Today was Pride Sunday in San Francisco, New York, and a gaggle of other cities — commemorating the Stonewall riots in New York in 1969. Hard to believe how much has been accomplished in two generations; from a marginalized, hated group of outcasts, gays have been accepted into the mainstream in most Western nations, with equal rights and marriage rights on the agenda.

Being gay (an umbrella term I’m using for the entire LGBT community, fractured though it sometimes can be) is in many respects a different minoritarian experience than many others (as a Jew, a Canadian, and an anglophone Quebecer I can claim some expertise here): being a member of most minority groups means suffering persecution together with one’s family, one’s clan, one’s nation. A sense of solidarity is engendered from infancy. Not so for gays, who come to the realization of who they are around adolescence (some earlier, some later), and are frequently ostracized from the friends and kin. Perhaps that’s one reason I always found the Steven Spielberg film Close Encounters of the Third Kind captivating: the motif of unconnected people around the world being drawn to a certain spot, to a shared event, without initially understanding why or what it means… it’s about as good an allegory for the coming out experience as any.

I’m equally proud that Wander the Rainbow was able to be a part of San Francisco’s Pride week; its reception by the many folks who came to the reading at A Different Light Bookstore, checked out this site, snapped photos of our doings (including this one of me looking like the President of Queer Nation!) or looked intrigued when gazing at our postcards, is a hopeful sign not only for this book but for Pride everywhere. I’m happy to contribute to the conversation about gays everywhere, and the adventures and journeys on which they embark.

Wander on, everyone!

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