Returning to the Scene of the Crime

Me - bar scene - Philadelphia - 1980

Here I am, sitting at my computer at 9:40 pm this Saturday night.  Back "in the day" when I lived in center city Philadelphia (1969 to 1980) I would be getting ready to hit the bars.  Those days are long gone (thankfully).  I remember the last time I was in a bar (gay).  It was my birthday, November 9th, 1979.  I was still hanging around the bar (no birthday luck that night) at 1:55 am which the bartender flashed the lights on and off and hollered "LAST CALL!"  Hey folks, if you were a regular bar goer like I was in my flaming wasted youth, if you were still in the bar when those lights flashed on and "LAST CALL" rang out, you.were.a.LOSER.  That's when I took stock of myself and said "Self, what are you doing here?"

Me, "slightly" inebriated - on Halloween night 1980 - double exposure (I'm also on the bottom right)

Yes folks, that was the night I decided never again to spend my Saturday nights trolling the gay bars. Oh sure, I had my regular coterie of buddies.  And every now and then I would score (Bill and I had and have an open relationship - get over it) but mostly going "out to the bars" was part of my social life.  But at 38 years old I knew my time was up.  No regrets, no "I'm too old" stuff.  I was just tired of the whole scene, ready to move on to something else. 

Me, always popular with "the ladies" - 1980

That's when I decided to move from center city Philadelphia to the country, our 6.875 wooded paradise four miles outside of Downingtown Pennsylvania.  It took us about a year to sell our house in Philadelphia and move "to the country."  We lived in the country for 26 years until the time came again to make the move which is when I decided to move to Delaware, which is another whole story actually worthy of a book or a small novella but not one blog entry.

Our former home in Pennsylania

So what's my point tonight?  Well, I've decided to celebrate my 72nd birthday by spending the weekend in Philadelphia, PA.  I've already made my reservations at The Latham Hotel on 17th Street.  Oh how many times have I passed that hotel and always wanted to stay there.  Now I'm doing it, albeit with a 15% senior citizen discount (why not?)

The Latham Hotel, Philadelphia, PA

I did some checking around (on the Internet) and found that one of my hangouts, the Bike Stop, is still open so I'll drop in.  God, I remember when I was a youngster and I used to see old gay guys come in the bar and I thought "hope that's never me!"  Well folks, it's going to be me on my birthday weekend but I won't be trolling for a one night stand, that's for sure.  Just not interested.  However it will be nice to see old friends (if they're alive) again.

My old friend Ron Lord, owner of The Bike Stop

Dr. Spo will be in town that weekend.  Hopefully we can meet up and I can show him around some of my old haunts.  Maybe not.  However, I am looking forward to returning to the scene of the crime.  Should be interesting.

Halloween - 1979

Me -Halloween - 1980

Halloween is my all time favorite holiday. When I was young I could hardly wait for Halloween to arrive so I could dress up and go trick or treating. When I was young (the Fifties), trick or treating was a serious activity because we were so poor and I loved candy.  Halloween was an opportunity to clean up and get a LOT of candy for Ron.  There I go talking in the third person (feels good sometimes).

We lived in an apartment building on Washington Avenue in Downingtown, Pennsylvania which was/is a small town thirty-seven miles west of Philadelphia.  I went to the East Ward Elementary School which was also on Washington Avenue, three blocks away from where I lived.  Those three blocks from our second floor apartment building to the school was my trick or treat destination at Halloween.

Scarlett O'Hara

I bet you're wondering what costume I wore.  You are aren't you?  You say you're not?  Well, I'll tell you.  This is something I've never divulged to anyone before in my adult life but I'll do it now.  What the hell?  What do I have to lose now?  I dressed as Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With The Wind!"  Yes folks, Butch Ron dressed in a big hoop skirt and sashayingdown Washington Avenue in drag!  Thank goodness I left that phase.  Not that there is anything wrong with drag queens but that wasn't Ron's future (there I go in the third person again.)

Me and my friend Bob dressed as monsters -  during out Philadelphia Gay Bar Tour - 1979

After I grew out of trick or treating, I didn't dress up for Halloween.  Many years went by until I got in "drag" again for Halloween.  The year was 1979.  I talked my good friend Bob into going out with me dressed as Frankenstein (he) and me as a vampire.  We planned to hit the gay bars that had Halloween parties.  We had a ball!  In fact we had such a good time that we went out two nights in a row.  The second night I went as The Wolfman.

"Frankie" feeling my ass

For the second might Bob and I attended a Halloween Party at the Gay Community Center in Philadelphia.  Funny thing happen to me.  I got drunk~!  I was pretty well out of it but I do remember one guy who approached me in my drunken state.  I had my mask on and was sweating profusely.  I guess he liked what he saw with my Wolfman raggedy pants with the rope belt because he asked me what I really looked like.  I took my Wolfman mask off.  He took on look and said "Put it back on."  WHAT? !  I half expected him to ask me to go home with him and do the nasty with my mask on.  He didn't.  I wouldn't have anyway.  Are you kidding?

Me and my friend Bob at the Philadelphia Gay Community Center - 1979 - look at those teeth!

From the Gay Community Center shindig Bob and I stumbled down Broad Street to make fools out of ourselves in several of the gay bars.  I don't remember much, just patches.  I did meet a couple of guys but nothing came of it.  Ron was smashed.

This is the guy who told me to put my Wolfman mask back on.  Note that there are two weird things about this photo.  There is an extra hand and I am in the photo TWICE!  My friend Bob took the picture and it was a double exposure.  Actually it turned out alright I think.

Bob and I continued on our Bar Tour and ended up at the Midway Bar on 13th Street.  By this time I was feeling NO PAIN and very VULNERABLE.  I think I made it home alone that night.  Not sure though, much of the night was a blur.

"Miss Piggy" hugs an unmasked Wolfman

One of the best pictures I have of my time in a gay bar, in fact the ONLY picture I have is the one below.  I'm not sure who took it.  The picture is a double exposure that shows me with a new "friend" and my friend Bob off to the right keeping an eye on me so I don't fall flat on my face.  I think that was the most drunk I've been in my life.  Actually, it wasn't that much fun being drunk.  I could never be an alcoholic, I like to know what I'm doing.  I don't mind a buzz but not falling down, toilet bowl barfing drunk.

An "accidental" collage of me (bottom left), Miss Piggy and friend (middle) and my friend Bob (on the right)

The next year, 1980, I also dressed up for Halloween and did the Gay Bar Tour thing again.  This time I was smart and didn't get drunk and thus enjoyed myself so much more.  There was one problem though, I dressed as an Arab sheik.  I had a problem, this was the year of the gas shortages.  When I walked into the first bar I was the target of not a little hostility of several bar patrons.  I realized that I had chosen an inappropriate costume.  I asked the bartender if he had a bag.  He did.  I took my costume off and continued my bar tour dressed in my regular 40 year old gay man attire.  That worked.

Me in work drag (my bank job) - celebrating the Philadelphia Phillies 1980 World Series win