HRC and rainbow stickers on vehicles

Community Featured

Thank You for Dining with Me

As a 20-plus year resident of Norfolk, I’ve orbited the cycle of arriving as a stranger, ultimately meeting and knowing lots of folks from a variety of walks of life, being invited to house parties pretty regularly, and then once again becoming a relative stranger.

LGBT

National Coming Out Day: Don't Let Go

From a distance, I could not be certain, but was hopeful. "Is that two dudes, perchance, holding hands?" I wondered, as I arrived on the block on which my building sits. And it was. "Will one of them let go as we get nearer to one another?

LGBT

Expressions of Pride 2017 in Norfolk, Virginia -- and Particularly in Ghent

A few years ago, I began flying on my porch a flag bearing the Human Rights Campaign's equality emblem, inspired largely by the feeling of solidarity and support I experienced when seeing that icon displayed on vehicles I observed while driving, and hoping to provide a similar feeling

LGBT

Time-Travel Tuesday: A Night Out in Richmond

In today’s installment of time-travel Tuesday, we’re turning back the clock to 1982 (for the bedspread; I jest, I jest!) and to 2003 (for the person sitting on the bedspread, and the one positioned behind the camera). Thirteen years ago, July 26 fell on a Saturday, and both

LGBT

The Marvels of PrideFest, the PrideFest Bubble, and the Importance of LGBT Visibility

One, amongst many, reasons that I so enthusiastically support and attend PrideFest and its companion events is that, in Hampton Roads, the event creates an unparalleled level of visibility for the LGBT community and an unrivaled safe space. It also creates so much and so many freedoms: to hold hands

LGBT

A Relative Stranger Who Was Dear to My Heart: Becoming Better-Acquainted with "Our Own," An LGBT Newspaper Based in Norfolk, VA

When first I moved to Hampton Roads in 1998, I'd never been in a gay bar, save for one impromptu visit with friends to a place in Charlotte, NC several years prior. After the elapse of a few to several months as a resident of the region, I

LGBT

William & Mary Undergrads Delve Into Archives to Help Document Virginia's LGBTIQ Past

Yesterday, I journeyed to Williamsburg, VA to hear the student presentations associated with the William & Mary Mattachine LGBTIQ Research Project "Documenting the LGBTIQ Past in Virginia." Charles Francis, President of the Mattachine Society of Washington, DC Basically, a number of undergrads -- seven of whom presented yesterday

Life

Gifts from Granny's Passing: A Candy Dish with a Past and Conversation from the Heart

After my grandmother passed away a couple of weeks ago, my mom asked me if there was anything I'd like to have from her house as a keepsake. What came to mind initially were a few pieces of furniture that she'd had during the entirety of

LGBT

Street Slurs: The Return of the F-Word Ended My Longest-Ever Winning Streak

Sometimes, the inability to remember is symptomatic not so much of a faulty sense of recall as it is of a scar not subjected of late to a new injury. In this particular instance, I would attribute more to the latter than the former my uncertainty with regard to the

LGBT

Finding One's Tribe: LGBT Documentaries "Coming of Age in Cherry Grove" and "Straight Acting"

I initially intended this post as a quick shout-out for two LGBT-related documentaries I'd seen in the last few days and enjoyed, though since I wound up straying into review territory for at least one of them -- which was perhaps inevitable, considering the subject matter of the

Observation

May We Survive Our Gashes

May we survive our gashes and may they, in their healing, generate character more apt to be described as patina, rather than rust. (Images from last night's walk.)

Images

Lost, Neglected, Misplaced

All of these were seen on my walk this morning.

Community Cohort Program

A New Adventure: Cohabitating with Shakespeare

Well, I've a new adventure to report: I'm cohabitating. And with Shakespeare, no less! Oh, wait -- I must make a slight amendment to that assertion. I'm actually "cohorting,” or, more accurately still, I'm serving for approximately the next six weeks

Images

One must always hope that in the adversity of one's neglected crevices, something of beauty flourishes.

Marigold, Virginia Beach, VA | Photographed November 14, 2014

Lessons About Life

A Final Journey: Compassion and Clarity as My Uncle's Life Neared Its Conclusion

As children, there is much that most of us would’ve avoided, had we had the option: shots, the dentist, lengthy homework assignments, and bullies, to name a few. As adults, we sometimes have more opportunities to dodge the things that incite our angst, cause us discomfort, or simply don’

Community

"Looking" for Meaningful Connections

My craving for emotional connection and meaningful interaction typically exceeds the degree to which I actually find them. It's a testament, then, to the quality of HBO's "Looking" that its resonance with me has grown to the point that it's lately been

Bostic v. Rainey

A Celebration in Solidarity: GLBT Virginians Finally Get a Win of Their Own in Court

I don’t know about you, but I don’t reside in an environment such that a party, or even a party spirit, is likely to envelop me as I rest peacefully on the sofa on any given night, especially not after sleep has already claimed me for its own.

GLBT

The Sparkle & The Fade: The Purported Closing of a Former Favorite Haunt Spurs Memories of Coming Out and Coming of Age

> "love this place, will miss it. Memories with Aaron, dance tunes and dancers.. laughing and lusting, and sometimes feeling like a diamond." The quote was an anonymous comment left on the blog "Jeremiah's Vanishing New York" in response to a posting about a