Mother’s Day today has me thinking about my own mom, how our relationship has changed over the years, and how lucky I feel to be where we are today together. Our story is one of deep struggle and even deeper joy, all held together by an unbreakable bond which was no doubt formed lifetimes ago.
My mother has always been a strong woman. Growing up in the same oppressive church that I did, she was held down for many years by traditional religious ideals and company which didn’t allow her to identify with this power, but those of us who have known and loved her all this time know that she is a beautiful, powerful force of nature, and she always has been.
Her loving sweetness, her well-read brain, her deep, complex inner life, her quick wit, her fierce loyalty, her earnest desire to be good; to know and accept the truth, and to be forgiving when others fall short, all make up her character and feed into a bright light about her. She brings this light with her when she enters a room, and all who find themselves in her presence are illuminated by it. I have watched this happen in dark corners of buildings, as well as in the darkest corners of my heart, for my entire life.
I learned how to cry from my mother; how to get in touch with my raw feelings and let them out when the world is too mean to keep them in. These skills have been life-saving at different points in my being here. My experience of growing up gay in the Midwest, even sometimes from those closest to me, was that there was no room in the rural Christian landscape for a sissy like me. My mother never once made me feel this way. She took me to dance class when I wanted to go, and she sat proudly at my recitals. She bought me Barbie dolls when I wanted them, and while I’m sure it must have scared her, she always seemed to celebrate my being different. 
When I was older and troubled from the battle scars of my youth, my mother once again loved me through her fear. She marched bravely toward death as Read the rest of this entry »
(Originally Published on The Huffington Post on 7/13/2012)
My grandfather is turning 100 years old next month, which completely blows my mind. I’m flying to South Dakota with my partner to do strange Americana activities at Mt. Rushmore and then celebrate his century of life with everyone on my mother’s side of the family. It’s going to be a very special time, and I am really looking forward to it. I wish my aunt could be there with us, but this year has brought with it big heartaches, as well, and she is no longer here. It’s devastating to think about my grandpa having to endure losing his daughter so late in his life, but he is a very wise old man, and he has handled her passing better than any of the rest of us.
I suppose that sort of deep understanding about death is to be expected of a person who has lived 100 years. He has already said goodbye to his grandparents, his parents, his cousins, his siblings, all his friends, and his wife. He is at peace with having loved and lost, and he seems to be fine with his own mortality. Clearly, this man knows something about life that I have yet to learn.
Read the rest of this entry »
“Girls Sold Out” Music Blog ran a piece today called “The Holidays With Logan Lynn”. To read the post over at their site, CLICK HERE or you can check it out just below.
From “Girls Sold Out” (12/9/09)
“From now until Christmas, Girls Sold Out is asking some favourite artists all about the holidays. First up, is the wonderful and talented Mr. Logan Lynn…
GSO: Which holiday do you participate in, Christmas, Chanukah, etc?
LL: I participate in any holiday that involves me getting fed and being given
presents. My family celebrates a very loose Christmas-type-celebration
but it’s more about peace and love and caloric intake than the baby Jesus.
GSO: What are your plans for the holidays?
LL: I’m going to be in Portland so I’ll be spending much of it with my
extended Dandy Warhols family, which starts this Saturday and continues
for the next few weeks. Those guys don’t fuck around when it comes to
having fun on holidays. They are doing these “Italian Christmas” shows in
Portland and Seattle this weekend and then Read the rest of this entry »
