The First of Several Angles to the Orlando Tragedy: Terrorism

What can I say that hasn't already been said about the horrific tragedy that happened in Orlando early this morning?  For one thing, this was something that was always in the back of my mind whenever I went into a gay club, even from my early days of clubbing.  We all know there are a lot of sick people out there, and any one of us, in virtually any situation, in virtually any place, could face the very same horror those poor people experienced in the wee hours of this day, June 12th, 2016.  That is just a sad truth.  

Even though the terrible mass shooting that happened today made headlines as the deadliest such attack in our history, the incident was unique in that it is the first such tragedy that touched upon several issues, and depending on which spin-meister you listen to, the way you might see it is the way they spin it.  Whatever the case, this tragedy surely drew new and valid ire towards terrorism, but three other important societal problems surface here, and over the next few days I will be devoting some space here to discuss these issues as I see them.  

Life never has and never will be black and white.  We need to look at our society holistically and through all that gray matter in between in order to make any real progress so something like this never happens again.  Until then, I am afraid that these sorts of incidents will continue to happen.  

The Terrorist Angle

50 killed in shooting at Florida nightclub in possible act of Islamic terror - Fox

Orlando Shooting: 50 killed, shooter pledged ISIS allegiance - CNN

Islamic State linked to worst mass shooting in American history - USA Today

These were among the first headlines that I found while doing a search for 'Orlando shooting' in preparation for this post.  Notice any special groups of similar words that come up in these?  Islamic terror.  ISIS allegiance.  Islamic State.  Now, look up at the meme at the top of this post.  Curiously, the word 'gay' appears in none of these headlines, yet I'm pretty damned sure that, regardless if the attack was ordered by the ISIS supreme being himself or if it was perpetrated by Mr. Omar Mateen on his own, these 100-plus people who were killed or critically wounded in the shooting were targeted because they were gay.  

The headlines above each appeared on popular American news outlets, and links are provided for you to read them.  Another headline I found was on Al Jazeera, a, ahem, 'Muslim' news outlet scorned by most Americans from way back in the days of Al Qaeda.  It reads, Scores dead in gay nightclub shooting.  Now before any Muslim-phobes read into my angle here, the article does make mention of the terror connection, and I am not disagreeing that it shouldn't in any of these stories.  

The problem here is the placement and the angles of those headlines that seem to be purposefully trying to point our minds towards that aspect of this deadly massacre.  The topic of my Master's Thesis was 32 pages about how five huge media conglomerates purposefully drive the discussion, and though that paper was written about 15 years ago, I am sure it still holds true today, as evidenced by these headlines.  Ah, the masking of other, more troubling issues that come from within.  I speak of headlines because they, the media outlets, know that a great majority of we busy Americans get our news via the headlines, not the stories themselves, and thus are important in swaying the debate the way they want to.

Surely this incident could and should be classified as a terrorist attack.  The very definition of terrorism is the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims (Google), and the attack in Orlando surely fits that description.  But this morning's events at Pulse Nightclub were much more than that.  When we hear the words terrorist attack, we automatically think Muslim radicals and our anger gets directed at them.  I wonder if the attacker was a white American that those words would have appeared in those headlines. Probably not!  We've been trained to equate the word Muslim with terror and that's just not right.  It only works to create Muslim-phobia and more problems.  Really!

This massacre earlier today was an attack on gays, fueled by religious radicalism.  Homophobia is rooted in the scriptures of many of the world's largest religions, most written thousands of years ago. Though this was one extreme result of homophobia, are the thousands upon thousands of bullying and gay-bashing incidents that happen every day any better?  

The murders were perpetrated with an assault rifle and a pistol.  One man given the opportunity to murder so many innocent and helpless people just like that.  And some see no problem with that because of an Amendment to our Constitution that was written under very different circumstances a very long time ago.  These people will fight and fight hard to defend that principle in the coming days and weeks despite the fact that this was the 16th mass shooting in the last eight years.  

