Metra Issue 949 - January 2022

A LOCAL LEGEND OH, MARY!

We here at METRA Magazine, after being severly impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic and taking a year hiatus (not by choice), as many of our advertisers have had to! We would like to take this opportunity to inform everyone in METRALand, that the magazine has been SOLD!

The new Co-Owners are Frankie & Charlie, two bright and energetic members of our community. We would appreciate all our loyal readers and advertisers to extend your considerations, warmth and cooperation to Charlie & Frankie as you have done for the past 40+ years since 1979 to us.

Let’s show the new owners and their crew how welcoming METRALAND can be! We support and look forward to Frankie and Charlie and the new blood in their endeavors to re-vamping and the publishing of the “new” Metra Magazine in early 2022! It’s TIME!

And again, THANK YOU for all your years of support of the magazine and the METRA Picnics!

We

will see you around soon!

as my mother (Jewel) would say, Mary Sappington

The last year and a half has been a true testament to just how strong the LGBTQ+ Community across the nation is. With the safety measures introduced to help flatten the curve, it forced a lot of hard decisions to be made. Whether it was limiting marketing budgets, figuring out how to pivot and have outside drag shows, our community did what we are known to do, react, adapt, and survive!

METRA was placed in a holding pattern due to the lack of advertising need or budgets from the mostly bar/restaurant filled advertisers. Hoping that as the world started to get back to whatever the new normal is, METRA would weather the storm and reemerge. After some time, the owners decided that it was simply time to retire and focus on enjoying time at home.

When we heard that there was a chance that METRA would shutter, we began to brainstorm. We see the potential of returning METRA to the LGBTQ+ Resource that it was in the earlier years. We also want to modernize to today’s reader: making sure the content and appearance reflects the person who just picked up the publication. Making it more inclusive and diverse, welcoming the entire state of Michigan & Northern Ohio to their proper seats at the table.

Some of the cosmetic changes are a new website (coming in February 2022 or March 2022), an overhaul of our social media, thanks to the expertise of Bright Torch Social Media Management. From a content standpoint, the future is also looking encouraging. Having editorials and stories highlighting what’s relevant to the readership here. We view METRA as a multi-branch resource, from print magazine to digital magazine, website to social media, and in the hopefully not too far future: Events. It’s like the Multi-Verse, or perhaps, the “METRA-VERSE.”

Whatever you call it, we’re here and excited to be back!

Charlie & Frankie

New Co-Owners of METRA

DRAGRECTORY DRAGRECTORY

Alexa Vogel  Grand Rapids Yes  Mary’s GR  20 Years All I Ask, Adele  Tonyfields44@gmail.com

Aliya Holmes  Metro Detroit Yes  Liberty Bar  10 Years Shake it off Aliyaholmes2017@gmail.com

Artemis Knight  Battle Creek Yes  Music Factory 4 Years Daisy 2.0 by Ashnikko  Insta & FB

Artemiss  Metro Detroit Yes  Candy Bar/Live 3 Years Anything by Bjork  Insta & FB

Astara Love  Flint  Yes  Floats  9 Years Thank you, next!  Insta & FB

Baby Boi  Battle Creek Yes  Floats  13 Years Baby Got Back  Insta & FB

Ben Eaton  Northern MI Yes  SideTraxx  10 Years Jump in the line  Insta, FB & TikTok

Bentley James  GR/Metro Detroit Yes  Mary’s GR  10 Years Magic by Kylie  Insta & FB

Countess Hexen  Grand Rapids Yes  Rumors  4 Years I’m Wicked  Insta & FB

Dante Gabbana  Metro Detroit Yes  Floats  14 Years Wop by J Dash  Insta & FB

DeAngela Show Shannon Metro Detroit Yes  Gigi’s  30 Years A Bunch!  Insta & FB  Deja D. Dellataro

