A Typical Manhattan Evening
STORY: 1981—After my intense three-month affair with Bill Masi, a successful male model, had run its course in early 1981, we became...
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- Nov 10, 2020
- 3 min
The Great March
STORY: —excerpted from the book Farm Story: Coming Out Of Indiana by Eddie Casson In October 1987, at what has become known as “The Great...
- Oct 4, 2020
- 5 min
Bartending at Studio
STORY: It was late evening, as just about everything was at Studio 54. I can’t remember who got me the interview, somebody I met in...
- May 19, 2020
- 1 min
Comparing the AIDS Crisis to COVID-19: AIDS Veterans Weigh-in
COMMENTARY: BAMMER hosted its first Zoom webcast “Reflections on the AIDS Crisis in the Age of COVID-19” on Saturday evening, May 9th,...
- Mar 19, 2020
- 4 min
Looking Back at AIDS During the Time of COVID
STORY: I listened with interest to the online discussion Reflections on the AIDS Crisis in the Time of COVID-19 hosted by BAMMER on May...
- Mar 1, 2020
- 2 min
Looking Back
STORY: Two recent developments refocused my attention on all the friends I lost to AIDS in the 80s and 90s. Recently, Peter Gorobetz, a...
- Jan 31, 2020
- 3 min
From My Past: Obsession—John Duka, The Passion of Fashion
STORY: “One of the requisite skills for sitting at a fashion show is being able to roll your eyes, talk to the person behind you, chew...
- Jan 19, 2020
- 3 min
Remembering Workouts and Worries
STORY: It was once the epicenter of the gayest neighborhood in New York City. Today, any traces of the infamous Chelsea Gym are nearly...
- Nov 11, 2019
- 6 min
The Dead, The Living, and The Inheritance
STORY: Fall is a time of sad anniversaries for me. When I tested positive for HIV in the fall of 1988, it was hardly surprising. Many sex...
- Mar 26, 2019
- 6 min
Bar Wars – Quarter Stories 16
STORY: Fourth of July on Bourbon Street, hot muggy and so crowded you couldn’t move on the street or in the bar. I squeezed my way into...
- Nov 9, 2018
- 3 min
Bartending is a Dance – Quarter Stories 10
STORY: At Lafitte’s Bar in the French Quarter of New Orleans, the bar was made of thick old bayou cypress planks polished by thousands of...
- Oct 8, 2018
- 11 min
Peacocks – Quarter Stories 9
STORY: 1979 - The crowds were still in full force around the stage for the Bourbon Street Awards and the only space available was under...
- Jun 9, 2018
- 5 min
Making My Grandmother Cry
STORY: I make my grandmother cry. I come out to her and her fists close and her eyes fill up. She is silent for the longest moment and...
- Jun 9, 2018
- 6 min
Trip to Toronto
STORY: July 1983—I was seventeen years of age when I first met another gay person. My dad was an executive with a company in Ireland,...
- Jun 9, 2018
- 4 min
The Lavender Line – Quarter Stories 11
STORY: Sunday was my favorite day to go out. Friday and Saturday shifts were over. I could go out on my own down to the Quarter and hang...
- Jun 8, 2018
- 4 min
My First Night at the Saint
STORY: I moved to New York City in the fall of 1980 and quickly landed a job at a top corporate design agency, making $15,000 a year. It...
- May 19, 2018
- 2 min
Coming Out, 1982
STORY: During my first few years in NYC, I only had one foot out of the closet. I had my gay friends, and I had my straight friends and...
- May 19, 2018
- 2 min
Hong Kong 1984
STORY: Homosexuality was illegal in Hong Kong back then, but for the ex-pat community it was mostly overlooked by the authorities. Gay...
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