Yeah, what happened at Pulse was a terrorist incident, but it is so much more than that.  All we can do right now is send some positive energy to those people who are still critically wounded and to the families of those who were slain so horrifically.  They were our brethren, gay brethren, fellow Americans, people just like you or me.  Rest in peace!

Stay tuned for more...   

Follies and Foibles on Rainbow Mountain

I should have realized when I met Ed, AKA Evelyn, outside of Cherry House at Rainbow Mountain on Friday night that the weekend was going to be a strange one.  Yes, after last year's, um...adventure, my pals Sean, Sonny and I returned to that Mountain Called Rainbow over in the Poconos, and we even brought a fourth, our friend and fellow bowler Al.  It was Sonny who planned the whole thing, and although I knew little about the particular weekend we were going, I happily agreed to go just happy for a weekend getaway from life.  Little did I know I was in for a couple of days in the Twilight Zone.

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I really didn't think anything of it at first.  Ed was smoking a cigarette outside, as was I, and we were just making friendly chit chat.  He...she...was very tall, over six feet, and quite simply looked like a middle-aged man in women's clothes...garish women's clothes to boot,  When he mentioned that his wife didn't want him to come, I became curious and soon found out that he was there for the first time and very nervous.  We soon parted ways as I returned to my room to get ready to go to the club with my buds.

Though I thought of Rainbow as somewhat dated and not really the nicest of places, I did remember that the club housed on the grounds was pretty cool.  It had been packed last time and lots of fun, so I was really looking forward to getting my groove on...that is, until I got there.  On the short walk from Cherry House over to the club we passed two more people like Ed. As we walked past them, Sonny casually mentioned, Oh, it's crossdresser's weekend.  

Really?  Are you kidding? 

No, Really!

It was true.  We walked into the empty, cavernous club and immediately made our way downstairs to the basement for some crossdressing karaoke.  Out of the thirty or so people down there, more than half the patrons were middle-aged crossdressers singing Frank Sinatra, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and plenty of other songs from like forty years ago.  We were definitely in the Twilight Zone!  As my pal Rich said when I told him the story a couple of days later, I'd have gotten drunk, that's exactly what I did.  Great minds think alike!

And so set the stage for a weekend of follies and foibles, missed opportunities and a few laughs in between.  It wasn't the greatest of weekends, but it was good to be doing it all with some good people. Here are some of the highlights and low-lights of the weekend...      

After a morning of outlet shopping, the four of us were hungry and looking for a snack to tide us over before dinner.  Along the road in Stroudsburg, Al noticed the coolest little place, Rootin' Tootin' Hot Dogs.  This place as like the hot dog version of so many of those 50's style hamburger places that are so popular these days.  It was owned by a sweet gay couple who really put their own unique spin on both the vintage decor and the menu.  

Old 45 record sleeves adorned the walls and beautifully crafted wooden shelves lined the perimeter. There were red leather booths and a real jukebox that played three songs for a quarter.  And the menu consisted of hot dogs served in several unique ways, with chili, cheese, pesto mayonnaise and more, as well as some delicious tater tot/hash browny potatoes.  High point!

The Horror Hotel

On Sonny's itinerary for us over the weekend was a visit to a haunted mansion, which is always fun. After realizing that the one he had picked out was 45 minutes away, we found one a little closer called the Horror Hotel, or something to that effect.  This place was three attractions in one, and though three of us (four of Sonny's friends had met us up there on Saturday) ended up bailing after a really long wait for the second one (low point!), the one that we did go through was pretty darned scary...and full of belly laughs, too. You see, Sonny's got this look about her that just seems to attract people everywhere she goes, and virtually every monster at this ride set their sights on our poor friend.  You can imagine the laughs we shared at her expense.