Jacqueline Frost

Gigi’s/Menjos 14 Years Rose’s Turn  frostedminiqueen@gmail.com

Jennifer Foxx  Metro Detroit Yes  Menjo’s  45 Years A Bunch!  FB

Jezebel  Metro Detroit Yes  Floats  6 Years Anything by Kali Uchis Instagram

Kelly Ann Jefferies  Northern MI Yes  SideTraxx  8 Years A Bunch!  Insta & FB

Lala Sanchez  Traverse City Yes  SideTraxx  11 Years Anything Electric Dance  Insta & FB

Lotipha Renee Hunter Metro Detroit Yes  Gigi’s  4 Years Proud Mary  Insta & FB

Mercedes Benz‐Over Northern MI Yes  SideTraxx  5 Years How Will I Know by Whitney Insta & FB

Mia Cole  Metro Detroit Yes  Woodward  10+ Years A Bunch!  Miacole41@gmail.com

Minnie Vogue Ludes Grand Rapids Yes  Rumors  4 Years Move, Little Mix  Diondradiamond2@gmail.com

Monique Madison  Kalamazoo  Yes  515 & Mary’s GR 25 Years 9‐5, Dolly Parton  Insta & FB

Nickki Stevens  Matro Detroit Yes  Gigi’s

35 Years Neither One of Us  FB

Peaches  Kalamazoo  Yes  Vortex/The Dunes 30 Years When you’re good to mama Instagram

Regina Kadett  Metro Detroit Yes  Gigi’s  2 Years I don’t need a man by PCD Insta & FB

Raven Divine Cassadine Metro Detroit/GR Yes  Menjo’s  17 Years Rumor has it  Insta & FB

Reba Rose Rau  Grand Rapids Yes  Rumors/Marys GR

Regina Kadett  Metro Detroit Yes  Gigi’s

Remi Releve  Metro Detroit Yes

18 Years Boobs by Ruth Wallis  Insta & FB

2 Years Breaking Dishes  Insta & FB

Woodward/Gigi’s 1 Year 1 Thing by Amerie  Instagram

Rose Ritz  Metro Detroit Yes  Menjo’s

Sabin  Metro Detroit Yes  515/Gigi’s

Shylo  Ann Arbor  Yes  TBD

Sirinity Sapphire  Metro Detroit Yes  Gigi’s

Syrinx  Ann Arbor  Yes  Mary’s GR

Tequila Sanchez  Grand Rapids Yes  Rumors

The Petty Divine  Grand Rapids Yes

Rumors

Tony Tuesday  Grand Rapids Yes  Rumors

4 Years Primadonna, Marina  missroseritz@gmail.com

18 Years Domino by Jessie J  Insta & FB

1.5 Years Anything Lady Gaga  ShyloOfficial.com

2 Years Physical, Dua Lipa  Insta & FB

3 Years Celebrity Skin, Hole  Syrinx2301@gmail.com

12 Years Anything R & B Maxxij1090@gmail.com

3 Years Coming to you, Jill Scott  Pettydivine.com

2 Years Bloody Mary   Insta & FB

Vajojo Visage  Northern MI Yes  Sidetraxx  12 Years Cant get enough of your love Jpetto_2015@icloud.com

Veronica Scott  Grand Rapids Yes  Rumors  10 Years A Bunch!  Insta & FB

ZuZu Bella  Saginaw MI  Yes  Rumors  10 Years Carousel by Melanie Martinez Zuzubella89@hotmail.com

Whore-O-Scopes Whore-O-Scopes

Aries:

Competitive in most aspects of your life, being an all-around hoe is no different. Talking about the most conquests or the raunchiest story, you’re always wanting people to gay gasp at whatever craziness you say. For this month, you’re wanting to continue your trend of scream yelling at whoever is lucky enough to be on top of you or underneath you.

Taurus:

Chill and Romantic Taurus enjoys the sweeter life when it comes to their hoe-dom. Hand holding, Nice Gestures (flowers and holding doors open), Fisting. These are some of their favorite things. Taurus lovers like to focus on the journey to get to the finish line.

Gemini:

It’s almost like having a threesome, your person and the Gemini Lover (whose split traits help and confuse the experience). You’ll get the sweetheart who compliments you, makes you feel safe and calm. Then in the same thought, they leave you confused, turned on and out of breath.

