Pride...Without The Trappings
Hope everybody had a great Pride weekend. Ours was pretty low key.
As we left off last Thursday, woofer was in a good mood and leaving work a little early even though he knew his flight was delayed. Got to the airport in good time...then spent two hours sorting through upcoming projects for new roles. WHOOHOO!! Got home late, so missed Thursday darts at JJs. Friday was a work day...long and blah, but the morning conference calls in the all-together give me some perverse pleasure. Friday night we went...
...to a friend's house!! Yes, i know you're shocked that we didn't go to the bar. So are we! A good friends was having "Bears at the Drive-In" night at his place. He set up a big screen in the backyard and used a video projector to recreate a drive-in vibe. Ain't technology wonderful? We hung out under the stars with friends and watched "Brokeback..." again. i still enjoyed it...actually probably more than when i first saw it. Well, this time i was with Matthew and went through the better part of three bottles of wine. woofer does love him some Pinot Grigio... Needless to say, we didn't go out afterwards. i had to be up to work on Saturday morning. Fortunately, the databases were still hosed at 8 so i snuggled back up with the kiwis for a little longer. Work work work...over soon. As 3pm and some dark clouds were approaching, Matthew persuaded me to wrap up my work and come with him and Coco (Coco Chanel? Cocoa Beans?) over to Tower Grove Park for Pridefest.
It was pleasant enough. Sure, it was the same old things. Gay handicrafts, gay t-shirts, banks, mortgages, real estate, hot tubs... Still, there was a good lesbian punk band playing. Had a couple beers...met some friends, old and new. Funny how many guys see me out in public and give me that "damn-he-looks-familiar-where-do-i-know-him-from" quizzical look (to include jpeace who found out i'm not as intimidating as he thought LOL). i usually recognize them too and once i go up and give them a "WOOF!" they'll realize who i am and that they know me from JJs. Of course, to a man, the reason they didn't recognize me at first is because they're not used to seeing me a) in broad daylight, and b) with clothes on! Other than that, Saturday afternoons at the fest are pretty low key and after about an hour and a half (and a smattering of rain...but i really wanted an excuse to take my shirt off and dance in the rain...alas, it was not to be) we'd had enough (as did Coco) so we headed back to the car and down to JJ's for Bear Happy Hour with the cuddly clayboy65 and got to hang out with themonkeybear and his cuddly hubbys. Since there weren't too many guys there, we snuck Coco in and she enjoyed whoring around and then relaxing on the cool concrete floor. Afterwards, we went home for a little snuggleaction and came out again later on. Pride weekends are always hopping at the club, the exception is that there are so many unusual faces. The night just wasn't hitting me right though...or, more precise, that MeatLover's Pan Pizza we ate, so we bailed early. We both had to work on Sunday, so it's just as well.
Sunday...well, we both had to work. Matt had an open house and i had more battling to do with the demons of the databases. No marching in the parade...no reveling with the throngs. i'd been in the parade every year since i got back in 2001. Back then, i had just gotten out of the Army and since i was hanging around the bar trying to figure out what to do next (and trying to get someone to ask me to come home with them), Jeff decided to put me to work building the float. We built a wooden "clubhouse" with a tin roof on hinges and during the parade i was hiding inside (still the shy boy) and at various stages in the parade i would open the roof to let helium balloons fly out. i'd be peeking out the back door to see what was going on and it was great to see all the folks lining the streets to cheer us. i got caught up in the excitement and by the end of the parade, i'd 'come out' of the clubhouse and was waving right along with them. Damn, that was an exciting day. Today was not.
That evening we went to see the mock-umentary "C.S.A.: Confederate States of America" about what might have happened if the South had, indeed, won the Civil War. It was interesting and made some intriguing parallels with today, but it was a bit amateur-hour.
Monday was Monday. i still haven't applied for any open roles yet...i need to. Busy busy at work...haven't even read the last couple day's LJs.
9 days and a wake-up...
Rick & Chuck from TRASH in KC with Matthew; Chad, Kevin & Jim (themonkeybear) at Bears Happy Hour
Randy (redhochipe), Jake & Matthew; Jake holding the rarely seen, but always cute Glen (buzzedoff); Randy with Bruce, Mr. Midwest Leather 2006
They actually put up a billboard this year (have they in years past?). At first i thought that this was really something and kinda brave on Miller Lite's part. Granted, STL is an Anheuser Busch town. Lite is big among the lesbians...gays drink mostly Bud Light. Of course, if you don't know what it means, you'll probably just dismiss it as another summer fair. No overt rainbow colors...very subtle. "Hey Martha, whatsa 'LGBTA', anyways?" Hell, i don't even know what the A is for...where did that come from??? Then again, it's not really aimed at the unwitting redneck, is it? i like to think that it's more for those who might be scared and closeted like i was...like most of us were...a signal that they can stick a toe out and "mingle" with like-minded folk...feed off the comraderie...summons some inner strength, if just for one day. It's a start."...we can be HEROES...just for one day..."