Karaoke, More Belly Laughs, and Bradley

Other than the crossdressing karaoke singers, probably the one thing we're all going to remember the most about this particular weekend is Bradley.  Bradley was this young dude who is a local to the Rainbow Mountain area.  He seemed like, and I hate to say this, but it's true, a meth head, though he didn't really appear to be high or anything...maybe just exhibiting some of the effects of having done the drug for a long, long time. Really, though, Bradley was sweet and harmless, and he provided us with all of the entertainment we'd need for that second night at Rainbow.

We'd all first seen Bradley on Friday night, first at karaoke doing a nice rendition of something by Miranda Lambert.  After that, he spent most of the night alone, shirtless on the dance floor pretending he was a stripper at a club or something.  It was then that his strangeness first made itself known, as every once in awhile he'd run up to the bar, place his hands on it as if he were going to do a some sort of flip as his feet arced upwards behind him, and he'd make this very strange face as he yelled out a great big Ahhhhhhh.  It was a unique sound that really can't be described in words, except perhaps some sort of jungle bird calling out to a potential mate.  We'd hear that sound a lot over the next two nights.

To top things off...you remember how I said earlier that Sonny seems to attract attention wherever she goes?  Well, Bradley first laid his eyes on her Friday night and his admiration only grew by Saturday.  Bradley was in love!  Before Sonny and I even hit the front door on Saturday, the Ahhhhhh's could be heard echoing throughout the chilly night air.  

Hey baby!  Sonny was aghast.

Bradley followed us inside and downstairs to a booth where Sonny's pals were hanging out and we were all just taking it in.  The attention Bradley was paying to poor old Sonny.  It was priceless, both Bradley and Sonny's reactions to him, well at least for a couple of hours.

Eventually, though, Bradley got the hint and made himself scarce.  Everybody, except for me and Al, got up and karaoked the rest of the night away.  Sonny, as always, was fabulous (she even won a contest!), and by the end of the night everyone had become so imbibed that the whole group wanted to get up and do Madonna's True Blue.  As you can imagine, and as the karaoke hostess claimed, it was one hot mess!  But it was a fun ending to a strange weekend on Rainbow Mountain.  Of course the next morning the question came up: Will I ever go again?  All I can say is we shall see...but definitely not on crossdresser's weekend.    

An Affair to Remember

Leave it to the gays to make weddings something again!

That was my friend Al, right before the ceremony last night at the wedding of Daved and Tom.  It was the first of what I know to be several gay weddings I will attend and it was what one might expect in such a celebration, unique and decidedly memorable.  This was a wedding I wasn't invited to...I don't know Daved and Tom that well yet...but my friend Kyle asked me to come as his guest and I am glad he did.

The wedding was very Gatsby, through and through, from the attire to the decor to the aura.  The celebration took place at the Suffolk Theater in Riverhead and right from the start it felt like you were at not just any ordinary wedding reception, but a grand affair.  Guests needed to check in at the box office and get their table tickets before entering the venue, which was done up very elegantly.  Tables were set up in levels down towards the stage and beautiful flowers and lighting providing a beautiful backdrop.

  

It's a beautiful night

We're looking for something dumb to do

Hey baby

I think I want to marry you

The two lovebirds both have a background in singing, and if you didn't know it, that fact became evident at the start of the ceremony as the sounds of Bruno Mars' Marry You came blaring out of the speakers and Tom and Daved surprised everyone by entering the room singing.  It was a fun start to a special evening.  

Daved and Tom's wedding was definitely an affair to remember.  Great food, great music and great friends all in one place, all having the time of their lives, and I am so happy I got to be a part of it.  In this day and age, it seems so natural to see so many people celebrating the love two people have for one another, regardless of their respective genders.  It's almost incredulous that this hasn't been more mainstream to this point, but regardless gay marriage is now a part of life here in this society and like everything else, it seems, the gays will be setting a new standard for theirs and 'traditional' wedding celebrants for years to come!  Here's to Daved and Tom...may you share many years of wedded bliss!

Negative!

