What do we think about the LGBTQ parade and festival that will be held literally on our doorstep on Saturday? We think a lot of things. Mostly, it’s a good thing that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer issues and concerns in Magnolia will be out in the open, as it were. We’ll start by acknowledging that an ungodly number of our fellow citizens hate, or hate the idea, that LGBTQ people even exist. They may claim otherwise but we know better. We know better because we live here. We hear casual conversations, crude comments and “jokes.” We watch sermons posted online. We see the comments and memes that are posted online by friends, neighbors, classmates and total strangers whenever LGBTQ topics come up. Worse yet, we have a family member and know others from Magnolia, or with Magnolia connections (you do, too), who have suffered directly from the hate, hostility and discrimination directed toward people who are lesbians, gay, bisexual or transgender. They have felt compelled to leave this area, even leave our state and region, because of real or perceived threats to their well-being. This is in spite of the fact that discrimination in employment, housing and education based on sexual orientation is illegal in the United States. If you’re part of the community that says, “Good, we’re glad that ‘those people’ don’t live here or want to live here,” we say shame. Shame on you. So, yeah. Saturday’s festival will raise awareness that LGBTQ people live in Magnolia and in South Arkansas. They have family members, co-workers, friends and neighbors and people who love them in every sense of the word. They have the right to live their lives in Magnolia without discrimination or fear.
SAU is expected to release its fall enrollment figures today or Monday. Last year’s fall figure was a record 5,126 students. A total of 1,800 students lived in university housing.
We were in a Rotary Club food serving line a couple of weeks ago and put white gravy on our mashed potatoes. We forked into the potatoes to discover that the gravy was not gravy, but ranch dressing. Pleased to report that it’s not a bad combination.
Next Friday is the 13th. Good luck with that.
Watching Southeastern Oklahoma State’s YouTube feed of the SAU football team, it was jarring to hear the broadcast team refer to the opposition as “Southern Ark.” No one says “Southern Ark.” Sometimes you will home broadcasts of SAU road games say “Southern.” But usually it’s “SAU.”
Five years ago, we reported that Magnolia came from nine points down with 2:13 to play, beating Crossett 36-30. CLICK HERE to see the story.
This month’s invoices are going out. Just for fun, we like to use a variety of stamps from the United States Postal Service in our correspondence. Our stamp of the month is the Protect Sea Turtles collection. The stamps feature Kemp’s Ridley, Green, Leatherback, Loggerhead, Hawksbill and Olive Ridley turtles. Beautiful pictures. Elegant creatures.
We’ve had turtle soup once in our life, during a newspaper convention in New Orleans. As we recall, it was fine and something we’d eat again, but we’ve not seen it in a seafood restaurant in years.
Mike McNeill is publisher and editor of magnoliareporter.com. Email him at [email protected] or call him at 870-904-3865. Opinions expressed in this column are his own.
CLICK HERE to see past installments of Mike McNeill’s Diary.
