I recently fell into a minor argument with a young girl over Gay rights. Her point revolved around that old chestnut church weddings. Something I strongly disagree with. I made my point concerning the fact that the church, despite its own sad divisions on the subject, and its rule book (the Bible) states that marriage is between man and women, to my mind, should remain that way. I then said a few other things about trans gender prisoners who cause the Prison Service hours of endless fun trying to figure out just which institution they are supposed to go to and gay rights activists who insist on insisting on everything just for the hell of it. I listened to her PC driven bullshit for a while and then told her a simple and brief story of a very dear friend now sadly dead.
When I met Lynda in the late 90s she was Flight Lieutenant Lynda Brown RAF Engineering Officer based at RAF Odiham in charge of Helicopter Engineering Support on Puma and Chinook Helicopters. She was a bony Scottish Lass with a wicked sense of humor and loved by her mainly male engineers. She played football and squash and was very popular with everyone. She only had one floor as far as the RAF at that time was concerned.. Lynda was gay. As much as poor old Lyndipops (my pet name for her) tried to fit in, and Lynda really did try, she couldnt be straight, she had not been born that way.. I used to kid her it was a terrible waste of a good pair of legs, a loss to the male population as a whole and if she ever needed any physical re-education in order to comply with Queens regulations to simply give me a call.
Then the inevitable happened she fell in love with a female Navy Officer and got her self bounced out of the RAF. I knew of course that those were the regulations in force at the time and that the powers that be deemed gays as counter productive to unit cohesion, never mind the fact that more than one very senior officer was as bent as a nine bob note and many in the war had served with some considerable distinction. Those were the rules and out poor old Lynda had to go. I was by this time in charge of recruitment for a company supplying engineering support to UN operations and it was with total pleasure that I sent her off to Bosnia, in charge of communications. Ironically, with a very big promotion and feather in her cap by working flawlessly. Lynda performed superbly ironically under a head of Mission who was a regular British Army General, but now under UN control and regulations. When Lynda returned to UK my company sponsored her through her MBA at Warwick. We became the best of friends and spent hours on the phone when we couldnt be together nattering about this and that. Her views on marriage and kids were simple. Marriage was for straights and churche wedding for man and women who intend to have a familiy. Gays should have simple partnership agreements. Her argument was that gays can push things and kick up fuss, just because they can and like the attention. I bowed to her knowledge and with the way things are working out can see the wisdom of her view.
With her MBA under her belt Lyndipops next invaded the city and within a very short time was a name with the Commerce Bank in Canary Wharf and making a bob or two. The RAF seemed a long time ago and it wasnt long before she was in another relationship with a gal and madly in love. I was there for her when it all fell apart and bless her when she decided to leave Commerce Bank and go on a holiday. I can still remember that phone call when she asked me "Im not happy with it, its bloody hard work and I cant keep it up much longer, Should I chuck it in?" I said she was more than bright enough to get a job anywhere and could do with a break. She then asked me if she should go with a group to Australia and I said "why not".
I got one email from her with a photo of her pointing at a sign to the Flinders Mountains and then the terrible sad news that she had drowned off the Great Barrier Reef when the yacht she was on floundered in a storm.
I often think of Lyndipops and she has been promoted to my guardian angel who I talk to frequently and quote freely on gay matters. It is ironic on how many straight folk, trying to be PC, seem to disagree with her views. I think i'll stick with hers for by any measure she should know. She was hell of a gal, superb engineer and a very very dear friend, who I miss very much.
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