But Nashville folk always return to Nashville.  And hell, it’s true; many of them never leave.  And that’s interesting too, because this particular time was different.  I mean, I go home to visit the family at all the appropriate and respective holidays.  I’ve even been known to make a special occasion for one of my nieces and nephews, to their surprise.  But this time, I was going back especially and particularly on my on terms (and yeah, my own dollar – this time, lol – oh yeah, I occasionally get a little help to make sure they see me regularly or that I won’t find a way to slip out of a list of “the too many frequent visits list.”)  But this time was all about meeting new peeps, new experiences, and making some new acquaintances – all of the Nashville that I knew in the family seemed to be living other places, or weren’t around for pride at all.  Maybe it had to do with the fact that Pride is usually on the same weekend as TSU’s homecoming, and well, all of Nashville comes home for the games; but this year it was a week earlier.

Summer is here and pride is abound at least in all the ads and events and planning.  I can remember fondly the days in Washington, DC when the “A List” (they were only A Lister’s because they were the ones out and about, proud and making things happen for the rest of us) would eagerly gear up, not just for the next party that you had to be at, but because you wanted to, when it wasn’t just about the hot boys that flocked to the city to play, but a visibility inherent in the coming together, a commitment to not being in-visible anymore.  It was about reclaiming community, reestablishing presence and yeah, celebrating it all, no matter how you chose to do that.