Monday afternoon, I was standing in line at a store, waiting my turn to check out. A pair of Mormon missionaries — the kids that go out on behalf of their church to proselytize — were standing in line behind me. You can tell who these kids are by their uniform: white shirt, black tie, and black plastic name badge pinned to their lapel. They did not have anything in their hands, so I was wondering why they were standing in line.<\/p>\n
As these kids usually do, one of them tried to strike up a conversation with me. They do that to open the door to what inevitably would be a pitch for their church’s teachings. I’ve had that happen dozens of times and recognize the approach.<\/p>\n
One of these kids looked at my left hand, saw the ring on my ring finger, and figured out that I was married. Knowing that we recently had a huge snowfall, he smiled and said,
\n
\n“did you enjoy playing in the snow with your kids?”<\/p>\n
Me: no, I don’t have children. (I was going to say more … like I removed snow from six neighbor and senior pals’ drives … but I know that the more you say, the more it encourages these kids to pursue the conversation. I just wanted to check out and leave.)<\/p>\n
MormanKid: so did your wife and you enjoy the snow anyway, like go sledding or skiing?<\/p>\n
Me: My spouse is a man. I have a husband.<\/p>\n
MormanKid: Oh. [pause, breath, pause, then:] You’re the third gay man who I’ve talked to today who said he was married. (I have to give him credit — he did not back away or behave as if my gayness was contagious.) <\/p>\n
Me: Welcome to Maryland, where your church was unsuccessful in preventing the vote the wrong way on a referendum on the law that allowed me to marry the man I have loved for over 20 years.<\/p>\n
MormanKid: Thanks. I wasn’t here then. <\/p>\n
Me: Actually, after the fiasco in California where your church intervened with disastrous consequences that cost millions of dollars in legal battles, I think your church learned its lesson and left us alone in Maryland.<\/p>\n
MormonKid: I really wasn’t aware of that. I just arrived here from my home in Utah a few weeks ago.<\/p>\n
Me: At least you’ll be here in the Spring. Our state is lovely in Springtime. Enjoy your visit.<\/p>\n
… and that was it. I was served by a cashier, paid for my item, and left. I don’t know what the Mormon kid said to his companion, but probably was like, “well, strike again. Who’s this guy?” — looking at their next victim. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n
I have to give these kids a lot of credit. They must hear much more negative things than what I said. I have always wondered though — I never see any of these kids alone. They are always in pairs. I guess it helps them to have someone else by their side as they go about fulfilling their mission, as well as to have someone else to talk to. <\/p>\n
I am happy to know that “You’re the third” … Monday … probably a lot more of us in same-sex marriages around than I thought.<\/p>\n
Life is short: enjoy providing an education in a civil manner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Monday afternoon, I was standing in line at a store, waiting my turn to check out. A pair of Mormon missionaries — the kids that go out on behalf of their church to proselytize — were standing in line behind … Continue reading