Adrienne and I start our morning enjoying coffee and tea on our balcony. It is a great view. I had discussed the possibility of going on a guided walking tour of the art deco architecture of South Beach with a bunch of people. That was our plan for the late morning/early afternoon. Adrienne and I wanted to see the performance of Through A Glass, Darkly by the Twin Cities Gay Men' chorus in the Symphony Ballroom of the Hilton. They performed excerpts from the production the previous night (opposite Seattle Gay Men's Chorus). Today they would perform a more theatricalized version in its entirety. I sent text messages to folks who indicated interest in heading to SoBe today that Adrienne and I would meet them right outside the ballroom after the production was over. Adrienne and I attended the 10:00 am show in the ballroom.
Adrienne and I hung out waiting for the folks that I sent text messages to. No one showed up. Then she got a message from someone saying they were at the 11:00am show. We hung around and waited for them to see if they wanted to join us in SoBe. No one ended up wanting to go! Aaargh! Off we went all on our own. When we got to the place that offered free guided tours it turned out they only have them at 10:30 am daily. Damn it all to hell! Now what do we do!?! We mull things over and decide, let's hit the beach. It's free! Back to the hotel we go because we aren't wearing swimsuits or anything. Adrienne and I work the phones trying to find someone who would like to have a GAYTASTIC day at the beach. We saw a news headline in a local paper that described something as being gaytastic. That became our new word. We were determined to have a gaytastic day. On our way out of the hotel, we ran into Mike L. He was more than happy to share our GAYTASTIC day at the beach. Back onto the C bus we go over to SoBe.
As we ride over the clouds darken and rain threatens. We don't care. If we go in the ocean we'll get wet. What's a little water, anyway? The three of us head to the beach and slather on the sun block. It is overcast and people are leaving the beach. We dip our toes in the ocean and ogle the few men that are around. Drops start to fall. We decide it is time to eat.
Off and on it rains. None of us have rain gear. I just wrap my beach towel around my head looking like a nun and start singing "How do you solve a problem like Maria?". It wasn't too much later when we start singing other appropriate songs, like "Hail Holy Queen" and other songs of nunnery.
Our stomachs grumble and we make our way over to 11th Street Diner. They were offering a 10% discount for all GALA delegates. We think 11th Street Diner is gaytastic. It's a classic diner from 1948 originally built in Pennsylvania, of all places. I had a yummy quesadilla while the others had burgers and fries. Somehow in juggling all the dishes, glasses, etc. on the table my digital camera fell on to the floor of the diner. Not to worry, it still functions. The lid to the battery compartment just won't stay closed on its own. At present, my camera is sporting a lovely band-aid for its wee little boo-boo. The place was very quiet. We hit a good time of day. It was a nice respite from the drizzle.
We decide we will take our own little tour down Ocean Drive to appreciate the art deco-ness of it all. Because we are going to have a GAYTASTIC day, damn it! I have my little guidebook and I briefly read selections pertaining to the sites we see as we saunter down Ocean Drive. The architecture is a joy to behold. I'm so glad that an organization came together to preserve some 800 buildings to create this unique atmosphere. The tropical deco style of South Beach really reflects the vibe of Miami.
It really starts to pour once we walk away from Ocean Drive to catch a bus. It is a downpour and we try to wait it out undercover of a local business overhang. Eventually it isn't pouring quite so hard and we make our way back to Washington and catch the C bus.
Check out my collection of photos from our time along Ocean Drive in a slide show on the Ocean Drive page.
We arrive back at the hotel and start to get ready for the Jungle Island Getaway Night. GALA organized a party to be hosted at Jungle Island. It is an 18.6 acre park dedicated to showcasing more than 3000 animals and over 100 species of plant life. Adrienne and I take a bus from the Omni Station over to the event. Once there we encounter a guy we met on the C bus going back to the hotel from a full day at SoBe. He is working the "front door". It's always nice seeing a friendly face.
Immediately, we head to purchase drink tickets. We have priorities. There are a variety of drink options. We both select the Mojito option. I purchase 3 drink tickets. All around are park employees with various animals. There are tons of parrots all over the place. The park in a previous life was called "Parrot Jungle Island". I am one of the first people to be served by my bartender. Angel was very cute. He asked, 'How did I like my drink to be mixed?'. I responded, �Good and strong�. Angel did a wonderful job at fulfilling that request. I was pleased so I gave him a tip. I'm sure he was very pleased about that. The odd thing was that they had multiple drink stations set up throughout the park, but there was only one table to pick up mojitos. That was slightly inconvenient, but I didn't have the money to purchase all that much alcohol.
Adrienne and I wander deeper and deeper into the jungle of the park. Eventually, we find food. The staff at the park was very good at directing us to places where we did not have to wait in line. We found our Mojito table rather quickly and were served immediately. We found a secluded area beyond the main picnic spot and loaded up on a variety of food items. Delegates had the choice of hotdogs, hamburgers, veggieburgers, grilled chicken breast sandwiches, mango glazed pork loin, hummus, raw vegetables, and assorted relishes. I loaded up my plate with everything except the hotdogs. The pork loin and the grilled chicken breast sandwiches were especially tasty. I was pleasantly surprised by the variety provided. Kudos to GALA. Adrienne and I found Jeff N. and Royal at picnic tables and joined them. We had fun chatting and eating. I'm always hungry and as my dear friend Peter always says I have the metabolism of a gerbil. Eventually, we spot Paul D. and I beckon him over to sit with us. Paul is a newer member of our chorus. I like to look out for the newbies. Our chorus can be tough to deal with for a new person. Members have formed bonds and little groups and yes cliques. Once we were done Adrienne, Paul, and I make our way to see the No Talent Show in the Parrot Bowl.
