[OT] Languages and cultures (was Re: survey)

[Bernard Devlin]

On Mon, Feb 22, 2010 at 11:58 AM, Andre Garzia <andre at andregarzia.com> wrote:
> Congrats Bernard, happiness to you and yours!!!! :-D
>
> Now, the important piece, when is the party?
>
> Cheers!
> Andre

Thanks Andre (and to Richmond, also).  It's over 2 years ago since we
got 'married', and we just had a very quiet celebration afterwards.
I'm not someone who likes to draw attention to myself, even on a
momentous occasion.

We're not allowed to call it 'marriage' as that would have offended
any number of religious minorities (yes, even christians are a
religious minority here).  Still, I found the day far more moving and
significant than I expected it to be.  It's very nice to see that
other people who are so far away and were not at all involved with it,
should see it as an important day for us.  Getting 'married' truly
transformed our lives.

We'd been together for over 5 years before the law was changed and we
could 'marry'. Those early years were a real struggle -- our time was
repeatedly limited by the hostile actions of immigration officials,
visa controls, and 9000 kilometres.  I made many 13 hour flights where
I had to stand almost the whole way there and back because of my back
pain.  Sometimes I was in so much pain I had to cancel the flight, and
couldn't claim it on travel insurance because it was a pre-existing
health problem.

Air France ended up being one of my favourite airlines -- because they
are so cool they actually turn an area of the plane into a bar, and I
could stay there and chat with other passengers.  With other airlines,
passengers and crew were understandably wary of this man who would not
sit down for more than a few minutes.

Our relationship only survived those obstacles because of our
determination and our love for each other.  I hope that is not too
much personal detail.  I just thought I would provide a little
back-story.

Your kind thoughts are much appreciated, really.

Bernard