I had no idea what I was in for when I headed out for a quick drink on Friday night.  I was supposed to meet my friends Rich and Tim at Exclusive Lounge, the former Nuts and Bolts, and when I arrived neither of them were there yet.  I didn't know anyone and the bar seats were all occupied so I just stood around for a little while, promising myself that if they didn't come by the time I finished my drink, I'd leave.  That was when I saw my friend Ricardo...

I've known Ricardo for a few years now, through various outlets around Long Island and through my pals Manny and Ozzie.  He's into a lot of things, enough to rival me.  He sells real estate, he's into photography, he hosts Latin Fusion parties once a month at the LI Eagle, and he also works for the New York State Department of Health.  That's why he was at Exclusive on Friday.

I forget the name of the program he works for, but what he does is recruit people to take surveys for a study on HIV and Hepatitis C in the Long Island area.  They pay participants $50 to take the survey and another $25 to get tested.  Ricky's asked me to do it before, and I've always said no.  I've never been tested, which is really not a good thing, mostly because I've always been afraid to.  Given my situation, I nervously said yes.

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I won't say too much about the survey itself, though the questions were extensive and somewhat personal.  It is anonymous, which I guess would be important to a lot of people, but I didn't really care. The HIV test is optional, but when we got to that part early on in the questionnaire, I agreed to it.  I had a feeling I was safe, but I've always regretted that I never had it done and now was as good a time as any.

Negative!

I really wasn't surprised by the result, but I did feel a long-held weight come off my shoulders.  I'd had a partner once (mid-80's) who'd died of AIDS in 1991 and I should have gotten tested back then. I remember how scared I was at the time, terrified as a matter of fact and convinced I was going to die.  Of course time went on and I never showed symptoms.  I was in a monogamous relationship for 20-plus years, so I figured I was safe.  Still, it's always good to know for sure.

HIV and AIDS is not as scary as it once was.  It is no longer a death sentence, and I even found out at the survey that they do now even have a combination of medications that can prevent you from getting it.  I think I'll abstain, as I am not so promiscuous, nor do I play unsafely.  So there, I did it! If anyone within the range of this blog has any of the risk factors involved in acquiring HIV, intravenous drug use, unprotected sex with the same sex, or even questionable sex practices, please go out and get tested.  I wish I hadn't waited so long and I'm glad to have peace of mind!  

 

Washout at Six Flags

Fairgrounds:Outatthepark

Last night was the 12th Annual Fairgrounds Out at Night event at Great Adventure and probably the 8th or 9th time I've gone.  Unfortunately, after a week of sunshine and warm temperatures, a cold front was passing through and the night ended up being a washout.

I should've known the night wasn't going to be the same from the get go, as only four of us ended up making it as opposed to the group of six we had last year.  At one point, we'd had up to ten going, but our number was whittled down to just us as the others had to decline for one reason or another.  Of course, the night wasn't completely bad, Rich, Gary, Sean and I did enjoy our time together, but getting to take only three rides during the whole excursion was kind of a bummer!

      

When we first arrived at the park, around 6ish, things were looking alright.  One rainstorm had already passed and though the rides were still closed due to lightning in the area, it looked as if things were going to clear up, which they eventually did.  After waiting out the delay, we headed towards El Toro to get our first ride of the night, but it was only open to another private group until 8:30.  We did the next best thing and headed over to Bizarro.  

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Bizarro is a ride towards the back of the park that is very underrated.  It was once called Medusa, but after a paint makeover and some special effects done a few years back, this floorless coaster definitely packs a punch, with seven inversions and plenty of G's.  Surprisingly, they were running three trains and the line for the ride was virtually non-existent and we actually got to make two circuits continuously.  It appeared as if our night was going to be great after all.  

   

By the time we'd finished our rides on Bizarro, it was still only 8 o'clock, so we grabbed some food before heading towards El Toro once again. For anyone out there who's never been to Great Adventure, but always wanted to go, this is one great, great ride! Our wait for the wooden monster was short (which is why we visit the park on this particular night every year!) and off we went on one of the wildest one minute, forty-two seconds one could ever take. From the quick ascension up the 181 foot lift hill and the terrifying 176 foot drop almost straight down, this wild bull takes riders fast and furious through some major hills, twists and hairpin turns, and leaves you screaming all the way. Unfortunately, and unbeknownst to us, it would be the last ride of the evening.

