1980s | Bammer 2021

Apr 2, 20212 min read

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...

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...