One of the people who has become inspired by the life of Ulrichs is Lyman Hardy. Lyman, who retired from teaching after 27 years, lives in Tonawanda, New York.
His story of "meeting Ulrichs" and being moved by him is itself inspirational. After retiring, Lyman was looking for things he could do to keep himself busy. He had tried several volunteer jobs, but for one reason or another none of them satisfied him.
Lyman did like his computer and spent quite a bit of time mastering how to use it. He also made himself a website and invited people to write him.
One morning Lyman checked his e-mail and was surprised to find an invitation from a Gay guy in Florida to attend a birthday party in far-off Italy, for someone he didn't know and who was long dead. Slightly amused and very intrigued, as directed he went to the web site that accompanied the letter. He wanted to see what Celebration 2000 was all about.
He was met with the picture of the man having the birthday -- Karl Heinrich Ulrichs -- and was immediately drawn to explore the table of contents. When he had finished the section with the biography of Ulrichs, he was in tears.
Then Lyman scanned the birthday suggestions. He began to wonder what he could do to honor this great man whom he had never heard of before but had impressed him immensely. Inspiration soon filled him, and ideas popped into his head.
He fired off an e-mail to Florida and offered to translate the web site into Spanish. The request was enthusiastically and happily accepted. Thanks to Lyman, in a short time another segment of the world's population could read the website about Ulrichs.
But Lyman was still bursting with new-found pride, and he asked to translate the site into French. Joyfully his request was accepted. It wasn't long before the website was available to thousands more.
Shortly after launching the two sites Lyman also began to translate e-mails that came in Spanish and French in response to the web site.
Lyman's contribution didn't stop there. Spring arrived, and it was time for Lyman to plant his annual wildflower garden.
So, during breaks from translating, he took time to tend to what has now become the Karl Heinrich Ulrichs Wildflower Garden. "Red the cat loves walking in the KHU Garden -- sometimes he sleeps there, too," Lyman says.
Still itching for more to gratify his inspirational appetite, Lyman suggested there might be something of Ulrichs to translate. It was suggested he might do Raging Sword, the book in which Ulrichs recounts his visit to Munich to make his famous speech in 1867. Soon after the suggestion, Lyman rendered the book into French (Le Glaive furieux), and Spanish (La Espada furiosa).
Lyman's contribution to the Ulrichs' jubilee celebration is certainly great, and so is Lyman Hardy.
E-mail: Lyman Hardy
Webpage: LA VITA E BELLA
Red's Webpage: My Name is Red
