Think about it Pittsburgh.

25. July 2009 by admin.

It breaks my heart to admit this…
Summer is half way over.  How can this be?

The kids are at Kennywood with their grandparents.  Ed and I are faced with an uncommon issue.  What should we do today?  Our weekends are always lively.  A lot has to do with having kids plus a house in the suburbs.  Ed’s hobbies keep us very busy too.  He suggested we clean the garage so that at least one car can be housed indoors.  My suggestion, although selfish, is the Meadows Casino.  Our best friend, Sharon invited us to meet her there and Ed’s sister Susan and her husband Joe headed to WV for table gaming.

I love the Meadows and grew up on that racetrack.  My family has had racehorses for 35 years and my brother and nephew are still very active with them.  It warms my heart to see the place turn into a casino and grow in popularity.  It didn’t hurt that the race purses are some of the highest in the country and that the Meadows has become one of the fastest harness tracks in the world.  Yesterday, three races went in 1.49, which is a record.  A lot of people don’t know that the legalization of casinos in PA was primarily done for the survival of the horse racing industry and the jobs that come with it.  Now, the Meadows has some of the best quality stock of horses in the country because of the massive increase in race purses.  Of course, this puts the local owners and trainers at a disadvantage, however the system permitted time for them to upgrade their stock.  Hopefully, most will survive as they were the purpose of the change of  the law. 

The August 2009 issue of Out will be available on Thursday.  In this issue, we are premiering the Buy Gay In The Out Neighborhood program.  You should check it out.  It has a lot of purpose and will get people to think.  At least that is the thought behind it.  It’s like this…LGBT businesses are suffering from the progression of LGBT people.  I know we have a long way to go, but no one can argue that things are changing.  

Once upon a time, we as a community did not feel comfortable spending our gay dollars at mainstream businesses.  We were not welcomed.  Fast forward to 2009,  to a time where we feel more accepted on the surface.  Now, we spend our gay dollars just about everywhere inside establishments that do not invest or contribute to the LGBT community.  

I want people to think about the impact this has on our LGBT community.  By no means am I asking you to only buy gay or gay-friendly.  What I am suggesting or implying is for you to think about where your dollar goes and to support the businesses that support you. 

The next time you are looking for that gag gift and find yourself heading towards the mall, consider heading to A Pleasant Present, a gay owned and operated store in Sq. Hill instead.  Think about what your gay dollar will do for Pegasus compared to that straight trendy bar on the South Side.  Maybe visit both?

The gay dollar.  Think about your gay dollar being spent at a gay or gay-friendly business (when I say gay, I mean LGBT) especially ones that have exclusive LGBT customer bases.  That gay dollar pays gay employees who in turn, along with the business owner spend it at other gay businesses.

The lost gay dollar to gay and gay-friendly businesses translates into one tough decision of either closing the doors or going straight!  Yikes!

What do you get out of it?  The answer is simple.  You get or keep more LGBT businesses that respect you, your beliefs and support you.  Not to mention, you help make our community stronger, healthier and more vibrant by simply Buying Gay In The Out Neighborhood.

I hope my point was clear.  Think about it LGBT Pittsburgh!

 Keep reading…
Tony

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