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May. 6th, 2010 11:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mlrThe past few weeks have been so busy I can barely stand it. Hopefully I'll manage to find a little relief in the next few weeks. I'm going to NYC next weekend to see Lulu and spend a few days with an old friend. Then to Chicago for Memorial Day weekend.
This past weekend I had to accompany a hefty vocal recital in addition to the usual tasks. And of course long, long days at work. I did manage to party with one of the guys from work on Friday evening - thankfully it was the hot young cubbish one. He was pretty much smashed. He caught me off-guard in his kitchen, gave me a prolonged sloppy hug, and unbelievably said "I love you". (Of course he's married with kids.)
Late Sunday afternoon after the recital, I thought I needed something more than the glass of wine at home. So I stopped by Rumors - one of the local watering holes. It's of course not gay. It's been off and on a biker bar, a neighborhood bar, and sometimes an aspiring honky tonk. Years ago I occasionally dropped by on weekends to checkout the incredible men standing around playing pool.
After a few minutes with my beer, I noticed someone staring at me. Yuck! It was a little old man all of five feet tall with a huge 10-gallon straw hat. After an interval, I studied him again, and it began to dawn on me it was the 'Widow Pope'. Just as I was coming to that realization, an old acquaintance sat down next to me. He confirmed the identity of said Widow, and brought me up to date. I hadn't seen Rickie Pope in probably fifteen years. Armando said Rickie had survived a stabbing about five years ago - which didn't surprise me at all - he's as tough as nails. He was a one-time bartender at one of the old gay bars, the Ritz. To describe this place and it's bartender would take a much better writer than I. Rickie occasionally would reward those present with a Loretta Lynn song. On those rare nights, donning elaborate Loretta drag, he would alternate between the bar serving drinks and the occasional spotlight performance on the dance floor. He revered Loretta. Patsy et. al. were of course goddesses worthy of adoration, but he exclusively performed Loretta. It was like Landowska and Bach. Each song was approached with the solemnity one brings to Parsifal.
The character that Leslie Jordan plays in that awful movie Sordid Lives is a Texas stereotype. That character is a little unreal to me, having known someone like Rickie. But for the sake of comparison it might be useful. As I watched him gently walk up to the bar to get another round in his cowboy boots and high waisted jeans, I found myself admiring him. The courage and fortitude that he must have in abundance to not only survive in such hostile waters, but to thrive. If only those urban bears could see a gay man like this! But I'm afraid they would only see a Leslie Jordan stereotype and be all primed for the next joke. I wanted to hug him and say "I love you".
This past weekend I had to accompany a hefty vocal recital in addition to the usual tasks. And of course long, long days at work. I did manage to party with one of the guys from work on Friday evening - thankfully it was the hot young cubbish one. He was pretty much smashed. He caught me off-guard in his kitchen, gave me a prolonged sloppy hug, and unbelievably said "I love you". (Of course he's married with kids.)
Late Sunday afternoon after the recital, I thought I needed something more than the glass of wine at home. So I stopped by Rumors - one of the local watering holes. It's of course not gay. It's been off and on a biker bar, a neighborhood bar, and sometimes an aspiring honky tonk. Years ago I occasionally dropped by on weekends to checkout the incredible men standing around playing pool.
After a few minutes with my beer, I noticed someone staring at me. Yuck! It was a little old man all of five feet tall with a huge 10-gallon straw hat. After an interval, I studied him again, and it began to dawn on me it was the 'Widow Pope'. Just as I was coming to that realization, an old acquaintance sat down next to me. He confirmed the identity of said Widow, and brought me up to date. I hadn't seen Rickie Pope in probably fifteen years. Armando said Rickie had survived a stabbing about five years ago - which didn't surprise me at all - he's as tough as nails. He was a one-time bartender at one of the old gay bars, the Ritz. To describe this place and it's bartender would take a much better writer than I. Rickie occasionally would reward those present with a Loretta Lynn song. On those rare nights, donning elaborate Loretta drag, he would alternate between the bar serving drinks and the occasional spotlight performance on the dance floor. He revered Loretta. Patsy et. al. were of course goddesses worthy of adoration, but he exclusively performed Loretta. It was like Landowska and Bach. Each song was approached with the solemnity one brings to Parsifal.
The character that Leslie Jordan plays in that awful movie Sordid Lives is a Texas stereotype. That character is a little unreal to me, having known someone like Rickie. But for the sake of comparison it might be useful. As I watched him gently walk up to the bar to get another round in his cowboy boots and high waisted jeans, I found myself admiring him. The courage and fortitude that he must have in abundance to not only survive in such hostile waters, but to thrive. If only those urban bears could see a gay man like this! But I'm afraid they would only see a Leslie Jordan stereotype and be all primed for the next joke. I wanted to hug him and say "I love you".
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no subject
Date: 2010-05-07 06:27 am (UTC)I am biased, having rarely found anyone under 50 attractive and being unusual in that I do not draw a line thereafter. My lover is 73 and I have found things attractive in men in their 8os. I'm also aware that I may make it that far and to do so by now is to have lived through extraordinary social and cultural changes both as gay men and as citizens of the world.
When I see gay men of my own age and younger I often only see self satisfaction and a narrow world view.
But then I'd also happily fuck Leslie Jordan in whatever guise.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-07 06:29 am (UTC)