A Busy Day Saturday & Yesterday

Saturday I met a friend and we walking around Gillette Castle; it was the first time she saw the castle and I think she loved the castle on the bluff overlooking the Connecticut River. We walked along the road for a ways and then walked on some of the snow covered trails. We walked along the trail to the left of the bridge along the old railroad bed.

Then in the evening I went to the coronation of the new Emperor and Empresses of the Imperial Sovereign Court of All of Connecticut. If you are not familiar with the court organization, they are a group that raises money for other non-profits. According to the Connecticut’s chapter,

The Imperial Court System was founded in San Francisco in 1965 by José Sarria, also known as Absolute Empress I, The Widow Norton. Sarria, now affectionately known as "Mama" or "Mama José" among Imperial Court members, devised the name "Widow Norton" as a reference Joshua Norton, a much-celebrated citizen of 19th Century San Francisco who had declared himself Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico in 1859.

Sarria soon became the nexus of a fundraising group with volunteer members bearing titles of nobility bestowed by yearly elected leaders. Around 1971, this structure was replicated in Vancouver , Canada . In the United States , the first court outside of San Francisco was Portland , Oregon , followed closely by Los Angeles . Other Imperial Courts were founded thereafter. These empires operated and formed policies more-or-less independently until an Imperial Court Council lead by Sarria was formed to prevent participation by groups that were not involved strictly and solely involved with charitable fundraising.

And last night they installed the new emperor of Connecticut and when I left at eleven it was still going strong.

Yesterday I went to a “living discussion on escalating and ongoing discrimination against the LGBT community worldwide” by our senator from Connecticut who is on the Foreign Relations Committee that was hosted by a state senator at her house. There were probably 20 -25 people there who were mostly gay or lesbians and one trans-person… me. It was a very good talk and informative.

I was going to go to the flower show afterward but it got out a little later than expected and I was tired from the night before.