I attended my first gay wedding in 1995.
asserted
I → attend → 1995
I was on a summer road trip, supported by a $500 travel grant from the University of Illinois, exploring identity-based intentional communities.
asserted
I → support → communities
Because I had so little money, the only groups I could study were the ones who offered free lodging, which generally meant pitching a tent on their lawn.
uncertain
which → have → lawn
The nice people at the Idyll Dandy Acres community outside of Nashville were happy to oblige.
asserted
people → oblige → Nashville
“We’re Radical Fairies,” they told my friend Jeff and me.
asserted
they → ’re → friend
The happy couple were camped next to us, two women from Britain.
asserted
couple → camp → Britain
On the first morning, they threatened to break my acoustic guitar after I played “Mr. Tambourine Man” for the fifth time.
asserted
I → threaten → time
Then they invited me to their wedding.
asserted
they → invite → wedding
Was I really going to say no?
asserted
I → go → ?
You have to understand, I was nineteen years old, an Indian kid from the western suburbs of Chicago.
asserted
I → have → Chicago
My mom taught accounting at a community college.
asserted
mom → teach → college
My dad owned Subway sandwich stores.
asserted
dad → own → stores
I was supposed to get an internship where I wore a suit to work, not spend mornings picking spearmint from the garden with gay hippie pagan artists.
asserted
I → suppose → artists
But I’d gotten Whitman in my head.
asserted
I → get → head
Afoot and lighthearted, I had taken to the open road.
asserted
I → take → road
Like Whitman, the road taught me “the profound lesson of reception.
asserted
road → teach → reception
“None but are accepted,” the poet wrote.
asserted
poet → accept → ?
“I think those are the most interesting people I’ve ever met,” I said to Jeff as we left Idle Dandy Acres and headed south.
asserted
we → think → Acres
The next identity group to offer free lodging and the opportunity to ask questions was the Open Door community.
asserted
group → offer → questions
“We’re Christians,” the leader Ed Loring when we knocked.
asserted
we → ’re → ?
The Open Door community was an Evangelical institution that took seriously the Bible’s command to see Christ in the stranger’s guise—and to let him in.
asserted
that → take → him
That is exactly what Ed Loring and his wife Murphy Davis did for decades.
asserted
Loring → do → decades
The community was filled with people who would otherwise have been homeless.
asserted
who → fill → people
They slept all over the house.
asserted
They → sleep → house
Jeff and I sprawled out with them.
asserted
Jeff → sprawl → them
I loved my week at the Open Door community.
asserted
I → love → community
I cut carrots for the soup kitchen.
asserted
I → cut → kitchen
I bowed my head during prayer.
asserted
I → bow → prayer
I hummed along to hymns.
asserted
I → hum → hymns
I listened to stories of how accepting Jesus had saved not only people’s souls but their lives.
asserted
Jesus → listen → souls
One night, I had a conversation with Ed Loring about my own identity and my vocation.
asserted
I → have → identity
“I’ve been paying attention to you,” Ed told me.
asserted
Ed → pay → me
“I can see that you love helping people, and connecting with them.
asserted
you → see → them
I’ve noticed how respectful you are during our prayer times, but I can tell you are not a Christian.
asserted
you → notice → times
If you are interested in becoming one, I would be happy to talk to you about that.
asserted
I → become → that
If not, I would suggest that you find the spiritual well that nourishes the work you want to do in the world.
asserted
you → suggest → world
“Those are the most interesting people I’ve ever met,” I told Jeff as we drove away from the Open Door community.
asserted
we → meet → community
My first long road trip lasted all summer.
asserted
trip → last → ?
In addition to our time with the Radical Fairies community and at the Open Door community, we traveled to Catholic Worker Houses, we talked with Jews committed to Tikkun Olam and Sufi Muslims for whom whirling was a form of worship.
asserted
whirling → travel → worship
I stopped playing “Mr. Tambourine Man” and learned other songs.
asserted
I → stop → songs
…and 37 more, not listed.
The Aporia
