Liveblog: The Thirtieth Annual East Coast Gay Men's RC Workshop
I forgot to mention that this year's workshop is being co-led. For the first time in thirty years, David is being joined by his direct superior in the RC hierarchy, Jeanne d`Arc, the International Reference Person for Gay and Lesbian Liberation. I'm pretty sure we met some forty years ago when Charlie Kreiner was alive and still the ILP for Men and Jeanne gave a talk at the tail end of one of his workshops somewhere in Connecticut. We were both in our twenties and I probably would not have recognized her today. She is a formidable lesbian woman, but, one with serious health problems and who walks with great difficulty, I'm guessing due to diabetes.
The median age of this workshop, like Southern Lib's, is inching ever higher, I'm guessing at about the 50-55 range. It's the first one that I have attended in the last 12 months that had a topic table on Elders, even though it would have been a useful one at many of the others. It makes the presence of men under the age of 30 all the more compelling and fascinating to watch as they not only find each other but fan out to make contact with the older men. One young man in particular, a person of South American ancestry who identifies as a person of color even though his looks are pure Spaniard, has made quite an impression. His name is Israel.
Israel came early with the rest of us and endeared himself almost immediately by supplying an endless list of current music from his personal smartphone for impromptu dancing breaks in-between class. He loves to cuddle and has spent long moments with his arm around my shoulders during class. He asks intelligent questions about my life, my career and where I live. He's really all one cold ask in a young person.
Sam is here and we shared a table at dinner. Later, we joined Israel and last year's sensation, a young guy from Sauselito, named Natan. It was the largest gathering of young adults I have sat with at one time since the old 20s/30s group at St. Michael's.
The evening ended with an entire class led by Jeanne on the subject of Women. It was the highlight of the workshop. The upshot for us guys could be summed up as, "You have to learn to be interested even if you're not."
The median age of this workshop, like Southern Lib's, is inching ever higher, I'm guessing at about the 50-55 range. It's the first one that I have attended in the last 12 months that had a topic table on Elders, even though it would have been a useful one at many of the others. It makes the presence of men under the age of 30 all the more compelling and fascinating to watch as they not only find each other but fan out to make contact with the older men. One young man in particular, a person of South American ancestry who identifies as a person of color even though his looks are pure Spaniard, has made quite an impression. His name is Israel.
Israel came early with the rest of us and endeared himself almost immediately by supplying an endless list of current music from his personal smartphone for impromptu dancing breaks in-between class. He loves to cuddle and has spent long moments with his arm around my shoulders during class. He asks intelligent questions about my life, my career and where I live. He's really all one cold ask in a young person.
Sam is here and we shared a table at dinner. Later, we joined Israel and last year's sensation, a young guy from Sauselito, named Natan. It was the largest gathering of young adults I have sat with at one time since the old 20s/30s group at St. Michael's.
The evening ended with an entire class led by Jeanne on the subject of Women. It was the highlight of the workshop. The upshot for us guys could be summed up as, "You have to learn to be interested even if you're not."