1.0.1

At this stage in my life, even boots can tell a story. This pair especially special on this momentous day, and Supreme Court Decision regarding marriage. (What a fresh day of images of love, happiness, joy, more love, and more love—on all media feeds. It is palatable in the air. As President Obama said earlier today, “Love is love.”) What is the meaning behind these boots for me today? I recently had this amazing pair of vintage Red Wing boots resoled—they had been resting, set aside for some time. Red Wing was ecstatic to see this pair, and off they went for repair. I specifically just wanted them to be resoled, the scuffs of time to remain, aside from a long drink of Beeswax and new strings. These boots belonged to my dear friend and important mentor Dixon Tabla, who made his journey to the heavens on November 20, 1994 from complications due to the HIV/AIDS virus. I decided to pull these boots out and wear them today, to remember someone very dear to me, who is no longer with us to see this historic day. Dixon exemplified love, happiness, joy, more love, and more love, and I am most sure dancing (without these boots!) in the heavens. Dixon’s partner Mark Ward, now married to Chadwin “Bug” Coker, still visits Dixon’s place of internment in Terre Haute, Indiana, where he rests next to his mother June Tabla. I witnessed first hand the struggle of not having equal footing in same sex partnership, in the eyes of the law—there were no visitation rights for same sex partners in the hospital, no federal benefits, power of attorney, healthcare decision-making, inheritance, unable to put names on death certificates, property rights, health care coverage… It all seems like such a long, long ago time. To the countless individuals who never saw this day in their lifetime, #lovewins, seems so, so appropriate. Godspeed Dixon. Dance away!  At this stage in my life, even boots can tell a story.