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Blood Glucose Meters, Strips, and Sticking it to Yourself Daily

SCOTUS Hangover… (a brief aside before we talk Diabetes)

After yesterday’s Historic ruling on Gay Marriage (Read my post: Justice Arrives Like a Thunderbolt!) I must confess that I want the celebration to continue. It feels weird picking up writing on this blog post on Saturday, where I left off on Wed evening.

Yesterday my Facebook feed exploded with joy and rainbows! I had to be part of the excitement, so went out last night, saw the rally at Oaklawn & Cedar Springs and hung out with my cousin and a friend I had not seen in approximately 20 years. The joy, the love, the relief that Marriage Equality is now law, and the energy last night being around my fellow LGBT folk, was just amazing.

Rally / March in Oaklawn, Dallas TX

Banner at the Dallas Eagle

AND when I started writing this post, back on Wed night, the fate of the Affordable Care & Patient Protection Act was not yet announced. That was upheld on Thursday. Yay! So, in less than 48 hours, two of the most important Supreme Court decisions of my lifetime came back to back — both of which directly impact me. Wow!

I’m now free to marry who I love, assuming I can find a fella! LOL

And I’m now fairly certain that I will always have access to quality health care. Yay!

I’m going to do something weird in this post. The “comments” from Wed night are going to stay, but where I was expressing doubt, I’m going to put an BEFORE label and add an AFTER comment.

Why? Because the ACA law is important. It is important to me on a very real, very personal, very day-to-day level. And by doing it this way, anyone who reads my blog may perhaps realize that this is not a philosophical debate. It is literally about life and death. Read on faithful readers, read on…

Uhmmm… by the way, we’ll keep the fact that as a newly diagnosed diabetic I should not have been drinking beer last night between thee and me. Nobody tell my doctor! Sssssshhhhhhh!

“You Need a Blood Glucose Meter…”

…said my doctor. And I said “What’s a Glucose and why is it in my blood?

Ok, maybe I didn’t actually say that. But to me Glucose is something that is related to Gatorade, a distant cousin of Fructose and Sucrose and… well, you get the idea. It is sugar. It is all sugar. And “sugar” is a special kind of carbohydrate.

Standard disclaimer… I’m not a doctor – You should verify everything I say and always consult with your doctor on medical decisions.

What I’m sharing with you here is info I’ve learned since being diagnosed with Diabetes and that info has gone into Tony’s head and been mixed around with all the other stuff up there and seasoned with a bit of my patented “Ton-NAY Drama” and is being blurted out here for the enjoyment and befuddlement of you, my loyal readers.

All two of you — two, or is it thousand? the whole number thing confuses me. 😉 Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in Living with Diabetes

Justice Arrives Like a Thunderbolt!

Jun 26

Posted by TxCowboyDancer

I’m Proud to be an American

Do you have any idea how long it has been since I’ve been able to say those words? Too long.

Too long because I am a gay man who has been told for all of his 52 years by the country where I am a citizen that I am not worthy of the same rights that my fellow citizens enjoy.

Too long because under the law I had not been worthy of equality.

Well today I am.

The President says it beautifully:

I am proud that this man is our President. He is the kind of leader that all of our government officials should strive to emulate, demonstrating time after time unwavering resolve to work for all the citizens he represents and doing so with style, elegance, eloquence and dignity.

I wish we did not have a constitutional term limit on Presidents. I am proud that I voted for this man four times: in both presidential primaries and in both national elections and I would vote for him again.

Tears of joy, happiness, and relief

Listening to President Obama speak, I broke down into tears. Literally. I had to pause the video because the image was going all blurry.

Even as I type this I feel them welling up again in my eyes. Tears of joy. Tears of happiness. Tears of relief.

Unless you’ve been a part of a minority and denied your rights you may be able to empathize but you’ll never be able to fully understand what today’s decision means to LGBT people.

Tears of joy are a rare thing. I’ve only done it once before, when I and my dance partner won the World Championship in Couples Country Western Dance. Today marks occasion number two.

But joy it is.

Dear Canada, I won’t be applying for political asylum

Seriously. If the Supreme Court had not upheld gay marriage, I would have tried to move to Canada.

Although I realize it would not have been practical nor would it have likely happened, the thought of moving to Canada and becoming a Canadian Citizen more than once has crossed my mind.

Why would I want to stay in a country where the government says “You are not entitled to the same rights that other citizens get?”

Today’s decision on Gay Marriage and yesterday’s decision on the Affordable Care and Patient Protection Act makes me proud to be an American again.

Just for the record… I am 100% open to a Cute Canadian Fella sweeping me off my feet and asking me to marry him! I’d move with you back up north! Woo Hoo!

I am single ya know! 😉 Hint. Hint. Hint. Spread the word. Click those share buttons my loyal readers! Help a brother out! 😉

Now What?

From a practical stand point, nothing changes for me, not immediately, and not in my daily life.

However, dozens of my friends though are now free to be married. Dozens more who already are married now are married in all 50 states.

But most of all, from an emotional and psychological and social stand point, EVERYTHING is now different. Because now my country says that I am entitled to the same rights as every other citizen. That is a world changing thing. Yes indeed

“…justice arrives like a thunderbolt”

Amen Mr. President. Amen.

And… should I meet “Mr. Right” I can now get married to him. Wow. I guess I’d better start looking! Woot! Uh-huh!

Hmmm why do I feel like that cartoon character in Roger Rabbit that screeches “A Maaaaaannnnn!!!!”?

So, everyone is officially invited to join the “Find Tony a Husband Squad” — It will be cool. We’ll get t-shirts made up and everything. 😉

Sadly, the grumbling has already started. There is already, and there will be more ranting and raving about this, from people who feel threatened.

Some of them (like the Governor of Texas – SHAME ON YOU!) should know better. Check out his disgusting display in this press release: http://gov.texas.gov/news/press-release/21131 I’ve already called and emailed his office to voice my opinion. If you are a Texas resident I invite you to do the same. Here are the contact info: https://gov.texas.gov/contact/

For those with legitimate well meaning questions and/or concerns about “How does this affect me?” well I point you to this factual, if tongue in cheek, post: