fiction and musings from a gay black dude with delusions above his station
When I was about 13 I had to endure a week at Reverend Schlep’s Summer Camp for Men and Boys. It’s a right of passage in my family. My grandfather took my father. My father took my older brothers Mark and Karl, Jr., when they reached the right age. Now it was my turn. If…
(Ed.’s Note: This guest commentary is best read while whistling “When Johnny Comes Marching Home.”) I write in support of a silent victim, one so denigrated that its silent screams often go unheard. Even those who defend life to the utmost are deaf to the plight of these literally millions of victims. If not murdered…
Friend John Iversen, long time AIDS activist based in the East Bay, recorded a CD of tango music last year. He is holding a CD release party/birthday party this Saturday, February 25 at 7:30 pm at Studio 12, 2525 8th St. in Berkeley. $12 admission; $10 students, disabled, elders, unemployed; under 7 free. Yours truly…
February filled every classroom and hallway at Norman Avenue Elementary School with red, black, and green. As the month’s end approached, the colors blossomed in the school auditorium in preparation of the annual Black History Month Dance. Parent volunteers filled red, black, and green balloons with helium and tied similarly colored streamers to their tails….
While bounding down the corridor carrying a US mail container, I’m stopped by someone who asked me if I was picking up the mail. I explained pleasantly that no, I wasn’t. The person grew indignant and insisted that I do pick up the mail, and that she saw me do so the day before. I…
Dear Washington, Congratulations! After much civil, heart felt debate you have swiftly adopted marriage equality for your citizens. This is a wonderful moment, and you should be rightly proud. You have now joined an elite club, though we both know that history is on our side and this club’s exclusivity will not last. In time,…
I was trying to think of words to describe my feelings about last weekend’s Occupy Oakland demonstration, where protesters broke into City Hall and smashed things. But I think Robert Gammon at the East Bay Express pretty much captured it all. Check it. Some commenters to Mr. Gammon’s piece are trying to argue that it…
