Gay Pride. What it means to me. I came out in 1982. So many friends gone, mentors gone, Some of us are still left. i almost escaped everything except for a really really bad relationship in 2001, where i became a member of the club. There were a few years where it looked as if it would be up to our sisters to carry on the fight for those who can not and could not. I cry every time at the moment of silence, not having someone to share that touching vast pit of regret good. and bad memories, along with the guilt of still being here. i will be there in leather, as these new saviors of the gay community have made me feel whole and strong again. Strong enough to carry the load of the very first person i knew who died, Dj Jeffy from Freckleberries. At the time we did not know what he had, but it started with a cough, sweats, pneumonia, then one day he was gone. Jef moved to Florida to better weather. We all know Florida was, back then, where gay men went to die (from Long Island) Poof he was gone. He had moved onto a higher-energy field. Thats how it was on Long Island. Faces would disappear, and no one would ask, it was known. In New York, the peers were emptying out along with the truck parties. The parties went like Nero played while Rome Burned, only this time there no water to put out the fire and fight the flames. i didnt go to the funerals, as i never knew people well enough to go. Once people got sick, it was a slow process, and people were shamed. The bars were thinning out. Today i feel like a lost soul. i stand for the faces in the shadows, the voices in the wind songs never sung dreams never realized. i go to remember them, to be them and watch what our fight has become. i will be there as the lone leather-man if i have to remind people before everyone got so prim and proper and blended in, there were the leather-men, the drag queens, the hookers, who took a stand As long as we stand. our freinds, family, loved ones in our past, will not be forgotten. Sing the song of death with me..
Posted on: Wed, 25 Jun 2014 05:19:31 +0000
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