When I was a kid in high school, just 16 I went to the "Village" This because I had been warned there were "perverts" there.
It seemed the place to be.
I remember seeing the actual "Stonewall Inn". I couldn't go in because you had to be 21. What a host of missed opportunities to be gleefully molested.
Well that would "come" later.
I looked in the window, and except for a Transvestite, the 'first' I ever saw. It seemed like any other bar. Yeah I been in bars. *My dear Uncle Louie took me to have a look.
Part of my "Education" into the real world.
Anyway how could I know that two, and a half years later it would be a "Cultural Ground Zero".
So unlike the Zillions that "claim" to have been there I actually was. Just a bit early is all.
*Stop me if you've heard this one.
It was my good ol' Uncle Louie who was really my mom's uncle, but ya know. It was Uncle to whom I first came out to as Queer Pervert Maniac. Like in any "Coming Out" moment it was full of fear..even terror. Remember this was 1966 I was about 15, and my world was a nightmare.
Uncle was the only one that had always been honest with me about the world. I was always able to confide in him. Mind you he was one tough guy.
He literally ran away with a circus as a kid. He did what a generation of early 20th century boys dreamed of doing. ...came back alive too.
He went to sea traveled saw the world. 'Was in the Merchant Marine Navy during WW2. Uncle was actually torpedoed in the Atlantic survived, and came home to work in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
Which was his profession when I with great trepidation went to his house with my "Great Secret". I remember sitting down with him in his kitchen. He lit up a "Chesterfield", and asked me what was wrong.
He could see that I was freaked out so he was very concerned. I remember he said "...there's nothing you can tell me that I haven't seen or done myself"...whadda guy. He reassured me it'd be okay just tell him what happened.
Well I did.
He hit the roof.
He bleeping did, but not for the reasons you'd think. He said,...now get this it's 1966, and he said to my confession of dreams of sucking boy cock till the *radioactive cows came home.
He said...
"IS THAT ALL!!"
"I thought you got a girl Pregnant!"
He went on Uncle did...
"You tell me you're a Sissy?!" "I know that, we 'All' know that. We saw that when you was a little boy!"
"I thought this was about something important. I thought you get a girl pregnant."
No bleeping lie this is how it happened. My gawd what a family. Good thing I didn't tell him I thought I could fly. That's one thing he might not have seen or done.
Like all my stories they're "Docudramas". I left out some stuff, and polished others, but this is basically how it went down,...the whole damned family knew the whole time. I mean what with my siblings intercepting Queer porn that I'd sent away for, and such...being caught trying on Moms stuff when i was 11 didn't help.
So yeah an open a secret as Liberace was gay.
Good grief.
I should write a damned book.
*(...about them "radioactive cows". It was only in the mid-1960's that they finally stopped testing them "H-Fucking-Bombs" out west.)
(Bleeping morons.)
(Me, and them of my generation have "Strontium 90" in our bones behind that madness. '...them cows didn't do too good either.)
Stay tuned.
Great Story Sydney,
ReplyDeleteLove
Lukas
Well I report what I saw that's me job.
ReplyDeleteLove to you too!
I want to correct one thing Uncle. The riots at Stonewall started when the cops gave a couple of young teenage queers some hassles as they were entering the place. That is the forgotten part of the story. By the way, the Stonewall was an illegal bar to begin with and your age was really of no concern, only if you were queer. And in any event, at that time, even were the joint a legal place (which it wasn't) the drinking age was 18 in New York. But even the legal joints of the time, mainly uptown, wanted 16 and 17 year old boys coming in since that attracted the older crowd. Also most of these places, I think Cowboys alone excepted, were run by the underworld and they had lots of BLs among their ranks and owners. At times I got the impression they ran these joints for their own pleasure.
ReplyDeleteGood story. What an excellent uncle. Awful as your boyhood sounds to have been, you were lucky in some ways.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, thanks for posting about that. Historical revisionists are always airbrushing out such essential but politically inexpedient details. BTW, aren't you just *thrilled* at the gay marriage decision? I would expound my own excitement at great length, but I have some important eyebrow-plucking to do.
Z
Hi Zaek,
ReplyDeleteEven as a kid could never understand why anyone (I was mainly thinking of "straights") would want to get married. I think marriage is one of the nuttiest of all social institutions. For gays, it goes beyond nutty and becomes psychotic. But today, I might say the same for our entire culture. We've gone off the deep end.
Well as I've been telling my Assimilationist pals all week I was "Old School". Marriage was the last thing on our minds in the "Radical Edge" of the movement...such as it was.
ReplyDeleteAs for getting in there was on note on the door...at least that evening saying "Over 21 only". Being a kid I took them at their word. I found later I could get in at most places.
Hey was I a teen, and still had my girlish figure.
I didn't know about the cops messing with teens as the cause of the riots...not surprised though. As I've said look at the period photos there are teens in them during the riot.
Street People hippies old timers like I am now basically the actual Queer community. Of course there's been a lot of air brushing to make things all cute for the current crowd. I mean it actual removals of history.
Back in the late 1970's to the early 80's the gay folks generally, and many Gay publications were if not totally accepting of boy lovers nevertheless admitted they were part of the Gay community.
Some will remember the battles in the gay press at the time about if they should stay. In the end only the most radical portions of the press, and community were willing to publicly accept BL's as comrade Queers.
I remember marching with the "Nambla" contingent as radio reporter during the Gay March On Washington. Some especially the lesbians were profoundly hostile to their presence. In the end the Gay Anarchists Gay Socialist, and the Gay Witches embedded them.
I was there I remember.
The Witches in front of them, and the Anarchist, and Socialist behind. Another lost footnote of our history...remember this because when I kick the bucket it may be forgotten as so many who were there that day have passed on.
Remember.
Agree completely Sid!
ReplyDelete"We use media to destroy cultures, but we first use media
to create a false record of what we are about to destroy."
Edmund S. Carpenter 1972