Gary Burlingame was my friend, my very good friend. We became friends in 2009 when he saw fit to send me a friend request on Facebook. I don’t know what inspired him to do so, but am ever so happy he did. I accepted his friend request and with a little trepidation texted “hi there” to him on Facebook chat. I was not sure he would respond, but he did and from that moment on we were in contact regularly. We became such good friends because we had so much to talk about and found we could confide in one another. Gary was a kind, generous and thoughtful man and a loving husband and father. His work ethic and love of life were second to none. His lengthy battle with multiple myeloma and emphysema involved ongoing treatments and the discomfort they caused him. He took it in stride; it did not stop him from putting in the hours on his job, being the loving husband to Marilyn and father to their son Gene.

I enjoyed hearing his anecdotes about work (he worked from home) and his life with Marilyn and Gene. Among other things, Gary enjoyed attending the hockey and baseball games featuring the minor league teams in Bellingham with Marilyn. Gene played hockey as a boy. He was a goalie. Gary told me about the good times he had going to Gene’s hockey games and tournaments. Gary enjoyed folk dancing with a group of people in a club. I remember him telling me he once took Gene as a baby to the folk dancing club and danced with Gene in his arms. I asked him with tongue planted firmly in cheek if this made Gene spit up on him. He assured me this did not happen.

Gary and I shared a love of the outdoors. He had a passion for hiking and viewing wildlife and regaled me with tales and photographs of his time spent in the parks and trails in and around Bellingham. I must admit I experienced the slightest twinge of envy when he told me about walking along the seashore. I live in Ottawa, Canada a long way from the seaside. I hoped someday to see the Pacific Ocean so imagine my delight when Gary extended me an invitation to come visit. I happily accepted his invitation and made the trip in August 2012. I remember promising Gary that when I arrived at Vancouver International Airport and spotted him in the terminal I would give him a bear hug. Gary was a little concerned. What would people think. I told him I could not care less what anyone thought and kept my promise giving him a bear hug in the middle of the terminal.

Gary and Marilyn, my gracious host and hostess, and their son Gene welcomed me into their home. Gary had a full and exciting itinerary prepared for me. We hit the ground running. The day I arrived and after I settled in, we went to the stable where he volunteered. The stable offers horseback riding as therapy for children with autism. Volunteering at the stable was a manifestation of Gary’s kindness and generosity. Before I returned home Gary and Marilyn took me touring in Bellingham, hiking in the forests surrounding Bellingham and for a walk along the seashore at low tide. We went shopping and I found some great books at an antiquarian book shop. I went to the folk dancing club with Gary and enjoyed watching the various dance steps. Gary and Marilyn’s guest room has a number of book shelves with an interesting collection volumes. I am a librarian, so browsing their library collection kept me occupied well into the night after we all retired for the evening. I am so happy we had this time together.

Gary and I continued our friendship over Facebook, chatting almost daily in the years following my visit. Toward the end of his life I knew his condition had worsened, but remained hopeful he would rebound and beat back the cancer once more. The last time we chatted was two days before his death. I was performing in a play and he congratulated me on its success. I wished him good health. Gary left us the way he lived: a kind and thoughtful man. Together with Marilyn, Gene and the rest of his extended family, Gary leaves behind many friends who knew and loved him as I do. While I miss him terribly, I find solace that Gary lives on in the memories I keep of our friendship and the time we had together. Gary was a good and decent man and I have no doubt he left us looking back with satisfaction on a life well lived. May he rest in peace.

A report published by Tom Quiggin, Senior Researcher at the Canadian Centre of Intelligence and Security, warns of the threat posed to Canadian society by the Muslim Brotherhood. He maintains "the aim of the group in North America is to weaken and destroy the free and open societies within Canada and the U.S.A. from within and replace them with the heavily politicized views of [founder] Hassan Banna, Sayyid Qutb and the Muslim Brotherhood.” This is a serious charge he makes and it has raised more than a few eyebrows. Left leaning pundits and the National Council of Canadian Muslims already dismissed the report as bunk and Islamophobic, but he raises a valid concern.
Islam is founded on the Constitution of Medina which was drafted by Muhammad (c. 570-632) in the 7th century, essentially creating a constitutional theocracy. Following the death of Muhammad a successor, the caliph, was appointed to serve as head of the Islamic State which became the Caliphate. A dynastic chain of succession unfolded with the following series of Caliphates: Rashidun Caliphate (632–661), Umayyad Caliphate (661–750), Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258) and the Ottoman Caliphate (1517–1924).

The Ottoman Caliphate was abolished by the Grand National Assembly of the Republic of Turkey on March 3, 1924, the last Caliph Abdülmecid II and his family were banished from Turkey and lived out their days in exile. Efforts to restore the Caliphate and the authority of Islam in temporal affairs got underway very soon after. The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna whose members adhere to the credo "Allah is our objective; the Quran is our law, the Prophet is our leader; Jihad is our way; and death for the sake of Allah is the highest of our aspirations."
Unfortunately, nostalgia for the restoration of the Caliphate and the inability of much of the Islamic world to develop separation of religion and state (as in the West) has given rise to totalitarianism (as is the case in Iran) and religious intolerance, as seen in internecine fighting between the two most prominent Islamic denominations: Sunni and Shia.

It took several centuries and a great deal of bloodshed for the Western world to develop the separation of religion and state while preserving religious liberty. The last thing we need is a return to the sectarian strife of a sort Western society endured in the Middle Ages.