Cancer:

Cancer lovers can also be a wild ride. Either obsessed with someone or couldn’t care less. They

always sleep with one eye open, so spooning very rarely leads to forking if you’re wanting some evening night time surprise. When they’re about to climax, it either ends in a punch to the jaw to their partner or they burst into tears.

Leo:

The Protector, The Champion, The cough.. Um.. Daddy (or Mommy). Leo makes you feel all kinds of things (flash back to walking down the underwear isle). Safe and dominated is how you tend to feel when you’re out and about with your Leo Lover. However, in the bedroom, if you don’t want to be hit with a lamp or crack a rib from all the angry hate thrusts, you may want to friendzone their ass.

Virgo: Virgos often get a bad rap for being prudish or conservative. That’s not always the case. Virgos want to have fun. Like counting the freckles on their lover’s body while they’re intertwined or imagining what their lover’s face would look like if they were perfectly symmetrical.

Libra: Life of the party Libra loves to do the gay public air kiss with who they haven’t seen in forever. Always saying “We Need To Get Together,” but pretty rarely means it. Hard to settle down Libra because

they’re always indecisive. When they do choose to bed someone, they’ll normally finish and excuse themselves to the bathroom where they climb out the window.

Scorpio: If you’re able to pry open the cold dead heart of a Scorpio, buyer beware. Their hand will snap down and catch you like a bear trap, sis. We’ve all seen that lifetime movie and wonder why are you still with this person!? Well, that’s your life now. However bad they make you feel most of the time, in bed, they satisfy just about all the crazy fantasies anyone could ever possess. We warned you. It’s going be fun but exhausting.

Sagittarius: If you’re ready to be read for filth, time to link up with a Sagittarius lover. They’re going to be direct, blunt and there’s a good chance they’re not going to remember your name after it’s all said and done. All that hype you heard about their bedroom game was also just smoke and mirrors. It was one and done, now you get to finish yourself off, hun.

Capricorn: Straight and narrow Capricorn is about as adventurous as paint splattered jeans. Sometimes they’ll look you in the eye when they’re

intertwined. But more often than not, they’d rather you be blind folded, look away or positioned away so they don’t see the judgeyness in your eyes. At the end of the night, they’re going to offer you a rideshare and talk about how you may be a better fit for their friend from college.

Aquarius:

Giving your lovers fake names to make it easier to push them away is one of your favorite games to play. Chicken head Chuck, Pancake Penelope, Lana Day Oh Hell No. It makes it easier for when you’ve gotten what you need so you can leave not feeling anything. Your favorite position is anything with a ball gag in your partner’s mouth, that way you can turn ‘em and burn ‘em.

Pisces:

Sometimes seeing something in someone that they shouldn’t. Always looking for the good in things. You often bet on the wrong show pony and end up with being upside down with a super big frown. You hate confrontation, that’s why you historically assume a more submissive role. You’re fine with receiving a little domination, as long as you get to cuddle with your childhood Care Bear (Earl) at some point in-between play time and bed time.

Living with my House in Virginia

We have heard the statistic that one it eight Americans with HIV don’t know that they have been infected. Since the start of the pandemic over 40 years ago, 700,000 Americans have died of AIDS.

While we have come a long way from the early days, when an HIV diagnosis was tantamount to a death sentence, it is still more important than ever to continue to work together to fight HIV/AIDS and to educate the public.

With drugs that can keep Pos people undetectable indefinitely with proper usage, to PrEP which can prevent one from contracting the virus at all, we are quite literally within a lifetime of being able to eradicate HIV/AIDS.

Going forward, I hope to share stories and experiences about my personal experience with this pesky virus, and we at Metra would love hear yours if you’d like to share. And rest assured, we would keep your name confidential if you choose.

I do this to remind my fellow brothers and sisters that no one is alone when you have a House In Virginia.

ALL ABOUT THEM CAKES Tah-Dah! YUM!

Garrett Pawley has had a passion for baking ever since he was a little boy. He would watch his grandmother whip up a fresh batch of butter cream frosting in her bright yellow stand mixer for the mile high chocolate cake she had baked.

