The Green Monkey - Rusty Sutton Owner

The Green Monkey - Rusty Sutton Owner

In just three weeks....

At The Green Monkey store, we have just three weeks left before we close on Sunday, September 18 for the NC State Fair. Our customers have made our first full year in our new inside location our best year ever! Many of you have been shopping with us since we began under a tent outside in 2007!

From the beginning, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt there was a need and desire to have a store where customers could shop for items that expressed their diversity, tolerance and that all families matter! I remember some of the reactions I received in the beginning. They ranged from disgust to total shock that we were at the Raleigh Flea Market! Now we get an abundance of “So glad you are here!”, “Gosh, I love your store!” I love this store too! It makes me so happy to hear that so many of you love it!

We have added and subtracted many product lines since the beginning. Two of my favorite products have vanished from our store due to the digital age. We no longer carry any DVDs or books. Unfortunately, new technology has been embraced by most of us that are making those items obsolete. Other product lines that we have brought on board have flourished in our small boutique environment. We are very proud that most of our products are from small companies from our area! Our Real World Products, Be a Friend t-shirts, Art by LeGrant postcards, and Kommon Scents Candles are all small companies based in the Raleigh-Durham, NC area. Our Think Happy Stuff products are based in Franklin, TN, our PRIDE jewelry comes from Florida & Rhode Island and the Peacemonger (COEXIST) brand is based out of California. Real World, Be a Friend, Think Happy Stuff and Peacemonger all donate a portion of proceeds from their sales to children, equality and peaceful charities.

This year we embarked on a Spring Festival Tour that began in Raleigh with the 1st Annual OutRaleigh festival. What an extraordinary event! I was honored to be one of the co-chairs of that event! We participated in AIDSWALK & Ride 2011 with a walking team and a booth at the event. Our team raised over $500. We participated in Triad Pride in Greensboro! We ended our Spring Tour on June 23 at the 1st Annual OBX PrideFest in Nags Head, NC! A big shout out to all of my friends that helped us out at the OutRaleigh festival and OBX PrideFest! Without our friends we couldn’t have done it!!!

This fall we will embark on a four city Fall Festival tour! We will kick off this tour at NC PRIDE in Durham NC on Sept 24! Then we travel to Catawba Valley Pride on Oct 1 and Winston Salem Pride on Oct 15. On Oct 8-9, we will be a vendor at the 31st Annual MUMFEST 2011 in New Bern NC!

Drew and I love traveling to different cities and meeting all The Green Monkey fans in other cities and hopefully attracting new fans! Our Facebook has grown to over 675 fans! We have over 200 followers on Twitter! Keep on helping us spread the word.

The Green Monkey store will return to our home at the Raleigh Flea Market on Saturday, November 5th in our Renewed, Refreshed and Remodeled store! Thank you for such a great year and helping me realizes my dream that is The Green Monkey.

Willing to die for it?

A few days ago, a friend shared a story with me about a sister of a friend of hers. The sister, a diabetic, ignored the doctor’s advice about her eating habits and now she is on dialysis 3 days a week. She is in the hospital every other week trying to find a new vein to use and she is losing her eye sight. Is food so important to us that we’re willing to die for it?

My father is an overweight 70+ year old man. He had a heart attack in the early 90s. Three years ago, he had a five bypass open heart surgery. He eats fried pork tenderloin every morning for breakfast. He eats chopped pork, and almost anything fried! He doesn’t exercise. On several occasions, I have asked him if the satisfaction of the food he eats outweighs the pain he felt after his surgery.

In 2007, at age 41, I was diagnosed with the very early stages of colon cancer. At the same time, I was diagnosed with the genetic disorder called Lynch Syndrome. Lynch Syndrome means you have a gene that causes colon cancer. It is passed down from your parents and their parents. As I prepared myself for my surgery, I researched all I could about colon cancer. Every article I read and every doctor I spoke to told me that obesity didn’t help at all! I also discovered that if I had been smaller and healthier I could have had laparoscopic colon resection which would have minimized my postoperative pain and a quicker recovery.

The surgery was successful. I even lost 20+ pounds. However, within 3 months after the surgery I had gained the 20 pounds I lost plus some!! I hit 350 pounds! The heaviest I have ever been. My eating was out of control. My body ached. My energy level was non-existent. And clothes were getting harder and harder to find in my size. I remember thinking to myself, “How much bigger can I get? Am I just going to explode one day?” Then I thought, “If I can beat cancer I be damned if I am going to let obesity kill me!”

This week I celebrated my first year anniversary as a member of Weight Watchers. I have lost 93 pounds during my first year. I have 68 more pounds to go to achieve my goal.

During the past year, I have learned that I can eat healthier and enjoy it. I can eat healthier and be satisfied. Eating healthy is actually more interesting than eating the other way! I now add colorful veggies to every meal. I discovered veggies I didn’t even know existed! There are some meals where no meat is involved!

I have not eliminated any of my favorite foods! I’ve just made some adjustments. If I have pizza, I have two or three slices not the entire pie. I love Kraft Deluxe Macaroni and Cheese, I still eat it! I just don’t eat the entire box. I love birthday cake and ice cream and I still eat it! I just don’t have the entire cake and not everyday!

