Jim Kelly's Homepage
We live in Philadelphia, PA and in Cherry Grove, Fire Island, N.Y. We have been together as a couple since 1983. Jim's favorite hobby is collecting, repairing and operating vintage tinplate toy trains. Dan enjoys painting, playing piano, and writing. We have two great pets, our dog Bradley, and our cat Nikko. Click on their names to see a nice photo of each! Bradley is a mix breed pup in his seventh year, and Nikko is a Burmese, 17 years old. Jim is a political and gay rights activist and has always followed politics. His political blog is here. Jim also has a blog that focuses on his congenital bicuspid heart valve here.
"LIBERTY BELL" - CHERRY GROVE, FIRE ISLAND, NY
Fire Is., NY is a beautiful, natural beach paradise, and a part of the National Seashore. We love the predominately gay and lesbian resorts of Cherry Grove and The Pines, which have been our summer get-away during recent summers. We now have our own home in Cherry Grove. All of the houses in The Grove have names. Our house's name is "Liberty Bell." We like the name since we're also Philadelphians. Fire Island: there's no place like it. Unspoiled, no cars, no cares, and beautiful natural flora and fauna. ...AND LOTS OF FUNTO BE HAD!
Links to Cherry Grove news and information:
There was a special time...
...beginning a little over 40 years ago with the "Summer Of Love" in 1967, when many young people, including myself at age 18, were attracted to the gentleness, optimism, and the promise of peace and love that marked the late 1960s. However, not all of us so affected became "hippies," did "Acid," or moved to San Francisco. I was busy trying to figure out what to do in college besides avoiding the draft. I had no money so the summer of 1967 was a working summer for me. I needed to make some money to cover expenses when I returned to school.
In mid 1967 I was just becoming aware of the counter culture that was developing. A friend "turned me on" to the Beatles "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band" album. Sometime that year or in early 1968, I discovered "The Marconi Experiment," a free form, progressive FM radio show hosted by "Herman" (Dave Herman) on WMMR in Philadelphia. This show was my connection to the "movement" of the late 60s. Contemporary music was so much a part of what was happening then in the country. Musicians and their songs were often unabashedly political. Country Joe And The Fish, Big Brother And The Holding Company With Janis Joplin, Donavan, The Jefferson Airplane, It's A Beautiful Day, Spanky And Our Gang, The Doors, Phil Ochs...these were just a few of the bands and performers that I was listening to during the 1967-1970 period. Songs like "White Bird," "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother," "Small Circle Of Friends," and "Give A Damn," seem naively Utopian to us today, after the past 40 years that brought us the cynicism, greed, and war mongering of Nixon, Reagan, and the Bush father and son acts, interrupted only briefly by the mediocrity of Gerald Ford, the incompetance of Jimmy Carter, and the grave disappointment of the Clinton years.
I would gladly return our country to the late 1960s promise of a decent, peaceful, love-filled society if I could. Since then we've gone awry as a nation with both domestic and foreign policies that are selfish, arrogant, and reactionary. Unfortunately, I don't see the possibility of this turning around anytime soon. I yearn for a return to the promise and hopefulness of the late 1960s even as I realize the improbability of it. It was a great time to be alive and young. My idealism, instilled in me then, still remains even if tarnished and buried under the weight of the decades that have passed since those special few years that came and went all too quickly.
(image courtesy psychadelicx.com)
Model Trains
A model railroad in the garden!
As a new homeowner in Cherry Grove, I wanted to be able to enjoy his toy train hobby at the beach. But a sandy beach environment is no place for valuable and fragile, antique tinplate toy trains. So when I planned the new garden for "LIBERTY BELL," I decided to use new, large scale toy trains and structures designed for both indoor and outdoor use.
Building a model railroad in the sand is a bit tricky. The track bed must be firm and dead level, yet 'adjustable' given the shifting sands. Large 4' X 8" railroad ties were selected to provide a solid foundation, and the track bed can be re-leveled if the need arises. Railroad track consisting of brass rails and molded plastic ties is commonly available and is highly weather resistant. Wooden structures, such as my models of the Cherry Grove Fire Department and Cherry Grove train station are protected from the weather by a heavy coat of polyurethane varnish. Finally, the model trains themselves, manufactured by the German toy train maker LGB, are constructed of weather resistant materials such as plastic, brass, and stainless steel.
I also collect antique tinplate toy trains. See my "About Me" page on EBAY for more about this aspect of toy train collecting and operating. Also visit my online magazine Tinplate Times for more information on these large toy trains.
The
Rainbow Flag - Gay Pride!
Gay Marriage: A Fundamental Right
In our constitutional democracy, civil marriage is a fundamental right (remember "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?") currently afforded heterosexuals and arbitrarily denied to gay and lesbian couples. God, Christ, Buddha, Mohammed, or any other gods or religions have nothing to do with the civil contract and associated rights and responsibilities that are marriage. The gay marriage issue is one of equal rights. We insist upon the right to marry as a couple, which is in fact currently available to heterosexuals. That this fundamental right is not available to homosexuals constitutes arbitrary state-sanctioned discrimination.
Marriage is a fundamental right for all U.S. citizens, including gays and lesbians!
Comments? Suggestions? Email me at kk3k@yahoo.com. Thanks for visiting this page, and drop by again soon!
(Last update 02/09 - original page 4/2/95)
