Chapel Hill is a great place to see "Brokeback Mountain" and be a generally charming couple

This afternoon J and I decided it was high time we saw the multi-academy award nominated gay cowboy film, "Brokeback Mountain." He called me from the lab and we met up for lunch before the movie, which is playing at the Varsity on Franklin, the theatre we Chapel Hillians can always count on to play the indy (gay) films.

It's finally gotten cold here in North Carolina. Of course, while the rest of the east coast got pristine, white snow this weekend we got hellish rain and wind. The skies cleared today, the temperatures, however, remained low and we linked arms and complained about the weather as we walked from the parking lot to the theatre. I like going to movies in Chapel Hill. The small theatres usually attract a rather eclectic group of movie-goers and today was no exception. While I was a little worried that the seventy-something couple in the back row might be a little shocked when the men-folk started kissing it didn't take me too long to remember where I was. I wasn't on the county backroads! I was in Chapel Hill, a liberal, hip oasis in the heart of North Carolina, redblooded USA.

After the amazing, heartbreaking movie was over J and I parted ways - he went back to his lab, and I drove home, feeling as though my whole world had fallen apart. I decided to stop by the grocery store on my way back because it's brightly lit and no one's dealing with impossible romantic situations while melancholy guitar tunes play in the background. Not usually.

When I returned to our cozy little house, I turned on the television and began to plan out the rest of my evening. My brother called. He was on the way back from the gym, listening to Chicago, his new favorite band, he declared. We covered our normal conversation topics: How I should be more adventurous and how he's so ready to finish school. I told him that J and I have begun to start thinking where we'll move when he's done with grad school, maybe as soon as the end of this year. It was, as always, a refreshing conversation. Because Vinnie is doing things like living in Maine with his bandmates this summer so they can give their all at being the best band ever, talking to him always reminds me that I don't have to follow the rules. Now I've got a bottle of wine out on the coffee table and having some will be a nice end to a weekend that reminded me, once again, how much I've loved living here, how much I'll enjoy it for the months we have left. Because this town has charm and culture. And senior citizens who love gay cowboys.