June 2014 Suggested Retail Price $2.95

Stephen Dolainski

Founder of RainbowGray

2 Diversity Rules MagazineJune 2014

My Two CentsBy Jim Koury, Editor

Inside This Issue (partial listing)

Keep Up Now .................................................. Page 3 Feature Interview: Stephen Dolainkski .......... Page 4 A Gay Dad’s Father’s Day ............................... Page 8 Miss Ginger Cooks ......................................... Page 10 Amazon Trail ................................................... Page 11 inQUEERies ................................................... Page 14 Traveling With Pride ....................................... Page 16 Visiting Las Vegas ........................................... Page 17 Remedies ......................................................... Page 19 Events Listing ................................................. Page 20 Resources and Diversions .................................Page 22

Welcome to the June issue of Di-versity Rules Magazine. This issue is packed full of great informa-tion.

This month’s feature is Stephen Dolainski. He is the founder of RainbowGray.com, a website for those LGBT folks 50+ years in age. It’s a great site and has a lot of awe-some information.

For whatever reason, older LGBT folks seem to have been margin-alized in our society, and their contributions, creativity and ex-periences haven’t very much ap-preciated within the gay world as well as the so-called straight world. Stephen thus created a site that would celebrate and foster the wisdom, creativity, diversity and experiences of older gay peo-ple who were 50 or older.

Diversity Rules Magazine is hon-

ored to help Stephen with his message and hopes that it can help demargainalize the 50 plus LGBT generation. I am sure you will love his interview and the in-sights he offers.

June is pride month. It is hard to believe that another year has passed and we are on the thresh-old of another year of pride cel-ebrations.

This year we have much to cel-ebrate. Since last year’s momen-tous Supreme Court decision striking down DOMA many state same sex marriage bans have been deemed unconstitutional. We are now on a fast track to having mar-riage equality in all 50 states. It is simply just a matter of time now.

I encourage you all to stay active in the battle. Take a stand and don’t let discrimination win.

Diversity Rules MagazinePO Box 72

Oneonta, NY 13820James R. Koury, Publisher

607.432.1179

Websitewww.diversityrulesmagazine.com

Blogwww.diversityrulesmagazine.blogspot.com

E-Mailgeneralinfo@diversityrulesmagazine.com

Copyright 2014 Diversity Rules MagazineAll Rights Reserved

Disclaimers

If you have a question or comment regard-ing this issue or future issues of Diversity Rules Magazine, the publisher would love to hear from you! Feel free to contact Di-versity Rules using the e-mail above or mailing address listed above. Content sub-mission are always welcome too!

All submissions become the property of Diversity Rules Magazine. However, origi-nating authors reserve all rights to their creative works.

Diversity Rules Magazine’s physical offices are located at 189 River Street, Oneonta, NY 13820.

Diversity Rules Magazine will not know-ingly publish or advertise text which is fraudulent or misleading. The publisher reserves the right to edit, limit, revise, or reject any text without cause.

Diversity Rules Magazine does not assume any fnancial responsibility for typographi-cal errors. If any errors are found, please notify Diversity Rules Magazine immedi-ately. Materials in this publication may not be reproduced in any form without writ-ten permission from the publisher.

3Diversity Rules MagazineJune 2014

Terry’s brother Rob died of AIDS in 2004 and left her his writings of which Keep Up Now is the result. To find out how to manifest happiness and abundance, check out Terry’s

website at: www.terryludwig.net. Terry can be reached at: keepupnow@gmail.com.

I’ve had the sincere pleasure of staying connected with one of Robbie’s long time boyfriends, Scott, and he has become a very dear friend. Once again, we re-connected this past week-end and shared a wonderful conversation. When I recall all of the connections I have made and friendships that have come into my life, I’m certain the Universe is operating with absolute perfection.

Scott introduced me to A Course in Miracles, twenty-two years ago. He wrapped the book in a brown paper bag and mailed it to me, with a post-it note that read “This will help you with all you will be facing over the coming years. Love, Scott.” It was absolutely true. How had he known? Scott and conversed for nearly two hours. Many topics surfaced; however, the un-derlying message was my soul’s gratitude for gifts we offered one another, as we touched each other’s heart.

The next day, I watched an HBO movie called “The Normal Heart.” Once again, my brother’s life story came rushing back to existence. The movie depicted an era Rob had experienced during the early 1980’s when he lived in New York City. Rob would tell of his frequent jaunts to Fire Island, as we shared in-depth conversations regarding life, love and longing. The movie brought to mind the fear, anger and guilt Rob-bie suffered when he discovered he was HIV positive, at a time when no-one really knew what that meant. I remember his desperate attempts to unearth happi-ness, and squeeze every bit of life out of the time he had left, knowing he had been dealt a premature death sentence.

In his condensed life, Robbie loved, cried, and died to what he thought would bring him happiness; as we all do at some point on our journey. However, Rob was fortunate to find his answer, experience peace and un-derstand the meaning of true love before his journey here was complete.

