remembrance

last nite Linda Lavin playd the Purple Room.  at 81 she's pitch perfect & put on a show so much better than my expectations. she was backd by the best musicians -- starting with her musical director Billy Strich on piano. he's a cabaret legend & the valley is grateful to have him leave NY so often to perform here.

but there was yet another treat. at the beginning of the show & then again at the end a young man with a violin & almost a smile performd. I confess to having never heard of Aaron Weinstein. but now I'll be checking his progress. he plays his instrument with skill. & his bit of patter was a sweet throwback to vaudeville.

when the show was over I saw him in the lobby & nearly rushd to get to him. after praising  him on his performance he complimentd me on wearing an ascot. "not everyone can pull off an ascot" he sd looking me straight in my eyes. I meltd. there were other words abt this & that & then I was off into the dark.

but as I was enjoying tea on the patio in morning sun he wdn't leave my mind. there was something abt Aaron Weinstein that brought back an era of my past. when I was the age he is now I visitd Manhattan with regularity & panache. there were the Broadway shows & boy bars & museums & bookstores & concerts.  endless cocktails & cruising. flirting with waiters & chance encounters with chorus boys. lads who with a wink & a word had you out of yr pants.

& there was a kind of young man that enchantd me. I suspect my "type" -- if indeed I had one -- was the California surfer boy. a bundle of blondness & lithe body that requests licking. but often after the rush of sex there wasn't much more to do. but the guys that really got to me were the NY charmers. most didn't start out in Manhattan but once they claimd that real estate there was a stamp on them. rarely surfer boy beautiful but a package of wit & charm & accomplishment that beggd you return to them long after you entangled yrself from their sheets.

of course I miss the fervor of that moment. but I had it. I was a part of the whirl. so many of those young men are forever in my heart. & I hope that somewhere there's a not so young man sitting on a patio who remembers the me that was.

so thank you Aaron Weinstein. for what happend on stage & in the lobby. not often is a time machine so attractive.

(photo by Dennis De Groot)

changes

a friend took this from his moving car. my billboard has been altered. why they put me in sunglasses & a chain with money in my hands is baffling. but I'm still there. I guess that's show biz.

Palm Springs Pride Parade

the float for the famous LA show "Best in Drag" featured Chico's Angels with a group of calendar men. on the right are Remy Cruze & Devin Franco.  on the left Trenton Ducati is hidden behind S_H_A_M_O.

40 years ago

the art faculty at Kent State University had its annual show. in a small adjacent space was a modest one-person exhibition. as I recall there were only abt 5 pieces. they were weavings by Lilian Tyrell. she wasn't on the faculty but her husband -- British sculptor Brinsley Tyrrell -- was.

I was taken by a piece calld "Tornado" & bought it for $300. it was not only the single sale from her first show but her first sale ever. I've lived with & loved this piece all these years. I loand it back to Lilian for an exhibition in 1980 & also her retrospective in 2006.

at a lecture abt her work Lilian acknowledged that the piece was a precursor to the work that made her famous -- the Disaster Blankets.

it was easy to love Lilian. she was a sweet woman with an appealing laugh. altho she had strong opinions which she didn't mind sharing she was never mean.

I returnd to Kent in the summer of 2007. a friend had a party for me. Lilian was quite ill but so wantd to see me that she came to the party. as she & Brinsley were leaving I walkd them out. Lilian coillapsed in the drive-way. Brinsley helpd her up as if it were nothing & I tried not to cry as I sd good-bye. I was so honord that she made the effort to see me. she died 4 months later.

Khashoggi's Fingers

in this world
led by liars
we look to writers
to tell us
where we are

even in death
this man
lifts his bloody hands

his fingers
fill the sky
with lasers
that sear
gloat of prince
bloat of president

Khashoggi's fingers
light the way
to truth

stop the rallies

the "president" is opposed by two thirds of the citizenry & the majority of editorial boards. his ego is tender. he must go to his base for these events at which he spews lies & rants like Hitler.

these events aren't to present policy. they are purely ego massage. I've been told each one costs nearly a half million dollars to put on. if reports are correct some in the crowd are paid.

there is no reason for taxpayers to put up with this. clearly these are political events. they must be paid for by the Republican party. if Congress weren't controlld by that party they cd stop payment. here is another reason to vote blue next month. it's time to halt the madness.

on the rocks

wearing Sondheim
at Cahuilla Teewwenet Vista Point

(photo by Estee Huff)