17 Comments
User's avatar
James (HVR)'s avatar

Vladi! Great name! I get feeling both included and excluded by two communities. It's tricky.

Tim Chessher's avatar

Yes, tricky for sure. Thanks for reading and commenting here!!

James (HVR)'s avatar

What is Vladi's ethnic background? Is he from the Balkans?

Tim Chessher's avatar

He’s from El Salvador. Vladimir is a middle name :)

James (HVR)'s avatar

Ohhhhh. Got it.

Sincerely Seb's avatar

Happy Pride Tim! Lovely piece. Congrats on 11 years!

Tim Chessher's avatar

Thanks Seb! Happy Pride!

Adrien Saell's avatar

What stayed with me here is the distinction between understanding something and living through it.

We often imagine insight as the turning point, yet the deeper changes seem to arrive much more slowly, through experience rather than realization alone...

Tim Chessher's avatar

Yeah, what we feel like we might know and what we learn can be so different. That’s what makes the exploration important. Thanks so much for reading this!

Alicia's avatar

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

Susan J Hilger's avatar

I’ve been wondering where all the pride posts were here on Substack. Happy pride.

Tim Chessher's avatar

❤️❤️

itsmichelled_'s avatar

11 yrs through a tiny apartment, street noise, & now an ocean between you & Vladi is its own pride story. & I love the line about your footprint being smaller than the boot people think you wear.

Happy pride my fellow colourful humans! 🏳️‍🌈🫶

Tim Chessher's avatar

Thanks so much, Michelle!

Happy pride!! 🏳️‍🌈🫶

Monica Fernandes's avatar

Important topics. The attack on the LGBTQ+ community is the result of ignorance, stemming from fear. It is unfortunate that the highest court in the land hasn't done its job in years and is highly biased.

As for your marriage, I'd say 11 years is a success, and many of us can aspire to that. If after 11 years, you still choose each other and love each other, you'll make anything work. xoxo

Tim Chessher's avatar

Thanks Monica for the close read! Yeah, it would be great if the highest court could step up and do its job instead of shirking responsibilities.

❤️❤️

Ethan's avatar

This was a nice, warm piece. Didn’t expect to learn about your love for pizza or husband, but hey, the world is a surprising place lol.

The part about trans people was real. Crazy times rn, hope it all passes