19 June 2003 - 10:01 p.m.

From a Second Avenue cashier: "You know something weird I've noticed over the past two years? Hockey players like to walk barefoot. And their feet are enormous! I don't know how they stay on their skates!"

On a more sober note, the Southern Baptist Convention's latest directives to its congregations are unsurprising but nonetheless distressing. Note here the pains I take to be precise: there are quite a few Southern Baptists around who don't agree with everything that went down at the national conference, and with the particular spectre of same-sex marriages, there's many other people of faith who have a grip.

On a related note, the front page of the Spring PFLAG features a photo of two handsome men, NFL veteran Esera Tuaolo and California congressman Robert T. Matsui. Matsui spoke at a PFLAG scholarship dinner "about the challenges he and his family confronted as Japanese-Americans"; Tuaolo was the guest of honor.

A couple of nights ago, a close pal and I both found ourselves working through rampant insomnia, trading emails at 5 a.m. in our respective time zones. One of the people we discussed was a mutual friend who can't seem to pull himself together and deal, which is driving hir crazy to watch.

. . . I can sympathize with mf's inability to settle down to a certain extent - some days I'm astounded by how much effort it can take for me to get out of bed and brush my teeth, let alone show up where I'm supposed to when I said I would.

But, as Alan Helms' friend finally told him in Young Man From the Provinces, "Nothing goes on hold when we're unhappy."

(I'm fine today, in fact, but it's inevitable I'll have to remind myself of this at least three times within the next five days. Moodiness is like that.)

Two years ago: "Quel dommage / Si l'on ne m�nage, / Les moments heureux!"