We headed towards our next target, the king of all coasters, Kingda Ka.  For some strange reason, the park closed off the formerly easy passageway between the two coasters and a long trek had to be made to get from one to the other.  Upon our approach, we could see that the 456 foot tall metal monster wasn't running.  Not one human body stood upon the ride platform.  

The boys moved on while I took a cigarette break, expecting them to come back, but by the time I was finished, they were nowhere to be found.  They had headed beyond the line queue for Ka and on to the park's newest ride, Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom, a 415 foot drop ride nestled within the structure of the record-breaking coaster.  I had already decided I was not doing that anyway, so I didn't mind, but Rich had set his sights on that from the moment we'd discussed this year's outing.  Turns out he was the only one to take the plunge as both Gary and Sean decided to decline the terrifying drop (I totally understand!).  

In the meantime, I had noticed ride operators sending test runs of Kingda Ka and a small line had begun to form.  I immediately texted my pals, who were still waiting on line, and got on this one...just in case.  It was all good as within five minutes of my pal's rejoining me, a park worker announced that the king was about to open.  Hoo-rah!  But that's where the night ended...

We were quickly ushered through the long queue for the ride and stood in line for the most terrifying of rides.  I was excited!  Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be.  After sending just three coasters along the circuit, the sky lit up in a big flash.  Lightning!  We were just two trains away from riding.  An operator got on the speakers to say that the ride would be closing and that we could choose to stay if we wanted in case they were to open again. Right!

We decided that by the time lightning left the area, it'd be close to closing time, so we started to head out.  That's when the skies opened up.  We were soaked and freezing by the time we even got to the front of the queue line it was raining so hard.  We ended up staying under the locker area for almost a half an hour as the rain came pouring down.  Once it had slowed to a drizzle and eventually stopped altogether, we decided to not leave just yet (it was already past 11 o'clock) and try our luck riding Nitro, a personal favorite.  

We headed across the park towards the Gotham section where Batman and Nitro stood dark and silent.  A giant lake created by the rains separated all from the entrance to the coaster, which did not seem to have any life going on.  Now it was time to head home.  This was, I think, the first time ever that a visit to an amusement park was completely washed out in this way.  Though it was nice being with my friends, we had some great laughs during the evening, not to mention plenty of eye candy, it was a bummer to think that all we got to ride were two coasters.  Not a great way to end the riding season!

  

The Allure of Cherry Grove as a Gay Man's Playground Diminishes

On Saturday night I went to Cherry Grove for the second time in three days.  I haven't gone there this year as much as I usually do in the summer, but judging from these last two visits, I'm not really that upset about it. You see, there's been a definite change in the place over the past few years, one that's becoming more and more a deterrent for us gay men, and I'm starting to think it's gotten to the point where to me it's become decidedly sad.  Both evenings were disappointing, a beautiful, but empty Thursday evening and a dreary (okay, I'll give you that one!) Saturday with drag shows and lots of gay women and straights gave this gay man a reason to rethink going to the Grove regularly anymore

I've been going to Fire Island regularly now for more than thirty years. When I was partnered, Joe and I would usually go only on holiday weekends in the summer, and since I'm single, I've become much more of a regular on Saturday nights in the summer.  Like anything else, things invariably change over time, but not always for the better.  The crowds that frequent the Grove, as well as the bar scene and the cost, are much different today than they were in years past and neither bodes well for the town's future.

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Cherry Grove Nightlife

The landscape of the nightlife at Cherry Grove has both dwindled and morphed into something entirely different than it once was.  Where there was once at least four nightclubs in this writer's memory, there are now only two.  Unfortunately, the recession of the mid-2000's hit the town hard and both The Monster (then Tides) and Sunsets sadly shuttered their doors forever during the decade.  All that's left are Ice Palace and Cherrys on the Bay, and even these two clubs are much different today than in the past.

