Now We Don Our Gay Apparel


RainbowThis week marked a historic day in our country. Now I say that and most people will assume that I will follow it with something that everyone can agree is good for the country and will be remembered fondly for years to come. Well guess what? You might totally disagree. It will be remembered but not fondly by some. I am talking about the first day of the repealment on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell".

I don't mean to get serious on you, my very few but loyal readers. I will try to keep it light hearted as usual, but this subject has been the topic of several conversations I have had with family and friends. I thought I should put my thoughts here in my blog where they belong.

I used to be terribly homophobic when I was a young adult. I was in the military and a staunch Republican. It wasn't because the way I was raised. Most of my friends and co-workers in the Air Force were that way and just followed their lead. At that age I didn't want to stand out from the crowd. I just wanted to fit in.

So, I'm going to tell you a quick story that some of you might have heard before and some maybe not. It's mildly shocking. I was shocked when it happened to me.

I was stationed at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, MS for my first duty station in the Air Force. I was 19 at the time and lived in the dorms. There was a girl (isn't there always) that I worked with and I was very interested in. She liked to lead me on so that she could use me. I was naive and I thought she was pretty special so I didn't mind doing things for her.

Well one weekend while all my friends were out partying in Nawlins (New Orleans) I decided to stay home and do laundry. I was pretty introverted back then. It was the weekend so I didn't get out of bed until noon and my laundry was even started until after dinner time. About seven loads in around 2 am I got a call from The Girl. She says she is in Nawlins and her ride ditched her. She has no way to get home to the base.

She called me because I had just bought my first car. It was a used 1987 Ford Citation, shit brown in color. This thing had more dents in it than a golf ball, but the I new the owners and they were willing to take payments from me. So I had wheels. She also knew I wouldn't refuse, even though Biloxi is 90 miles away from Nawlins. I had two loads of laundry left in the laundry room but I got in my P.O.S. and headed out.

It was a rough ride down to The Big Easy. I had never driven my new car on the highway and once I got it up to 65 mph I realized why it was sold to me so cheap. My car began to shake from stem to stern. Just a little at first and then more violently the faster I went. I like to describe it to people by having them imagine your riding the space shuttle as re-enters the atmosphere on descent back down to Earth. I managed to make it down there in one piece though.

When I arrived in the French Quarter I parked my car in front of a McDonalds because I thought that it would be easy to find later. I had only been down there once before and I am notorious for not being able to navigate well. I figured the French Quarter can't be that big and I could walk to the bar that The Girl had said she would be at. I was partially right. I could have walked there if I had any idea where I was going. I quickly got lost and frustrated.

My head was on a swivel looking for some landmark that might be useful when I almost ran into a man in his late 50's to early 60's. I said excuse me and he stopped and asked me the time. I gave him the time and started walking. Then after thinking about it for a second I turned around and said, "Since I helped you, maybe you can help me out? Do you know where the Cat's Meow is?"

He said, "Sure I know where it is. I have lived here my whole life. It's a couple of blocks though. If you want to hop in my car I can drive you down there."

"That would be great!", I said.

We jumped in his car that was parked close by and after introducing ourselves we headed to the bar. I explained to him why I was down here in the first place and about how I was supposed to meet The Girl at the bar. We reached the bar and he told me that he would wait outside just in case I didn't find her in there. I walked in the bar and the employees were putting the chairs away because the sun was coming up and they were closing. I asked the bartender if he had seen The Girl and he told me yes, but she left about 20 minutes prior. He said she was going to another bar since they were closing.

I left the bar a little upset, but not defeated yet. I got in the old guys car and told him what happened. He said he would gladly take me down to the next bar and we could look again. Pretty much the same thing happened at the next bar but this time there wasn't another clue to follow. Now I was pretty upset that I had driven all this way and The Girl didn't have the common decency to stay in one place so that I could find her. So I got in the old guys car once again and asked him if he could just take me back to the McDonalds where I started. He said no problem and we were off.

Now here's where it gets real interesting. We're driving through the French Quarter which is really not too big, but I am not real sure of that at the time. It's taking longer that I had anticipated when the old guy turns to me and says "I don't mean to offend you, but I have to say I sure would like to suck your dick."

"Umm, no. Thats okay.", I stammered.

I am surprised I even got that out. I was almost speechless. I couldn't believe this had just come out of his mouth. What kind of place was this anyway? The audacity was unbelievable. As shocked as I was I politely asked him just to take me to my car and he didn't press it. We arrived and I thanked him for his help. I really didn't know what else to say. I got back in my space shuttle and piloted it home.

So my first experience with a gay person was not quite what I expected but since then I have met several more. I've been hit on a couple of times by strangers and I have worked closely with some gay people, even in the military. I have learned to drop my phobias and see them for what they are. Regular people. Being gay never stopped them from treating me politely or being able to do their job properly.

So yeah, I'm happy that they get to serve openly in the military now. Lots of people don't agree. Maybe you who are reading this don't agree. Thats cool. Guess what? You are allowed to have an opinion. That's one of the freedoms we enjoy here in this country. I just ask this of you. You can express your opinion and you can even get fired up about it. But like my man Wil Wheaton says, don't be a dick.

Trivia: I returned that car back to the people that sold it to me and told them they could keep the first payment I made for their trouble. They turned around and sold it to The Girl. A month later the trans-axel snapped in half while she was driving on the highway in Florida, eight hours away from the base.

Category : Current Affairs, Life
Tags : , , ,