Pride this year was kind of special for me. Since coming out eight years ago, I’ve always stayed on top of politics and news relating to the LGBT community at least a little but since the release of Milk and the passage of Prop 8 I’ve dropped my old passive interest ways and become a bit more activist about things. So having the opportunity to march with the Gayglers and AIDSCare Chicago made the whole pride experience a lot more meaningful for me.

I think part of what really surprised me was the sheer volume of people that turned out. I’ve gone for the past few years and knew it was a big event but I don’t think it’s really possible to understand the scope without being in the parade. People were shoulder to shoulder the entire route and in many cases the crowd went so far back from the street that I wondered if everyone could even see the parade or if many were just there for the experience. For someone like me who grew up in a small town and didn’t know a single gay person until 17, that kind of gathering really has an impact.

I think my favorite sight from marching down that proud path was one woman with a picket sign that read “Proud to have two moms.” How great is that? There were a lot of these people out in the crowd, brandishing their signs of hope and support for our community. An old coworker of mine came with his wife and daughter. It was beautiful.

Of course after the parade it was back to the same celebrate and have fun drinking and eating amongst friends old and new, as it should be. But I wanted to take a moment of pause from the circulation of pictures and drunkeness to say thank you to everyone who participated in Pride 2009. For me, your presence was moving.