Which way to the gays please? Part 2.

Now that I had decided that I was going to go to my first gay bar, there were some things that I had to figure out before I embarked on my journey. 1.) What the hell do I wear? 2.) What time should I go? 3.) How do I get there? I hardly knew my way around Pittsburgh at all. Pittsburgh is not that difficult to get around in..... if you're from there. Otherwise, it can feel like you are trapped in some maddening labyrinth, but I wasn't going to worry about that at this time. I had to figure out what I was going to wear!

My parents placed great emphasis on appearance. I even remember having leisure suits during my preschool years. One had a powder blue jacket with navy blue pants, and the other was chocolate brown. We were always told that we represented God, and we had to look our best. Were leisure suits the best thing that God could come up with for me to wear? Is this what he wore? I had visions of God and the angels all dressed in various colors of leisure suits raking the shag carpet that surely must line the floors of heaven, (remember, carpet is important to God). Anyway, this may give some insight to my life-long obsession with appearance, (sidebar: my brother and I both were voted best dressed of our senior classes in high school). I did have a nice pair of jeans that were, shall we say, flattering. I decided to wear these jeans, a crisp white shirt and a black cashmere sport coat. I figured that this would be a smart outfit because I would not require a winter coat that I would have to keep track of all evening like an unwanted child. Plus, I was pleased with how it looked.

Okay. I've decided what to wear. Now, what time do I go? Think, think, think.... happy hour is usually at 5:00 PM right? Okay. I'll arrive at 5:00 PM, but I have to allow enough time to drive the 45 miles, and to find my way around. I had better leave at 3:00 PM. If I need to leave at 3:00 PM, I'll have to start getting ready at 2:00 PM. It was only Wednesday. It would be two days before any of this would occur.

Friday finally arrived. I had the day off of work. I started to get ready at 2:00 PM. While getting dressed, it dawned on me that my jeans would be entirely too wrinkled from sitting in the car, so decided to put on a different pair and simply change into the jeans that go with my outfit when I get there (this is almost getting too embarassing to write). Ahh.... youth.

As it turns out, I found my way pretty easily to the bar. There was a parking garage three doors down, so I entered the garage to park. I finally found a spot, so now it's time to change my pants. Have you ever tried to change your pants while seated in the driver's seat of a car? Not fun. After several minutes of looking like I was having convulsions in my parked car, I finally had to just get out of the car and change my pants, all the while praying that nobody saw me. Fashion is always worth risk taking, or so I thought at the time.

Okay. I'm finally here. It's now time to lock the car, and head into the bar.... my first gay bar.... with gay people in it....

To be continued...

Where have you been?

My apologies for being absent for three months. This was a rough school semester, and I just didn't have the gumption to write, but I'm writing the next installment of my story now, so stay tuned.

Pass me some Kleenex.....

Sorry folks! I've been ill since Sunday, so I haven't been writing the next post. I will finish and post I promise.

Which way to the gays please?

I grew up in a VERY strictly religious protestant Christian home. To give you an idea, my Mother prayed about what color of carpet to put in the living room when it was time to be replaced. Judging from the color that God communicated to her to select, I knew that he and I would no longer see eye to eye on many things.

The year was 1995, I was 22 years old, and found myself living at home with my parents, post college. First of all, I must say that I was very thankful that my parents let me live with them for a while, but you can imagine that this was not the best environment for someone coming to terms with their homosexuality. We lived in a small town about 45 miles north of Pittsburgh, and everyone knew each other, or could figure out who you were if they didn't. This was obviously very limiting when trying to find another boy to kiss me. The only person that I knew was gay was the overweight/still lives with his mother/overly sensitive/thirty-something assistant manager at Famous Footwear (shopping was limited also) who would flirt with me over penny loafers and running shoes. I'd rather sit at home with God's new living room carpet.

I must inform you that in my parents' house, one was not permitted to drink, smoke or swear, let alone entertain any ideas/fellings of being gay. We were good Christians, and those that participated in worldly practices were looked upon unfavorably, but I'm not here to analyze my parents, so I digress.

In November of that year, my parents decided to visit my sister who lives in Connecticut. For the better part of a week, it would just be me and my six month old puppy in the house. No one else. FREEDOM! Well, at least for a few days. This was it. My opportunity to find other gay people, and possibly find a boy to kiss for the first time. The only place that I knew of to go was a gay bar that I had heard about in Pittsburgh named Pegasus. This must be THE place for gays to gather... especially if I had caught wind of it. I would have attempted an endeavor like this sooner, but I had a 1:00 AM curfew, and had to provide some sort of explanation of where I was going to be for the evening.

I had never been to many bars before. I would tag along with people here and there while living on campus, but most of my experience with drinking alcohol and socializing usually consisted of standing around a keg of Coors Light in the basement of a frat house. I had no clue what I was doing, but I knew that I had to go. I decided that on Friday, I would drive to Pittsburgh, and go to the only place where I was sure to find other gay people... Pegasus. I was finally going to do this.


To be continued....

Um.... Excuse me..... Waiter?

Look closely at the package below the lettering..... As if I don't have enough to worry about! Mental note: Must check for frogs when selecting salad greens.

My first time....

Really..... it is! I have become addicted to several blogs that I read on a daily basis. In doing so, I thought that I would give blogging a try. So, gentle readers, this is my first official post of my blog.

The links that are listed on this site are some of the blogs that I read. I would have to say that Joe.My.God has been the biggest inspiration for giving this a try. Thanks Joe... now I just have to figure out what to write about!