There are foods that I consider trigger foods such as the birthday cake and even pizza. I try to stay away from those items when the portions are not limited. For instance, I don’t do pizza buffets because I still don’t have the control I need to stop. I never said that I was perfect. I know my limits and try not to put myself in those situations. I hope one day I’ll be strong enough to do it but until I do, I’ll stay away.

My goal is to relate to food as a fuel not a reward. I enjoy eating. And I can still eat a lot of food. Before I would eat until I felt like I was going to explode! I have learned to recognize being satisfied versus gorging myself!

I have been cancer free for 2 years and counting! My high blood pressure medication has been cut in half. My doctor predicts that it will be eliminated in the near future. I am no longer a borderline diabetic. I have a more restful sleep. I’m happier because my self confidence is much stronger. And in my private life…..well use your imagination!

My battle with overeating is not over. And it will never be over because I am an overeater. The difference is I no longer live to eat but eat to live!

One Day Soon No Family Will Be Considered Controversial

This weekend, as the owner of The Green Monkey, The Alternative Family Store, I was told that I was too controversial to participate in a live broadcast of WPTF’s The Weekend Gardener radio show. The show was broadcasting live from the Raleigh Flea Market where our store is located. During the broadcast several of us that have stores at the market were asked to be a part of the broadcast at specific times by flea market management. (Our times were scheduled a week in advance by flea market management). When I arrived for my scheduled time, I was told by flea market management that the radio station’s “upper management” refused to allow me to go on the show because an alternative family store/gay pride store was too controversial!

Immediately I thought back to 1980 when the state of UTAH banned Olivia Newton John’s hit single, Physical, from being played on radio stations! I must admit, I found this amusing. Wait a minute, we are in year 2010!! OMG! Now, families are controversial!

If you have read other blogs posted by me you will be familiar with my saying, just because your family looks different than mine doesn’t mean that my family is wrong. As one of our T-shirts we sell states, Love Is All It Take To Make A Family. A family can be a single parent, a bi-racial couple, a couple with adopted children, a couple with no children, two mommies or two daddies. Families come in all shapes and sizes. All families deserve to be treated equal and respected. What in the world is controversial about that?

This week the Supreme Court past judgment to no longer limit corporations’ and individuals’ donation to political candidates based on the First Amendment; however, this is the same Court that says it’s OK for individual states to discriminate against same-sex couples who want marriage equality. What is wrong with this picture!!

Now, please understand that WPTF had every right to not allow me on their program. It’s their radio station. However, they missed a great opportunity to acknowledge the diversity in our community and to spread the education of tolerance and acceptance.

I have the right to tell everyone I know about this situation. It will be up to each person to decide what they do with this information. I’m an owner of a very small store that is opened two days a week at a local flea market where all families are welcomed. No matter if they look different.

Are You A Size Queen?

Are you a size queen? Is size what you judge on?

In the gay community, size is everything. If you don’t fit the “right” size you don’t belong. Just read personal ads and you’ll see words like, “no fats”, HWP (height, weight proportionate), or “if your belly hangs over…”. And sometime you’ll even see “chubby chaser”. Unfortunately, discrimination against overweight men and women isn’t exclusive to the Gay community.

I have been an overweight man for most of my adult life. There were a few “skinny” years during the mid-eighties but they didn’t last long. I have been ignored at parties. I have been ridiculed. All because of my size.

During the past year, I have been on my own weight loss journey. I have met some great people of size through message boards, social networks and at my WW meetings. All of these friends have been an integral part of my weight loss success. We have given each other advice, a shoulder to lean on, and celebrated our successes together. We have seen our bodies change. Many of us have lost between 75 and 100 pounds. Some of us are becoming HWP. Will we become size queens?

I’m hoping that as our bodies become more attractive we will remember that our size did not tell our whole story. Perhaps we can lead by example and teach others that wonderful people don’t always wear a size 2.

Are We Afraid?

Today in my store, The Green Monkey, a friend of mine stopped by to visit. We were talking about how I could make more of the LGBT community aware of my store and entice them to visit. He made a comment that many of our community are afraid of being found “out” which in turn could hinder some potential customers from patronizing The Green Monkey. As we begin the second decade of the 21st century, are there still brothers and sisters of the LGBT community that are afraid?

We now have 6 states in our Union that recognize gay marriages. We have had celebrities publicly proclaim their endorsement of gay marriages. Could it be that some of us are afraid?

We now have a federal hate crime bill with specific language that protects people based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Several states, including NC, have an anti-bullying law that protects gay students. Are we afraid?

During the past couple of decades we have seen positive images of gay people in our hit television shows, movies and plays. No longer does Hollywood depict all gay characters dealing with HIV/AIDS. Are we afraid?

We now have 46 states in our Union that does not recognize gay marriages. We have had several states vote down our civil liberties. Should we be afraid?

In most states, including NC, you can be fired from your job for being gay. My partner was once fired from his job for being gay. Should we be afraid?

There are still gay people young and old being harassed and beaten because of what they do in the privacy of their own bedroom. Should we be afraid?

When a community paper ran the story about The Green Monkey being the first Alternative Family Store at the Raleigh Flea Market I received an email saying I should be ashamed and stop shoving my lifestyle in their face and their children’s face. Am I afraid?

Together we stand. Divided we fall. As a community let’s stand together and let our voices be heard. Are we afraid?

Thoughts of a Green Monkey: Gay Is Not Sex

Thoughts of a Green Monkey: Gay Is Not Sex