Gender Neutral Donuts

In this day and age it shouldn’t shock us, but it does. It also shocks our reviewers, hence this post. This week a reviewer reached out to us after leaving a local donut shop. Immediately shocked at what she saw – she wanted us to know all about it. The Donut Shop, a Dunkin’ Donuts, had gender neutral bathrooms. Still not shocked? We weren’t either – until she let us know it was in South Carolina.

Kudos to you Dunkin’ for staying true to your New England roots as you expand across America. America Runs on Dunkin’ and now so does Hayden’s List.

Baptist preacher says Orlando is now “safe”

I must say this was hard to read, but wasn’t truly shocking. We hear it almost every day from Westboro Baptist Church and after the attacks in Orlando it’s all too unsettling that there are actually people with this level of hatred in them. I think the biggest shock though is that the hatred almost always seems to stem from a church or a preacher. Aren’t places of worship and those devoting their life to God supposed to be the most loving, humble and warm individuals? I would think spreading love and openness would give them a much better opportunity to welcome our community into their doors, then to continue to showcase to us why so many of our community simply no longer goes.

So prepare yourself if you didn’t already read this story. Check out why this baptist preacher in Sacremento feels Orlando is in fact now “safer”. Read the story here.

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly…and, yes, The Fabulous

Here’s the thing when it comes to the good, the bad and the ugly: we know the bad and the ugly all too well. It’s out there. Orlando was all the proof the world needed. And in this world where there’s far enough hate and ugliness, we want to spread the love. We want little to do with hate and everything to do with love and that’s why we’ve decided to take what’s good and make it even greater by adding “The Fabulous” to The Good, the Bad and The Ugly.

It’s a sad time for Orlando and the LGBT community but we take heart hearing about the outpourings of love by complete strangers. In the wake of such darkness, we’ve been so encouraged by the fabulousness out there! Everyone seems to be paying it forward and then some. Take for example the the homeless guy who took it upon himself to relight all the candles at the Orlando memorial. Take for example Jacqulyn Davis who tracked that very man down, treated him to a makeover at a salon followed by dinner at Olive Garden. Take for example the manager at Olive Garden who found out about the homeless man’s compassion and gave him a free dinner.

The outpouring of goodness keeps going — people from all over are offering more than just prayers. They’re offering loving actions of support. Osceola Memory Gardens are donating memory blankets to loved ones; funeral parlors and florists are seeing to it that the victims’ families won’t pay a cent when it comes to celebrating the forty-six lives we lost.

Thanks to all of you who review on Hayden’s List. Your spirit of generosity is felt by those you don’t even know. Without you we wouldn’t be able to continue to offer valuable information to a community who is truly in need of where they can feel not only welcome, but safe. Even if it’s a bad or an ugly experience, by telling the community where there’s less than love shining only allows us the opportunity to shine a little more love in their direction. And encourage our great community to give back, forward and in all directions, especially by patroning the businesses in our communities who are supportive.

We are all Orlando! And we are all Fabulous!

The Good: A Governor’s Emotional Realization

Sadly, I think I’ve been there. It was the moment I realized I was gay but wasn’t prepared to tell anyone. The only way I knew how to act, was to act homophobic. If I made fun of gays or was a bully, there was no way they would know I was gay. A bully could never be gay, right? Fortunately for me, it didn’t last long. I proudly came out but never forget that time in my life.

This week the Governor of Utah opened up about his own bullying towards the LGBT community. He isn’t gay but did come to realize after the attacks in Orlando how hurtful his actions were at that time in his life.

Every time I meet someone who is homophobic or anti-equality I just think about that bad time in my life. I think about all of my life experiences and how it was through those times that I grew to be a better person. For me, those spreading hate simply haven’t had a good friend, a child or a colleague come out to them. They haven’t experienced what we as a community have experienced. It took me 22 years to come out of the closet, I feel I owe them that much time to put their hate aside and begin to spread love. Here’s to this Governor for owning his past and putting hatred aside, and standing firmly for love.

So what did this Governor say? Read the story here, courtesy of ABC News.