History 101

I'd like to share a small secret of mine, I'm somewhat of a history buff. I wasn't into history enough to pursue a career in the field though I did think about it. No, the date memorization never clicked in my mind and I found myself skipping ahead in class to read the next chapter before the end of the last. I was simply that kid who would rather chill out in the section of the library with the old books, or the books about old stuff instead of a music store(which are also now a part of history).

I don't know why exactly but history is something I've always enjoyed, maybe that's why I became a journalist. I always found history fun to learn about but it was always just that, history. As a journalist though I could witness events first hand and share them with my peers. Those events would then go on to become history and maybe, just maybe, I'd be a part of it. At the very least I would be able to say "Yeah, I was there for that."

Well tonight I can say "I was there for that." I was among 6 members of the media, a mother, a sister, and two close friends, as they watched Gary Ross, a Lieutenant in the US Navy finally marry his partner of 11 years, Dan Swezy.

At midnight the US' "Don't as Don't tell" policy was officially repealed. Gays are now legally allowed to serve openly in the military and if they chose, to get married... legally. That's exactly what Gary and Dan did. With thirty nine seconds until midnight the ceremony was nearly complete, the only thing left was for the couple to be pronounced married for everything to become official and legal. When a clock counting down on a computer using the official time from the Pentagon struck Zero, Gary became the first openly gay, married, officer in the United States military. 

Alright, so I didn't witness the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Still, this is a pretty big event for a nation as politically polarized as ours and after the month we've had in Vermont, it's nice to see some good news. 

Congrats to the newly weds.