Dymally chairs hearing on emergency room closures
Trey Ellis
Marriage, you’ll probably agree, is a tricky thing.
It requires compromise, understanding, tactfulness, discipline, and the ability to see the absurd - all at the same time. It’s no wonder anthropologists believe we’re only hard-wired to stick together for 7 years.
It’s said that fifty percent of all marriages end in divorce. One of those was Trey Ellis’. In the new book “Bedtime Stories” (c.2008, Modern Times / Rodale, $24.95 / $27.95 Canada, 294 pages) , he writes about the beginning of his courtship, the end of his marriage, and life as a single father.
After the love of his life dumped him, Trey Ellis was nursing a broken heart at a party when he met the new love of his life. Ellis was speechless when Anna walked into the room, and when he finally got a minute to be with her, he couldn’t believe someone so beautiful would talk to a guy like him.
He was even more amazed later, when Anna agreed to marry him.
But after the birth of the Ellis’ second child, Anna decided she didn’t want to be married any more. She started practicing “New Age-y” things and she changed her name to reflect her new personae. Trey and Anna split; she to live with her guru, and he (and the kids, plus the housekeeper and the nanny) to a weirdly-decorated 70’s hippie-style house, the only one he could afford.
Despite the fact that he was surrounded by females - his daughter and housekeeper, the nanny, and his soon-to-be ex-wife, who kept stopping by - Ellis was lonely. He admits that he “went wild”, flying to Rio for companionship, falling in love with women in clubs and parties. He was smitten with women who smiled at him, he moved relationships forward with lightning-speed, and he spent his mornings wondering why women at his daughter’s pre-school didn’t offer to set him up with their friends. He dated and mated but was never sated.
How can a man find love in Single-Fatherland?
One of two things is going to happen if you read “Bedtime Stories”. If you’re a woman, particularly if you’re a mother, you’re going to laugh yourself silly at some of what author Trey Ellis does. You’re going to wish you could reach in the book to help him, and you’re going to be glad to see him learning.
If you’re a man, particularly if you’re a dad, you’re going to see yourself in a lot of the pages of this book. You’ve done many of those things, too.
Although there are several passages in this book that will make you shake your head (did he really do that??), Ellis will make you laugh. There are times when his free-form writing gets a little confusing because he writes conversationally, which means he can tend to switch topics back and forth quickly but that just adds to the quirkiness and humor of his story.
If you know a single dad or mom who needs a pick-me-up this Mom’s Day/Dad’s Day season, this is a book to give. Better yet, get yourself a copy and snuggle in.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Southland supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage will focus their attention tomorrow on the U.S. Supreme Court as it hears arguments on Proposition 8, California’s voter-approved measure restricting marriages to unions between a man and a woman.
Proposition 8 was enacted by voters in 2008 but was deemed unconstitutional last year by a federal appeals court panel, which found the initiative was at odds with U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment guaranteeing equal protection under the law.
The U.S Supreme Court hears arguments on Tuesday and Wednesday about the constitutionality of two laws in the same-sex marriage debate. These are the federal Defense of Marriage Act or DOMA and California’s Proposition 8. The high court’s decision, expected later this year, could have a profound impact on the definition of families in America.
LANCASTER, Caif.—A man suspected of fatally shooting his next-door neighbor at the victim's house in Lancaster was in sheriff's custody today, authorities said.
The violence flared in the 38600 block of 159th Street East around 7:30 p.m., according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene, said Deputy Peter Gomez of the Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau. His name was withheld, pending notification of his relatives.
“That we arrived at 50 years together is due as much to luck as to love, and a talent for knowing, when we stumble, where to fall, and how to get up again.”
—Ruby Dee on her lifetime marriage to Ossie Davis
President Barack Obama’s announcement Wednesday that he supports same-sex marriage was quickly hailed by Southland advocates of gay and lesbian weddings as a historic turning point in the fight for marriage equality.