Justin Trudeau, speaking ex-cathedra, as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, made a decidedly final pronouncement on the issue of abortion: "I have made it clear that future candidates need to be completely understanding that they will be expected to vote pro-choice on any bills." This pronouncement is decidedly illiberal, and something one usually expects to hear from only the most noxious, left-leaning ideologue. Given Justin Trudeau's heritage, I would have expected a more nuanced stance on the issue. His father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, former Minister of Justice and Prime Minister in Liberal governments in the latter half of the 20th century is remembered for his stand on personal liberty and his faith (he was a practicing Roman Catholic).

On personal liberty, particularly on matters of sexuality, Minister of Justice Trudeau famously observed in 1967 "obviously, the state's responsibility should be to legislate rules for a well-ordered society. It has no right or duty to creep into the bedrooms of the nation." It was Prime Minister Trudeau who enacted the Constitution Act and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982. The opening sentence reads "Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law." Section 2 of the Charter guarantees freedom of conscience and religion. Justin Trudeau, it seems, has decided to strip members of the Liberal Party of Canada of their right to freedom of conscience and religion, at least as it applies to the controversy over abortion.

I find Justin Trudeau's stance on the issue untenable. What he implies is that the issue of abortion is settled, that there be no further discussion. He could not be more mistaken. Abortion is an issue that needs to be addressed and all points of view merit consideration. As a conservative who leans toward the libertarian camp, I am prepared to tolerate the pro-choice position, though I do not approve. I am in favour of what could be described as the pro-compromise position. While abortion should remain legal, the fact remains society has a stake in the status of the unborn, and this needs to be addressed in Canadian law.

The publication "Crimes Against the Foetus," published by the Law Reform Commission of Canada in 1989 includes several recommendations for amendments to Canadian law in this regard. In effect, these recommendations, if enacted, would make wrongful harm to the foetus criminal, rather than abortion. Abortion would remain a legal surgical procedure with no restrictions in the first twelve weeks of pregnancy and with limitations brought to bear, maintaining society's stake in the status of the unborn, in the latter stages of pregnancy. The Law Reform Commission of Canada concluded such legislation is consistent with the Common Law and Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

I join in discussions of religion on the internet and come across a wide range of opinion. Lately, there is a great deal of discussion over the Sweet Cakes Bakery in Oregon, namely, the judgement against its owners who refused to bake a wedding cake for a lesbian couple. $135,000 was awarded to the lesbian couple for "emotional damages." I do not know all the details surrounding this case, but that said I think this judgement is excessive. News of this judgement is generating a great deal of anti-gay sentiment in the discussions of religion in which I take part. I knew all along there are people who dislike gay people, but in my own life have had the good fortune to largely avoid coming across people who think this way. However, knowing there are people like this kept me from coming out once and for all until 2012. I spent most of my life living anonymously as a gay man in and out of relationships until forming a lasting relationship with Mika. A select few friends and family knew the whole truth about me. When I came out in 2012, I braced myself for a flood of angry comments and discontinued friendships on Facebook and losing hunting buddies. As it turned out, the response I feared never came to pass. No one cares that I am gay, including my Muslim hunting buddies and Christian friends on Facebook.  I am truly very fortunate.

That is not to say I am never confronted by anti-gay sentiment in my daily life. I lost an acquaintance many years ago, a man I knew when I served in the Army. I met him some years after we both left the Army and we resumed our acquaintanceship until he started in on all the things the Bible tells us not to do and how he could understand why anyone would choose to be homosexual. Without letting the cat out of the bag, I just stopped interacting with him. There are occasions when I overhear people using anti-gay slurs in public. I remember once having supper at a swanky Greek restaurant with another gay couple and some of our friends. We were seated together at a table, happily eating our meal and quietly going about our business when some cretin at another table made a snide remark about "the faggots" loud enough that everyone in the restaurant could hear. I felt anger welling up inside and expressed my disgust to one of my friends at the table. He calmly advised me to ignore the insult and just try not to let it bother me. Sound advice it was, because when I think about the incident, no one paid any attention to the cretin and his snide remark. All he accomplished was showing everyone in the restaurant want an ignoramus he was. Still, were I the owner of the restaurant, I I would have called him on his obnoxious behaviour and asked him and his date to leave and never return. I do not like rude, vulgar people and prefer not to have them around me. You are free to form your own opinions and to express them, just as long as you understand there are consequences when you do so.

I enjoy writing for my blog, Geoffrey & Mika, I've been writing and publishing articles since 2013. My latest article was published on June 1st. Since then I am suffering a block, the desire to write and inspiration for something to write about is sorely lacking. I have a few drafts filed away, I tinkered with them recently, but this went nowhere. The difficulty is determining a thesis for the article, an insight to put in front of readers in hopes it makes them stop and think.  I hope I get over this block before much longer. There is so much to write about and I am told by those who read my articles my writing is first rate. I wonder how other writers cope when they suffer from writer's block. If anyone has any thoughts on this, please feel free to share them with me.

Russell Tovey is a successful British actor I admire and whose career I follow. He is openly gay, also. Here he is pictured with his older brother Daniel at a charity fundraising event in which they took part. Russell Tovey may be gay, but as he commented recently, he is masculine and happily so. Good for him. I am gay, masculine and happily so too. I am not what you would call a "man's man." I was called "fairy," "faggot," "pansy," "queer," among other things over the years because I prefer classical music and theatre to sports. However, that said, I do not like show tunes, drag and have no use for Judy Garland. I am an amateur actor and play heterosexual characters on stage. I once played a homophobic Catholic priest in a play called "Strange Gods." I am a gun owner and hunter and have a black belt in taekwondo. I dress conservatively and have what is called a "straight appearance." Effeminate men, whether they are gay or straight, do not bother me. Why is it an issue that Russell Tovey and any other number of gay men like me are happily masculine and not ashamed of it?