WVQN

STRAIGHT UP with Leeza

Hello Sweet Readers!
Are you as disheartened by all the news that you see every day? Robberies, murders, fires, beatings, wars, death, elections, divorce, division. For those of us who suffer from depression the day is hard enough to get through without having all this sadness and controversy being flashed across everywhere. I have decided that for the next several weeks I will focus my column on brighter more depression friendly subjects.

This week I am going to talk to you about butterflies. One of God’s most beautiful creations. Some of them start out as a very ugly little caterpillar and turn into something majestic and graceful. They flitter happily around from one flower to another, stopping long enough to take a little drink of nectar and deposit some pollen collected from the last flower they visited. I envy them, getting to spend their day just flying free and enjoying the rest of nature.

Don’t get me wrong, their whole life hasn’t be so easy and they have had to commit themselves to a very radical transformation to get to the place they are, but the journey was worth it.

They begin their life as a lowly caterpillar. Most people don’t even notice and every bird wants to snack on. Life treats them unkindly and many times they are just plain and unnoticeable and go about their day feeling pretty ordinary and unloved. Much like people do who grow up as one of the not-so-beautiful people and who kinda get pushed to the sidelines and out of sight.

Wandering around day after day with not much of a purpose except to eat leaves and grass and store up energy for the time when they will have to create their cocoon and begin one of natures most extraordinary transformations.

Just like the caterpillar, change is not always easy for us to make. We know we need to make this change in order to grow and become what we are truly meant to be, but sometimes this means leaving our old life behind and committing ourselves to a different lifestyle and we are reluctant to even begin the adventure.

The caterpillar knows that in order to become the creature he was meant to be that he must build this hard shell around himself and seal himself inside it and while in there he must strip himself over everything about his past life and even his own outer covering in order to allow his new life to begin.

After a time and some great changes, he emerges from his cocoon, Weak and still wet he must cling to the side of his cocoon until he has the strength to continue his journey. Stretching out his new-found wings in the sun to dry, he begins thinking about his future and asking how will it feel to be free and soaring in the bright blue sky.

Like the rebirth of the caterpillar, we too go through a sort of rebirth when we take the steps to put our past life behind us and look forward to a new and better one. It doesn’t happen overnight and sometimes the process takes us several years and sometimes we never fully reach the potential that we have, but like the caterpillar we have to take the first step and build our cocoon.

Our friends can help us chose our perfect tree and even build our protective cocoon and even give us moral support and nourishment, but ultimately the final steps of our journey must be made alone. For some of us we find ourselves in need of a little help even after we achieve our wings, and that is where our good friends and our family wrap their arms around us and help us to fly until our own wings are strong enough to carry us on. I pray that at times I have been able to be someone’s wings when theirs have been too weak.

Until Next Week, Dear Ones, Love & Many Hugz!! Leeza

P.S. Until then…..hopefully Terry can post this group of pictures of an whimsical little caterpillar that I came across while doing research this week. He is called a Puss Moth caterpillar and as you can see he has a very comical face and yet once he makes his transformation, he’s rather plain. Just proof that sometimes the most beautiful of creatures are the simplest and take a little more time and patience to find.

“Straight Talk” A Straight View of Today’s Gay World.

By: Miss Blue MotherGem.

Many Newspapers.

Why is it so hard to find a newspaper that includes everything? Many readers are saying, “Yeah I agree”. Most people will find as many as twenty different entertainment newspapers in any given week. What gives Gays more privilege to have a separate one? Is there any difference? Well the answer is simple. Many Gay Newspapers are printed due to the lack of privilege to be included in Normal Newspapers. As more “Gays” fight for “Equal” Rights, more and more things will be combined. This mean a newspaper for “ALL”, not just straight people. I agree that this would be the better solution, so we can conserve our resources. Wasting what left of our natural resources will most certainly harm us in the end. Why fight what is already known, let’s get together and keep our country safe.

