Friday, December 26, 2014

2014 Haiku Review

Holiday Haikus:

Some short poems will share our news,

So….sing in me, muse!


1. New Town


Goodbye, NYC!
The Hudson Valley called, and
we moved north: Beacon.

Lazer loves her yard,
morning hikes up Mt. Beacon,
and local wildlife.

There’s art and hipsters,
great beer, campfires, the river...
You should come visit!

2. New Jobs


Erika now works
at Omega. She raises
funds: makes videos,

writes grants, manages
the annual appeal, and
cultivates donors.

She’s got great colleagues,
and fundraising is vital:
She’s building those skills.

Petra has joined the
International Civil
Service. At UNMAS,

she uses data
to examine UN work
in clearing landmines

and other hazards.
She’s still saving children, but
with more politics.

3. Everything Else


We learned to skateboard
badly; Erika learned to
play the trumpet well.

When Pete Seeger died,
Erika organized a
memorial with

our friend Sheila:
a sing-along. Six-hundred
-fifty people came.

An Easter Egg hunt
at our Passover party.
Our first baseball game!

We saw family in
New Hampshire and Maine; Cousins
Matt & Julie came

from Melbourne! Our stores
of vegemite and family
gossip are refilled.

In Costa Rica,
E led a friend’s funeral;
Amidst the grief, grace.

Petra worked with the children;
disaster response.

Spent time with friends in
lots of Brooklyn warehouses,
great bars and parties!

4. In Conclusion


Whew - what a full year!
We have so many stories -
we want to hear yours!

Please do keep in touch;
Best of luck in the new year!

Much love, P & E.

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

A very queer thank-you to H&R Block



Happy Tax Day! Time for my annual unsolicited praise for H&R Block! They've been working with us for years to trail-blaze through the ridiculous inconsistencies and annual changes in same-sex marriage tax filing, spending many unpaid hours doing their research and testing many case study filing options to get us the most money back and protect our legal "married" filing status.
This year was exciting for two reasons: first, it was the first year my wife and I could file just one filing for both of us (YAAAAY REPEAL OF DOMA!). And H&R Block went even further above and beyond, helping us re-file for the past three years (and assiduously researching various options for each year), since the IRS ruling on DOMA's repeal is retroactive for three years. And we're getting so much money back from those refilings (grad school loans, I'm coming for you)! It was expensive to be gay-married, and much more lucrative to be plain-old-married.
So, from the bottoms of our queer hearts, thank you H&R Block not only for the piles of money we're getting back, but for the fact that you went above and beyond to serve us, that you saw the extra work needed to serve us as part of the struggle for justice and therefore empowering and thrilling rather than an extra burden of work, that you placed the burden of extra work on your own shoulders rather than on ours, that you shared our excitement at each advance in marriage and tax law, and that you made us feel welcomed and respected and supported. You have no idea how important that is to us.

Monday, March 3, 2014

Following my moral compass

Just published: my article about navigating liberal religious values on a global stage. It doesn't say everything I want it to say - that would take volumes - but hopefully it at least starts the conversation.  Read it on the UU World website.