The mid term elections are in the past now, but my nerves continue to jingle jangle like the spurs on my boots used to do as I anxiously await outcomes. I find myself turning to movies of questionable taste on Netflix to keep me from watching election news, but then cheating on myself by looking at my phone for hints about leaning this way or slightly that way. Maddening. I need a mental break before I have a breakdown. Good news: we’re taking a break.

Thank goodness I have a wonderful friend in California (which way is California leaning? Stop it!) who has a birthday this month – a woman I’d like to celebrate not only for the personal fun experiences we’ve shared over many years but also for the amazing contributions she’s made to the LGBTQ community on the west coast, her chosen home away from her native roots in South Carolina.

Happy Birthday, Audrey Prosser! You are a woman of substance, a woman I admire for all the right reasons. Your commitment to social justice for your community, your state, your country is inspirational to your friends in South Carolina who have had the privilege of sipping cocktails with you in foreign and domestic countries while we discussed, among other topics, the issues facing us as lesbians who cared about each other and creating positive change regardless of where we lived.

Pretty and I regret we won’t be able to attend the 80th. birthday bash with you and your wonderful wife Debra, but know that we will be with you both in spirit and in sisterhood. Rock on, Miss Thing. Whatever music is played at your party – you keep on dancing.

Audrey Prosser