My First Gay Experience

My First Gay Experience
Originally uploaded by lorenzodom

Photo taken at Cleopatra's Needle in Central Park, New York City, on August 2, 2007.

My First Gay Experience
(Little Did I Know)

Mom introduced me.

I was 11 maybe, 12 probably.

I likely had just discovered masturbation.

Enthusiastically, excitedly really, I accepted her invitation
to go to San Francisco with her
to see the Village People, in concert.

We all loved chanting and dancing to Macho Man.

My sixth-grade classmates and I loved singing our favorite parody of the song—
“Matzoh, Matzoh Man, Yeah…”

This was a year before “Weird Al” Yankovic first hit it big with My Bologna.

We all listened to The Dr. Demento Show though.

Regardless, I lived in staunch Christian country, so Passover and unleavened bread meant little to us. I’m sure we had no clue as to what it meant to be a Jew, either.

I also had no idea as to what it meant to be “gay” as well.

That is, until, Mom introduced me.

At the concert we sat on the main floor of the Cow Palace, about 40 rows back from the stage.

The performance was lively and colorful. I was amused by their trademark outfits:
The Cowboy, The Hard Hat, The Indian Chief, The Motorcycle Cop, The Army Guy,
and of course, The Biker Stud in Black Leather Chaps with the handlebar moustache.

About half way into the concert,
after a big guns and lots of sailors in tight-whites rendition of In The Navy,
the two guys, men, directly in front of Mom and me,
started “making out.”

I rolled my eyes up at Mom, she smiled uncomfortably.

We never talked about that moment.

Ironically, I don’t think I realized that The Village People were “gay”
until years later.

And, I still don’t know what it means to be gay.


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(R&O thank you for the inspiration)
Lorenzo

Rose, Olive & Me

Forthcoming! 25 Lessons: The Art of Living, to be published by Cyan Books in October.

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