So next time you pick up a paper and say “Ugg!”, think of how many trees we need to make all those newspapers. Many some people won’t mind sharing the sections with others, if it means keeping a “Beautiful Tree”. Till next time.

Breaking the Silence

When one first hears about rape they automatically get prepared for a story about a man forcing himself on a child or woman and the torment and ordeal they must have endured. The only thing wrong with this is that not only women are subjectable to being raped but so are young boys and men, with the only difference being that it is barely spoken about, as the details are not only heart wrenching but basically tabooed because it has happened to the opposite sex and not many want to contemplate their ordeal or even envision it.

The fact remains that many young boys are abused physically and emotionally at a very young age and with it comes a lot of emotional distress later in life as they try to cope with their circumstances to no avail. Keeping it a secret from their parents for fear they may be harmed by their molester or just being ashamed for letting it happen to begin with. Unfortunately, these predators know exactly what to say or do to intimidate their victim and the shame of it can lead many to lead a life full of resentment which can later turn into full hatred if therapy isn’t sought right away.

In addition to the facts outlined above men have to also suffer needlessly if convicted as they either have to fight for their lives or their virtue if placed behind bars with unscrupulous beings that couldn’t care less if they have to force themselves on you. Many men behind bars have to handle their own or team up with a group that will protect or look out for their backs, but sometimes it doesn’t happen soon enough and they are either gang raped or turned into a certain individuals play mate for the duration of their stay.

Unfortunately the statistics surrounding male rape is escalating dramatically each day, but many victims remain quiet because they do not want to be scrutinized or they desperately fear losing their loved one for not being strong enough or man enough to fight back. The sad thing is that if faced with such a situation outside of the jail life they may have a chance if they are old enough to stand their ground, but once behind bars the fear of it all takes over and it can hardly be avoided. It is either fight or sink, and while most choose to fight the outcome is not always in their favor, not to mention the lack of tracking such instances in men as well as the lack of research remains a topic not acceptable for discussion.

Matters behind bars are also difficult when Correctional Officers turn the other cheek, the incident may go unreported and the system fails those behind bars a lot more than the judicial system does initially. These men after experiencing such an ordeal can’t fathom ever speaking up about it even long after they have been released, and the guilt, shame and embarrassment is shared just as equally as it is with a woman victim. Torment, pain and depression can also be an outcome and they as well have to face this for the rest of their lives.

Based on what’s been gathered thus far we can estimate that:

3% of American men, that’s 2.78 million have experienced rape at some point in their lifetime.
71% of male victims were raped before their 18^th birthday, 16.6% were between the age of 18-24 and 12.3% were 25 and older.
22% of male inmates have been raped at least once during their incarceration, which is roughly 420,000 inmates per year.

Rape is rape no matter if it’s a male or female. It is an ordeal many fear being a victim to and something that must be dealt with if victimized by seeking a psychotherapist or even a support group to help one cope with the distress that follows. Like I mentioned before this may be extremely difficult to open up to but let me reiterate how important it is that you do seek the professional help needed to help you better take control of your life and your future.

After the initial shock of finding out I was infected and had contracted the disease, I had decided that I didn't want people around me.

My old friends too, had me convinced that my family would turn their back on me too.

Soon after though, I found out that they were not friends at all and when things get uncomfortable and the rough times start. They all bailed.

The only thing I can say is each one of them made me stronger and I now live for me,no one else.

Now, I listen to my doctors and have found that there are a lot of precautionary measures I have to take but once I got them down. It is really not that tough anymore.

I am now gaining weight again and have disposed of the negativity in my life and have even returned to school. So, things are certainly looking up, up, up.

In school, I major in AIDS and am teaching others its not a death sentence unless you choose it to be.

At this time, I will close and bid you a great day. Now go out and have a grand time with friends just be safe and do what the doctors say.

This is my chance to be able to help others, so if you have any questions feel free to email me.