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Back in the 90's, when I really started to spend more time at the Grove, Ice Palace was THE place to be. The bar was a genuine dance club that saw plenty of crowds both at the bar, on the outside deck, and on the dance floor.  Today, the club's main Saturday night attraction is The Porshe Show, followed by a Saturday night dance party that hardly fills up the cavernous dance floor in the place.  Now Porshe is a very entertaining performer, but not the type of entertainment clubbers like me are looking for. Daniel Nardicio's Friday night underwear parties attract troves of gay men from the Pines, and is the one regular event that hearkens back to the old days.  Cherrys on the Bay is the other bar/club at the Grove, the one I most frequent. Ever since the Ice Palace started to wane from its glory days as a dance club and the other bars closed, Cherrys became the catch-all for people who want to let loose and have a good time.

fireislandqnews

Traditionally, Cherrys was always known to me and my friends as the "lesbian bar," the one place where ladies of the gay persuasion would gather.  I don't even think I ever went there until a few years ago, after I started frequenting Fire Island more in my secondary single days, but once I started going, it became my place.

A Gay Man's Deterrents

The lesbian majority at Cherry's has remained throughout, and almost always the women outnumber the men at least two to one.  I know friends and acquaintances who don't like going to the Grove because of that.  I don't exactly love it either, but there are guys who do go there and I do often have fun when I go.  But there's another reason a lot of people I know have stopped going to the Grove and that's the straights.
Straight people have always frequented the Grove in the evenings, and it's never been a big deal, but these days there seems to be more and more of them.  Between the lesbians and the straights, it's no wonder why gay guys no longer make the Grove their hangout like they once did.

That's my pal Laura Kim with Porsche in 2012

Shows like Porche's, and the Ice Palace's famous Sunday afternoon pool shows are one thing that attracts the straights in droves, but from interactions I've had with many of them over the years, they also come because they see gay men as a safe folly with whom they can have some real fun.  I'm sorry straight people, but you have the whole world to hang out in.  Why you gotta rain on my gay parade?

Show Me the Money

There is one other reason I think the crowds, and especially the crowds of gay men, have dwindled at Cherry Grove is economic.  Though cover charges have halted, the prices at the ferry booth, parking lot and bars have jumped significantly.  Where I used to bring around $80 for a day at the Grove, I am now bringing even more.  The price of drinks has risen astronomically.  I bought a round of three drinks the other day at Cherrys and it cost me a whopping $38.  I mean, I know all about inflation, but this is ridiculous!

Perhaps the rise in prices is caused by the less than stellar attendance I've witnessed on my jaunts over to the Grove during the summer, but if I'm going to be spending that much money over there, I should have reason enough to want to go there.  Smaller crowds, and filled in large part with lesbians and straights for that matter, do not warrant the regular Saturday night jaunts I used to love so much.  Perhaps it's time for this man to start frequenting the Pines.

Now, I hope that no one takes any offense to what I've said here.  I still love Cherry Grove and I will still visit.  I've had a lot of great times over there and it will always have a special place in my heart.  Besides, I'm not sure what the folks over there could do, even if they wanted to, to revamp the place as a prime destination for gay men...lesbians and straights have money, too!  Don't get me wrong, though, I have nothing against either lesbians or straights, but when I want to go clubbing, part of the allure is to meet someone and neither of those groups fit that particular bill for me.    

Somebody Loves You

Awe, I'm ashamed to say that I haven't watched this video until this morning even though it's been floating around the Internet for awhile now.  If you haven't seen it, click play and watch how love is the same no matter what...

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A first GSA meeting brings about some old fears

I originally wanted to write this post last night, but like with everything else lately, I simply ran out of time before I had the time to do it.  Maybe it's better that I write this now anyway, after the fact. You see, today was the first meeting of our school's GSA, or Gay/Straight Alliance, and this year I am running the club with my pal Laura Kim.  Though I am excited at the prospect of being a role model and mentor to a bunch of GLBT kids, the whole thing conjures up some very old and pretty scary feelings.

