Pride Not Prejudice
This year's Pride weekend in Dallas meant something a little more to me. This year, I had Little J along with me. We both volunteered to participate in the parade with the Outreach Organization's float. Little J had never been to a pride parade before, and was getting a little nervous. All he could see as we walked down the street to our float was Bright Colorful DRAG QUEENS...and hott sweaty cowboys taking public baths in the back of trucks (well, that one wasn't too bad at all).
When we got to our float, there wasn't much to do but hold signs and wait for the parade to start. Ironically, the float right behind ours in line was my old rugby team, the Dallas Diablos. I got to greet some old teammates, and as usual was asked many a time to return to the team. Each year I feel just a bit worse...yerning to return for the glory, but always making stupid excuses (I still don't have insurance).
Also, behind us far back in the line was the TCC float (or two cars and a gang of Turtles strutting behind them). We got to say hi just before we were called back into line to practice the hand tossing of beeds (necklack, not anal :-). While walking back I got to say hi to Jim and some other hott young turtles who were painted up as silver greek statues for one of the Miss Big Thickett cars. Man, Jim in just a small loin cloth covered in silver paint....WOOOFF!!
That whole day was cloudly and a bit wet, but right after we got back to the float, it began to pour. The teams of volunteers raced towards any covered shelter (mostly Kroger's Market was the nearest) until the rain let up minuets later. People were bitching and moaning for a long time, but Little J and I were having fun dancing in it and grabbing more free stuff along the parade route. Once the parade was called to order, the teams flew caution to the wind and ignored their running mascara, and marched like they never marched before. The crowds weren't so big as years before, but those who stayed through the rain gave it their all to participate. I tought Little J how to throw beads and frisbees at the crowd (tempt them by holding a prize to your ear and saying "I can't hear you!" :-). The crowds loved that one. A couple of times I, myself, threw caution to the wind, and grabbed Little J from behind and gave him a big kiss on the lips...I think I heard a murmur of, "Thank you, sir."
The parade route is very short(maybe four blocks), but the floats drive very slowly. All I can recall mostly was dancing to the loud disco music and tempting all the screaming people yelling for freebies. Throughout the parade the rain let up some, and then poured a few minuets later. I felt so liberated when it poured, not sure why...maybe just a refreshing feeling you don't get to have many times in your life (people screaming for you while taking a shower).
As we turned the corner of the street to the end of the parade route, which is also where the big festivaties are placed in the park, there is the usual tradition of greeting the Anti-Homo Protesters (Shunn the non-believer Charliee...SSHHHUUUNNNNN-aahhhh). Mostly it's a hand full of bible thumpers across the street reading from the so-called good book over a mega phone and holding big signs with scriptures that everyone seems to mis-interperate. This year; however, they must have had a few fundraisers because they wound up with a full surround sound system (on our side of the street!) They had a preacher talking about his sinful deeds, and how he and some members along with him have seen the light and changed their ways to serve "god". As we came up to the corner, I noticed some people barely starting to use their umbrellas as a cover to shut out the speaker from seeing our parade route. With a skip in my step, I ended up being offered the biggest RAINBOW umbrella to cover my section (thanks lady!) I wasn't doing it out of spite...I was sending a message that it's a free country, they can be there to disrupt our festivaties...just as much as we can be their to disrupt their pointless sermons. After awhile of peaceful antagonism from both sides, someone got too offended and tried to attack the preacher. He was stopped quickly by police officers nearby, but it just threw fuel on the fire. In the midst of all this soap opera drama, I happened to catch myself asking where Little J wound up. Low and behold, I found him directly in the lions den of the christian rebellion. He apparently found a need to inquisit on the nature of their persecution. At one point I found him talking with a not much older person who handed him panflits, but shortly after I peeked over the umbrella to find him with two other people and some guy who rode up on his bicycle cornering him. I watched from afar, waiting to pounce, but soon realised he had the situation under control (how sexy is THAT?!) My little inquisitor is all grown up!
At some point another upset gay drunk stumbled into the protestors and knocked over their speaker system; leaving nothing for them to use and so everyone started to depart. So Little J and I picked up where we left off and roamed the tents and festivaties inside the park area. There wasn't much new to see, but I did come across sets of streamers used in the parade that someone left behind (YEAH, Dance like a Fairy..a Magical Fairy Charliee!). We also won a few free burrito bucks from Chiptole's tent (Ahh Ahh...Yummm). After the burrito bucks...I figured things couldn't get any better than that; so we wound up heading back to the truck and off to Chipotle for dinner. Perfect timing, I might add, as not 5 minuets later the heaviest of all the rain poured down on the event, and I heard people couldn't get to shelter fast enough. So we eneded the night with some tasty chiptole and Sonic treats, while snuggling up to a warm episode of Friends. Hmm...how can we top this next year?!
