Katy McKenna Raymond  
Personal blog of christian writer Katy McKenna Raymond in Kansas City, Missouri

Personal blog of christian
writer & fallible mom
Katy McKenna Raymond
in Kansas City, Missouri


Katy is represented by
Greg Johnson at
WordServe Literary

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Just Another Good Cause?

It's been at least ten years since my cousin Scotty Joe died of AIDS. I didn't know him well even though we both grew up in Kansas City. In fact, I wouldn't have recognized him if I'd seen him out in public.

Still, I always loved his dad, my Uncle Francis. So my mother and siblings and I all attended the funeral, to support him. Aunt Julie and Frances had been divorced for many years by then, and she had taken Scotty Joe into her home when he returned from San Francisco in the advanced stages of the disease. She and Scotty Joe's four siblings had taken care of him to the end, and in the process had become close to Scotty Joe's many gay friends.

The first time I ever saw a proliferation of lapel ribbons was at Scotty Joe's funeral. Most of the people in attendance, in fact, wore the ribbons, and someone introduced the wearers from the pulpit as those who were standing in solidarity to find a cure for AIDS.

Maybe ribbons have always left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth since then. I asked around a bit that day, curious as to the large number of gay couples, most of whom seemed to have not actually known my cousin or his family.

"Oh, not everyone here knew the deceased," I was told. "They're just here to support the cause."

There's little more aggravating than a funeral with an agenda.

These days, there are ribbons for every cause under heaven. It reminds me of the hundreds of different "Chicken Soup" titles, which multiplied like rabbits until finally people started complaining that they were gagging on Chicken Soup. I feel like we're being strangled by ribbons.

Now it's bumper stickers in the shape of ribbons. Political bumper stickers, mostly, though some are non-partisan with messages like "Support Our Troops." One must pull up dangerously close to a car's rear bumper to read the slogans, and it's hardly ever worth the effort.

Until now. Kansas City SUVs are sporting a fancy ribbon with our fair town's most heartfelt cause espoused upon it:

"Go, Chiefs, Go!"

Who knows whether the Chiefs are a lost cause? All I know is that if it's come to this, it's time for the ribbons to go.
Posted by Katy on 10/07/04 at 09:54 AM
Fallible Comments...
  1. Ask, Julianna... The first time I saw that Chiefs rip-off I was so disgusted (I mean, I still am, but the edge has worn off a little). But, maybe you're right about thewhole lost cause ting. :)
    -----
    Posted by timsamoff  on  10/07/04  at  05:28 PM
  2. Tim, So the ribbons have gotten to someone else, too? The other day, the check-out stands at Walmart had poster-board ribbons hanging over them with (if I understood them correctly) the names of employees who'd done something right.

    Isn't this missing the original point of the flippin' ribbons? Isn't there another geometric shape that could step in right about now??

    :O
    Posted by katy  on  10/12/04  at  11:33 PM
  3. Ack, I have to admit I have one of those ribbons on my car. Sorry they've offended you so ;)
    Posted by Alison  on  10/13/04  at  01:26 AM
  4. Alison, Don't you think it would shake things up a bit if someone altered the design just a little? Like the ribbon could be in the shape of a bow or a square knot or something--just to break the monotony. Hey, my mama still has the Happy Face bath towels we got her in the 70s. They were really cute back then, but the novelty has worn off--along with most of the absorbency! :)
    Posted by katy  on  10/13/04  at  03:14 PM
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