There are two reasons for this post

Several years ago, there was an article in People magazine about the national spokesman for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). He is a man named Dan Matthews, and he's now a VP at PETA. He hangs with folks like Pam Anderson and Morrisey, and speaks of them as friends. He travels around the world for PETA and its various causes, and he is a really good looking guy. He just happens to be gay.

And you're thinking, "so?"

Reason #1 for this post: Dan Matthews is from my neck of the woods, Orange County, California. Even more so, he's from my home town, Costa Mesa. Even more so than that, we went to the same high school. He was a social outcast because he was a "punk", a fat kid who was an easy target for bullies named Kirk, Kevin, Steve, etc. This is the kid I remember from my not so happy days at Costa Mesa High (high school is not something I would wish to relive, which is why I will never attend a reunion of my class).

So imagine my surprise when I opened that issue of People and saw this article about Dan Matthews. My first thought was, hey I went to high school with a guy named Dan Matthews, but this can't be him. First of all, this hunky guy pictured looked nothing (at first glance) like the pudgy kid I remembered. Second of all, "Dan Matthews" is a rather common name, so this couldn't be the same guy.

It was! OMG!

In the text of the article, it mentioned that he went to Costa Mesa High School, that he was bullied, that he liked Punk rock, that he was a fat kid. And, he worked for PETA. He was apparently doing well. He became successful and rose above all those jerks who pushed him around as a kid. Wonder what Kirk, Kevin, Steve, et al are doing now? Nah, I don't wonder, nor do I care. The same cretins who gave Dan a bad time weren't exactly nice to me either.

So, Dan, if I was one of those insensitive jerks who put you down because I didn't understand you, please accept my apology. I know what it's like to be misunderstood. You and I were kinda in the same boat at the same time. My sin was that I wasn't one of the popular kids. I was a bando, and that was as declasse as being a punk rocker. I absolutely hated high school, and would do anything to escape that environment. What I did was get married at nineteen and left the area several times (due to my husband's Navy career), until I left for good in 1988.

Reason #2 for this post: PETA's headquarters are in Norfolk, Virginia. I lived in the Norfolk area for eleven years, from 1988 to 1999. According to this article, Dan Matthews lives there now (or as of the time that this article was published some 17 months ago). I liked living in Norfolk, it was a good place to raise kids, but by 1996, I'd had quite enough. It had nothing to do with PETA being there, it was a personal matter which began in 1994 shortly after my youngest son was born and ended with becoming seperated from my husband and leaving Virginia all together.

I don't always agree with PETA's agenda. Sometimes, it boggles my mind that PETA would suggest things like changing the name of a town that sounded like it condoned animal suffering (Fishkill, NY and Slaughterville, OK are two I can think of at the moment). I don't wear fur, because I don't see the point in it, and people mistreating animals makes me mad. I do eat meat, and will continue to do so, because isn't that why God gave us the ability to provide sustenance by creating animals for food, clothing, shelter, etc.?

However, it's good to read that someone has made something of their life, despite the roadblocks that were put in their way. This someone just happens to work for PETA. More power to him.

--MorelaterZ--