When we got to our float, there wasn't much to do but hold signs and wait for the parade to start. Ironically, the float right behind ours in line was my old rugby team, the Dallas Diablos. I got to greet some old teammates, and as usual was asked many a time to return to the team. Each year I feel just a bit worse...yerning to return for the glory, but always making stupid excuses (I still don't have insurance).
Also, behind us far back in the line was the TCC float (or two cars and a gang of Turtles strutting behind them). We got to say hi just before we were called back into line to practice the hand tossing of beeds (necklack, not anal :-). While walking back I got to say hi to Jim and some other hott young turtles who were painted up as silver greek statues for one of the Miss Big Thickett cars. Man, Jim in just a small loin cloth covered in silver paint....WOOOFF!!
That whole day was cloudly and a bit wet, but right after we got back to the float, it began to pour. The teams of volunteers raced towards any covered shelter (mostly Kroger's Market was the nearest) until the rain let up minuets later. People were bitching and moaning for a long time, but Little J and I were having fun dancing in it and grabbing more free stuff along the parade route. Once the parade was called to order, the teams flew caution to the wind and ignored their running mascara, and marched like they never marched before. The crowds weren't so big as years before, but those who stayed through the rain gave it their all to participate. I tought Little J how to throw beads and frisbees at the crowd (tempt them by holding a prize to your ear and saying "I can't hear you!" :-). The crowds loved that one. A couple of times I, myself, threw caution to the wind, and grabbed Little J from behind and gave him a big kiss on the lips...I think I heard a murmur of, "Thank you, sir."
The parade route is very short(maybe four blocks), but the floats drive very slowly. All I can recall mostly was dancing to the loud disco music and tempting all the screaming people yelling for freebies. Throughout the parade the rain let up some, and then poured a few minuets later. I felt so liberated when it poured, not sure why...maybe just a refreshing feeling you don't get to have many times in your life (people screaming for you while taking a shower).
As we turned the corner of the street to the end of the parade route, which is also where the big festivaties are placed in the park, there is the usual tradition of greeting the Anti-Homo Protesters (Shunn the non-believer Charliee...SSHHHUUUNNNNN-aahhhh). Mostly it's a hand full of bible thumpers across the street reading from the so-called good book over a mega phone and holding big signs with scriptures that everyone seems to mis-interperate. This year; however, they must have had a few fundraisers because they wound up with a full surround sound system (on our side of the street!) They had a preacher talking about his sinful deeds, and how he and some members along with him have seen the light and changed their ways to serve "god". As we came up to the corner, I noticed some people barely starting to use their umbrellas as a cover to shut out the speaker from seeing our parade route. With a skip in my step, I ended up being offered the biggest RAINBOW umbrella to cover my section (thanks lady!) I wasn't doing it out of spite...I was sending a message that it's a free country, they can be there to disrupt our festivaties...just as much as we can be their to disrupt their pointless sermons. After awhile of peaceful antagonism from both sides, someone got too offended and tried to attack the preacher. He was stopped quickly by police officers nearby, but it just threw fuel on the fire. In the midst of all this soap opera drama, I happened to catch myself asking where Little J wound up. Low and behold, I found him directly in the lions den of the christian rebellion. He apparently found a need to inquisit on the nature of their persecution. At one point I found him talking with a not much older person who handed him panflits, but shortly after I peeked over the umbrella to find him with two other people and some guy who rode up on his bicycle cornering him. I watched from afar, waiting to pounce, but soon realised he had the situation under control (how sexy is THAT?!) My little inquisitor is all grown up!
At some point another upset gay drunk stumbled into the protestors and knocked over their speaker system; leaving nothing for them to use and so everyone started to depart. So Little J and I picked up where we left off and roamed the tents and festivaties inside the park area. There wasn't much new to see, but I did come across sets of streamers used in the parade that someone left behind (YEAH, Dance like a Fairy..a Magical Fairy Charliee!). We also won a few free burrito bucks from Chiptole's tent (Ahh Ahh...Yummm). After the burrito bucks...I figured things couldn't get any better than that; so we wound up heading back to the truck and off to Chipotle for dinner. Perfect timing, I might add, as not 5 minuets later the heaviest of all the rain poured down on the event, and I heard people couldn't get to shelter fast enough. So we eneded the night with some tasty chiptole and Sonic treats, while snuggling up to a warm episode of Friends. Hmm...how can we top this next year?!