To Marry or Not to Marry?

CNN has an article about marriage or rather, about people deciding not to wed.

My husband and I had a similar discussion before we married. He didn't like the religious overtones to even the most non-religious of American weddings, but we ended up having a JP marry us to make the INS process much easier. It's strange. Marriage really does grant invisible benefits. I can remember talking to a woman on the phone, maybe when we were changing car insurance companies, who said "now, since you're not married ..." and I said, "We ARE married." And all was well. Our car insurance went down by a huge chunk with that 3-word sentence. When I had health insurance through work, it was expected that I put my husband on. Why is this limited to heterosexual married people? Do non-religious or homosexual people not matter as much? I don't think so.

Activism

Below the Belt is a Queer activism site I've just discovered. It's very interesting with a broad range of topics. Gender/religion issues, economics, and an advice column are among the first posts I read. So far, I find it intelligently written and the comments are also well thought out and thought-provoking. This blog is going on my regular reading list.

Small Town Goodness

Inspired by an AP article
And I thought -I- grew up in a small town. Frederick, KS, is also listed as a Ghost town and in ePodunk.com, but the linked AP article is where I heard of it. At a census listing of 11, it is the second smallest town in Kansas. Freeport, coming in with a census of 7, gets the title of "smallest town" in Kansas. Frederick has 7 street lights and, the mayor and a councilman do all the public property mowing. Frederick once featured a general store, hotel, post office, two lumber and hardware tores, a blacksmith shop, a bank, a doctor's office, three churches, and a town band. What more could you ask for?

Mmmm, Okra!

I want to assure you that I'm not being sarcastic when I say I'd love to attend the Irmo Okra Strut in Irmo, SC. I love okra. I've always loved okra. It may help that I was introduced to it in its deep-fried form at Po-Folks, a severely dorkily named restaurant that I liked anyway as a child. Then I had gumbo and I was sold for life. Mmmm, Okra!

Well hello there.

Let me introduce myself.
I'm 1/4 army brat and I enjoy bawdy songs.

What, you want to know more?
Hm. I know, "how can someone be 1/4 army brat?" My parents divorced when I was tiny, so I spent my summers with my dad, who has since retired as a Major from the US Army.
I'm the second of two children.
I'm the mother of two children.

I've started this account on a lark with no plan in mind. I only have (counts in head ... 4, 5?) several others. It will probably sit and gather digital dust like almost all my others. I do expect this blog to be the repository for my more inane and fleeting thoughts, such as:
You know your family is immune to your weirdness when you sing "It's the end of the juice as we know it" and nobody looks up or even comments.