This week’s photograph was inspired by one taken a year earlier, on the anniversary of September 11, in New York City.
Tom ‘Gator’ Swann, Proud Gay Veteran, Mar 5, 1958 – , “Never Give Up Hope or Give in to Discrimination”View Congressional Cemetery 46870 on Flickr.com
When the Total Health team asked where I would like to go on a Total Health outing, I chose Washington, DC’s Congressional Cemetery, where J. Edgar Hoover is buried. What was unexpected was the statements of hope on the gravestones nearby.
A year ago, I was walking through the streets of New York City learning about our opportunity to create more active cities, and noticing that they are being created (see: A Walk Through New York – Designed to Move – is this our 1968 moment in creating active cities? | Ted Eytan, MD).
Also a year ago, a revolution toward equal treatment and respect was in full swing, with Kaiser Permanente Colorado covering transgender person health services (see: Kaiser Permanente now covering transgender services in plans – The Denver Post).
Unfortunately, in death, J. Edgar Hoover isn’t at rest next to his life partner, Clyde Tolson, who’s a few plots away. Clyde is surrounded by others who will never give up, and our generation won’t either, as it builds the healthiest, most inclusive communities ever.
