Date Night!!!

So my love is going away next week and I’m working the days leading up to his departure so we decided to go on a special date night last night!  We went to the waterfront in New Bedford not expecting too much.  Some areas aren’t that great…  What we found was a quaint, artsy downtown area and had a fabulous dining experience at the Waterfront Grille. 

Being vegan and dating an omnivore, going out to dinner can sometimes be more trouble than it is worth.  If we go to a vegetarian restaurant, my love’s palate isn’t truly on the same page as mine, so it is usually pizza or some other “safe” food for him.  If we go to a restaurant with meat, one hundred questions later and a lot of apprehension, it is a salad, pasta, or cheese-less pizza for me.  Although going out is more about the company than anything else, I really want to eat something I’m not going to cook at home.  I want to be impressed and I don’t want my company to be left behind. 

When deciding where to eat, I knew I wanted some veggie sushi.  This is usually safe choice for us both – I get my sushi, he gets something he really enjoys.  But still having only one or two options can get boring.  To my surprise, Waterfront Grille had a vegetarian section to their menu with a make it vegan option.  !!!! I was so excited.  My sushi ideas turned from ordering a boat of sweet potato maki to having my maki as an appetizer and having an actual entrée from their vegetarian menu.  Service was great, atmosphere wonderful.  Can’t wait to go back when it is warmer and sit on the deck.  Also can’t wait to explore New Bedford’s cobblestone streets. 

After happy, full bellies, we went to see American Reunion.  In a way, I feel like I grew up with those movies.  When the first two came out, I was graduating high school and then coming back to home life after college.  Then it was wedding season during American Wedding.  Fun times!

How do you keep your palate entertained?

  

Don't Ask...Ahhh...Too Late

Today's post is not from me, but from someone very close to me on an important social issue. Have a read and let me know your thoughts!

My name is Michael Anthony, I am an Iraq war veteran and having spent six years in the Army, at the age of twenty-three, I have spent more than a quarter of my life in service to this country. I have four older brothers and an older sister, all of whom have been in the military: Air Force, Marines and Army. My father and both my grandfathers were in the military.

Hailing originally for a small sheltered town just south of Boston Massachusetts, I say this in all earnestness: the only gay people I know have all been in the military. This is not a joke or some talking point, it’s literal. Generals, Commanders and Civilians can talk all they want, but the fact of the matter is, the only gay friends I've had have all been in the military, in fact, my only experience of gay people (outside of the military) is when I once watched and episode of the TV show Will and Grace (it was kind of funny).

For the policy known as Dont' Ask Don't Tell (DADT), there is one thing people often forget. People forget that the policy doesn’t preclude gay people from entering the military it just precludes them from talking about their homosexuality. In short, someone can be gay in the military; they just can’t talk about being gay in the military.

If people are already in the military and gay — from my former unit alone I know close to a dozen — what is it that people are afraid will happen with the repeal of DADT? Are people afraid that the day after DADT is rescinded; gay soldiers are going to walk in wearing a feather boa and buttless fatigues? The uniform policy will still be in effect so we can cross that option out. Are people afraid that it’s going to hurt troop morale? The Military suicide rate is at a thirty year high having consistently risen for the past five years, with eighteen veterans killing themselves everyday (according to the VA) so it seems like it can’t get any worse.

With everything said, there is a negative aspect to repealing DADT. Having been in the military all my adult years, my peer group is filled with Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. Several of these war veterans having done two or three tours, have sworn that they will never go back to Iraq or Afghanistan. Upon further questioning on how they plan to get out deployment if called, their answer is simple: “don’t ask, don’t tell,” expounding further, they say that if they’re called up, they will simply kiss a member of the same sex — in front of their commander. So how is repealing DADT going to affect the military? The answer is simple…my friends who jokingly suggested using DADT as a way to get out of a deployment are now stuck going to Iraq or Afghanistan.

And please don’t even get me started on the escapades that go on overseas. But hey, what happens in Iraq stays in Iraq…ahh not quite.

Michael Anthony is the author of MASS CASUALTIES: A Young Medic’s True Story of Death, Deception and Dishonor in Iraq (Adams Media, October 2009).

The book is drawn from the personal journals of Anthony during the 1st year he spent serving in Iraq. It is a non-partisan look at some of the escapades that go on behind the scenes in Iraq.

In Lieu of Veteran's Day...

Most, if not all, I think all, of my friends out there are the creative type, so I know you will appreciate this new exhibit opening up at ICA of Boston. Michael helped out the artist with the content and The Globe even mentioned him and his book in their article! So exciting.


Artist’s ICA installation aims to capture the chaos of war - The Boston Globe

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