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Mr. Myers, the ESL Teacher

Back in 2009, I penned a piece for Yahoo called A Day of Silence, which is partially about a national awareness day sponsored by GLSEN and carried out by GSA's across the country.  The rest of the essay concerned how I have to walk a thin line at my job, especially when that particular day rolls around in April.

My students are like my family, and being the person that gives them the essential lifelong tool of language makes me kind of a special person in their lives.  That being said, they know much of what there is to know about Mr. M, though there's one part of my life that I've never discussed with them.

As a teacher I've learned that not being straightforward with students leads to nothing but trouble. They're a lot smarter than many of us give them credit for and we need to speak with them as young adults, not children.  I pride myself in engaging my students them with open and honest dialogue, and I know they appreciate that.  As such I feel they get to learn more not only about English, but about life, as well.  So in a way I've always felt like a hypocrite in not being totally honest with them about me.

The GSA

Fast forward to this school year.  I said I was excited at the prospect of being able to provide guidance and leadership to another group of kids near and dear to my heart, yet I'm finding myself scared at the prospect of outing myself to this group without it leaking into my classroom.  I feel like I'm facing a momentous moment of truth.

Last night capped a few weeks of faraway anticipation by bringing the reality of the impending meeting into my psyche.  I was decidedly nervous, especially when one of my students mentioned yesterday that he wanted to come to our meeting.  I know that in this day and age I shouldn't be so uptight about it, and up until about a week ago I had openly decided that I would come clean to the kids at the first meeting in the hopes of bringing some of my own experience into the equation of their young lives.  But once I arrived at the meeting today all of that changed.

Our First Meeting

One of the goals that LK and I have for the club this year is to increase its membership.  For the past several years the group has only consisted of about five to six kids, and they were mostly all girls.  In order to be a real gay/straight alliance, we also felt we needed to get some boys into the mix, too.  We really played up the first meeting big time this week during morning announcements, promising prizes to all who showed up, and it worked!  Upon arriving late to the meeting (of course!), I walked into a round of applause (thanks LK!) by about 20-30 kids.  Wow!

With a combination of the hot temperature in the room, that many kids, and the fact that I didn't really know any of them too well, I immediately made a decision to put off my "coming clean." Though I rarely am at a loss for words in the classroom, my thoughts went warbly as Laura Kim did her thing and got them all excited about the club.  My words were minimal at best, and not very inspiring.

So somehow I've got to get through this.  Maybe it's just the fear I'd harbored inside of me from when I was young and things weren't as accepting, but knowing myself and how I like to operate, I'm going to do it and do it well.  It just might take a little longer than I had originally thought.  Stay tuned and let's see how this plays out...


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Frat House in P-Town Right Around the Corner

I haven't spoken about this on here before, but in just a couple of weeks I am going on a big trip.  I say "big trip" not because I'm going very far or because I'm spending so much time away from home, but it'll be a trip unlike anyone I've ever taken before.  You see, I'll be spending an entire week in Provincetown, Massachusetts in a house I'll be renting with six other guys.

It all starts with bowling, my new-found gay social life. The guys at bowling had been planning this from when I practically just joined the league and I was asked in on the trip probably somewhere in October.  "Sure, I've never been to P-Town," I said to my buddy Tim.  "Oh, that's gonna be fun!"

Oh my, how time flies!  Two weeks from tomorrow I'll be hitting the road again, only this time I'll be headed northward towards seven days of drinking and partying and drinking some more...and all in one of the biggest gay worlds around.  I almost feel like I'm going to be on the Gay Real World, Provincetown!

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The true story of seven strangers picked together to live in a house...

Well, we are kind of strangers.  I mean, well they've all known each other longer than I've known them, and they're all really nice guys, but it should be very interesting to see how it goes because we're all going to know each other a lot better after this week.  I've socialized with these guys here and there, but I really have no idea what to expect, but I am sure it will be fun.