My heart cries out to those who strug-gle with fear, anger and guilt. Rob’s aspiration was to let you know there is another way of being in this world, and to remind you to...

Keep up Now ~ with the stream of higher consciousness and

stay connected to the Source.

Keep Up NowBy Terry Ludwig

(c) Can Stock Photo Inc. / grsphoto

“Did someone say, once long ago, that you were truly special? It’s not by chance we recognize each other in our travels. My mother said, “so that you know, you are not like the others. I knew that than, but as I grew, harsh real-ity unfolded, and pain I found, known now as fear; the common thread among us here. So I was one, just like the rest, apart from

none and that would test my life’s long lesson. Who am I? I cried unto the heavens and in reply I recog-nized the only father’s lullaby. You are mine, all that I have I will set before you but trust, my son, my will be done, in love I shall surround you.

I am light and I fought free, loving and enfolding me and there I’m safe in peaceful calm. I reach beyond my arms, the stars, the planes to where my thoughts suspend until I find myself again. Self here on earth, I board once more for however long unsure. But knowledge spans the ages, all I pierce the veils first serve as walls between these realms to where I am to serve my own souls recognizing along the way I pause invite my … I share in pure delight with those who want forgiving for sure the undiscovered truths behold Truth is the same it will not change and harkens angels refrain. A name so whole it spoke the world into creation with a work I shall not want, I know, for long awaits my journeys end and always time repeats again. And on and on this saying re-sounds within a beckoning and as it is with creative cells or atoms. I am only Stuart to these revelations and so I trust my intellect unto those who will soon be left, my loved ones all to carry thru, to their en-deavors purpose true to share to care to comfort one another. I shall not stay but love remains that of a lover, brother.” – Rob Ludwig

4 Diversity Rules MagazineJune 2014

Stephen Dolain-ski is the founder of RainbowGray.com, which cel-ebrates and fosters the unique expe-riences, wisdom, creativity and di-versity of the LGBT

population 50 and older. He has more than 25 years’ experience as a writer, editor and educa-tor. He is the author of Grammar Traps: A Hand-book of the 25 Most Common Grammar Mistakes and How to Avoid Them, which is used in schools and libraries nationwide, and Romantic Days and Nights in Los Angeles, a collection of romantical-ly-themed itineraries in and around Los Angeles, and is the co-author of Words to Learn By: Aca-demic Vocabulary, a three-book series designed for struggling readers. He has contributed to nu-merous travel guidebooks, magazines, specialty publications and websites covering travel, lifestyle, business, education and entertainment.

Before turning his attention to RainbowGray, he was the Adult Literacy Adviser for Los Angeles Uni-fied School District. His background also includes an 11-year stint on the editorial staff of the hotel visitor guide Guest Informant and a brief Holly-wood career as a puppeteer and a television pro-duction assistant. Originally from New Jersey, he graduated from the University of Maryland with a BA in speech communication. He lives in Studio City, Calif., with his “little girl,” Sasha, a 4-year-old mixed-breed terrier.

JRK: Can you give Diversity Rules readers an idea of who Stephen Dolainski is and a bit about your background?

SD: I’m a 66-year-old gay man living in Los Angeles, and I’m single. As for my background, I’ve had a few careers. I came to LA more than 40 years ago to get into show business and worked for many years as a puppeteer doing live performances in nightclubs and

on stage as well as in television. Then I went into pub-lishing as a writer and editor. After that came adult education where I worked for more than 20 years, much of that time as the adult literacy adviser for LA Unified School District. I think my work with adult learners was the most stimulating and rewarding pro-fessional experience I had in all those years.

JRK: You started RainbowGray.com as a resource for LGBT individuals 50 years of age and older. What was the impetus that drove you to start the site?

SD: Two years ago, I retired from LA Unified and fi-nally had the time to devote to getting Rainbow Gray off the ground. I’d had this idea for a few years when my mother became ill and needed to move into an assisted living facility. I thought about my own future as an older gay man and wondered what might hap-pen to me if I ever found myself in Mom’s situation. I started looking around but didn’t find very much out there that was relevant to me or the older LGBT population. My original idea was to create a resource for older LGBT folks who were looking for informa-tion about housing and caring for aging parents. But frankly, I kind of lost interest in that idea. Partly be-cause there’s more stuff out there now that does per-tain to older LGBT people, especially those people who, like many elderly people in this country, are in need of social services. I didn’t fit into that group ei-ther, and wanted to create something that spoke to aging LGBT boomers particularly, people in their fif-ties and sixties. So what came to me instead was the idea that we were marginalized in our society, and that our contributions, creativity and experiences weren’t very much appreciated within the gay world as well as the so-called straight world. So my idea morphed into creating a site that would celebrate and foster the wisdom, creativity, diversity and experiences of older gay people who were 50 or older.

JRK: What can folks find when they go to the site? What’s it’s all about?

SD: If you go to RainbowGray.com, and I hope

A Vibrant Shade of GrayA Conversation With Stephen Dolainski

An Interview By Jim Koury, Editor/Publisher