The Big Two-Oh by Andrew Ramer Recently, at a queer gathering I attended, we were asked, “What’s your favorite number?” As a retired bodyworker I’ve always been fond of the number twenty. Not that everyone comes this way, but of us most do – with ten fingers and ten toes. To me twenty is the … Continue reading WC81 – Andrew Ramer’s PRAXIS
Animal, Vegetable, Mineral By Andrew Ramer Earth spins and wobbles. Landmasses drift, shudder, slam into each other. Waves hiss, thunder, and crash. Wind whips through trees, whispers through grass. Rain patters, thunder rumbles, ice cracks. Rivers rush, streams babble. Animals sing, chirp, bray, hiss, bellow, howl, buzz, croak, roar. Our bodies throb, gurgle, inhale, exhale, … Continue reading WC80 – Andrew Ramer’s Praxis
Gay Spirit Visions: Into Loving Arms By Andrew Ramer Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth. Hermann Hesse Most often we think of sanctuaries as sacred places, some in nature and others created by human hands. In the Jewish tradition time … Continue reading WC79 Praxis – Andrew Ramer on Gay Spirit Visions
Community TrustAndrew Ramer What does it mean to be held in community, held and nurtured and encouraged to grow? That was something I yearned for, as a misfit boy few of the other kids wanted to play with, who ended up most afternoons by himself in the rhododendron grove in our large backyard. When I … Continue reading WC78 – Praxis by Andrew Ramer
Racing to the Finish Line(and probably/possibly being politically incorrect at the very same time)Praxis by Andrew Ramer When I was a little boy growing up in New York City I would hear older relatives using two different terms to talk about what I eventually realized were the same people: “Americans” and “White People.” As in, … Continue reading WC77 – Praxis by Andrew Ramer
ANCESTORS ’R USPRAXIS from Andrew Ramer This fall I made my way to the ruddy mountains of North Carolina to hobnob with my fellow wizards at the Gay Spirit Visions Conference, as I’ve done for 18 years. This gathering is my spiritual home. I’ve met some of my closest friends there, and it’s been a … Continue reading WC76 – Praxis by Andrew Ramer
Bear EssentialsPRAXIS from Andrew Ramer Bears were on my mind for the Winter 2005 issue, when our theme was Totem Animals. Oscar Wilde must surely have said something about the pleasure of quoting yourself, so I shall, from that issue, which seems a perfect introduction to what I have to say two winters later: My … Continue reading WC75 – Praxis by Andrew Ramer
Love is a gatewayWe are gatekeepersPRAXIS from Andrew Ramer Recently a friend invited to a theme party: bring the songs you were listening to when you came out. In a flash, music raced through my body with pain. My entire first relationship with a man arcs its way through three Aretha Franklin songs: “(Gotta Find … Continue reading WC74 – Praxis – Andrew Ramer
Praxis I spent the first years of my life in a large vertical village called an apartment house. The summer I turned five we moved to the suburbs, where I encountered a whole new kid culture, with songs and games that were very different from what I learned in the city. Friendless, shy, I watched … Continue reading WC73 – Praxis – Andrew Ramer
Bohemian Splendor When I read about the subject of this issue I was stumped about what to say. Nothing came to mind at all. I was going to call Bo and Dan and ask them to assign this column to someone else. Then I remembered that some people write by design but I write by … Continue reading WC71 – Andrew Ramer’s Praxis