I bring this all up now because last night we had our very first house meeting, to discuss some of the logistics of going up there.  You know, food, booze, coolers, and whatnot.  It was during the meeting that it hit me just how close it is.  After having it be so far on the horizon for so long, I never really thought about what it's going to be like.

"You better be blogging about it....I want blow by blows of all the action," my pal Dit tells me.

Apparently one of the things I wasn't aware of until our meeting was that each house (there are other people going, too, staying in other residences) has to host everyone one of the nights during the week.  That's cool, but the house party must have a theme.  Since we're the largest group of people in a place, we've been nicknamed the "Frat House," and so we were kicking around a party to go with that theme (hint, hint).

So be on the lookout for my Song of the Day tomorrow...it'll be dedicated to the boys of our Frat, lol.  In the meantime, I am heading to Splash in the city tonight.  They announced the other day that after 22 years of being one of the world's most famous gay clubs, they will be closing forever. So sad!  The end of an era!  You can check out my article on that here if you like.

Until tomorrow....


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Song of the Day - All American Boy - Steve Grand

It's not often that I would put up a country song here, but this one is special.  Once again, a relatively unknown recording artist, this time 23 year old country singer Steve Grand, has taken his music the independent route and hit the big time.  And what's so special about this story is that Grand is openly gay and the tune puts it all out there.

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The video for the song All American Boy was released independently on YouTube just last Tuesday and already has garnered over 600K hits. The tune has a familiar ring to it for anyone
who's grown up a gay man in this world.  Our hero, a young gay man, misreads signals from another man and ends up left in the dust with that unsatisfied longing for what could have been.

The video, which cost Grand $7K of his own money to make, adds an effective visual to the story told in the song, and the result is an indie smash from a genre not known for being so open about the topic.  The song is decidedly country, but like fellow indie artist Macklemore & Lewis, I am rooting for Grand.  You go boy!

All American Boy

Ripped Jeans, only drinks whiskey

I find him by the fire while his girl was getting friskey, ohh

I say we go this road tonight

He smiles, his arms around her

but his eyes are holdin me, just a captive to his wonder, ohh

I say we go this road tonight

now I know that that’s your girl, I mean no disrespect

The way that shirt hugs you chest boy, I just won’t forget

I’ll be sittin her, drinking my whiskey

I won’t say goodnight unless I think ya might miss me, ohh

Be my All-American boy tonight

where everyday’s the 4th of July

and its alright, alright

And we can keep this up till the morning light

and you can hold me deep in your eyes

and its alright, alright

be my, be my

my All-American boy

Ripped jeans, tight shirt

he lights a cigarette you know I’m glad that she can’t stand it, ohh

I drink the moonlight from his eyes
Now hold there, just a moment

I want to take this in now we don’t need no photo of it, no

we should go this road tonight
now I know that that’s your girl, and I don’t give a damn

she’s been cusin and cryin, she don’t know what she has

so I’ll be, sittin here, tryin hold down my whiskey,

you tell your girl good night cause somebody’d like to kiss me, ohh

Be my All-American boy tonight

where everyday’s the 4th of July

and its alright, alright

And we can keep this up till the morning light

and you can hold me deep in your eyes

and its alright, alright

be my, be my

my All-American boy

Of all the girls and boys to look my way

Ain’t no body ever hit me this way

so won’t you come back with me

and lay with me a while

I’m gonna wrestle you out of them clothes,

leave that beautiful body exposed,

and you can have my heart and my soul and my body…

just be mine

Be my All-American boy tonight
baby you light my fire

its gonna be alright, alright!

Be my All-American boy tonight

where everyday’s the 4th of July

and its alright, alright

And we can keep this up till the morning light

and you can hold me deep in your eyes

and its alright, alright

be my, be my…

just, be my, be my…

my All-American boy

Read more: http://www.lyricsprint.com/out/all-american-boy-steve-grand/#ixzz2YYIRCvRS

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