the playground for adults who want to just be themselves

i am a republican–at least i think so.  a catholic, although a little lapsed.  sheltered, of course.  but part of this project of meeting every facebook friend has been making me a little more aware of where my attitudes and values come from.  and i think i value respect for each other–the love one another commandment of jesus himself–most of all.

my friend gail marlow is the queen of a place on earth that is totally accepting, respectful and loving towards everyone as they want to be.  roxy’s might be called a bar, but i think it’s a little like a paradise.  roxy’s is a restaurant that was once called hamburger mary’s, one of the first openly gay owned franchises in america.  roxy’s is also where we saw a floor show with gail’s crew.  it opened with some crunk dancing by drag kings wearing oversized t-shirts, low hanging jeans, and baseball caps.  then there were very athletically inclined glam drag queens, including the renown diva hurricane summers.  was i asked to be in the show?

well, uh, no,but i did get to be the first person ever to have their picture taken with the wooden roxy cut out!  and i put a tip in malika’s briefs.  what else was i supposed to do since he was lying on the bar in front of me?  however, no touching!  that would be a violation of cincinnati ordinances related to the sale of liquor and of public decency.  it was perfectly acceptable for me to have a cherry flavored jello shot licked off my upper sternum.  i went to law school, i understand that legal distinctions are sometimes quite mysterious to laymen.

i first met gail when she was casting a movie in chicago.  eastman got the part but the movie lost its financing.  i ended up with a friend.  gail has had a rough time in the past few years and i feel sorry that i haven’t been there as a friend to help her.  facebook isn’t the place where people usually tell the truth about how tough things are.  still, the rough times have made her the best person to run roxy’s.

it was with deep regret–and a tiny bit of a champagne headache–that i left cincinnati.  i was minus one ring, a friendship ring that we share.

she also shared with me a recipe for a burger that is just right at four o’clock in the morning. . . .