About Whales and Weddings

Reporting in from Cape Cod, Massachusetts. I spent the day yesterday in Provincetown, with my mother and my two sons. We went whale watching, which is a truly awesome thing to do if you ever get a chance -- especially off Provincetown. We saw finbacks, humpbacks and minke whales, all up close and all for much more than just a glimpse. The humpbacks kept surfacing right next to our boat and lingering there, so we could see every detail of their bodies and fully appreciate their size and grace. Seeing whales up close in the wild is an experience I always find very moving. Not to be missed! After the whale watch, we wandered the streets for a while, looking in various shops and enjoying the people-watching, which is always fun in P'town. And we paid a visit to the Kinsey Sicks, a terrifically talented and funny a capella vocal group from San Francisco that is performing there right now and were doing a few songs on the street to attract an audience. (Yes, that was a plug -- go see/hear them if you ever get a chance -- visit www.kinseysicks.com for more info!) While visiting with the Kinseys, a bicycle carriage went by with a gay male couple in it and a "just married" sign on the back. And here's the funny part: I was back home last night, having driven 2 hours across Cape Cod, back to my mother's house, and having put my boys to bed, when it hit me: these two men really were JUST MARRIED. Okay, it may seem obvious. But I haven't been in Massachusetts for a year, and I've been around so many gay "weddings" over the years that were not real, legal weddings. And it literally took me several hours for it to sink in that these two men had actually gotten married. Not civil-unioned; not domestic-partnered; not commitment ceremonied (are any of those actual words -- I'm not sure, but you get my drift) -- actually, honest-to-goodness, MARRIED. Well, all I can say, 24 hours later, long after the couple has gone on with their lives, is ... mazel tov. I hope to see so many more such scenes, and not just in Provincetown, before I'm done.... And I look forward to the day when it doesn't take me several hours to take in the reality of a genuine gay wedding! (By the way, for info on getting married in Massachusetts, check out the website of Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, which tells you everything you need to know: http://www.glad.org/marriage/howtogetmarried.html.)