It was the best of times, it was the worst of times …
I think those long-ago-penned lines have always held special significance for me because truly in my life the really, really good and the really, really bad have always co-existed, side-by-side, together. Some of my happiest moments have been in the midst of great struggle or stress. And some really lovely moments have happened right around the same time as Very, Very Bad Things.
I recently had a Very, Very Bad Thing happen to me. It’s the reason I’ve been missing from the blogosphere for the last week or so.
I’ll write more about this later – when I am able to collect my thoughts on this more – but in a nutshell what happened was my partner and I went to my company’s Christmas party at a restaurant/bar uptown in Charlotte, NC – Dandelion Market. I don’t specifically discuss this, but those who follow my blog may have pieced together that I am a white Christian and my partner is an Indian Sikh.
All was fine the first four hours we were at Dandelion Market. We had mixed and mingled, and were sitting in a booth quietly eating warm pita wedges – the only vegan dish this place offers, besides fruit.
And then …
Someone complained to management about the “Muslim guy in the bar.”
I left my partner alone – oh, so briefly! – to go to the restroom.
While I was gone, a bouncer came up, grabbed him by his neck, twisted his arms behind his head, and marched him downstairs like a common criminal.
Eventually, I went looking for my partner, and when I found him – and found out what had happened – I tried to go back upstairs. At least one of my company’s principals was still at the party – I’d talked to him maybe a half-hour before – and I felt sure after spending probably a couple thousand bucks at this place, he wouldn’t want Amrik to be “removed.”
Halfway up the stairs I was roughly and violently “removed”.
All five foot two threatening inches of me.
Reason? Because I was … with “him.”
Yes, Dandelion Market is so racist and bigoted that not only can you be removed because of your skin color and perceived religion – you can be roughed up and removed simply for being with someone else of a different skin color and religion.
More to follow! Much, much more!
But at about the same time, a really lovely thing happened. Thoughts About Veganism surprised me with the Dragon’s Loyalty Award.
This means a lot to me. I try to be a faithful commentator/encourager, but as I said … life happens.
Sometimes … I feel life happens to me even more than to others.
Seriously … I have no doubt when I was in the cradle some fairy godmother with a wicked sense of humor put a curse on me … “May she lead an interesting life.”
And … ahem … I have.
The Dragon’s Loyalty Award is an award for the loyal fan/commenter, whether the recipient is a fellow blogger or just someone who follows and comments regularly.
The rules for Dragon’s Loyalty Award are:
1 Visit and thank the blogger who nominated you.
2 Acknowledge that blogger on your blog and a link back.
3 You must share 7 things other bloggers may not know about you.
4 Nominate up to 15 bloggers for Dragon’s Loyalty Award, provide a link to their blogs in your post, and notify them on their blogs.
5 Copy and paste the award somewhere on your blog.
So … Seven Things You May Not Know About Me …
1) I’m the daughter of a Southern Baptist Minister, yet …
2) I’ve been kicked out of a bar for being Muslim.
3) Orange is my favorite color. (Might be the reason why I’ve had so many ginger and apricot animals.)
4) My favorite Christmas album? Toss between Billy Idol and Elvis Presley.
5) I looooove Stephen King.
6) And olives.
7) And capers.
And now, I’d like to nominate a few bloggers for the Dragon’s Loyalty Award. I could nominate so many, but three immediately sprang to mind:
3) XBox2121’s Random Thoughts and Ramblings … I don’t even think he’s blogging right now, but he still follows me … definitely deserving of the award!
VegCharlotte 
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