"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes."-Marcel Proust
First and foremost, we would like to thank you all again for the continued calls, cards, letters and email. It is amazing how much correspondence we receive now. You have all been so wonderful and we are truly blessed to have you in our lives. As promised we are continuing to keep you all informed of the "goings-on". There is more and more each day.
The Kids:
Adam just received his final report card from nursery school. Of course, his parents could not be more proud. He is still one of the happiest children in the class. He can also actually sit through all of story time now, which for those of you who have seen him in action, know that is quite an accomplishment. He has definitely shown his love for the limelight over the past month. Twice we had the opportunity to be on stage and twice he stole the show. Both times, he managed to grab the microphone and break into some song or another. In Myrtle Beach he made it most of the way through the alphabet. What a ham !!! We cannot possibly imagine where he gets that.The Book:
Madison has made that adorable, terrifying leap into toddler-hood. She has a great vocabulary and practices talking incessantly … oh, uh … constantly. She clearly demonstrates her independence with her use of the word NO. She has also mastered walking and has learned how to run (most often in the opposite direction of her brother). Although, she is testing the waters a bit she remains the cutest little girl in the world. As of her last check up, she is 21.5 lbs. and 31" tall. Her health is great and she will be discharged next month from the HIV clinic as HIV Negative!!
We have gone full swing into writing with David. The first step is to finish the proposal which will be "pitched" to the publishers. That should be some time in July so keep your fingers crossed. With any luck, the book itself should be under way by the end of the same month. We will keep you posted.
The Movie:
Still plugging away on this one. It is so exciting talking about your life in phrases like "AFTER THE FIRST COMMERCIAL" and "ACT 1". Josh is continuing to work with Tom Patricia at Mandalay Productions. We look forward to meeting with Tom at the end of May.
The Journey:
It is sometimes dizzying the amount of things going on here but we are thriving in it. We started the month on public television with Marion Crecco. It was a short debate but went well. The speaking engagements at Princeton University, Dwight Englewood School and the annual meeting of The Oasis were all personal and professional successes. Lecturing and speaking at colleges and events are tremendously rewarding. The children and we have met so many wonderful people. We are incredibly grateful to have these opportunities. Our celebrity chat on MSN was a lot of fun – we have finally arrived at the cyber world and if you don't believe it, check us out at http://www.gaynj.net/galluccio. SCPRIDE98 was a tremendous opportunity for us. We packed up the kids and Jon's Mom, Aideen and headed down to Myrtle Beach. Everyone involved down there were so accommodating and treated us so nicely, we hated to leave. There were a couple of social events but the main reason we were there was to make a speech. At the rally we made our speech and showed the world, again, that families do come in all shapes and sizes and that … We are a Family.Clearly, there is much to be done in this country. So many across America are suffering because of prejudice and bigotry. We know that we alone cannot solve everything but if each and everyone of us only does a little to stand up for equality in this country than everyone's burden will be lighter. Make a difference; talk to a neighbor, a parishioner, a friend.
Now the big news...
On June 21st, Father's Day, we will enter into a Holy Union at our church, the Episcopal Church of the Atonement in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. The Reverend Kevin P.J. Coffey will preside. In attendance will be the Reverend Canon Elizabeth Kaeton, Diocesan Canon Missioner to the Oasis. The service will be held at 10:00am and will be part of the regular Sunday worship service. Until the access to our civil rights is changed, the church can not legally call this a marriage service – that means this is a Holy Union not a wedding.
Immediately following the service cake, coffee and a champagne punch will be served. At 1:00pm we will be heading to Michael's parents in Wyckoff to celebrate our Holy Union in a traditional father's day way – a barbeque! At some point during the party, we have to scoot out for a few to speak in Bryant Park (at the NY Public Library) for the Opening Rally of Gay Pride Week in NYC.
Coming Up:
May 9 - 11:00am The Oasis presents A special service for young people - We are Family: Celebrating Lesbian and Gay Families and Lesbigay Teens at Christ Church, Hackensack, NJ
May 9 - 4:00pm 1st Annual GAAMC Spring Garden Party benefiting the Gay Helpline of NJ and Gay and Lesbian Youth in NJ at the Four Seasons Hotel, Mt. Arlington, NJ
June 6 - 7:00pm GLCC/NJ Awards Dinner at the Berkeley-Carteret Hotel, Asbury Park, NJ - we will be honored along with SISTAS, Lisa and Judy LoBianco
June 7 - 10:30am A special service celebrating diversity at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, 36 South Street, Morristown, NJ - we will be preaching
June 7 - 12:00pm NJ Pride Parade and Festival, Asbury Park, NJ - we will be attending
June 21 - FATHER'S DAY - enough said?.......nope.......... 10:00am A celebratory service for our Holy Union at the Episcopal Church of the Atonement, Fair Lawn, NJ - we will make legitimate men of one another!
June 21 – Speech at the Opening Rally of NYC Pride Week – Bryant Park 42nd Street and Avenue of the Americas, NYC
June 28 - NY Pride Parade and Festival, NYC - we will be marching proudly with the ACLU Gay and Lesbian Rights Project
July We will be running around enjoying our summer, see you at Belmar!
Aug 1 - 8 - Provincetown Gay and Lesbian Family Week and the 19th annual GLPCI Convention - we will be having a blast there for the 3rd year in a row!
Finally
We wanted to take an opportunity to thank our family and friends who came out to celebrate with us at Honor 98. It was such a wonderful feeling to look out and see that we were surrounded by so many people who care. Again, we are truly blessed. For those of you who could not make it, we had a very nice time of dinner, dancing and socializing.