The No Talent Show was an amalgamation of acts formed from members of various choruses. The common thread was a sense of humor and/or outrageousness. It was hosted by Fifi and Fanny (choral directors extraordinaire in real life) with help from Eric Lane Barnes and a back up band with our good friend Kathleen McGuire as one of the band mates. The show opened with an act from Captain Smartypants. All of the acts were very funny. Next to me in the bleachers was a gang from Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, DC. Hearing their comments added to the whole experience. Midway through the show Paul had to exit and use the restroom. I don't understand why, but if you left to go to the restroom, they would not let you re-enter the stadium. At the same time this was going on, folks who paid an additional ticket price got to see Alec Mapa perform. Alec is an award winning actor, comedian, playwright, and journalist. The No Talent Show was so good I didn't feel like I was missing out because I couldn't afford the ticket to see Alec Mapa.
As Adrienne and I wander around after the No Talent Show we encounter Paul T. and Terry. It has gotten dark but that didn't stop Paul from finding a really cute guy from San Francisco. The new guy is Scott. Scott is very friendly and very cute and very young looking. I thought he was about 22-23. Let's just say that Scott is over 30. Knock me over with a feather!
I want to play bingo and the others are keen to be on board. We make our way over to the Lakeside Cafe where they are holding the event. Upon arrival we discover that Stephen P. and Jeff A. are basically running Bingo. They got to the cafe waaay early only to discover two women who were supposed to be in charge. The two women knew nothing about running a game of bingo. Stephen and Jeff have been to several Gay Bingo events back at home. Philadelphia is very big on its Gay Bingo with their B.V.D.'s (Bingo Verifying Divas on roller-skates, no less). The women decide to let the guys run the show since they seem they know what they were doing. Which they do, sort of. We grab a front row table and chat while we wait for the event to begin. The ladies are hoping to raise money for the cause of the week. GALA has a mission to leave a legacy behind after we have all left Miami. The mission is to raise money to help glbtq youth in Miami. Jeff before he even arrived at the Lakeside Cafe was drunk. He is still intoxicated all while he officiates. He is screaming and yelling at the audience. To make matters worse many in the audience can not understand his Delaware twang. It was hysterical hearing folks trying to interpret what he was saying. Craig was also on hand to help interpret Jeff's remarks. Jeff's sense of humor is to ridicule and skewer his audience ala Don Rickles. I found it very funny. The targets may not. Jeff also can never remember people's real names (I'm one of the few people whose name he actually seems to remember). So he's screaming insults at a woman he's calling 'grey' because of her grey shirt (it's a blue shirt, but he doesn't let facts interfere). She's yelling back. It's a loud and raucous night. There are veteran bingo players and there are newbies. The veterans want Jeff to announce more quickly. The newbies think he is going too slow. Jeff and Craig just get irritated and frustrated. Jeff takes it out on the audience by making more fun of them. There was a lot of screaming and yelling (but in a good way). At one point a member of the audience offers to donate $500 if the audience can match it. A bucket is passed around. Another member of the audience (one of the Lollipop Guild) offers to take off his dress if we raise enough money for the glbtq youth of Miami. We do end up raising over $1000 and half went to the youth and half went to GALA. The Lollipop Guild member had his dress ripped off by one of his buddies. People won prizes. Craziness was had by all.
We make an attempt to leave the Lakeside and discover it is late in the evening and it is time to catch a shuttle bus back to the hotel. But everyone is in a chatty mood. Are you surprised? I'm not. One nice conversation I had was with Scott. He really enjoyed my company and found me amusing and entertaining. I told him to spread the word. He took me seriously and then asked what kind of guy am I looking for because he knew a lot of available guys in SFGMC. When I told him drama-free gay men, he was frustrated because that eliminated a whole lot of gay men. But he promised he would look into it for me. Another sweet thing about Scott and Paul T. was that each separately came to me and asked for my help to push the other in his direction. I did my best to make it clear to the two of them that they should be spending the evening together which is exactly what came to pass. After a lot of jibber jabber we all made it onto the bus. The shuttle's first stop was our hotel. Yay!!!
If I wasn't so busy being social I could have seen Cris Williamson and Friends perform. Or I could have seen Wishing Chair in concert with the ladies from MUSE. You might think that I as a gay man would not be interested but I would have like to have seen that.
Lights out!
Through A Glass, Darkly is a production about the hazards of crystal meth addiction. In the gay community this is a very serious and prevalent problem. It was AMAZING! I, like the Grinch, have a heart that is three sizes too small. I do not get emotional easily. This production had me choked up. While I was not crying, I was moved. I am fortunate and never had a close friend go through crystal addiction, but I have had acquaintances who have. I am so glad that Adrienne suggested this option earlier in the week. The choral singing was spot on and the soloists did an incredible job. I later found out that Royal and Jeff N. had been out in the wee hours of the morning with one of the soloists, Justin. How Justin managed to hit some of those high notes that early in the morning after staying out so late is beyond me. I would not be able to do it, but then I am a withered, old crone in comparison. I liked the fact that the production not only featured the soloists (the characters of the story) but really allowed the chorus to shine as well. My immediate reaction was that Philadelphia Gay Men's Chorus HAS to do this show. I was going to be pushing for this. PBS did a documentary on TWGMC and this show. Adrienne purchased the video and I will be ordering it some time in the near future. Loved the show, love the Twin Cities men!