It is October 31, 2014. Halloween in the US, Samhain in the Celtic tradition. Walking by the bay on this rural Washington State island, a rare sight greets me: one thistle plant is still in bloom, glowing purple in the autumn mist. Thistles, the floral emblem of Scotland, are symbols of nobility of character in the Celtic tradition: morality, goodness, integrity, honor -- all that benefits our own well-being and that of others. It is as if that one little bloom, out of season, remains to remind passersby of the glory that we carry within us.

            The Library community room was packed and quiet. The local League of Women Voters was showing “The Health Care Movie,” covering the history of U.S. and Canadian health care.      
            Originally, the two systems were similar, but Canada took a different turn. The vision of Tommy Douglas, the first leader of the New Democratic Party, led to the creation of Canada’s single payer universal health care system, known as Medicare.

            One word in the film captured my drifting mind and stared me down: MORAL.

Standing before the happy couple and a small group of family members, I began to officiate at the wedding ceremony which the two men and I had written. Their eyes were misted. They had been together for ten years, and finally my state had passed a law saying that marriage between same-sex couples was legal. The joy in the air was almost palpable.