This morning I went to my old church. Walking up, I saw a drag queen by the front door. I thought it was just an overdressed prostitute (it’s the kind of church that doesn’t blink when a prostitute walks in), but she turned out to be a member of the Imperial Court of New York, an organization that raises money through the ancient art of drag. They throw galas (I know that word is really gay, but the only other choice I had was “balls,” and I didn’t want to offend anyone) and are all around good deed doers, as the Wizard of Oz might say. I almost took a picture of her - which I now know she would have loved - but since I thought she might be a working girl (Full drag at 10:30 in the morning? You do the math.) I thought better of it.
When I walked into church, the choir director, John, waved at me and after a few minutes, asked me if I’d like to sing with the choir that morning. It was my secret wish. The choir - with me backing up the tenor section - sounded great. We sang Closer to Fine by the Indigo Girls. Then The Imperial Court representatives presented a check for $15,000 to the church. (Only a crazy church would snub a couple of drag queens bearing a check like that.) And finally, the fabulous Reverand Pat Bumgardner preacher her Stonewall Sunday sermon. (Stonewall Sunday is a High Holy Day at MCC-NY.) I’ve heard the sermon many times, but I hadn’t heard it in a long time and it was music to my ears.
In case you are not aware, the Stonewall Riots began almost 40 years ago on June 28, 1969. It was the official beginning of the gay rights movement. Basically, a bunch of policemen tried to raid the Stonewall Inn and the drag queens and bull dykes (and presumably people like me who are neither) fought back. It’s a great story (we won), but that’s it in a line or two.

I had to leave church early because my train to Poughkeepsie left at 12:45 and my friend, Ross, was meeting me at the other end. I was so happy that I had to go through Grand Central Station. I hadn’t been through there for years - probably years before I left. It’s really nice now. I took a snap of the ceiling, which had been cleaned before I left.

Then, rushing to my train, I took one of the hall. It’s very nice as crowded train stations go. Lots of restaurants and places to eat downstairs. Even if you don’t have to catch a train to Poughkeepsie, you should try to see it. It’s beautiful. Of course I knit during the two hour train ride. That, to me, was one of the pros when I was weighing whether or not to make the trip to see Ross and his boyfriend, Roger, upstate. Two hours of knitting time on a train. A secondary gain was that there was one of the prettiest babies I’ve ever seen sitting beside me. One of those that just smiles and stares. Love that.

Ross and Roge have a fairly large house in Rhinebeck. It’s not gigantic, but it’s got about three bedrooms and a lot more space than Fred and I have. There’s also a large garage and a large storage shed. It’s sitting on two and a half acres. Anyway, we ate lunch, did a little tour of Rhinebeck and then went to the house where we hung out and had a cocktail in the backyard until it started to rain and we thought we should head back. It was nice to see the house because I’d heard about it for years and I had something completely different in mind. (Another, smaller place that I’d seen in the early Nineties.)
Ross and I got back into the City and went to their apartment in the City, which has this view.

I’m going to say that that’s the Manhattan Bridge, but don’t hold me to it. Anyway, we sat around there and talked for a while - again. We’ve known each other since the eighth grade, so we’ve always got a lot to talk about. Interestingly, we talked, possibly for the first time, about our real impressions of each other in high school. You know how the farther you get away from something, the safer it is to talk about it? So we were probably more honest tonight. Plus, we’d had a few, and that always helps. This is one of us that looks like we’re on drugs because of all the trailers, but we’re not. My camera just needed more time than Ross wanted to give it.

I’m always amazed and grateful at the luck I’ve had with the people I’ve been “saddled with” in my life. I’m talking about those permanent fixtures like siblings and friends (like Ross and Patty) who are in our lives and just won’t go away (thankfully). I’ve had some really dry chaff just blow away and the people who’ve stayed are just wonderful. They’re the kind of people who I can not see for months or years and then we get together and we start talking like it we saw each other last week. Ross posted this last snap of us on Facebook. Roger had taken in the backyard. He wrote “Didn’t realize how much I missed him!!” I feel the same.