Garrett hopes to share with us his favorite recipes with us each month in METRALand so that we, too, can enjoy the simple things again. This month we are featuring the delicately moist Black Forest Cake. Fresh from the oven, check out this month’s cakes!

Black Forest Cake

Ingredients:

Produce

3 cups Cherries, fresh dried and pitted

12 Cherries

Refrigerated

9 Eggs, large

Baking & Spices

1 cup All-purpose flour

2 cup Bittersweet chocolate

1 cup Caster sugar

1/2 cup Cocoa powder, unsweetened

1 cup Granulated sugar

1/2 cup Powdered sugar

4 tsp Vanilla

Dairy

4 tbsp Butter, unsalted

4 1/2 cups Heavy cream

Beer, Wine & Liquor

6 tbsp Kirsch

Liquids

1 cup Water

HOMETOWN HERO HOMETOWN HERO

Diversity and Inclusion: these are things that are expected and rightfully deserved in any work place. But as LGBTQ+ people know, this isn’t always the case when being greeted at work.

Enter Graci Harkema, Owner of Graci LLC. Graci has made it her mission to teach and train companies on how to be as inclusive as possible. And for her, this mission is personal.

The “ah-ha” moment for Graci happened when being interviewed for a job. During the one on one with her potential new employer, she was asked to share an example of “overcoming adversity.” As someone who has overcome adversity quite literally from the day she was born, Graci had a plethora of examples to choose from.

Born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and orphaned at just a week old, adopted by missionaries living in a war-torn country, and ultimately moving to and growing up in Grand Rapids, MI, overcoming adversity is something Graci knows a thing or two about. Out of a graduating high school class of about 500 students, Graci was the only female person of color. But when asked by a complete stranger to share a moment of overcoming adversity, Graci chose to come out as LGBTQ+. Something she hadn’t yet shared with anyone. “For most of my life I have felt different on the exterior, I didn’t want to feel different inside anymore” Graci explained.

If there is one thing Graci wants LGBTQ+ people to know is that coming out needs to be on your time, no one else’s. Come out when you feel comfortable and most importantly, safe. At that moment, Graci felt safe enough with this stranger to reveal something about herself, and ultimately inspired her to pursue her career as a diversity, equity and inclusion consultant. You, too, can attain your personal goals and ambitions, on your own term telling your own truth.

To learn more about Graci and her company, visit her website at graciharkema.com.

Is it safe to resume the gaybarsceneagain?

By Joe Kort, PhD, psychotherapist, certified sex therapist and director of The Center for Relationship and Sexual Health in Royal Oak, Michigan

The need to socialize with friends and family is important for our mental health. Returning to the gay bar scene will happen, and is happening, but the question remains, “is it safe?” Is any bar safe for that matter?

There is a new expectation of behavior that we must get accustomed to. The days of squeezing through a crowd of shouting people, using a congested and unclean bathroom, leaning close to the bartender to order a drink, and kissing a stranger you just met was pre-COVID life.

Before you head to the bar, I suggest you first check out the venue. Have the owners taken precautionary measures to ensure you will be as safe as possible? Are the employees required to be vaccinated? Are they wearing masks? Are they washing their hands frequently? Are the bar staff regularly disinfecting all high-touch surfaces? Is the bar well-ventilated? Do you feel you will be safe there?

Once you’ve vetted the bar and decide to give it a try, maintain social distancing. You can still have a flirty conversation, get acquainted with new people and decide if you want to take the relationship to the next step: online through social media. Kissing, touching, caressing and other romantic gestures can wait until you get to know the person better – outside the bedroom.

Remember, this is not the time for public shaming if someone does not agree with the steps you are taking to meet people safely. It is all about harm reduction. Bars can be a great mental health escape but take care of yourself and act responsibility. And before you plant a kiss on a stranger, ask for proof of vaccination!

Pride Night

Hosted by Deedee Chaunte with dj digimark & DJ Prim

free till 10:30pm $5 cover after

Tom L & Safi G

Anthony J & Nick S

Brian B & Zach B Montain B

Frazier T, Jimmy L & David D