A Typical Manhattan Evening
STORY: 1981—After my intense three-month affair with Bill Masi, a successful male model, had run its course in early 1981, we became...
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Nov 10, 20203 min read
The Great March
STORY: —excerpted from the book Farm Story: Coming Out Of Indiana by Eddie Casson In October 1987, at what has become known as “The Great...
Oct 4, 20205 min read
Bartending at Studio
STORY: It was late evening, as just about everything was at Studio 54. I can’t remember who got me the interview, somebody I met in...
May 19, 20201 min read
Comparing the AIDS Crisis to COVID-19: AIDS Veterans Weigh-in
COMMENTARY: BAMMER hosted its first Zoom webcast “Reflections on the AIDS Crisis in the Age of COVID-19” on Saturday evening, May 9th,...
Mar 19, 20204 min read
Looking Back at AIDS During the Time of COVID
STORY: I listened with interest to the online discussion Reflections on the AIDS Crisis in the Time of COVID-19 hosted by BAMMER on May...
Mar 1, 20202 min read
Looking Back
STORY: Two recent developments refocused my attention on all the friends I lost to AIDS in the 80s and 90s. Recently, Peter Gorobetz, a...
Jan 31, 20203 min read
From My Past: Obsession—John Duka, The Passion of Fashion
STORY: “One of the requisite skills for sitting at a fashion show is being able to roll your eyes, talk to the person behind you, chew...
Jan 19, 20203 min read
Remembering Workouts and Worries
STORY: It was once the epicenter of the gayest neighborhood in New York City. Today, any traces of the infamous Chelsea Gym are nearly...
Nov 11, 20196 min read
The Dead, The Living, and The Inheritance
STORY: Fall is a time of sad anniversaries for me. When I tested positive for HIV in the fall of 1988, it was hardly surprising. Many sex...
Mar 26, 20196 min read
Bar Wars – Quarter Stories 16
STORY: Fourth of July on Bourbon Street, hot muggy and so crowded you couldn’t move on the street or in the bar. I squeezed my way into...
Nov 9, 20183 min read
Bartending is a Dance – Quarter Stories 10
STORY: At Lafitte’s Bar in the French Quarter of New Orleans, the bar was made of thick old bayou cypress planks polished by thousands of...
Oct 8, 201811 min read
Peacocks – Quarter Stories 9
STORY: 1979 - The crowds were still in full force around the stage for the Bourbon Street Awards and the only space available was under...
Jun 9, 20184 min read
The Lavender Line – Quarter Stories 11
STORY: Sunday was my favorite day to go out. Friday and Saturday shifts were over. I could go out on my own down to the Quarter and hang...
Jun 9, 20185 min read
Making My Grandmother Cry
STORY: I make my grandmother cry. I come out to her and her fists close and her eyes fill up. She is silent for the longest moment and...
Jun 9, 20186 min read
Trip to Toronto
STORY: July 1983—I was seventeen years of age when I first met another gay person. My dad was an executive with a company in Ireland,...
Jun 8, 20184 min read
My First Night at the Saint
STORY: I moved to New York City in the fall of 1980 and quickly landed a job at a top corporate design agency, making $15,000 a year. It...
May 19, 20182 min read
Hong Kong 1984
STORY: Homosexuality was illegal in Hong Kong back then, but for the ex-pat community it was mostly overlooked by the authorities. Gay...
May 19, 20182 min read
Coming Out, 1982
STORY: During my first few years in NYC, I only had one foot out of the closet. I had my gay friends, and I had my straight friends and...
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