Norfolk - Kiley Pike

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 was the accumulation of

Pride

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 on the

Community

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 of support

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 managed to

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

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.