welcome to america!

My cousin and her husband are visiting from Russia - a huge event for all of us, since this is their first trip to the US. In fact, my dad hasn't seen my cousin since he came here, and it's been 16 years for him already.

So, what's the first thing we show them when they come to Boston? Provincetown, a well-known hub of the gay population on the Cape:

I don't know if my parents are consciously trying to put our guests into a state of cultural shock, but here we are. Honestly, though, I feel that even the most close-minded person would be changed ever so slightly after visiting Provincetown. It's clean, artsy, and fun - certainly not morally degraded and full of sinners as the hysterical Christians would suggest. Coincidentally, South Boston has undergone a similar transformation when the queer folk moved in. A slummy neighborhood all of the sudden became safe and full of life.

I might just hoist up a rainbow flag on my house to raise the property values in my neighborhood.